Private Richard M. Longfellow

Private Richard M. Longfellow of Mandan, North Dakota, served in Company A, 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry, U.S. Army. On May 16, 1899, near San Isidro in the Philippine Islands, he and 21 other scouts encountered an enemy force of approximately 600 men entrenched on the opposite bank of a steep, swift-flowing river. When the enemy set the bridge aflame, the scouts, under heavy fire, charged across the burning bridge or waded across the river, drove off the insurgents, put out the bridge fire, and held the location until support forces arrived.

Minot, North Dakota · United States