Thomas H. Briggs

(? 1886 -- December 29, 1905), Company G, Third Battalion, First Regiment, of the South Dakota Volunteers.

August 22, 1898

This morning the sea was . . . calmer and the wind did not blow so hard. Land was in sight, which I supposed was

August 23, 1898

Distance traveled is 231 miles, lat 1640 North, long 199-49 East. Weather very warm. We are skirting along the shore of the island, which seems

August 24, 1898

Arrived at Manila about 9:00 a.m. Where we learn that the city is taken. We do not know weather we will land today or not.

August 25, 1898

Soon after dinner, we went aboard a small steamer boat and were taken to a small town called Cavete (Cavite). Our two [battalions] were quartered

August 26, 1898

We were kept busy all day fixing our quarters, arranging a suitable place outdoors for cooking.

August 27, 1898

We drill from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 A.M. every morning and also from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. We all get up at 4:30 a.m. Breakfast

August 28, 1898

Church services were held by the Chaplain in the afternoon. I took a walk around the town and went out to see the fort that

August 29, 1898

We drilled as usual. It is very hot weather at present.

September 8, 1898

A young man named [Sayre] Jenson [of Irene, South Dakota], belonging to our company, while playing with a bomb he had found at the fort,

September 10, 1898

Just about noon today we [had] orders to be ready by 10:00 to start. … So we packed our knapsacks and marched down to the

November 7, 1898

We received our pay today. Our company went on out-Post Duty. There are 4 Posts. (Editor’s note: At some point in November, Briggs wrote detailed