U.S. Army Colonel Emerson H. Liscum, a battle-hardened officer who survived severe combat wounds at both Gettysburg and San Juan Hill, was shot and killed on July 13, 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion in China. As he fell mortally wounded while personally carrying the fallen American colors during the assault on the city walls of Tientsin, he shouted his final words to his troops: “Keep up the fire”.
Liscum’s final words were so profoundly moving that the 9th Infantry Regiment permanently adopted “Keep up the fire” as their official unit motto. In a remarkable gesture of gratitude after the battle, Chinese statesman Li Hongzhang ordered captured government silver bullion to be melted down and cast into a massive, 14-gallon sterling silver punch bowl known as the “Liscum Bowl,” which remains the most famous trophy in U.S. Army history.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions
