War in the 19th century: World's oldest photos of Far East show horrific aftermath of American, English and French assault on Chinese fort
By MARK DUELL PUBLISHED: 05:29 EST, 8 January 2014 | UPDATED: 09:16 EST, 8 January 2014 131 shares A wonderful set of photographs taken in China and Japan which gave the Western world one of its first glimpses of the Far East is going for auction. And one particular image of Chinese corpses at North Fort in Peiho in 1860 has presented a stark reminder of the Second Opium War. The North Fort was one of several Taku Forts - strategically-placed defences in China that guarded the mouth of the Peiho River. The fort, which was located near modern-day Tianjin, was breached on August 20, 1860 and its garrison surrendered after a fierce fight.
Grim war images: Portraits of dead men. Renowned photographer Felice Beato took pictures as he travelled with the British Army The battlements and cannons are seen surrounded by Chinese corpses, following the fort’s capture by the English and French armies. The opium wars were the climax of trade disputes between China and the British Empire over Chinese attempts to restrict British opium trafficking. More...China was defeated in both the First Opium War, from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860. The set of pictures were taken by Felice Beato, who travelled with the British Army during the Indian Rebellion and the Second Opium War in China. Renowned photographer Mr Beato captured the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing before it was destroyed by fire by Empire forces in 1860.
Life: This image of Gan Kiro, Yokohama, is in a set of photographs taken in China and Japan which showed the western world what the Far East looked like
Canal: Yokohama. The pictures were taken by Felice Beato, who travelled with the British Army during the Indian Rebellion and the Second Opium War in China
Statue: Dai Butsu, Yokohama. Some 68 prints taken from the original negatives were made into an album that Mr Beato sold to Captain Roderick Dew
Jail time: Chinese Prison. The album has remained in the Dew family for the last 150 years and has served as a record of the Captain's service in China and Japan His images also include a panorama view of Hong Kong harbour, the Forbidden City in Peking, a pagoda and scenes of slain Chinese soldiers at a fort. Some 68 prints from the negatives were made into an album he sold to Captain Roderick Dew, who led the British during the Taiping Rebellion in 1862. Mr Beato's studio in Yokohama, Japan, was destroyed in a fire soon after along with the original negatives, making Cpt Dew's prints more valuable. The album has remained in the Dew family for the last 150 years and has served as a record of his service in China and Japan.
Portrait: Representatives of the US, England and France - from left, Gustave Duchese, Prince de Bellacourt; Cpt Roderick Dew; Col James; Col Hooper; Col Edward St. John Neale; US Minister
Tiered tower: Pagoda near Tungchan. The photos are going under the hammer at Lawrences Auctioneers of Crewkerne, Somerset, and could fetch up to £70,000
Early days: Cemetery near Peking. The auctioneers said the photo album is 'one of the most extensive and historically significant to appear on the market in many years'
Impressive buildings of the ancient world: Emperor's Palace. The album contains 68 individual prints and is expected to fetch up to £70,000 on January 31
Rare photograph: Mr Beato captured the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing before it was destroyed by fire by Empire forces in 1860
Defences: Cavalier of North Fort, Peiho. His images also include a panorama view of Hong Kong harbour and the Forbidden City in Peking But it is now going under the hammer on January 31 at Lawrences Auctioneers of Crewkerne, Somerset, and is expected to fetch up to £70,000. Robert Ansell, of Lawrences, said: ‘This album is one of the most extensive and historically significant to appear on the market in many years. ‘It is also one of the earliest recorded from the studio of Felice Beato in Yokohama, widely regarded as an important pioneer of photography in the Far East. ‘The album contains 68 individual prints that are amongst the earliest photographs that record both China and Japan.
Wide view: The Tycoons Palace in Yedo, which is a folding two-print panorama photograph taken by renowned photographer Mr Beato
Crossing the water: Bridge Palu. Mr Beato's photography studio in Japan was destroyed by fire in 1866, but this album predates that
Looking around: Interior of North Fort, Peiho. The folding panoramas of views gave many people in the Western world a first glimpse inside the Far East
Age-old photos: Panorama of Hong Kong. The photographer's images also include the Forbidden City and a pagoda
Taking a break: Pehtang Fort in China. The selection of photographs also includes 11 folding panoramic views ‘It includes 11 folding panoramas of views, and a portrait by Felice Beato of Capt Dew with representatives of American, French and British forces.’ Cpt Dew, who lived from 1823 to 1869, was also known for his important role in the attack on the Taku Forts during the Second Opium War in 1859. At the time Cpt Dew was the Commander of HMS Nimrod, and described the attack in a personal letter to an unknown recipient. It said: ‘We had to steam some distance before our guns would bear and then six shells plumped right into the Southern forts and exploded. ‘I saw the poor devils carried out in a fearful state - many naked and quite black… the huge brass guns tumbled about.'
| Photographs from 1860s believed to be among earliest in existence offer a fascinating insight into life in the Far East
These incredible photographs are believed to be among the earliest of their kind in existence and offer an fascinating insight into life in the Far East during the 1860s. The images, which form part of a captivating magazine, show life in China and Japan during the mid-19th century, and portray villagers going about their day-to-day tasks. At an auction in Cirencester today, the photographs sold for more than six times their £2,000 guide price, with an anonymous buyer winning a bidding war to purchase them for £12,500.
+13 Close shave: A street barber carefully cuts a client's hair in this image from China Magazine taken in the late 1860s. The photographs sold today for £12,000 - six times their guide price
+13 Posed: This image shows three young Chinese men sitting in their home in the late 1860s. As well as previously unpublished photographs, the collection also contains articles describing life in mid 19th century China
+13 Spending: A group of gamblers are pictured betting in the street in this photograph. Auctioneers originally tipped the collection to sell for just £2,000, but a bidding war raised the price to £12,500
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+13 Service: A military mandarin - or bureaucrat scholar - is seen in the late 1860s, while the image on the right shows a Japanese servant, or Kerai, posing for a photograph One of the most intriguing aspects of the photographs is that they do not show powerful emperors or important military figures, focusing instead on gamblers and weavers going about their business. Among the collection is a picture of two Chinese fruit sellers, while another shows men scrambling up a ladder and into a window. Members of a town or village council are captured in one striking image, while in another a street barber carefully cuts a client’s hair. A harbour scene in Hong Kong is also represented. Auctioneers originally tipped the incredible bundle of pictures to sell for just £2,000, but a fierce bidding war among collectors raised the price to £12,500.
+13 Important: Members of a town or village council are captured in this striking image. The men are some of the only establishment figures documented in the collection
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+13 Going about their business: Among the collection is a picture of two Chinese fruit sellers (left), while another shows men scrambling up a ladder and into a window (right)
+13 Real life: The image shows shops and houses in Tai Ping Shan Street in Hong Kong. In 1860 Chinese writer Wang Tao said the street was full of brothels with 'brightly painted doors and windows with fancy curtains' The photographs are taken from the 'China Magazine', which began as a weekly publication on March 7 1868 and continued monthly until it reached its fourth and final volume in 1870. The volume contains a total of 46 photos of varying sizes, but four of those are duplicates and one is a defective picture. Apart from containing a number of photographs unpublished elsewhere, the magazine contains interesting feature articles which throw light on life in mid nineteenth-century China, with Hong Kong featuring prevalently.
+13 Down to business: A Chinese letter writer is photographed in the late 1860's. One intriguing aspect of the images is that they show everyday people, instead of powerful emperors or important military figures
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+13 History: A Chinese woman mends clothing in the left image, while the picture on the right shows a village elder and his son photographed in the province of Annam, part of modern-day Vietnam There is little doubt China Magazine was the inspiration for Scottish publisher John Reddie Black’s influential and far better known ‘Far East’ news magazine, which ran from 1870 until 1878. Historian Terry Bennett, author of a History of Photography in China: Western Photographers, noted the extreme rarity of the photographs. He added: 'It may also be the first publication of any kind in the Far East to incorporate pasted-in photographs.'
+13 Port: The photograph shows the sun setting on the famous Hong Kong harbour in the late 1860s. The volume contains a total of 46 photos of varying sizes, but four of those are duplicates and one is a defective picture HOW CHINA EXPERIENCED WAR AND POLITICAL TURMOIL DURING THE 1860SDuring the late 1860s, China was ruled by the Tongzhi Emperor - a member of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan and the tenth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Although the Tongzhi Emperor was formally in charge of the country between 1861 and 1875, his reign was largely overshadowed by the rise of his mother Empress Dowager Cixi - a powerful and charismatic woman who effectively controlled China for 47 years, from 1861 to her death in 1908. Internally, the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) - a quasi-Christian religious movement led by the so-called 'Heavenly King' Hong Xiuquan, raided roughly a third of Chinese territory for over a decade until they were finally crushed in the Third Battle of Nanking in 1864.
Empress Dowager Cixi was a powerful and charismatic woman who effectively controlled China for 47 years, from 1861 to her death in 1908 Arguably one of the largest wars in the 19th century in terms of troop involvement, there was massive loss of life, with a death toll of about 20 million. Towards the end of the Taiping Rebellion came the Dungan Revolt (1862–77) - a largely chaotic uprising by China's Muslim minorities on the western banks of the Yellow River. Infighting and the lack of a common cause eventually led to the revolt collapsing, with tens of thousands of Muslims subsequently leaving the Yellow River area and moving to south eastern Russia, as well as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Another dominant feature of the period was the arrival and massive expansion of Western colonial missionaries attempting to spread Christianity following the end of the Second Opium War in 1860. Over the following decades Christian missions were set up in every province and major city in China, with more than 2,500 evangelists working there by the turn of the century.
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Issue of March 3, 1902, Page 1 On March 3, 1902, major American newspapers, including the New York Timesreported: “…Felizardo, at the head of twenty-five men armed with rifles, entered the town of Cainta…and captured the Presidente of Cainta, Señor Ampil, and a majority of the police of the town. Señor Ampil has long been known as an enthusiastic American symphatizer, and it is feared that he may be killed by the enraged ladrones. A strong force of constabulary has been sent to try to effect his release.” [Timoteo Pasay was the actual leader of the guerilla band that kidnapped Ampil on Feb. 28, 1902].
A village in the town of Morong, Morong Province. PHOTO was taken during the period 1899-1901. On March 4, 1902, near the hills of Morong town, Ampil found an opportunity to escape. A detachment of constabulary was taken from the garrison at Pasig and stationed at Cainta for his protection. He survived the war. [ A considerable number of the population of Cainta are descended from Indian soldiers who deserted the British Army when the British briefly occupied the Philippines in 1762 to 1764. These Indian soldiers, called Sepoys, were recruited from among the subjects of the Nawab of Arcot in Madras, India. They settled in Cainta and intermarried or cohabited with the native women. The Sepoy ancestry of Cainta is very visible in contemporary times, particularly in Barrio Dayap near Barangay Sto Nino. Their distinct physical characteristics --- darker skin tone and taller stature --- set them apart from the average Filipino who is primarily of Malay ethnicity, with admixtures of Chinese and Spanish blood. ] Battle of Taguig, March 18-19, 1899
The 22nd US Regular Infantry Regiment, 1st Washington Volunteers and 2nd Oregon Volunteers, all under the overall command of Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton, engaged Filipino troops led by General Pio del Pilar in the town of Taguig. The Americans suffered 3 dead and 17 wounded; Filipino losses were 75 killed in action.
March 19, 1899: Companies D and H, 1st Washington Volunteer Infantry Regiment, firing at Filipinos from behind the stone wall of the church at Taguig
Some US troops form a skirmish line just outside the church compound
Moments later, the rest of the Americans break out from the church compound to advance across an open field -- Filipinos 800 yards in front.
Original caption: "The Open Field Over Which The Washington Boys Charged The Filipinos From The Church Tower. Taquig, P.I."
March 1899: Company D, 1st Washington Volunteers, at Taguig church.
March 19, 1899: Company H, 1st Washington Volunteers, at Taguig church.
The church at Taguig; US soldiers are positioned behind the stone wall, with lookouts on the roof and bell tower. Photo taken in November 1899.
Colonel John H. Wholley, Commanding Officer, 1st Washington Volunteer Infantry Regiment; he graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1890. Gen. Del Pilar distinugished himself in the revolution against Spain. But like most Filipino generals, he fared badly against the better-trained and well-equipped Americans. During the battle of Manila on Feb. 5, 1899, General del Pilar's troops in Pandacan were dislodged and pushed back to the Pasig River where they were shot down "like fish in a barrel" by young American marksmen who learned their skills in the backwoods and prairies of America.
He, General Mariano Noriel and several others persuaded Emilio Aguinaldo to withdraw his order commuting the death sentence on Andres Bonfacio and his brother Procopio to banishment under heavy guard to Mt. Pico de Loro, Maragondon, Cavite. In his memoirs, Aguinaldo wrote: ""Upon learning of my wish, Generals Pio del Pilar and Mariano Noriel rushed back to me. "Our dear general,' General Pio del Pilar began, 'the crimes committed by the two brothers, Andres and Procopio, are of common knowledge. If you want to live a little longer and continue the task that you have so nobly begun, and if you wnat peace and order in our Revolutionary Government, do not show them any mercy." The Bonifacio brothers were executed on May 10, 1897. In January 1899, Del Pilar was appointed chief of the "Second Zone of Manila" by Gen. Antonio Luna. The second zone comprised Pasig and other areas south and southeast of Manila, including the Morong District. On June 9, 1900 he was captured in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan Province but was set free on June 21. On that day, Maj. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., now military governor, issued an amnesty, as a result of which some prominent Filipino prisoners, Del Pilar among them, took an oath of allegianceto the United States. However, he continued to work for the guerilla underground and was rearrested. On Jan. 16, 1901 he was deported to Guam along with Apolinario Mabini, Gen. Maximo Hizon, Gen. Artemio Ricarte and Pablo Ocampo. They left on the US transport Rosecrans. He return to the Philippines in February 1903 after agreeing to re-take the oath of allegiance to the United States. He died on June 21, 1931. He is the acknowledged official hero of Makati City. Today, the monument in his honor stands at the intersection of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue. Massacre at Taytay, March 19, 1899
Taytay Church in ruins. It survived the American rampage on March 19, 1899, but succombed to more fighting a few months later. On June 3, 1899, US gunboats shelled Filipino positions in the town. The US Army claimed that the Filipinos, upon leaving the following day, had fired the church. On March 20, 1899, A.A. Barnes of Battery G, 3rd Artillery, wrote to his brother in Indiana that they had burned the town of Taytay the night before in retaliation for the murder of an American soldier: "Last night one of our boys was found shot and his stomach cut open. Immediately orders were received from General [Loyd] Wheaton to burn the town and kill every native in sight, which was done...About one thousand men, women and children were reported killed. I am probably growing hard-hearted for I am in my glory when I can sight my gun on some dark skin and pull the trigger." Americans Advance To Malolos, March 24-31, 1899
The city of Manila is located in the lower right corner of this 1899 US Army map. Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur Jr.'s column advanced along the Manila-Dagupan railway to the north. Malolos, the Filipino capitol, and the capture of Aguinaldo were the prime objectives. But it had to overcome defenses put up by the Filipinos along the way.
The Manila to Dagupan Railway Terminus on Azcarraga St. (now Claro M. Recto Ave.), Manila (also known as the Tutuban Railway Station). Photo was taken in late 1898 or early 1899. The building still stands, although it has been converted into a shopping mall.
Original caption: "Members of the Seventeenth Infantry head for action in the Philippine Islands."
Filipino soldiers packed on wagon trains as they head for the war front. [Photo taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
March 1899: US-based Munsey's Magazine features General Emilio Aguinaldo, describing him as "The Filipino Dictator" and "Self-appointed President of the Philippine Republic". General MacArthur's formidable pursuit force consisted of about 12,000 men drawn from the following units: VOLUNTEER INFANTRY REGIMENTS (8): 1st Montana, 1st Nebraska, 1st South Dakota, 1st Washington, 1st Wyoming, 2nd Oregon, 10th Pensylvania, 13th Minnesota and 20th Kansas. REGULAR INFANTRY REGIMENTS (3): 17th, 20th and 22nd. ARTILLERY (3): 3rd (as infantry), 6th and Utah Light. CAVALRY (1): 4th The Americans estimated Filipino strength at about 30,000 men. Battle of The Tuliahan River, March 25-26, 1899
Malabon: American skirmish line, March 25, 1899. The Battle of the Tuliahan River comprises 6 related engagements: Malabon (March 25-26), parts of Caloocan (March 25), San Francisco del Monte (March 25), Polo (March 25), Malinta (March 26) and Meycauayan (March 26). Ten US regiments were engaged. At Malabon, the Americans suffered 16 killed and 130 wounded; the Filipinos lost 125 men killed and 500 wounded.
Utah Light Battery firing on Malabon On March 25, the Americans advanced towards Malabon (near Caloocan). Describing their adventures in Malabon, Anthony Michea of the Third Artillery wrote: "We bombarded a place called Malabon, and then we went in and killed every native we met, men, women, and children. It was a dreadful sight, the killing of the poor creatures. The natives captured some of the Americans and literally hacked them to pieces, so we got orders to spare no one."
Original caption: "Hotchkiss Quick Firing Gun shelling Filipinos as they were leaving Malabon, March 26, 1899"
Filipinos KIA at Malabon
Filipinos KIA at Malabon
Dead Filipino at Malabon
Original caption: "Sadness in victory - our 'Boys' caring for dying Insurgents - Battlefield of Malabon, P.I."
More Filipino wounded at Malabon
American photographer's caption: "On the road to Malabon. Huts that had to be burned to keep natives from re-entering the same and doing a bushwhacking." US army commissary wagons are seen on the right half of the photo.
March 25-26, 1899: Bridge at Malabon showing span blown out by Filipinos
Peter MacQueen, correspondent of The National Magazine, covered the Malabon battle. PHOTO was taken at Malabon, March 26, 1899.
SAME SCENE AS PRECEDING PHOTO. Peter MacQueen and an American soldier enjoy a meal on a bamboo table. This Filipino family was displaced by the fighting. Note the white flag of truce they had put up.
Malabon: Filipino prisoners; these men appear to be innocent non-combatants.
Malabon: Filipino prisoners captured by the 2nd Oregon Volunteers
The Atlanta Constitution of Georgia, USA, issue of March 27, 1899, reports on American victories at Malabon, Polo and Malinta
Filipinos destroying the railway between Polo and Meycauayan towns, Bulacan Province
A white US soldier wrote home: "The weather is intensely hot, and we are all tired, dirty and hungry, so we have to kill niggers whenever we have a chance, to get even for all our trouble."
March 1899: Troops of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment resting near Malinta, Bulacan Province
March 26, 1899: US troops at Malinta, Bulacan Province
March 26, 1899: Col. John M. Stotsenburg, 1st Nebraska Volunteers, conferring with his officers. He would be dead four weeks later at Quingua, Bulacan Province.
March 26, 1899: Dead Filipino at Malinta, Bulacan Province.
March 26, 1899: Wounded Filipino POWs at Malinta, Bulacan Province
General MacArthur's orderly, Valentine (on horseback), receiving message from a signal corpsman instructing advance on the Tuliahan River, March 1899.
Filipinos lie where they fell near the Tuliahan River, March 1899
Filipino killed by shrapnel, 1899
Original caption: "Have you a pass? Scene on the firing line, P.I."
Filipino prisoners being brought into the American encampment, March 1899.
Original caption: "Filipino prisoners and their captor." Photo taken in 1899, location not specified.
1899: U.S. soldiers and Filipino POWs gather on Postigo Street near the Manila Cathedral, Intramuros district, Manila.
The Filipino POWs in preceding photo march out of Intramuros through the Postigo del Palacio ("Postern of the Palace"); the dome of the Manila Cathedral is visible in the background.
Postigo del Palacio today: the pathway leading from the gate has been covered over by parts of a golf course. The dome of the Manila Cathedral is seen in the background.
Company H, 2nd Oregon Volunteers, drawn up in front of the Postigo del Palacio, Manila, 1899.
Filipino troops retreating from Americans; photo taken in 1899, location unspecified
Filipino civilians with flag of truce; photo taken in 1899, location unspecified
Original caption: "Amigos coming in from the insurrecto's line." Photo taken in 1899, location unspecified
Original caption: "How the Twentieth Kansas boys were met by conquered natives, Philippine Islands." Photo was taken in 1899.
Two mortally terrified Filipino women are being brought in for interrogation. Photo was taken in 1899, location unspecified. The Manila correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger reported, “Our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads up to 10, the idea prevailing that the Filipino was not much better than a dog . . .” (In Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, on June 21, 1900, five US soldiers ---John Wagner, Edward Walpole, Harry Dennis and John Allance and a Private Meeks---who were sickened by the atrocities perpetrated by their fellow Americans, deserted to the Filipino side; on Nov. 25, 1900, in the same town, another American, Private William Hyer, joined the Filipinos).
The Bulletin of San Francisco, California, in its March 27, 1899 issue, reports imminent capture of Emilio Aguinaldo. The Filipino leader was actually captured nearly two years later, on March 23, 1901 Battle of Marilao River, March 27, 1899
Colorized photo of Filipino POWs at Marilao General Pantaleon Garcia (RIGHT) came down from Dagupan, Pangasinan Province, by train with about 1,000 riflemen and 4,000 bolo men, and took positions at Marilao. On March 27, 1899, seven US regiments assaulted Garcia's entrenchments. The 1st South Dakota Volunteers and the 3rd US Artillery, acting as infantry, were thrown forward. The South Dakotas charged across an open space on the east of the railway to the edge of some woods. They lost 10 killed and 11 wounded, including 3 lieutenants. The 3rd US Artillery charged on the edge of the railroad and lost 2 killed and 7 wounded. On the left the Filipinos in a trench east of the Marilao river offered a stubborn resistance. But they were soon forced to retreat. Overall, American losses were 14 killed and 65 wounded. Filipino losses were 90 killed and 30 taken prisoner.
1st Nebraskans resting along the railroad line near Marilao, March 27, 1899.
The Atlanta Constitution, in its March 28, 1899 issue, reports stiff resistance put up by the Filipinos Americans Close In On Malolos, March 29-31, 1899
Bocaue burns On March 29, Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. advanced to Bocaue, and at 11:45 am he advanced toward Bigaa (now Balagtas), and at 3:15 pm he turned toward Guiguinto, 3 1/2 miles (6 km) from Malolos. There was some fierce fighting in the afternoon. Troops crossed the river at Guiguinto by working artillery over the railroad bridge by hand and swimming mules against fierce resistance.
Original caption: "For the Stars and Stripes! Death in the ranks of the Kansans" [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
Original caption: "A 'hot time' on the firing line -- the famous 20th Kansas in action". [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
Filipinos in their trenches
Americans carrying a dead comrade from the battlefield, somewhere in Central Luzon Island, 1899.
Original caption: "Work of the Kansas boys." A Kansas soldier wrote, "The country won’t be pacified until the niggers are killed off like the Indians." [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon Island] Ellis G. Davis, Company A, 20th Kansas Volunteers: "They will never surrender until their whole race is exterminated. They are fighting for a good cause, and the Americans should be the last of all nations to transgress upon such rights. Their independence is dearer to them than life, as ours was in years gone by, and is today. They should have their independence, and would have had it if those who make the laws in America had not been so slow in deciding the Philippine question. Of course, we have to fight now to protect the honor of our country but there is not a man who enlisted to fight these people, and should the United States annex these islands, none but the most bloodthirsty will claim himself a hero. This is not a lack of patriotism, but my honest belief."
Original caption: "Burial of the enemy." [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon] Cpl. Robert D. Maxwell, Company A, 20th Kansas Volunteers: "Sometimes we stopped to make sure a native was dead and not lying down to escape injury. Some of them would fall as though dead and, after we had passed, would climb a tree and shoot every soldier that passed that way. Even the wounded would rise up and shoot after we passed. This led to an order to take no prisoners, but to shoot all."
American soldiers fording a river. Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon.
Troop B, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, crossing over pontoon bridge somewhere in Central Luzon. The troop commander was 1Lt. Samuel Rutherford. Photo was taken in 1899.
American troops are conveyed upstream into the interior of Luzon by an armored steam launch, navy boats, and "cascos" (Filipino house boats), 1899.
US troops taking guns across the Bigaa River on the bridge constructed by their engineering battalion
March 29, 1899: 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment in action against Filipinos at Bigaa
March 29, 1899: Wounded Filipino POWs at Bigaa, Bulacan Province
March 29, 1899: American soldiers bringing Filipino POWs across the Bigaa River.
March 29, 1899: Filipino prisoners at Bigaa, Bulacan Province
Issue dated March 29, 1899
American author J.D. Givens's caption: "Carrying tenderly those who have tried to slay us". American soldiers load a wounded Filipino POW onto a train. [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
American photographer's caption: "Died in action. These words are simple, but they speak volumes. They tell the sublimest act of one's life; of his death for his country. The view of the battle field strewn with dead. The central figure is that of a hero as he died defending his country's honor". [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
20th Kansas Volunteers attend to a wounded comrade. [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
US troops returning with their dead and wounded. [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
Americans conveying their dead from the battlefield. [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
Americans transporting a wounded Filipino. [Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon]
13th Minnesota Volunteers, 1899
Original caption: "This is an army supply train en route to Malolos. The wagons are hauled by a species of buffalo peculiar to the Philippines. It is a patient animal somewhat livelier than the American ox. It does the hard labor of the islands." Photo was taken in late March 1899. Dec. 10, 1899: Apolinario Mabini Is Captured
When the Filipino-American war broke out and Aguinaldo's government became disorganized, the paralytic Apolinario Mabini, who headed Aguinaldo's cabinet until May 7, 1899, when he was replaced by Pedro Paterno, fled to Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija Province, carried in a hammock. He was captured there by the Americans and Macabebe Scouts on Dec. 10, 1899.
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He was imprisoned in Fort Santiago (ABOVE) from Dec. 11, 1899 to Sept. 23, 1900. He continued agitating for Philippine independence after his release. He Mabini's virulent article in El Liberal entitled "El Simil de Alejandro" caused his rearrest. On Jan. 16, 1901, he was deported to Guam, together with other Filipino patriots. When queried by the U.S. senate on why the paralytic had to be removed from the Philippines, Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., cabled: "Mabini deported: a most active agitator; persistently and defiantly refusing amnesty, and maintaining correspondence with insurgents in the field while living in Manila, Luzon, under the protection of the United States; also, for offensive statement in regard to recent proclamation enforcing the laws of war. His deportation absolutely essential."
Original caption: "Loading prisoners for Guam", 1901.
Page 1 His exile in Guam afforded Mabini the time to write his memoirs, La Revolucion Filipina.
Burning of the cholera-stricken Farola ("lighthouse") section of Tondo district, Manila, 1902. Meanwhile, in March, 1902, a ship from Hongkong arrived in Manila carrying cholera. Soon after, the first cases of cholera surfaced. This first wave of infection lasted until February 1903.
Issue of January 27, 1903, Page 3 In Guam, Mabini's failing health filled him with concern that he might die on foreign soil. He then decided to take the oath of allegiance to the United States - a condition for his return to the Philippines.
Apolinario Mabini in Guam, 1902
Page 1 Mabini was taken to Manila from Guam on the U.S. transport Thomas on Feb. 26, 1903, and took the oath before the Collector of Customs. The Americans offered him a high government position but he turned it down. To the Americans' discomfiture, he resumed his work of agitating for independence.
Apolinario Mabini in Manila. Photo was probably taken on Feb. 26, 1903 when Mabini returned from exile and took the oath of allegiance to the United States.
The second wave of the cholera epidemic struck in May of that year. Mabini, who had returned to his nipa house in Nagtahan, Manila (ABOVE), contracted the disease, after consuming large amounts of unpasteurized carabao's milk.
Page 3 On May 13, 1903, he passed away; he was 2 months and 10 days short of his 39th birthday. [The cholera epidemic ended in February 1904; in two years, 109,461 infected people died, 4,386 of which were in Manila.]
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Monument to Apolinario Mabini in Guam
Dec. 19, 1899: General Henry Lawton dies at San Mateo
Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton on Novaliches Road on his way to San Mateo Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to be killed in action in the Philippine-American War. He was the only general awarded the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War to die in combat and the first serving general killed outside of North America. He was born on March 17, 1843 in Manhattan, Ohio. He received the Medal of Honor for heroism at Atlanta on Aug. 3, 1864 during the US Civil War. In the spring of 1886, he led US troops into Mexico in pursuit of the Apache Chief, Geronimo, who surrendered on Sept. 3, 1886. When the Spanish American War broke out in 1898, Lawton was sent to Cuba in command of the 2nd division of the 5th Army Corps, distinguishing himself in El Caney and backed up Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders in their charge on San Juan Hill. However, he was tormented by chronic depression and alcoholism. After smashing the interior of a saloon and personally assaulting the local police chief, Lawton quietly returned home. The government fabricated a cover story of tropical illness. His career potentially in ruins, he begged President McKinley for a second chance. On Jan. 19, 1899, he was ordered to command the 1st division of the 8th Army Corps in the Philippines.
General Lawton at his office in Manila. On March 10, 1899, he arrived in Manila on the transport Grant with 42 officers and 1,716 men.
General Lawton's residence along the Pasig River in Manila. Photo was taken from thePuente de Ayala ("Ayala Bridge"), 1899.
General Lawton and Mrs. Mary Craig Lawton, with their children: Louise (Elise), Manly (the "Little Captain"), Frances (Allison) and Catherine (Kitty). Photo taken in Manila a few months before the general's death. Lawton captured Santa Cruz, Laguna Province and San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province during his first three months. On June 10, 1899, he began his Cavite campaign which pushed the Filipino line far back from Manila on the south. In October 1899 a successful campaign against the main force of Aguinaldo began.
Lawton's position is marked by a star
Contemporary satellite photo of the site of the Battle of San Mateo (Courtesy of Macky Hosalla) On Dec. 19, 1899, he faced the men of Gen. Licerio Geronimo at San Mateo, Morong Province. Lawton's force consisted of Troop I of the Fourth Cavalry, 2nd and 3rd Squadrons of the Eleventh Cavalry U.S.V., and one battalion each of the 27th Infantry Regiment U.S.V. and 29th Regular Infantry Regiment. Lawton believed in leading from the front, continuing a style he had employed since his years in the Civil War. His subordinates were constantly worried that he needlessly exposed himself to hostile gunfire, but Lawton refused to observe from the rear, or to take cover.
At about 9:15 am, General Lawton was walking along the firing line within 300 yards of a small Filipino trench, conspicuous in the big white helmet he always wore and a light yellow raincoat. He was also easily distinguishable because of his commanding 6'3" stature. The Filipinos directed several close shots which clipped the grass nearby. His staff officer called General Lawton's attention to the danger he was in, but he only laughed.
Place near San Mateo where General Lawton was killed Suddenly Lawton exclaimed:
Bonifacio Mariano Street (shortened to "B. Mariano St.") in San Mateo, Rizal Province, named in honor of the Filipino who fired the shot that killed General Lawton. (Photo courtesy of Macky Hosalla). Bonifacio Mariano was credited with the kill. A street in San Mateo was named in his honor. At 11:00 am, the Americans successfully crossed the river and drove the Filipinos from San Mateo. Thirteen Americans were wounded; the US Army reported 40 Filipinos killed and 125 wounded.
San Mateo Battle Marker (Photo courtesy of Macky Hosalla). The marker is located inBarangay Bagong Silangan, formerly a barrio of San Mateo and now a part of Quezon City. The inscription in Filipino reads: "LABANAN SA SAN MATEO: Sa pook na ito noong umaga ng Disyembre 19, 1899 naganap ang isang makasaysayang labanan ng Digmaang Filipino-Amerikano sa pagitan ng pangkat ni Licerio Geronimo, Dibisyong Heneral ng Hukbong Panghimagsikan ng Rizal kasama ang kanyang buong pangkat ng mga manunudla na tinawag na Tiradores de la Muerte at ang pangkat Amerikano sa pamumuno ni Komandante Heneral Henry W. Lawton na binubuo ng isang batalyon ng ika-29 na Impanteriya, isang batalyon ng ika-27 Impanteriya, isang kabayuhan at isang di-kabayuhang iskwadron ng ika-11 Kabalyeriya. Napatay sa labanang ito ng pangkat ni Heneral Geronimo si Heneral Lawton, isa sa pinakamataas na opisyal na militar ng mga Amerikano sa Digmaang Filipino-Amerikano."
Before his death, Lawton had written about the Filipinos in a formal correspondence, "Taking into account the disadvantages they have to fight against in terms of arms, equipment and military discipline, without artillery, short of ammunition, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are defective, they are the bravest men I have ever seen..." Gen. Licerio Geronimo: Nemesis of General Henry LawtonGen. Licerio Geronimo commanded the Filipino force that killed Maj. Gen. Henry Ware Lawton at the battle of San Mateo on Dec. 19, 1899.
Sampaloc district, Manila, birthplace of General Licerio Geronimo. Photo taken in 1898.
His father hailed from Montalban, Morong Province (now Rodriguez, Rizal Province) and his mother was a native of Gapan, Nueva Ecija Province. When he was nine, he lived with his grandfather in a farm in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan Province. At 14, he joined his father in Montalban where he helped in farm chores. Due to poverty, Geronimo did not enjoy the benefits of formal education. But he learned how to read and write with the help of a friend who taught him the alphabet. He married twice; his first marriage to Francisca Reyes ended with her death. His second wife was Cayetana Lincaoco of San Mateo, who bore him five children. He earned a living by farming, and by working as a boatman on the Marikina and Pasig rivers, transporting passengers to and from Manila. Geronimo was recruited into the secret revolutionary society Katipunan by his godfather, Felix Umali, alguacil mayor of barrio Wawa, Montalban.
The El Deposito in San Juan del Monte. Photo taken in 1900. Geronimo was part of the rebel group that assaulted the El Deposito (water reservoir)and Polvorin (gunpowder depot) in San Juan del Monte on Aug. 30, 1896. He organizedKatipunan forces under his command in the towns of Montalban, San Mateo, and Marikina, all in Morong Province. His forces first served under General Francisco Makabulos in San Rafael, Bulacan and later under General Mariano Llanera during military operations against the Spaniards in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan, and Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.
When the Truce of Biyak-na-Bato of Dec. 14, 1897 temporarily brought peace, he retired to his farm in Montalban. After the Americans smashed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, he allowed the Spaniards to assign him as a commandant in the Milicia Territorial, formed to resist the Americans on land. On May 19, 1898, Aguinaldo returned from exile in Hongkong and resumed the war against Spain. Geronimo deserted the colonial Miliciaand rejoined his revolutionary comrades. On Nov. 28, 1898, he returned to his post as division general of the Philippine army in Morong. When the Filipino-American War broke out on Feb. 4, 1899, he was appointed by Gen. Antonio Luna as the commanding general of the third Arturo Dancel (RIGHT, in 1903), a member of the pro-American Partido Federal, convinced Geronimo to surrender; on March 30, 1901 he gave up in San Mateo with 12 officers, 29 men and 30 guns. He initially surrendered to Capt. Duncan Henderson, CO of Company E, 42nd Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers, who presented him to Col. J. Milton Thompson, the regimental commander. Shortly afterward, Geronimo joined the Partido Federal.
New York Tribune Illustrated Supplement, Issue of June 23, 1901, Page 8
New York Tribune Illustrated Supplement, Issue of June 23, 1901, Page 8
He left the constabulary on May 16, 1904 and returned to work his farm in Barrio San Rafael, Montalban. Geronimo (LEFT, in his 60's, pic courtesy of Macky Hosalla) died on Jan. 16, 1924. He was 68 years old. Barangay Geronimo, Geronimo Park and General Licerio Gerónimo Memorial National High School in Rodriguez, Rizal, as well as a street in Sampáloc, Manila, were named in his honor.
General Licerio Geronimo Monument, Rodriguez Town Plaza, Rizal Province (photo courtesy of Macky Hosalla). Rodriguez is the current name of the old town of Montalban The War in 1900-1901: African Americans in the Fil-Am War
Companies from the segregated Black 24th and 25th infantry regiments reported to the Presidio of San Francisco in early 1899. They arrived in the Philippines on July 30 and Aug. 1, 1899. The 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments were sent to the Philippines as reinforcements, and by late summer of 1899, all four regular Black regiments plus Black national guardsmen had been brought into the war against the Filipino "Insurectos." The two Black volunteer infantry regiments -- 49th and 48th -- arrived in Manila on January 2 and 25, 1900, respectively.
African American soldiers of Troop E, 9th Cavalry Regiment before shipping out to the Philippines in 1900. Up to 7,000 Blacks saw action in the Philippines.
African American soldiers of Troop C, 9th Cavalry Regiment, at Camp Lawton, Washington State, before shipping out to the Philippines in 1900
9th Cavalry soldiers on foot, somewhere in Luzon Island. The U.S. Army viewed its "Buffalo soldiers" as having an extra advantage in fighting in tropical locations. There was an unfounded belief that African-Americans were immune to tropical diseases. Based on this belief the U.S. congress authorized the raising of ten regiments of "persons possessing immunity to tropical diseases." These regiments would later be called "Immune Regiments". Many Black newspaper articles and leaders supported Filipino independence and felt that it was wrong for the US to subjugate non-whites in the development of a colonial empire. Some Black soldiers expressed their conscientious objection to Black newspapers. Pvt. William Fulbright saw the U.S. conducting "a gigantic scheme of robbery and oppression." Trooper Robert L. Campbell insisted "these people are right and we are wrong and terribly wrong" and said he would not serve as a soldier because no man "who has any humanity about him at all would desire to fight against such a cause as this." Black Bishop Henry M. Turner characterized the venture in the Philippines as "an unholy war of conquest".
African American soldiers during the Philippine-American War in undated photo. Many Black soldiers increasingly felt they were being used in an unjust racial war. One Black private wrote that “the white man’s prejudice followed the Negro to the Philippines, ten thousand miles from where it originated.”
The Filipinos subjected Black soldiers to psychological warfare. Posters and leaflets addressed to "The Colored American Soldier" described the lynching and discrimination against Blacks in the US and discouraged them from being the instrument of their white masters' ambitions to oppress another "people of color." Blacks who deserted to the Filipino nationalist cause would be welcomed.
One soldier related a conversation with a young Filipino boy: “Why does the American Negro come to fight us where we are a friend to him and have not done anything to him. He is all the same as me and me the same as you. Why don’t you fight those people in America who burn Negroes, that make a beast of you?”
The Black 24th Infantry Regiment marching in Manila. Photo taken in 1900. One of the Black deserters, Private David Fagen of the 24th Infantry, born in Tampa, Florida in 1875, became notorious as "Insurecto Captain". On Nov. 17, 1899, Fagen, assisted by a Filipino officer who had a horse waiting for him near the company barracks, slipped into the jungle and headed for the Filipinos' sanctuary at Mount Arayat. The New York Times described him as a “cunning and highly skilled guerilla officer who harassed and evaded large conventional American units.” From August 30, 1900 to January 17, 1901, he battled eight times with American troops. Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston put a $600 price on Fagen's head and passed word the deserter was "entitled to the same treatment as a mad dog." Posters of him in Tagalog and Spanish appeared in every Nueva Ecija town, but he continued to elude capture. Hunters with indigenous Aetas, circa 1898-1899 On Dec. 5, 1901, Anastacio Bartolome, a Tagalog hunter, delivered to American authorities the severed head of a “negro” he claimed to be Fagen. While traveling with his hunting party, Bartolome reported that he had spied upon Fagen and his Filipina wife accompanied by a group of indigenous people called Aetas bathing in a river.
Page 1, issue of Dec. 9, 1901 The hunters attacked the group and allegedly killed and beheaded Fagen, then buried his body near the river. But this story has never been confirmed and there is no record of Bartolome receiving a reward. Official army records of the incident refer to it as the “supposed killing of David Fagen,” and several months later, Philippine Constabulary reports still made references to occasional sightings of Fagen.
The Indianapolis Freeman, issue dated Oct. 14, 1899, features Edward Lee Baker, Jr., an African-American US Army Sergeant Major, awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Cuba. Founded in 1888 by Edward C. Cooper, it was the first Black national illustrated newspaper in the US.The article at right, included in this issue although datelined Aug. 18, 1899, describes the movements of the 24th Infantry Regiment while campaigning in the Philippines. A Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Freeman, editorialized in December, 1901, "Fagen was a traitor and died a traitor's death, but he was a man no doubt prompted by honest motives to help a weakened side, and one he felt allied by bonds that bind."
The Scranton Tribune, Page 1 During the war, 20 U.S. soldiers, 6 of them Black, would defect to Aquinaldo. Two of the deserters, both Black, were hanged by the US Army. They were Privates Edmond Dubose and Lewis Russell, both of the 9th Cavalry, who were executed on Feb. 7, 1902, before a crowd of 3,000 at Guinobatan, Albay Province.
Black and white American soldiers with Signal Corps flag Nevertheless, it was also felt by most African Americans that a good military showing by Black troops in the Philippines would reflect favorably and enhance their cause in the US. The sentiments of most Black soldiers in the Philippines would be summed up by Commissary Sergeant Middleton W. Saddler of the 25th Infantry, who wrote, "We are now arrayed to meet a common foe, men of our own hue and color. Whether it is right to reduce these people to submission is not a question for soldiers to decide. Our oaths of allegiance know neither race, color, nor nation." Although most Blacks were distressed by the color line that had been immediately established in the Philippines and by the epithet "niggers", which white soldiers applied to Filipinos, they joined whites in calling them "gugus". A black lieutenant of the 25th Infantry wrote his wife that he had occasionally subjected Filipinos to the water torture. Capt. William H. Jackson of the 49th Infantry admitted his men identified racially with the Filipinos but grimly noted "all enemies of the U.S. government look alike to us, hence we go on with the killing."
The Black 24th Infantry Regiment drilling at Camp Walker, Cebu Island. Photo was taken in 1902. Jan. 6, 1900: US Newspaper Reports Record Incidence of Insanity Among Americans In The Philippines
The Guthrie Daily Leader, Guthrie, Oklahoma, Jan. 6, 1900, Page 1 Jan. 7, 1900: Battle of Imus, Cavite Province
Photo taken in 1900 On Jan. 7, 1900, the 28th Infantry Regiment of US Volunteers, commanded by Col. William E. Birkhimer, engaged a large body of Filipinos at Imus, Cavite Province.
Original caption: "Filipinos firing on the American out-posts, P.I." Photo was taken in 1900, location not specified.
Original caption: "The rude ending of delusion's dream ---Insurgent on the Battlefield of Imus, Philippines."
Four soldiers of Company M, 28th Infantry Regiment of US Volunteers. Photo was taken in 1900. The regiment arrived in the Philippines on Nov. 22 and 23, 1899. It was commanded by Col. William E. Birkhimer.
The St. Paul Globe, St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 8, 1900, Page 1 The Americans suffered 8 men wounded, and reported that 245 Filipinos were killed and wounded.
Licerio Topacio, Presidente Municipal (Mayor) of Imus, with two Filipino priests. PHOTO was taken in 1899. January 14-15, 1900: Battle of Mt. Bimmuaya in Ilocos Sur
US artillery supporting the infantry. Photo taken in 1900, location not specified On Jan. 14-15, 1900, the only artillery duel of the war was fought in Mount Bimmuaya, a summit 1,000 meters above the Cabugao River, northwest of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur Province. It is a place with an unobstructed view of the coastal plain from Vigan to Laoag. The Americans -- from the 33rd Infantry Regiment USV, and the 3rd US Cavalry Regiment -- also employed Gatling guns and prevailed mainly because their locations were concealed by their use of smokeless gunpowder so that Filipino aim was wide off the mark. It was believed that General Manuel Tinio, and his officers Capt. Estanislao Reyes and Capt. Francisco Celedonio were present at this encounter but got away unscathed. Elements of this same 33rd Infantry unit had killed General Gregorio del Pilar earlier on Dec. 2, 1899, at Tirad Pass, southeast of Candon, llocos Sur. The Battle of Mt. Bimmuaya diverted and delayed US troops from their chase of President Emilio Aguinaldo as the latter escaped through Abra and the mountain provinces. After the two-day battle, 28 unidentified fighters from Cabugao were found buried in unmarked fresh graves in the camposanto (cemetery). General Tinio switched to guerilla warfare and harassed the American garrisons in the different towns of the Ilocos for almost 1½ years. January 20, 1900: Americans invade the Bicol RegionIn early 1900, during their successful operations in the northern half of Luzon Island, the Americans decided to open the large hemp ports situated in the southeastern Luzon provinces of Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines, all in the Bicol region.
Brig. Gen. William A. Kobbe (ABOVE, in 1900) was relieved from duty on the south Manila line and ordered to seize the desired points. His expeditionary force was composed of the 43rd and 47th Volunteer Infantry Regiments, and Battery G , 3rd Artillery. He sailed on the afternoon of January 18, with the transport Hancock and two coasting vessels, theCastellano and Venus. His command was convoyed by the gunboats Helena andNashviIlle. On January 20, the Americans entered Sorsogon Bay and took possession, without opposition, of the town of Sorsogon, where Kobbe left a small garrison. They proceeded to the small hemp ports of Bulan and Donsol, at each of which a company of the 43rd Infantry was placed. The expedition then sailed through the San Bernardino Strait to confront the Filipinos at Albay Province.
The main street and cathedral in Legaspi, Albay Province. PHOTO was taken in 1899.
On January 24, Virac, Catanduanes Island (then a part of Albay Province), was taken by the Americans without a shot being fired. On February 8, Tabaco, Albay was captured and on February 23, Nueva Caceres (today's Naga City), Camarines fell. Paua (RIGHT, in 1898) surrendered on March 27, 1900 in Legaspi to Col. Walter Howe, Commanding Officer of the 47th Infantry Regiment. Paua was the only pure Chinese in the Philippine army. He was born on April 29, 1872 in a poor village of Lao-na inFujian province, China. In 1890, he accompanied his uncle to seek his fortune in the Philippines. He worked as a blacksmith on Jaboneros Street, Binondo, Manila. Paua joined the Katipunan in 1896. His knowledge as blacksmith served him in good stead. He repaired native cannons called lantakas and many other kinds of weaponry. He set up an ammunition factory in Imus, Cavite where cartridges were filled up with home-made gunpowder. [On the side, he courted Antonia Jamir, Emilio Aguinaldo's cousin].
On April 26, 1897, then-Major Paua, Col. Agapito Bonzon and their men attacked and arrested Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio inbarrio Limbon, Indang, Cavite Province; Andres was shot in the left arm and his other brother, Ciriaco, was killed. Paua jumped and stabbed Andres in the left side of the neck. From Indang, a half-starved and wounded Bonifacio was carried by hammock to Naik, Cavite, which had become Emilio Aguinaldo’s headquarters. The Bonifacio brothers were executed on May 10, 1897. Paua (LEFT) was the only foreigner who signed the 1897 Biyak-na-Bato Constitution. He was among 36 Filipino rebel leaders who went in exile to Hong Kong by virtue of the Dec. 14, 1897 Peace Pact of Biyak-na-bato. Emilio Aguinaldo and the other exiles returned to Manila on May 19, 1898. The revolution against Spain entered its second phase. On June 12, 1898, when Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite, Paua cut off his queue (braid). When General Pantaleon Garcia and his other comrades teased him about it, Paua said: "Now that you are free from your foreign master, I am also freed from my queue." [The queue, for the Chinese, is a sign of humiliation and subjugation because it was imposed on them by the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty. The Chinese revolutionaries in China cut off their queues only in 1911 when they finally toppled the Manchu government.] On Oct. 29, 1898, Paua was included in the force led by General Vito Belarmino that was sent to the Bicol region; Belarmino assumed the position of military commander of the provinces of Albay, Camarines and Sorsogon.
Paua married Carolina Imperial, a native of Albay; he retired in Albay and was once elected town mayor of Manito. He told his wife and children: “I want to live long enough to see the independence of our beloved country and to behold the Filipino flag fly proudly and alone in our skies.” His dream was not realized because he died of cancer in Manila on May 24, 1926 at the age of 54. February 5, 1900: Ambush at Hermosa, Bataan Province
A supply detail from Company G, 32nd Infantry Regiment U.S.V., is ambushed near Hermosa, Bataan Province. PHOTO was taken on Feb. 5, 1900. Source: Archives of the 32nd Infantry Regimental Association On Feb. 5, 1900, a supply train of Company G, 32nd Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers, was ambushed near Hermosa, Bataan Province. The 11-man detail was commanded by Sgt. Clarence D. Wallace. It was sent from Dinalupihan by the Company Commander, Capt. Frank M. Rumbold, to escort Capt. William H. Cook, regimental assistant surgeon, to Orani. On arrival, the soldiers would report to the commissary officer for rations, which they were to escort back to Dinalupihan. It was while on their return trip that the party was ambushed; 6 Americans were killed. It was one of the deadliest ambuscades of U.S. troops in the war. Forty-eight hours before this occurrence, detachments of the 32nd Infantry Regiment scouted the country south of Orani, west to Bagac, north to Dinalupihan, and west to Olongapo, without finding any trace of Filipino guerillas. Following the ambush, all American units in the province were directed to exercise extraordinary vigilance on escort and similar duty.
32nd Infantry Regiment headquarters at Balanga, Bataan Province The regiment, commanded by Col. Louis A. Craig, was based in Balanga, Bataan Province. It posted companies of troops in Abucay, Balanga, Dinalupihan, Mariveles, Orani and Orion, and the towns of Floridablanca and Porac in neighboring Pampanga Province. Execution of Filipinos, circa 1900-1901
Four doomed Filipinos --- in leg irons --- are photographed moments before their execution by hanging, circa 1900-1901
The Filipinos were hanged one at a time
American soldiers and sailors, and some Filipino civil officials pose for a "souvenir" photo with the coffins bearing the bodies of the executed men
SIMULTANEOUS HANGING OF FOUR FILIPINOS. Original caption: "The Philippine Islands. Hanging Insurgents at Cavite". Circa 1900.
The U.S. Army executes a Filipino, circa 1900.
The U.S. Army hangs a Filipino, circa 1900.
CLOSE-UP of preceding photo.
Original caption: "Hanging at Caloocan, after the drop". Two Filipino doctors are checking the limp bodies for signs of life. Circa 1900.
Original caption: "American execution of Philippine insurrectionists." PHOTO was taken circa 1900-1901.
CLOSE-UP of preceding photo. The Americans are seen here placing the nooses around the two Filipinos' necks. War in Bohol, March 17, 1900 - Dec. 23, 1901
US "Bill" Battery outside of barracks in Tagbilaran, Bohol On March 17, 1900, 200 troops of the 1st Battalion, 44th Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers (USV), led by Maj. Harry C. Hale, arrived in Tagbilaran. Bohol was one of the last major islands in the Philippines to be invaded by American troops. Bernabe Reyes, "President" of the "Republic of Bohol" established on June 11, 1899, separate from Emilio Aguinaldo's national government, did not resist. Major Hale hired and outfitted Pedro Samson to build an insular police force. In late August, he took off and emerged a week later as the island's leading guerilla.
Soldiers of the 44th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Tubigon, Bohol, 1900. Company C of the 44th U.S. Volunteers encountered Samson on Aug. 31, 1900 near Carmen. The guerillas were armed with bolos, a few antique muskets and "anting-anting" or amulets. More than 100 guerillas died. The Americans lost only one man.
Chocolate Hills, Carmen, Bohol
A portion of Company G, 19th US Infantry Regiment, starting out for Bohol island from Naga
On Sept. 3, 1900, they clashed with Pedro Samson in the Chocolate Hills. From then on through December, US troops and guerillas met in a number of engagements in the island's interior, mostly in the mountains back of Carmen. Samson's force consisted of Boholanos, Warays from Samar and Leyte, and Ilonggos from Panay Island. They lacked firepower; most of them were armed simply with machetes. The Americans resorted to torture --most often "water cure"--and a scorched-earth policy: prominent civilians were tortured; 20 of the 35 towns of Bohol were razed, and livestock was butchered wantonly to deprive the guerillas of food.
Issue of June 18, 1901 In May 1901, when a US soldier raped a Filipina, her fiance murdered him. In retaliation, Capt. Andrew S. Rowan torched the town of Jagna. On June 14-15, 1901, US troops clashed with Samson in the plain between Sevilla and Balilihan; Samson escaped, but Sevilla and Balilihan were burned to the ground. Original caption: "Burning of native huts." On Nov. 4, 1901, Brig. Gen. Robert Hughes, US commander for the Visayas, landed another 400 men at Loay. Torture and the burning of villages and towns picked up. (At US Senate hearings in 1902, when Brig. Gen. Robert Hughes described the burning of entire towns in Bohol by U.S. troops to Senator Joseph Rawlins as a means of "punishment," and Rawlins inquired: "But is that within the ordinary rules of civilized warfare?..." General Hughes replied succinctly: "These people are not civilized.")
American soldiers "water cure" a Filipino. Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, military governor of the "unpacified areas" of the Philippines, 1901-1902, ordered the US Army to "Obtain information from natives no matter what measures have to be adopted." Photo Source: Abraham Ignacio Collection, www.presidio.gov At Inabanga, the Americans killed the mayor and water-cured to death the entire local police force. The mayor of Tagbilaran did not escape the water cure. At Loay, the Americans broke the arm of the parish priest and used whiskey, instead of water, when they gave him the "water cure". Major Edwin F. Glenn, who had personally approved the tortures, was later court-martialed.
Church in Dimiao, Bohol On Dec. 23, 1901, at 3:00 pm, Pedro Samson signed an armistice in the convent of Dimiao town. He arrived with 175 guerillas. That night at an army-sponsored fete there were speeches and a dance. On Feb. 3, 1902, the first American-sponsored elections were held on Bohol and Aniceto Clarin, a wealthy landowner and an American favorite, was voted governor. The Philippine Constabulary assumed the US army's responsibilities and the last American troops departed in May 1902. Guerilla Resistance On Mindanao Island, 1900-1902BATTLE OF CAGAYAN DE MISAMIS, APRIL 7, 1900. When the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War on Dec. 10, 1898, the Spanish governor of Misamis Province turned over his authority to two Filipinos appointed by Emilio Aguinaldo: Jose Roa, who became the first Filipino governor of Misamis; and Toribio Chavez, who served as the first Filipino mayor of Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro City). [On Nov. 2, 1929, Misamis Province was divided into Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental]. On Jan. 10-11, 1899, Cagayan de Misamis celebrated Philippine independence by holding a "Fiesta Nacional." The people held a parade and fired cannons outside the Casa Real (where the present city hall --- inaugurated on Aug. 26, 1940 ---stands). For the first time, the Philippine Flag was raised on Mindanao island. On March 31, 1900, Companies A, C, D and M of the 40th Infantry Regiment of US Volunteers (USV) invaded Cagayan de Misamis. The regimental commander was Col. Edward A. Godwin. Prior to landing, the Americans bombarded Macabalan wharf, with the flagpole flying the Philippine Flag as the primary target. The wharf was about 5 kilometers distant from the town center.
Guard mount of the 40th Infantry Regiment, USV, at Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro City). Photo taken in 1900. The stone Church of San Agustin was built in 1845 but was destroyed in 1945 during World War II. It was rebuilt into a cathedral. The Americans set up their barracks in the town center, just beside the present St. Agustine Cathedral. On Friday, April 6, 1900, a newly formed guerilla force led by General Nicolas Capistrano descended 9 kilometers from their camp in Gango plateau in Libona, Bukidnon Province, Mindanao Island. Numbering several hundred, the guerillas planned to attack the Americans in their barracks. At dawn of Saturday, April 7, 1900, the bells of San Agustin Church pealed; this was the signal for the guerillas to proceed with the attack. First to attack were the macheteros, who were armed only with bolos; they carried ladders which they used to scale the barracks where the Americans slept. They were followed by the riflemen and cavalrymen who, for the most part, were armed with old rifles. American soldiers in Cagayan de Misamis, 1900 The noise roused the Americans; they grabbed their weapons and fired at their attackers from the windows of the barracks. Some American soldiers climbed the Church bell tower where they fired at the poorly armed guerillas. The fighting was centered at the town plaza, the present Gaston Park. The battle raged for an hour. The macheteros, who crashed the barracks, engaged the Americans in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Captain Apolinario Pabayo, an officer of the macheteros, was among the first to die. Themacheteros' leader, Captain Clemente Chacon, tried to climb up the Club Popular Building (the site is now occupied by the St. Agustine Maternity and General Hospital), but was repelled twice and had to scramble down due to a gaping head wound from an American bayonet. "SIETE DE ABRIL": Centennial commemoration of the Battle of Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro City). In his annual report for 1900, Maj. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., listed 4 Americans killed and 9 wounded, and 52 Filipinos killed, 9 wounded and 10 captured. (A Filipino account reported that 200 Filipinos were killed). Later, one of the old streets in the city was named "Heroes de Cagayan" in honor of the Cagayan and Misamis guerillas who took part in the battle. It has since been renamed Pacana Street.
On July 14, 1900, the Americans at Cagayan de Misamis were reinforced by 170 men of the 23rd Infantry Regiment USV and 2 Maxim-Nordenfeldt guns (ABOVE).
Guardhouse of the 40th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, in Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro City)
The band of the 40th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, at Cagayan de Misamis (now Cagayan de Oro City), circa 1900-1901.
Americans playing baseball, circa 1900-1901 BATTLE OF AGUSAN HILL, MAY 14, 1900. Capt. Walter B. Elliott, CO of Company I, 40th Infantry Regiment USV, with 80 men proceeded to the village of Agusan, about 16 kilometers west of Cagayan de Misamis town proper, to dislodge about 500 guerillas who were entrenched on a hill with 200 rifles and shotguns. The attack was successful; 2 Americans were killed and 3 wounded; the Filipinos suffered 38 killed, including their commander, Capt. Vicente Roa. The Americans also captured 35 Remington rifles.
RUFINO DELOSO'S GUERILLA FORCE, MAY 14, 1900 - 1902. Rufino Deloso led a force of 400 guerillas in Misamis Province (in areas that are now in Misamis Occidental) and engaged the Americans in no less than 20 encounters. On March 7, 1902, he surrendered to Senior Inspector John W. Green of the Philippine Constabulary in Oroquieta, Misamis Province. He gave up with 20 riflemen and 250 bolo men.
Filipino guerillas killed in battle, Misamis Province, circa 1900-1901
Cartload of dead Filipino guerillas in Oroquieta, Misamis Province, circa 1900-1901
"CAPITAN" EUSTAQUIO DALIGDIG: Daligdig was a settler from Siquijor Island. He organized a rebel force against Spain, with the town of Daisog (now Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental) as his base of operations. "Capitan" Daligdig became a household name throughout Misamis Province; the common folk believed he possessed an "anting-anting" (amulet) that enabled him to fly and made his body impervious to bullets. The guerilla leader in the Oroquieta-Laungan area led numerous assaults against the Oroquieta Garrison of the Americans.
Two US soldiers, somewhere on Mindanao island, Jan. 23, 1901 On Jan. 6, 1901, Daligdig was wounded at Manella, when 40 men of Companies I and E, 40th Infantry Regiment USV, attacked his encampment. Two of his men were killed and 24 captured, but Daligdig managed to escape through the thicket. Later, he availed himself of the general amnesty proclaimed by the US colonial administration on July 4, 1902. He changed his last name to "Sumili" to escape retribution from relatives of civilians he had executed for treason.
Filipino guerilla chief killed in action in Oroquieta, Misamis Province, circa 1900-1901
Medic attends to wounded American soldier in Misamis Province, circa 1900-1901
American troops fording a river in Misamis Province, circa 1900-1901 BATTLE OF MACAHAMBUS GORGE, JUNE 4, 1900. On Macahambus Gorge, located 14 kilometers south of Cagayan de Misamis (present-day Cagayan de Oro City), Mindanao Island, Filipino guerillas led by Col. Apolinar Velez routed an American force. It is the only known major victory of Filipinos over the Americans on Mindanao Island.
Macahambus Gorge Capt. Thomas Millar, CO of Company H, Fortieth Infantry Regiment USV, led 100 men against the guerillas who were either well-entrenched, or in inaccessible positions, in the gorge. Practically surrounded by an enemy they could not reach, the Americans lost in a short time 9 men killed, and 2 officers and 7 men wounded, nearly all belonging to the advance guard. One Filipino guerilla was killed. An attempt to advance against a part of the Filipino position was frustrated by encountering innumerable arrow traps, spear pits and pitfalls to which an officer and several men owe their wounds. To avoid getting annihilated, the Americans quickly withdrew, leaving their dead and most of the rifles of those killed.
The St. Louis Republic, June 24, 1900, Part I, Page 2 In his official report to the US War Department, Maj. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., censured Captain Millar: "The palpable mismanagement in this affair consists in not having reconnoitered the enemy's position, but there appears to be no means of reaching a force intrenched, as was this one, in a carefully selected position, which must be approached in single file through a pathless jungle, nor any reason why it should be attacked at all, because, under the circumstances, it does not threaten our troops nor any natives under their protection, and it is sufficient to keep it under observation."
Americans assault Macahambus Gorge a second time. Photo taken during the period Dec. 19-20, 1900. Captains Thomas Millar and James Mayes jointly led 155 officers and men of the 40th Infantry into the gorge, shelled the guerillas' strongholds, but found them deserted.
Americans inside a deserted guerilla stronghold in Macahambus Gorge. Photo taken during the period Dec. 19-20, 1900.
American encampment at Macahambus. On Dec. 21, 1900, 1Lt. Richard Cravens and a detachment of Company M were ordered to occupy Macahambus.
Velez was born on Jan 23, 1865, to a wealthy family in Cagayan de Misamis. In 1884, he worked as a clerk in the court of first instance of Misamis. From 1886 to 1891, he held the positions of oficial de mesa,interpreter, and defensor depresos pobres. On May 10, 1887, he married Leona Chaves y Roa, thus linking two of the most prominent clans in Misamis. He enlisted in the Spanish army and became a second lieutenant of infantry. He was decorated with the Medalla de Mindanao. In 1898, he joined Aguinaldo's government; he was appointed chief of the division of justice of the Revolutionary Government of Misamis. In 1900, he was assigned the rank of major in the army and appointed as commander of the "El Mindanao" battalion. He later rose to the rank of Colonel. From 1901 to 1906, Velez held the post of provincial secretary after which he was elected governor of Misamis and served for two terms. In 1928-1931, he served as mayor of Cagayan de Misamis. He died on Oct. 21, 1939. GENERAL VICENTE ALVAREZ ATTACKS OROQUIETA, JULY 12, 1900. General Alvarez, who headed the short-lived "Republica de Zamboanga" (May 18, 1899 - Nov. 16, 1899), moved to Misamis Province and assaulted the garrison of Company I, 40th Infantry USV, in Oroquieta on July 12, 1900. He and his men were repulsed. The Americans reported 2 killed and 1 wounded on their side, and 101 Filipinos killed and wounded.
Page 2 On Oct. 17, 1900, General Alvarez, his staff and 25 men were surprised in their camp near Oroquieta and captured without a fight by Capt. Walter B. Elliott, commanding officer of Company I, 40th Infantry Regiment USV. The Americans took advantage of the cover provided by the stormy night.
Major American newspapers reported: "The capture is important and will tend to Alvarez was already serving as a high official in the Spanish colonial administration when he turned around and joined the revolution against Spain in March 1898. He led his forces in the successful capture of Zamboanga in May 1898. President and General Emilio Aguinaldo appointed him as head of the revolutionary government of Zamboanga and Basilan. He was born in 1854 and died in 1910. April 15, 1900: Battle of Jaro, LeyteThe American barracks at Jaro, Leyte, occupied by a detachment of Company B, 43rd Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers, was attacked at 4:00 a.m. by about 1,000 Filipino guerillas. The detachment commander was 2Lt. Charles C. Estes. [The Company Commander was Capt. Linwood E. Hanson].
Original caption: "Rapid Fire Gatling Gun on Firing Line, 600 Shots per Minute, Philippine Islands." The battle lasted for four hours. The Americans reported 125 Filipinos killed, with no casualties on their side. Jaro is an interior town located 39 kilometers northwest of present-day Tacloban City. Battle of Catubig, Samar: April 15-18, 1900
Church of St. Joseph, Catubig, Samar On April 15, 1900, 300 Catubig militiamen led by Domingo Rebadulla laid siege on 31 men of Company H, 43rd Infantry of US Volunteers, commanded by Sgt. Dustin L. George, who were quartered in the convent of the Church of St. Joseph. The militia was later reinforced by about 600 men from Gen. Vicente Lukban's army.
The Americans reported 19 dead and 3 wounded and estimated Filipino losses at 200 dead and many wounded. The U.S. War Department recorded the event as “…the heaviest bloody encounter yet for the American troops” against the Filipino freedom fighters. The New York Times called the Battle of Catubig, “horrifying”. Cpl. Anthony J. Carson, of Boston, Massachusetts, was given the U.S. highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his, according to the citation: “Assuming command of a detachment of the company which had survived an overwhelming attack of the enemy, and by his bravery and untiring effort and the exercise of good judgment in the handling of his men successfully withstood for 2 days the attacks of a large force of the enemy, thereby saving the lives of the survivors and protecting the wounded until relief came.” Domingo Rebadulla was later elected as the first mayor of Catubig under the US regime. April 16-25, 1900: Major battles in Ilocos NorteIn 7 encounters during the period April 16-25, 1900, 453 of Father Gregorio Aglipay's poorly-armed men died in action in Vintar, Laoag and Batac. The Americans suffered only a total of 3 men killed in these engagements. On April 16, Capt. Frank L. French, with a detachment of the 33rd Infantry Regiment of United States Volunteers (USV), known as the "Texas Regiment" because of the popular belief that it was composed of ex-cowboys, struck a body of about 100 Filipinos in the mountains north of Vintar, killing 23 and suffering no casualties.
On the same day, 1Lt. Arthur G. Duncan, commanding 8 men of the 34th Infantry Regiment, USV, met 300 Filipinos with 70 rifles in the mountains near Laoag, killed 29 and captured 22. The Filipinos, upon discovering the smallness of the enemy patrol, went after the Americans. Duncan and his men retreated toward Batac, where Capt. Christopher J. Rollis prepared for them. The Filipinos, now numbering about 600, made a determined attack, but were repulsed, suffering a loss of 180 killed and 72 prisoners. American casualties were 2 men killed and 3 wounded. On April 18, Capt. George Allen Dodd, West Point Class 1876, in command of a detachment of the 3rd Cavalry, met a group of 180 Filipinos, with 70 rifles, near Cullebeng. After one hour's fighting, 53 Filipinos were killed, 4 wounded and 44 taken prisoner. One American was slightly wounded. Captain Dodd also captured 10 horses.
Original caption: "Our brave scouts firing on the fleeing Filipinos, P.I." Photo was taken in 1900, location not specified. On April 19, 1Lt. Arthur Thayer with a detachment of Troop A, 3rd Cavalry, skirmished with 25 Filipinos near Batac and killed 4. One American On April 25, Capt. George Allen Dodd (RIGHT, as Colonel in 1916), with a detachment of the 3rd Cavalry, struck about 300 Filipinos armed with rifles, bolos and spears near Batac. The engagement lasted one hour and fifteen minutes. The Filipinos had 120 killed, 5 taken prisoner and 12 horses captured. The only American casualty was a Sergeant Cook who was slightly cut by a spear. April 17, 1900: General Antonio Montenegro is trapped, surrenders
Issue of April 18, 1900 April 25, 1900: Marinduque
April 25, 1900: Soldiers of the 29th US Volunteer Infantry Regiment wading ashore on Marinduque Island Marinduque was the first island to have American concentration camps. An American, Andrew Birtle, wrote in 1972: "The pacification of Marinduque was characterized by extensive devastation and marked one of the earliest employments of population concentration in the Philippine War, techniques that would eventually be used on a much larger scale in the two most famous campaigns of the war, those of Brigadier Generals J. Franklin Bell in Batangas and Jacob H. Smith in Samar."
Company F, 29th US Volunteer Infantry Regiment Marinduque is the site of the Battle of Pulang Lupa, where on Sept. 13, 1900, Filipino guerillas under Col. Maximo Abad ambushed a 54-man detachment of Company F, 29th US Volunteer Infantry, led by Capt. Devereaux Shields. Four Americans were killed, while the rest were forced to surrender. The defeat shocked the American high command. Aside from being one of the worst defeats suffered by the Americans during the war, it was especially significant given its proximity to the upcoming election between President William Mckinley and his anti-imperialist opponent William Jennings Bryan, the outcome of which many believed would determine the ultimate course of the war. Consequently, the defeat triggered a sharp response.
American patrol with Filipino boys at a village. Photo taken in 1900, location not specified
Americans patrol with fixed bayonets. Photo taken in 1900, location not specified
An American patrol routs a Filipino reconnoitering party. Photo taken in 1900, location not specified April 30, 1900: Battle of Catarman, Samar ProvinceCatarman is a town on the north coast of Samar island, situated on the Catarman River, 55 miles northeast of Catbalogan. On April 30, 1900, at about 9:30 p.m., Filipino guerillas sneaked into town and attacked Company F, 43rd Infantry Regiment USV. The Americans, commanded by Capt. John Cooke, were garrisoned in the convent of the church. The Filipinos, estimated to number between 500 and 600 with 100 rifles, drove in the outposts, wounding one US soldier. The rest of the American sentinels retreated into the convent. The Americans decided to wait until daylight. During the night, there was desultory firing on both sides. At daybreak, May 1, the Americans saw that the Filipinos had built trenches on three sides of the convent. The fourth side, dense with underbrush and cut by a path leading to the beach, was left open. After the battle, the Americans discovered that the path was full of mantraps.
Original caption: "Did not run fast enough to escape the Crag bullet, P.I." Photo taken in 1900, location not specified. Captain Cooke, leaving word to keep a rapid fire on the trenches, took 30 men and flanked the trenches on the north side of the convent, driving the Filipinos out and killing 52 of them. He then flanked the trenches on the south side, driving the Filipinos out and killing 57, while having one man wounded. The Americans then made a general move and the Filipinos were completely driven off. A total of 154 Filipinos were killed, while the Americans suffered only two men wounded. May 5, 1900: General MacArthur becomes VIII Army Corps Commander and Military Governor of the Philippines
General MacArthur (4th from LEFT, 1st Row) and his staff, 1900. On May 5, 1900 Maj. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. replaced Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis as VIII Army Corps Commander and Military Governor of the Philippines.
Malacañan Palace fronting on the Pasig River. Photo taken in 1899. He moved into the Malacañan Palace, a Moorish edifice by the Pasig river which had served as the residence of the Spanish governors-general. His military command, the Division of the Philippines, the largest in the Army at the time, included 71,727 enlisted men and 2,367 officers in 502 garrisons throughout the country.
Americans and Filipinos drinking beer by the Pasig river. Photo was taken in 1900.
U.S. soldiers marching on Calle Concordia in Manila. Photo was taken in 1900. June 15, 1900: General Francisco Makabulos surrenders
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He turned over the large amount of Mexican currency which he had captured from the Spaniards. He need not have to, and nobody would been the wiser, but Makabulos apparently was a man of high integrity. His surname means "one who prefers to be free." Born in La Paz, Tarlac, on Sept. 17, 1871, he was the son of Alejandro Makabulos, a native of Lubao, Pampanga, and Gregoria Soliman, a native of Tondo, Manila. His mother was a descendant of Rajah Soliman, hero of the 1571 battle of Bangkusay, Manila. He had no formal education; he learned to write and speak Spanish from his mother. He had an excellent penmanship and served as parish clerk for the town priest for many years. With the help of Don Valentin Diaz, one of the founders of the Katipunan, he propagated the tenets of the secret revolutionary society throughout Tarlac Province. Makabulos organized his friends and kin into arnis ("fighting stick") and bolo brigades. He started with 70 men, which soon grew in number as people from the nearby towns of Tarlac, Capas, Bamban and Victoria rallied under his banner. On Jan. 24, 1897, Makabulos and his bolo brigades raised the "Cry of Tarlac" and took over the municipal hall of La Paz during the town fiesta celebration. In June 1897, in Mt. Puray, Montalban, Morong (now Rizal Province), General Emilio Aguinaldo promoted Makabulos to General of all revolutionary forces in Pampanga, Tarlac, and Pangasinan. He set up his encampment in sitio Kamansi on the slopes of Mt. Arayat. In November 1897, an assault by a massive Spanish force commanded by General Ricardo Monet dislodged him from his Sinukuan sanctuary. The Revolution temporarily ceased following the Dec. 14, 1897 Truce of Biyak-na-Bato. His fellow rebel leaders went on exile in Hong Kong but Makabulos distrusted Spanish intentions; he made preparations for the resumption of the revolution. On April 17, 1898, in Lomboy, La Paz, he set up his Central Directive Committee of Central and Northern Luzon, often referred to as the Makabulos Provisional Government. It functioned under a constitution, the "Makabulos Constitution", which he himself drafted. He rallied to General Emilio Aguinaldo when the latter returned and renewed the struggle on May 19, 1898. On July 10, 1898, he liberated Tarlac Province from Spanish rule. On July 22, 1898, he liberated Pangasinan Province. He was appointed to the Malolos Congress which opened on Sept. 15, 1898, representing the province of Cebu.
Photo taken in 1900. The 12th Infantry Regiment (Regulars) occupied 9 towns in Tarlac Province (Badoc, Capas, Concepcion, Gerona, La Paz, Paniqui, San Nicolas, Tarlac and Victoria), and 2 towns in Nueva Ecija Province (Cuyapo and Guimba).
The 12th Infantry fording the river near Tarlac Province. The Filipino-American War saw General Makabulos as politico-military governor of Tarlac Province. He struck a close friendship with General Makabulos was a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federal when it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900. He was elected municipal president of La Paz in 1908, and later served as councilor of Tarlac, Tarlac. Makabulos became locally famous as a writer of zarzuelas (plays that alternate between spoken and sung scenes). Among his works were "Uldarico" and "Rosaura." He also wrote a zarzuela out of Balagtas’ "Florante at Laura." He translated the opera "Aida" into Tagalog. He died of pneumonia in Tarlac on April 30, 1922 at the age of 51.
Col. Emerson H. Liscum of the US 9th Regular Infantry Regiment in San Fernando, Pampanga Province, on Aug. 1, 1899. A month after accepting General Makabulos' surrender, Col. Liscum was killed in Tientsin, China on July 13, 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion Sept. 17, 1900: Filipino victory at Mabitac. LagunaMabitac is a municipality situated on the eastern side of the province of Laguna.
The battle began when the Americans came under intense fire some 400 yards from the Filipino trenches. Eight troopers sent ahead to scout the Filipino positions were all killed. One of the last to fall was 2nd Lieutenant George Cooper. General Cailles, in an honorable gesture, allowed Cheatham to retrieve the bodies of his men. The main body of the U.S. Infantry got pinned down in waist-deep mud, still several hundred yards from the Filipino trenches. Captain John E. Moran was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for trying to rally his demoralized comrades. Supporting fire from a US Navy gunboat (some 1,300 yards distant) and a flank attack by 60 Americans failed to dislodge the Filipinos from their positions.
Photo was taken in 1900, somewhere in Luzon Island Cheatham withdrew, re-consolidated his forces and prepared to launch another offensive. General Cailles ordered a withdrawal in order to avoid envelopment, and by the next day, his entire command had made good its escape. The Americans lost 21 killed and 23 wounded; the Filipinos suffered 11 killed and 20 wounded. Among the Filipino dead was Lieutenant Colonel Fidel Sario. American Major-General John C. Bates later said of this battle: "It is deemed charitable as well as politic to drop a veil over this matter rather than to give any publicity that can be avoided." Oct. 14, 1900: Battle of Ormoc, Leyte IslandOn Oct. 14, 1900, Company D of the 44th Infantry Regiment USV, commanded by 1Lt Richard W. Buchanan, clashed with Filipino guerillas in Ormoc, Leyte Island. The Americans suffered no casualties, while 116 Filipinos were killed. Oct. 24, 1900: Ambush at Cosocos, Ilocos Sur Province
Soldiers of Company K, 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment, at Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Province. PHOTO was taken in 1900. On Oct. 24, 1900, an American force consisting of 40 men of Company H, 33rd Infantry Regiment USV, and 2Lt. Grayson Heidt, with 60 men of Troop L, 3rd Cavalry, left Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Province, under the command of 1Lt. George Febiger, 33rd Infantry, to attack the Filipinos at barrio Cosocos, Nagbukel town, Ilocos Sur, about 22 kilometers away.
American soldiers find the bodies of 3 dead comrades lying by the roadside. Photo was taken in 1900, location not specified. The last 3 kilometers of the road is through a canyon with precipitous walls. Within 300 meters of barrio Cosocos, the point man discovered and opened fire on the Filipinos, estimated to number 400 and commanded by Juan Villamor. They were in position on both sides of the canyon and entrenched in front. After half an hour's engagement, seeing the Filipinos had the advantage in numbers and position, the precipitous sides of the canyon preventing a flanking movement, Lieutenant Febiger ordered a retreat. The Americans were compelled to fight their way out of the canyon, Lieutenant Febiger taking the advance and Lieutenant Heidt the rearguard.
SAME scene as in preceding photo. Original caption: "'Tis sad to leave them but they died bravely in the front ranks of the battle, P.I.". Within 800 meters outside the mouth of the canyon, Lieutenant Febiger was killed; an attempt was made to carry his body along, but owing to the aggressiveness of the Filipinos his body had to be left on the field. As the firing was at close range for most of the time, the Americans estimated Filipino losses in killed and wounded at over 100. [Maj. Gen. Adnan R. Chaffee reported that 50 Filipinos were killed and 100 wounded.] Total American losses were 5 killed, 14 wounded and 8 captured (released the following day by Juan Villamor). The Americans also lost 9 rifles, 1 carbine and 24 horses.
Feb. 2, 1901: General Martin Delgado surrenders
Feb. 2, 1901: General Martin Delgado formally surrenders to Brig. Gen. Robert P. Hughes with 30 officers and 140 men at Jaro, Iloilo An American historian wrote, "As a result of this surrender, 41,000 inhabitants of the Province of Iloilo took the oath of allegiance."
Feb. 2, 1901: Filipinos surrender at Jaro, Iloilo
Feb. 2, 1901: Filipinos surrender at Jaro, Iloilo March 8, 1901: Massacre at Lonoy, Bohol
There were two Filipino guerilla encampments on Mt. Verde in Barrio Lonoy. Miguel Valmoria's campsite was in the upper part of Lonoy, while Capt. Gregorio "Goyo"Caseñas' was in the lower part of the village. [LEFT, monument to Gregorio Casenas at Lonoy, photo by Onil Berro] On March 5, 1901 Valmoria received a communication from the general headquarters of Bohol guerilla leader, Pedro Samson, that the Americans had started moving towards his (Valmoria's) camp. Valmoria warned Caseñas that his camp (Caseñas') will be first to be attacked. Believing that the American troops will pass through Lonoy via a narrow path, Caseñas and his men dug trenches and foxholes on both sides of the path, covered and camouflaged. Waiting in the trenches and foxholes were 413 guerillas, nearly all armed only with daggers, bolos and spears. Unknown to them, the Americans had learned of the ambush plan from a pro-American native, Francisco Salas, who led the Americans to the rear of the Filipino defenses. On March 8, 1901, the Americans struck from behind, catching the would-be ambushers totally offguard; they shot and bayoneted the guerillas to death in their trenches; the Americans had received orders not to take prisoners and any Filipinos attempting to surrender were gunned down When the smoke cleared, 406 of the Bohol natives lay dead on the ground, including Caseñas, and only 7 survived. The Americans suffered 3 killed and 10 wounded. March 10, 1901: General Mariano Riego de Dios surrendersOn March 10, 1901, General Mariano Riego de Dios surrendered to Col. Walter S. Schuyler (RIGHT) of the 46th Regular Infantry in Naik, Riego de Dios was born on Sept. 12, 1875 in Maragondon, Cavite. He became a member of the Katipunan on July 12, 1896. He was among the first Caviteños to join the revolutionary society. In October 1896, he was among the Katipuneros who attacked the Spanish garrison in Lian, Batangas. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General after the triumphant defense of Noveleta, Cavite in 1896. He was member of the council of war that tried and convicted the Bonifacio brothers (Andres and Procorpio) of sedition and treason against the revolutionary government of Emilio Aguinaldo. The brothers were sentenced to death but Riego de Dios believed the sentence was harsh and abstained from signing the death verdict. He died on Feb. 17, 1935. Camp General Mariano Riego de Dios in Tanza, Cavite was named in his honor. March 15, 1901: General Mariano Trias surrenders
He joined the Katipunan before the revolution broke out on Aug. 30, 1896 and became an active propagandist of the society against the ruling Spaniards in the towns of Silang and Kawit. On Nov. 1, 1897, the Biak-na-Bato Republic was established. Emilio Aguinaldo was president and Trías was vice president. On Jan. 23, 1899, with the establishment of the Philippine republic, he was appointed as Secretary of Finance. He later held the post of Secretary of War. After Filipino forces were practically dispersed in Central Luzon by the US army, he was named commanding general of Southern Luzon. He directed guerrilla offensive moves in Cavite province. He figured in a series of furious skirmishes with the troops of Brig. Gen. Lloyd Wheaton in January 1900 when he defended Cavite until his men were finally dispersed. General Trías set free all the Spanish prisoners under his command in May 1900.
On March 15, 1901, he surrendered to Colonel (later Major General) Frank Dwight Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., viewed this as "a most auspicious event, indicating the final stage of armed insurrection. The prestige of Trias in southern Luzon was equal to that of Aguinaldo." With the establishment of the civil government by the Americans, Civil Governor William Howard Taft appointed him the first Civil Governor of Cavite on June 11, 1901 and he served until 1905.
A street in Cavite, photo taken in January 1904 In late January 1905, Julian Montalan, one of Macario Sakay's generals, raided San Francisco de Malabon. The guerillas overcame the constabulary force and captured their weapons. In departing, they kidnapped the wife and two small children of Governor Trias.This action was taken in response to Trias's collaborationist policies and his arrest of those suspected of aiding the guerillas. Trias was the actual target but he managed to escape by jumping through a window and submerging himself in a canal, which flowed in the rear of his premises. His wife was reportedly abused and one of her ribs broken by the butt of a gun. The family was recovered shortly thereafter by the Constabulary. Trias organized the first chapter of the Nacionalista Party in Cavite. He was a member of the honorary board of Filipino commissioners to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. He was acting governor of Cavite when he died of appendicitis at the Philippine General Hospital on Feb. 22, 1914. Aguinaldo In Later Years: 1902-1964During the American occupation through 1946, Aguinaldo continued to pursue his goal of a free and independent Philippines. He supported groups that advocated immediate independence, and helped veterans of the struggle.
Emilio Aguinaldo (Front row, 2nd from left), attending a Christmas eve feast at Malate District, Manila. To his left is Gregorio Aglipay, Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church). Standing to his rear is Felipe Buencamino, a cabinet member during the First Philippine Republic. PHOTO was taken on Dec. 24, 1904.
Early 1900's: Aguinaldo with family
1905: Aguinaldo with 3-year-old son Emilio Jr., brother, mother, and sister.
1906: Aguinaldo with his son, Emilio Jr.
Aguinaldo and two of his children in a world-touring Hupmobile auto near their home in Kawit, Cavite Province. Photo taken in early 1911. In mid-December 1910, three Americans set off on an around-the-world journey by automobile. The trip was intended to publicize the durability of the Hupmobile and help stimulate export sales. The men toured Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and spent five weeks driving through the Philippines. They pushed on to Japan, China, India, Egypt, Italy, Germany, France, England, and Ireland. They returned to New York in time for the 1912 auto show. In the end, the Hupmobile was driven 41,000 miles and transported by steamship another 28,000.
General Emilio Aguinaldo standing with Secretary of Education Frank L. Crone beside a field of corn raised by Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr., in a school contest. Photo was taken in 1914.
A certificate of membership in the Asociacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion, signed and issued by Aguinaldo to Captain Leandro Limjoco on Dec. 22, 1922.
He allowed his cousin, Baldomero Aguinaldo, to become its first president. The Asociacion secured pensions for its members and made arrangements for them to buy land on installment from the government. Aguinaldo himself acquired possession of 1,050 hectares of choice friar lands in Imus, Cavite Province, under a lease with an option to purchase; he ended up buying 300 hectares.
New York Tribune, page 4, Sept. 7, 1919. The caption says Carmen Aguinaldo (RIGHT) is the "daughter of the former Filipino bandit-". On March 6, 1921, Aguinaldo's first wife, Hilaria, died.
Frederick Funston, Jr., son of the general, shakes hands with Emilio Aguinaldo, Jr., son of the first Philippine President, at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. They entered the academy at the same time, on July 2, 1923. The junior Aguinaldo did not graduate, according to Col. Clarence E. Endy, in his "USMA Foreign Cadet Program --A Case Study", at http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA100220&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf
Aguinaldo with Governor-General Leonard Wood, The Literary Digest, Aug. 4, 1923.
Aguinaldo with Governor-General Leonard Wood, July 4th celebration, 1924
Dec. 8, 1929: Aguinaldo at a reunion with 10 delegates to the Malolos Congress (September 1898) at Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan Province.
Wedding photo of Emilio Aguinaldo and Maria Agoncillo, July 14, 1930 On July 14, 1930, at age 61, Aguinaldo married Maria Agoncillo, 49, niece of Felipe Agoncillo, the pioneer Filipino diplomat.
July 1930: Aguinaldo and his second wife, Maria Agoncillo, on their honeymoon at Baguio City
March 26, 1931: American actor Douglas Fairbanks visiting the 62-year-old Aguinaldo at his home in Kawit, Cavite Province [In its July 6, 1931 issue, the Time Magazine commented on Aguinaldo: "Until General Frederick Funston captured the insurrectionary chief 30 years ago in the steamy jungles of the Philippines, Emilio Aguinaldo was a bloody name with which to frighten U. S. children after dark."]
Governor-General Frank Murphy and Senate president Manuel Quezon visiting Aguinaldo at his home in Kawit, Cavite Province, Sept. 13, 1933
Aguinaldo posing as a fighter pilot in 1934 and delivering a speech in 1935.
Nov. 15, 1935: Inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth and oathtaking of Manuel L. Quezon as President, Legislative Building, Manila In 1935, when the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in preparation for Philippine independence, he ran for president but decisively lost the election to fiery Spanish mestizo Manuel L. Quezon. Aguinaldo protested his defeat.
Emilio Aguinaldo (then 72 years old) and Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon. Photo taken on June 12, 1941 The two leaders formally reconciled in 1941, when Quezon moved Flag Day to June 12, to commemorate the proclamation of Philippine independence.
The Los Angeles Times, issue of Feb. 7, 1942, reports on Aguinaldo's alleged collaboration with the Japanese During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II (1942-1945), Aguinaldo was used by the Japanese as an anti-American tool, forced to make speeches, sign articles, and make infamous radio addresses in support of the Japanese — including a radio appeal to Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Feb. 6, 1942 to surrender in order to spare the flower of Filipino youth.
Oct. 14, 1943: President Jose P. Laurel delivering a speech during the inauguration of the Japanese-sponsored "Second Republic of the Philippines". [Japanese Press Photo]. On Oct 14, 1943, he and Gen. Artemio Ricarte raised the Filipino flag during the inauguration of the Japanese-sponsored "Second Philippine Republic".
The Japanese-controlled The Tribune, issue of June 29, 1944, announces the appointment of 75-year-old Emilio Aguinaldo as Manager of the National Distribution Corporation (NADISCO). He was tasked with rationing prime commodities. After the Americans retook the Philippines in 1945, Aguinaldo was arrested and accused of collaboration with the Japanese. He was held in Bilibid prison for months until released by presidential amnesty from President Manuel Roxas. In his trial, it was determined that his broadcasts and cooperation were made under great duress (the Japanese had threatened to murder his entire family), and his name was cleared.
General Douglas MacArthur politely shook hands with 77-year-old Aguinaldo, who, for independence, fought MacArthur's father in 1899. During the independence parade at the Luneta, Aguinaldo carried the flag he said was the one he raised in Kawit on June 12, 1898, the date he believed to be the true Independence Day. However, 21 years earlier, on June 11, 1925, in his letter to Capt. Emmanuel Baja, Aguinaldo mentioned that in their Northward retreat during the Filipino-American War, the original flag was lost somewhere in Tayug, Pangasinan Province; the Americans captured the town on Nov. 11, 1899.
April 25, 1948: President Aguinaldo with veterans of the Revolution at the funeral of President Manuel Roxas.
Thomas H. Lockett, chargé d'affaires of the US embassy at Manila, Aguinaldo, and President Elpidio Quirino,1948.
Aguinaldo, aged 80, in photo published in Time-Life Illustrated Magazine, issue of Oct. 1, 1949 In 1950, as a token vindication of his honor, President Elpidio Quirino appointed Aguinaldo as a member of the Council of State, where he served a full term. He returned to retirement soon after, dedicating his time and attention to veteran soldiers' interests and welfare, and the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the Philippines.
1955: Aguinaldo, age 86, at a reunion with members of the Asociacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion.
President Ramon Magsaysay and Aguinaldo celebrating the 58th anniversary of the Malolos Congress, Sept. 15, 1956. Magsaysay, the 7th Philippine President, died six months later in a plane crash on March 17, 1957. He was a renowned guerilla leader during World War II, and as president was known for his unscrupulous honesty and integrity.
Late 1950s: Aguinaldo and wife Maria Agoncillo.
Emilio Aguinaldo, at age 92. Photo taken on July 16, 1961.
Macapagal recalled, "While we were seated at the grandstand during the ceremonies, General Aguinaldo thanked me again for the rectification of an erroneous historical practice and then asked: 'When will there be an Aguinaldo monument at the Luneta like that of Rizal?' I could not answer the question. The next generation might have the answer." [Aguinaldo's personal responsibility in the execution of Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio and the assassination of Gen. Antonio Luna is still controversial].
President Diosdado Macapagal and 93-year-old Emilio Aguinaldo (attended by a nurse) celebrating Philippine independence at the Aguinaldo Mansion in Kawit, Cavite Province, June 12, 1962.
Emilio Aguinaldo and wife greeting Japanese royalty, Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko, on the porch of their home in Kawit, Cavite Province, 1962.
Aguinaldo at age 94. Photos published in Life Magazine, issue of Jan. 10, 1964. He outlived all of the 30 American generals that saw action in the Philippine-American War. On Feb. 6, 1964, less than a year after the death of his second wife, Aguinaldo died of coronary thrombosis, at the age of 95, at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.
His remains are buried at the Aguinaldo Shrine (ABOVE) in Kawit, Cavite Province.
It is sometimes said regretfully that many Americans today get their “slant” on the news from TV’s late-night comedians. But today’s “baby boomers” and Generation X-ers and Y-ers are not among the first Americans to find their politics strained through the filter of humor. More than a century before Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert began coming into people’s living rooms via broadcast and cable television, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known to readers around the world as Mark Twain, was infiltrating the same sanctuary via newspapers, magazines, and books. In a 2008 article for Time magazine, humorist Roy Blount, Jr. showed just how topical, yet timeless, Twain’s humor was and is. In King Leopold’s Soliloquy, Twain’s scathing 1905 satire on the Belgian occupation of the Congo, Blount found the kind of criticism that might have been aimed a few short years ago at a U.S. government embarrassed by the photographs of abuse at the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Twain imagined the frustration the Belgian King must have felt when photographers discovered natives of the Congo whose hands had been cut off by their Belgian captors. (In the days before the coming of the camera, the King could avail himself of what became known in our Watergate era as “plausible deniability.”) Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for — annually, not oftener — if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man’s side, consequently on the Lord’s side, consequently it was proper to thank the Lord for it.
Skewering Imperialism |
| After the 1898 war with Spain, the U.S. acquired various territories directly, including Cuba and Puerto Rico. Spain was unwilling to cede the Philippines, however, which had not been occupied by U.S. forces until after the armistice. Even then, U.S. forces only occupied Manila and its environs. Spain gave in to the offer of $20 million, however, and the islands became an American colony along with the Caribbean areas as a result of the Treaty of Paris. Cuba was denied independence until 1946. Unwilling to be subjugated by new masters, the Philippines declared independence.
The Philippine-American War which followed lasted from 1899 to July 1902, but sporadic guerrilla warfare and rebellions for several more years, a phase called the "Philippine Insurrection." 4,000 American servicemen and at least five times as many Filipinos died in that conflict – far, far more than the several hundred Americans who died in the Spanish-American War. This war has almost totally disappeared from American historical memory, but reminders can still be seen, for example on the Marine Corps Memorial in Washington, D.C. Americans capture Malolos, March 30-31, 1899
Malolos: A portion of the US firing line; Filipinos are among the trees in front
March 30, 1899: The American photographer's caption: "A battle is in progress at this point, but a white flag is seen approaching from the position of the native army, and the order to cease firing is given, while the men anxiously await the result." Photo depicts men of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment near Malolos On March 30, the Americans reached the outskirts of Malolos. At the sight of a white signal of surrender, the Americans broke into cheers but the bearers suddenly broke and ran back into the town. An instant pursuit was begun and the US troops were received with heavy volleys. The Americans camped all night outside Malolos. The battle opened at daybreak.
Americans advancing on Malolos
1st Nebraskans under fire near Malolos, March 31, 1899.
1st Nebraskans on the firing line near Malolos, March 31, 1899.
March 31, 1899: 20th Kansas Volunteers cautiously entering Malolos. Colonel (later General) Frederick Funston, Kansas Volunteers: "The boys go for the enemy as if they were chasing jackrabbits........I, for one, hope that Uncle Sam will apply the chastening rod, good, hard, and plenty, and lay it on until they come into the reservation and promise to be good 'Injuns'." At the end of the main street of the town, they were met by a barricade of stones from which a hot fire was poured by a few Filipino soldiers. Col. Frederick Funston leaped from his horse and swinging his hat, led the 20th Kansas Volunteers over the barricade and down the streets with terrific yells, firing as they ran. The Associated Press cabled: "Colonel Funston, always at the front, was the first man in Malolos, followed by a group of dashing Kansans." But the town was deserted. President Emilio Aguinaldo had moved his government 30 miles (50 km) farther to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province. American losses were 8 killed and 105 wounded. Filipino casualties were unknown.
Filipino soldiers at Malolos
Original caption: "The desperate character of the insurgents is shown in this wanton destruction of Malolos church. It was fired by them as they fled before the Americans just entering the town. It was done partly in revenge against the religious orders." Malolos Cathedral, also known as the Basilica Menor dela Nuestra Señora de Immaculada Concepcion, was used by Aguinaldo as the Presidential Palace and seat of power of the First Philippine Republic. His soldiers left delayed-fused explosives which detonated and set the building on fire.
Malolos Cathedral today
Original caption: "The Insurgent House of Congress on Fire, Malolos, P.I."
Malolos: The church and smoking ruins of Aguinaldo's headquarters
President Emilio Aguinaldo's ruined headquarters
Original caption: "Distribution of troops in various portions of the town for preservation of lives and property of loyal natives, and to fortify against attacks of insurgents, as well as to insure the general safety." Malolos, March 31, 1899.
Original caption: "Public square in Malolos after troops entered city, March 31, 1899"
US soldiers at Malolos public square
US soldiers inspect the Casa Tribunal de Malolos, the jail where 5 Americans and several Spanish friars were kept as prisoners by the Filipinos
The Casa Tribunal de Malolos in 2010. Photo by Marcjeff03.
U.S. troops resting near the public square at Malolos. Photo was taken on March 31, 1899. Source: Jonathan Best Collection.
US troops at Malolos, March 31, 1899.
An American soldier inspects a captured Filipino improvised iron pipe cannon.
Filipino improvised cannon captured at Malolos
Battery B of the Utah Volunteer Light Artillery at Malolos
22nd U.S. Infantry on review at Malolos, March 31, 1899
Original caption: "Chinese flags are everywhere flying for the protection of lives and property of Chinese residents and merchants. These flags were always respected as covering neutrals and non-combatants." PHOTO was taken at Malolos, March 31, 1899.
Malolos: Chinese men smoking cigarettes. Photo taken shortly after the Americans had captured the town..
The American photographer's caption: "Wretched inhabitants and principal Street of Aguinaldo's abandoned Capital, Manolos, Philippines. Photographer: Underwood & Underwood Publisher: New York. Date of Publication: c1899."
Original caption: " The last word that he uttered was 'Mother,' an affecting scene after the Battle of Malolos, P.I."
General Loyd Wheaton on horseback at Malolos.
Original caption: "The proclamation of General Luna is posted upon the wall near the door. The officers are Generals Otis, McArthur and Hale. Photograph was taken within half hour following evacuation of insurgents." PHOTO was taken at Barrio Barasoain, Malolos, March 31, 1899.
Original caption: "Congressional hall and executive building occupied by Aguinaldo and his aids. Here Aguinaldo took the oath of office. After the Filipinos were driven away, Gen. McArthur made it his headquarters. Photograph taken on first day of occupation." Malolos, March 31, 1899.
Original caption: "Burying Filipinos after the battle of Malolos, P.I."
Wounded members of the 20th Kansas Regimental band grieve at the grave of a fellow bandsman killed on March 29, 1899. April 4, 1899: Official Proclamation of American intentions by the U.S. First Philippine Commission
The First Philippine Commission, Left to Right: Jacob Gould Schurman, Admiral George Dewey, Charles Denby and Dean C. Worcester. The fifth member was Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis (absent from the photo). Both Dewey and Otis regarded the body as useless and seldom attended meetings.
On Jan. 20, 1899, Pres. William McKinley appointed the First Philippine Commission (the Schurman Commission) to investigate conditions in the Philippines and make recommendations. The Commission was presided over by Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University and a professor of Christian ethics and moral philosophy.
Members of the First Philippine Commission in complete attendance. LEFT to RIGHT: Dean C. Worcester, Charles Denby, Jacob Gould Schurman, John MacArthur (secretary), Admiral George Dewey, and Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis. The members of the Commission were Dean C. Worcester (Professor at University of Michigan), Charles Denby (Ambassador to China), Admiral George Dewey (Head of the American Asiatic Squadron), and Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis (Military Governor of the Philippines). It arrived in Manila on March 4, 1899, a month after the outbreak of the Filipino-American War. The Schurman Commission interviewed Filipino landlords, money-lenders, and businessmen in Manila without trying to learn the views of the Filipinos who were resisting the Americans. The Commission deemed that the Americans' victory at Malolos on March 31, 1899 was more or less decisive; the time was opportune to issue a proclamation to the Filipino people. It would explain the true objectives of the United States in acquiring the Philippines.
On April 4, 1899, the proclamation was posted in the streets of Manila, printed in English, Spanish and Tagalog. It was also distributed in the outlying towns as far as Malolos. The proclamation read in part: "The commission desires to assure the people of the Philippine islands of the cordial good will and fraternal feeling which is entertained for them by the President of the United States and by the American people. The aim and object of the American government...is the well-being, prosperity, and happiness of the Philippine people and their elevation and advancement to a position among the most civilized peoples of the world...this felicity and perfection...is to be brought about by the assurance of peace and order...guarantee of civil and religious liberty...establishment of justice...cultivation of letters, science and the liberal and practical arts...development...with the aid of modern mechanical inventions, of the great natural resources of the archipelago...Unfortunately these pure aims and purposes of the American government and people have been misinterpreted to some of the inhabitants...as a consequence the friendly American forces have without provocation or cause been openly attacked...the supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced...those who resist it can accomplish no end other than their own ruin." On April 29, 1899 Apolinario Mabini, the head of President Emilio Aguinaldo's cabinet, sent a message to the Commission asking for a three-month cease-fire in order to learn Filipino public opinion, but the Americans rejected his offer.
April 9-12, 1899: Lawton's Lake Laguna de Bay Expedition
Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton in field uniform in the Philippines, 1899. The white helmet was worn by General Lawton in all of his Cuban and Philippine engagements. After the capture of Malolos, the U.S. 2nd Division under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton was sent by Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis to the south into Laguna province, via Lake Laguna de Bay, to take the Filipino stronghold located in Santa Cruz, 48 miles (80 km) from Manila. The Filipinos were commanded by Gen. Juan Cailles.
US troops boarding cascos on the Pasig River at San Pedro de Macati On April 8, 1899, at 5:15 p.m., Lawton's division, numbering 1,509 men, boarded 8 launches, 17 cascos and 2 bancas on the Pasig River at San Pedro de Macati, east of Manila, and sailed towards Lake Laguna de Bay. ["Bay" is pronounced "BAH-EE"].
Original caption: "Gunboat Laguna de Bay ---At the outbreak of hostilities this government was prepared to dislodge the insurgents from their strongholds along the Pasig and lake regions with the fleet of 'tinclads,' of which the above was the most formidable. Carrying two three-inch guns forward, two nordenfeldts at the stern and four Gatlings above, she poured a deadly fire that quickly routed the enemy."
Cascos, with soldiers for General Henry W. Lawton's Laguna Campaign, being towed by the gunboat Laguna de Bay across Lake Laguna de Bay to Santa Cruz On April 9 at 10:30 a.m., landing craft began offloading Lawton's troops south of Santa Cruz. Darkness fell before all the troops could be landed, and a minor skirmish broke out to the Americans' right. Early on April 10, General Lawton went ashore and cut the telegraph line into Santa Cruz, thus severing the Filipinos' connection with Aguinaldo in the north. At the approach to a bridge just outside of the town, which was heavily guarded by the Filipinos, Lawton ordered a charge and a battalion of the 14th US Regular Infantry Regiment supported by 1st Idaho and 1st Washington volunteers routed the local force.
In the meantime, dismounted Troops C and L of the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, which had not gone ashore the night before were landing under fire just north of the town. (Lawton served in the 4th Cavalry as a 1st Lieutenant and Captain from 1871 to 1888 and had commanded Troop B during the capture of the Indian chief Geronimo).
4th Cavalry men resting in a banana grove. Photo taken in 1899, location not specified. The 4th Cavalry drove off the Filipinos on the beach with supporting fire from the gunboats Laguna de Bay, Oeste and Napindan. That same day Lawton took control of Santa Cruz.
The gunboat Napindan, 1899.
US soldiers look over dead and wounded Filipinos after Battle of Santa Cruz
Dead and wounded Filipinos after Battle of Santa Cruz The Americans suffered 1 dead and 6 men wounded at Santa Cruz, the Filipinos 96 killed with 41 taken prisoner.
An American soldier poses for a photo atop a carabao (water buffalo), the Filipino farmer's beast of burden, circa 1899-1900, location not specified. A private in the 14th US Regular Infantry was gored by a carabao (water buffalo) but he survived; he held the bull by the hindfoot and held him until the rest of his squad got together and shot the animal.
Pagsanjan Gate in 1904; it was built in 1878-1880 by Filipino polistas (forced laborers).
General Cailles (RIGHT) and his men withdrew to Pagsanjan. On April 11, at 6:00 a.m., General Lawton began the expedition to capture Pagsanjan. A battalion of sharpshooters was sent ahead of the command as an advance guard, and as they came within 1.5 miles (2.5 km) of the town, they were fired upon by a small force of Filipinos from hastily built breatsworks blocking the road. An artillery piece was brought up and fired two rounds into the breastworks, which were soon abandoned by most of the Filipinos. Some Filipinos remained in the breatsworks after the bombardment and were driven out as well after the sharpshooters gave the breastworks another heavy volley. Pagsanjan was captured with no further resistance. The Americans suffered 5 wounded against 6-8 Filipinos killed.
Pagsanjan Gate in 2011. Photo by Gary Orona.
Spanish monument at Pagsanjan appropriated by the Filipinos to honor Emilio Aguinaldo. The obelisk, called Aguja de Cleopatra (Needle of Cleopatra), was dedicated to Queen Regent Maria Cristina who ruled Spain during the minority of her son, King Alfonso XIII. An American writer reported: "In the town plaza of Pagsanjan was an old Spanish monument from which the people had taken the original inscriptions and put in their own inscriptions; one of these was to 'E. Aguinaldo, el Libertador.' In this town there was an air of so much refinement and wealth that it seemed strange, that such intelligent folk should run off before a civilized army, as if it were the hosts of Timur." The US soldiers butchered chicken and geese abandoned by the fleeing townsfolk.
(LEFT) Another view of the Needle of Cleopatra in 1899, originally located in the town plaza; in 1961, it was moved to its present location (RIGHT) near the bridge spanning Balanac River.[Modern photo courtesy of Pagsanjan councilor Erwin P. Sacluti, who said that the present obelisk did not show the inscriptions to Aguinaldo.]
General Lawton's Laguna expedition resting by the way. Photo taken in April 1899
General Lawton's Laguna expedition resting by the way. Photo taken in April 1899 The next day, April 12, 1899, the Americans launched another expedition to capture the town of Paete. About 220 men began the march at 2:45 that afternoon. After about an hour, the Americans spotted Filipino breast works 150 yards in front of them, manned by 50 or so Filipino fighters. Major John Fraine, commander of the Ist North Dakota Volunteers, sent a small squad consisting of one corporal and four privates to flank the Filipino positions. Some Filipinos hiding in thick foliage flanking the road fired at close range on the small force, killing four. The sole survivor, Private Thomas Sletteland (LEFT), managed to drive back the nearest group of Filipinos, who repeatedly tried to seize the rifles of his fallen comrades. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Flanking and frontal infantry assaults, artillery fire and scathing gatling gun fire from the gunboat Laguna de Baysucceeded in dislodging the Filipinos from their entrenchments.
1st North Dakota Volunteers in camp at Paete, Laguna Province. Photo was taken on April 13, 1899. Lawton's command suffered 5 killed in capturing Paete; 15 Filipinos were kiled and wounded. The Laguna Campaign was over and deemed a success. During the entire campaign, the Americans suffered 7 killed and 21 wounded. They reported a total of 125 Filipinos killed and 40 captured. Sixty Chinese, who asked to be taken from Santa Cruz, were brought to Manila.
1st North Dakota Volunteers quartered in the old church at Paete, Laguna Province. Photo was taken on April 13, 1899.
The San Francisco Call, April 14, 1899, Page 1 Lawton did not have enough men to occupy Santa Cruz permanently. General Otis called Lawton’s expedition back, fearing they might be cut off. Otis also wanted Lawton’s force back for a pending operation to the north by Maj. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr.
4th Cavalry men landing at Manila after the Laguna expedition, April 17, 1899.
Paete: US soldiers and young Filipino fruit vendors. Photo was taken on March 24, 1901. April 16, 1899: Emilio Jacinto dies in Majayjay, Laguna Province
Known as the "Brains of the Katipunan", Emilio Jacinto was born in Trozo, Tondo, Manila, on Dec 15,1875. He was the son of Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon. He was fluent in both Spanish and Tagalog, but he spoke more in Spanish. He studied in the Universidad de Santo Tomas, but did not finish college and at 20 joined the Katipunan. Because he was very brilliant, he became the advisor on fiscal matters and secretary to Andres Bonifacio. He also edited and wrote for the Katipunan newspaper "Kalayaan"--Freedom in Tagalog. He wrote in the newspaper under the pen name Dimasilaw, and in theKatipunan he was called Pingkian. Emilio Jacinto was the author of the Kartilya ng Katipunan. After Andres Bonifacio's death, he continued fighting the Spaniards.
Majayjay Church and the town center in 1899 He contracted malaria and died at age 23 on April 16, 1899 in Majayjay, Laguna province. Later on, his bones were transferred to the Manila North Cemetery.
Americans Advance To San Fernando, April 22-May 5, 1899
Soon after he captured Malolos on March 31, 1899 (ABOVE), Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., was eager to proceed northward at once along the line of the railroad to Tarlac Province in pursuit of Aguinaldo, who, he felt sure, was making his retreat in that direction. In reply to his request to be allowed to do so, Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis said: "Aguinaldo will never retreat in province of Tarlac. If forced strenuously he will retire along the edge of the province of Bulacan into Nueva Ecija, where Tagalos inhabit. This for political reasons... Was informed several days ago that insurgents would retire on Baliuag, which is the intersection of several important roads connecting with nearly all the Tagalog country north of Manila." Indeed, President Emilio Aguinaldo moved his capital to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province, 65 miles (104 km) north of Manila.
Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Virginia, issue of May 6, 1899, Page 1 Believing that a combined movement which should result in the hemming in of the Filipinos would be more advisable than a pursuit, General Otis detained General MacArthur at Malolos, until communications between that town and Manila should be perfected, and until Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton could be sent north to protect his eastern flank and aid in surrounding the Filipino forces.
Malolos church used as headquarters by the US army, 1899 On April 22, after three weeks of cooling off at Malolos, MacArthur was allowed to advance to the north; the objective was San Fernando, Pampanga Province. Wheaton came up on the left, and Hale's brigade moved along the center. On the same day, Lawton's division started to sweep the country to the right, with San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province, as objective. The plan called for MacArthur and Lawton to meet up at San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan Province; the combined columns would then proceed to crush the Filipinos at San Isidro. All the forces were retarded by the extreme heat, rains, and bad roads. Battle of Quingua, April 23, 1899
The first important fighting of MacArthur's northward movement was at Quingua (now Plaridel), Bulacan Province, on April 23. It was a two-part battle. The first phase was a brief victory for the young Filipino general Gregorio del Pilar over the American Cavalry led by Major (later Maj. Gen.) James Franklin Bell, West Point class 1878, where Bell's advance was stopped.
But in the second phase, Bell was reinforced by the 1st Nebraskan Infantry and the Nebraskans routed the Filipinos, but not before they repelled a cavalry charge that killed Colonel John M. Stotsenburg.
Scouts commanded by Major James Franklin Bell. Photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon. The battle began when Bell (LEFT, 1899 photo) and his men, while on a scouting mission, were attacked by a strong force of about 700-1,000 Filipinos led by General Gregorio del Pilar. The Americans were forced to withdraw to a defensive position. Swarms of Filipino troops began to attack from different directions. Bell saw that he was in a badly exposed position, and if he did not receive help soon his force risked being captured or killed.
1st Nebraska Volunteers crossing a river during their advance against the Filipinos at Quingua Bell sent for reinforcements, and the 1st Nebraskans came to his aid under Colonel Stotsenburg.
Col. John M. Stotsenburg (2nd from left) and some staff officers of the 1st Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Photo was taken at his field headquarters in March 1899.
Col. John M. Stotsenburg in the field. Photo was taken on March 26, 1899. Once he entered the field, Stotsenburg ordered a charge, and the Nebraskan Infantry—Stotsenburg at their lead with a dozen or so cavalrymen—rushed the Filipinos' position. Stotsenberg, taking into account that the Filipinos previously had displayed poor marksmanship, perceived that a charge from such a force would dislodge and route them, which on most occasions, had been done before rather easily. Instead, the Filipinos held their ground and opened a heavy accurate fire into the charging cavalrymen. Stotsenberg fell, along with 6 of his men. Several of the cavalrymen's mounts were also slain. The Filipinos sustained the heavy fire, forcing the cavalry to retreat. The Nebraskan infantry advanced under withering fire. Soon the two forces clashed in close range combat. After a stiff fight in which both sides suffered heavy casualties, the Filipinos were driven into their secondary defenses.
Brig. Gen. Irving Hale (LEFT) ordered an artillery bombardment on the Filipinos' secondary defensive lines. Two artillery pieces were brought up, which fired 20 shots into the Filipino positions. The powerful artillery barrage forced the Filipinos to retreat. Casualties: 15 Americans killed, 43 wounded; 100 Filipinos killed and wounded. In 1902, a large US military reservation, Fort Stotsenburg, was created in Pampanga Province and named in honor of Colonel Stotsenburg. It was originally set up as a facility for various US Army Cavalry units. In 1919, a US Army air force base, Clark Field, was carved out of Fort Stotsenberg. [The US Air Force became a separate branch of service only in 1947.] In 1949, the two military facilities were combined and renamed Clark Air Base. It was the largest overseas U.S. military base in the world, with 156,204 acres (63,214 hectares). It played a major role during the Cold War, but was closed following extensive damage from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption on June 15, 1991. On November 27, 1991, the United States turned over Clark Air Base to the Philippine government.
Men of Company D, 3rd US Infantry Regiment, at captured Filipino breastworks that commanded the main entrance to Quingua (now Plaridel), Bulacan Province
Guardhouse of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment at Quingua (now Plaridel), Bulacan Province Battle of Calumpit, April 25-27, 1899
Issue of April 25, 1899 Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. pushed 5 miles (8 km) farther north of Malolos to Calumpit, where he faced the forces of Gen. Antonio Luna--commander-in-chief of all Filipino forces--and Gen. Gregorio del Pilar.
April 24, 1899: Thirty-eight Filipinos were found dead in this trench near Pulilan, Bulacan Province
Filipino soldiers behind their trenches; photo taken in 1899, probably in Calumpit Luna ignored Aguinaldo's orders to retreat and burn the railway bridge spanning the Bagbag River at Calumpit. Worst, when the Americans were about to attack, Luna, together with his foot soldiers, cavalry, and artillery left Calumpit to punish General Tomas Mascardo for his insubordination. Mascardo was then in Guagua, Pampanga Province and dillydallied in obeying Luna's order to send reinforcements. Mediators managed to avert a violent confrontation between the two generals.
Bagbag River railway bridge thrown down by Gen. Gregorio del Pilar. The US Army engineers corps built steps for the troops to cross and assault the Filipinos beyond. During April 23-24, General del Pilar was left to fight the Americans; he threw down a section of the railway bridge. He actually planned to wreck the American artillery transport train; his men cut the girders of the iron bridge, intending to have the structure fall with the train, but it collapsed prematurely of its own weight. The US troops advanced to the edge of the river, a hundred yards beyond which the Filipinos were entrrenched. The 20th Kansas Volunteers were on the right side of the road and the Utah Volunteer Light Artillery and the 1st Montana Volunteers on the left. In the center was an armored train mounted with six pounders and rapid fire guns.
Chinese porters employed by the US Army in its Central Luzon campaign The train was pushed by Chinese porters to the mouth of the bridge and a vigorous response was made to the fire of the Filipinos. Col. Frederick Funston, along with 6 men, crawled across the ironwork of the bridge under heavy fire. When they reached the broken span, they dropped into the water and swam ashore.
An armored train with gun used by the Americans at Calumpit
Fallen Filipinos in a trench on the north bank of the Bagbag River Upon reaching the bank, they charged the trenches with wild western yells and killed 25 Filipinos.
US soldiers inspecting a captured Filipino entrenchment On April 25, at nightfall, Luna and his soldiers came back. But it was too late; the Americans had already broken through the Filipinos' defenses.
The Americans promptly repaired the Bagbag railway bridge they coveted for their supply trains.
Americans bring in artillery across the Bagbag River after the battle for the railroad bridge
51st Iowa Volunteers fording the Bagbag River after the battle.
Col. Frederick Funston and some of his men rafting across the Rio Grande de Pampangaafter the battle of Calumpit On April 27, 1899, Col. Frederick Funston directed his men across the other river in Calumpit, the 400-foot wide (122 m) Rio Grande de Pampanga, by establishing a rope ferry and towing rafts on the tied ropes. The bridge had been stripped by the Filipinos and the river was too deep to ford. With 120 Kansas men, Funston went to a point several hundred yards from the bridge where 2 privates swam with a rope to the opposite shore where they attached the ropes to a portion of the Filipino trench, under vigorous covering fire. The rope was then attached to 3 rafts loaded with 50 men and drawn to shore under heavy fire. Funston was on the first raft to cross the river to confront the Filipinos on the other side. The Americans attacked the left flank of the Filipinos who scuttled into covered ways and trenches. The rest of the Kansans and Montanans crossed the bridge in single file along the stringers. All the woodwork and much of the iron work had been removed. The 1st Nebraska Volunteers, acting as reserves,.attacked the Filipinos in three lines of entrenchments, driving them out. The New York Times reported: "In the meantime, a large body of Filipinos, estimated at no fewer than 3,000, led by Gen. Antonio Luna on a black charger, appeared in the open field about two miles to the left, evidently coming to reinforce the rebels who were engaged with the Nebraskans. Emerging from the jungle, the enemy formed an open skirmish line, nearly two miles in length, with very thick reserves behind. They then advanced at double quick, until they were about 2,000 yards from the American line, when Gen. Wheaton ordered his troops to fire. The rebels, who were evidently unaware that the Americans had crossed the river, broke and ran in the direction of Macabebe. The other Filipinos fled toward Apalit station."
1899: US engineers ferry artillery across a river, possibly the Rio Grande de Pampanga
Macabebes from Pampanga Province coming into American lines at Calumpit to offer their services as soldiers. For his actions at Calumpit, Funston was rewarded with a promotion and along with 1Lt William Trembley and Cpl Edward White, earned the Medal of Honor.
"MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION COL, 20th Kansas Volunteer Inf Action: At Rio Grande de la Pampanga, Luzon, Philippine Islands Date: April 27, 1899 Inducted: Iola, Kansas. Born: Springfield, Ohio Issued: February 14, 1900 Citation: "Crossed the river on a raft and by his skill and daring enabled the general commanding to carry the enemy's entrenched position on the north bank of the river and to drive him with great loss from the important strategic position of Calumpit." The Battle of Calumpit included 5 related actions: Quingua, Norzagaray, Pulilan, Angat and Apalit. The US Army reported 22 Americans killed and 127 wounded, and 200 Filipinos killed.
The San Francisco Call, April 29, 1899 Gen. Tomas Mascardo's Insubordination at Calumpit
When the Americans were about to assault Calumpit, Antonio Luna ordered reinforcements from Gen. Tomas Mascardo in Guagua, Pampanga but the latter carried out the order tardily and grudgingly. Luna was further peeved upon learning that Mascardo had left Guagua to visit a girl friend in Arayat, despite the imminent American offensive. Mascardo later insisted that he had gone there to inspect his soldiers. Mascardo had long wanted to resign as field commander to avoid any conflict with Luna, his superior, whom he bested in a suit for the hand of a beauteous Pampanga girl. Mascardo, the more handsome and dashing of the two generals, had run off with the girl. This made Luna furious. Hence Luna was said to be overly assertive of his seniority over Mascardo. Luna ordered Mascardo's 12-hour arrest. Mascardo responded that if Gen. Luna had enough guts to enforce his decree, he in turn had enough to resist him. Incensed, Gen. Luna wired Pampanga Governor Tiburcio Hilario to prepare for his arrival. Governor Hilario met Gen. Luna first and pleaded with him to restore peace and unity at a crucial moment in the history of the nation.
A bevy of beauties led by Nicolasa Pamintuan Dayrit and Pampanga's Red Cross President, Praxedes Fajardo, brought flowers and knelt before General Luna on the steps of the Bacolor convent, to dissuade the fiery General from violently confronting Gen. Mascardo. Governor Hilario sent three emissaries to convince Gen. Mascardo to submit himself to Luna's authority. Mascardo appeared in Betis to inform Gen. Luna that he was willing to follow the latter's orders. But by then, it was too late to save Calumpit from the advancing Americans. Nicolasa Dayrit was born in San Fernando, Pampanga, on Sept. 10, 1874 . She was one of the well-educated women of her time, fluent in Spanish and an accomplished pianist. She helped minister to sick and wounded Filipino soldiers. She married Dr. Vicente Panlilio, a graduate of a medical school in Spain. During the Japanese occupation, the Panlilios moved to Manila but during the battle to liberate the capital, Dr. Panlilio was lost, never to be seen again. Doña Nicolasa became despondent and died of heart attack, on April 12, 1945 at the age of 71. Americans Take Santo Tomas, May 4, 1899
The church and convent at Santo Tomas, Pampanga Province. The church was built in 1767. Photo was taken in the 1990's.
May 4, 1899: 1st Nebraska Volunteers advancing on Santo Tomas, Pampanga Province Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton's 1st Brigade (1st Montana and 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiments) and Brig. Gen. Irving Hale's 2nd Brigade (1st Nebraska, 1st South Dakota and 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiments) drove the Filipinos led by Gen. Antonio Luna (LEFT) out of Santo Tomas, Pampanga Province, on the night of May 4, 1899. The Americans suffered two dead. Filipino casualties were not reported. General Luna was wounded in the battle. On May 12, 1899, he turned over his Angeles-Magalang Line Command to General Venancio Concepcion while he recuperated in Bayambang, Pangasinan Province.
Company E, 9th US Infantry Regiment, guarding the railway bridge at Santo Tomas, Pampanga Province. PHOTO was taken in 1899.
Original caption: "Nebraska out-post attacked by Filipinos, P.I.". The First Nebraska Volunteers saw action in the Philippines from Feb. 4, 1899 to May 4, 1899. They were involved in engagements at Manila, Mariquina, San Francisco del Monte, Polo, Meycauayan, Marilao, Santa Maria, Bigaa, Guiguinto, Malolos, Quingua, Pulilan, Bagbag River, Calumpit, and Santo Tomas. From May 21 to June 22, the regiment was in the barrackes at Malate district in Manila and the trenches at San Pedro de Macati. On July 1, 1899, they left the Philippines for the United States aboard the transport Hancockarriving at San Francisco on July 29, 1899.
A daily newspaper in Guthrie, Oklahoma, issue of May 5, 1899
The Seattle Star, issue of May 5, 1899 Americans Capture San Fernando, May 5, 1899
Filipinos KIA at San Fernando
Ruins of the church and convent at San Fernando Brig. Gen. Irving Hale led two battalions of the 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment and assaulted San Fernando, Pampanga Province. The Filipinos put up little resistance but before retreating, they burned the railroad station, the church and several buildings in its vicinity. A number of warehouses containing a large quantity of sugar were found.
The church and convent at San Fernando City today
Several Spanish prisoners were liberated. They stated that from 1,200 to 1,500 Filipino soldiers had passed through to the north on the previous afternoon, May 4, 1899, after the fight of Santo Tomas, and that Gen. Antonio Luna was wounded on the arm or chest, and was carried on a couch.
Original caption: "Execution of Phillopino Insurrecto Captain by the 3rd Inf, Co's B and D at San Fernando, Pampanga, P.I."
Associated Press correspondent's headquarters at San Fernando. PHOTO was taken in 1899.
51st Iowa Volunteers at breakfast in San Fernando. PHOTO was taken in 1899.
20th Kansas Volunteers lining up for dinner at San Fernando. PHOTO was taken in May 1899.
US troops at San Fernando
American officers' quarters at San Fernando
US army advance post near San Fernando
US cavalry camped at San Fernando
22nd Infantry troops leaving San Fernando for the front Americans Advance To San Isidro, April 22-May 17, 1899
Company H, 22nd US Infantry Regiment, in the trenches of the south lines of Manila, April 15, 1899. A week later, the unit was attached to Lawton's expedition to capture San Isidro.
From there, they would move on to San Isidro. [MAP: RED DOTS MARK LAWTON'SSTOPS, BLUE MACARTHUR'S] On April 22, Lawton’s expedition left La Loma, near Manila, on the same day that MacArthur took up the advance northward from Malolos up the Manila-Dagupan railroad.
Caption: "The Oregon Boys Wading the Norzagaray River, P.I." Lawton's first objective was to join the 2nd Oregon Volunteers in the town of Norzagaray, Bulacan Province, 25 miles (40 km) from Manila. Little resistance was met along the way, but the difficult terrain and inaccurate Spanish maps bogged them down. The roads marked on the maps were mere trails or did not exist. It took them four days to meet the 2nd Oregon.
General Lawton's "Bull Train" with provisions halted on the road for rest, 1899 Throughout the next several days as Lawton’s expedition moved toward San Miguel de Mayumo, they would run into the occasional skirmish, but the Filipinos would quickly retreat. Terrain turned out to be the most formidable enemy. With the lack of good roads, General Otis was concerned about command and control. Rivers, swamps, heat, and sickness bogged down MacArthur's 2nd Division to the west.
Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton is shown here observing the American advance on Baliuag, Bulacan Province, May 2, 1899. On May 2, Lawton drove the Filipinos out of Baliuag, Bulacan Province. He was ordered to halt there, since Otis heard rumors of a Filipino army moving on his right flank.
Church at Baliuag used for quarters by Lawton's expedition. Photo taken in May 1899. Although Lawton requested to move onward to San Miguel de Mayumo, noting the lack of "effective resistance", he was to remain at Baliuag until May 15.
The Church of San Agustin and plaza at Baliuag. Photo was taken in 1897. On May 6, he gave verbal permission to the residents of Baliuag to hold a meeting in the plaza, for the purpose of electing a Capitan Municipal, or mayor, to administer the civil affairs of the town and represent its interest in connection with the American forces occupying it. The result of this election was announced in the following orders, which were published in English, Spanish, and Tagalog:
This was the first election held in the Philippines under American supervision.
The Church of San Agustin and plaza at Baliuag today.
A barber at Baliuag, Bulacan Province, 1899.
Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton and staff resting at his headquarters in Baliuag, Bulacan Province, May 1899. While at Baliuag, Lawton asked William H. Young, a civilian adventurer from Connecticut, and his detachment of 25 “specially qualified enlisted men”, known as Young's Scouts, to reconnoiter the country around San Miguel de Mayumo and San Ildefonso (also in Bulacan Province). These towns controlled the approaches to San Isidro. Sixteen of the scouts were from the 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry, 6 from the 2nd Oregon Volunteers and 3 from the 4th U.S. Cavalry.
The original Young's Scouts (26 men) at Baliuag, Bulacan Province, on May 11,1899. On May 12, Young's Scouts reconnoitered the town of San Ildefonso. They dislodged about 30 Filipinos from their outpost on a hill. When the Filipinos discovered the small force opposing them, they attempted to retake the hill. The arrival of American reinforcements forced them to withdraw north toward San Miguel de Mayumo. Twenty-five Filipinos were killed, including a captain and a lieutenant. On May 13, Young's Scouts moved on to San Miguel de Mayumo for reconnaissance. They approached a Filipino trench line defending a bridge over the river leading to the town. When the scouts were spotted, they decided to rush the trench. The Filipinos retreated to the town with the scouts in hot pursuit. A battle ensued for four hours until an American relief forced the Filipinos to fall back. William H. Young was wounded, but he died three days later. Filipino casualties were unknown.
US infantry and Battery D, 6th Artillery, on outpost duty near San Fernando, Pampanga Province, 1899 MacArthur’s 2nd Division (4,800 men) got as far north as San Fernando in Pampanga Province, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Manila on the main railway line. However, it was unable to meet Lawton at San Miguel de Mayumo; nearly half of the troops were sick or worn out and needed to recuperate. MacArthur also reported that General Antonio Luna was in his immediate front with 2,500 men, and had 1,000 more about five miles (8 km) northeast of San Fernando. Between San Fernando and Baliuag where Lawton was stationed MacArthur thought there were some 10,000 Filipino soldiers. Otis could not spare any fresh troops to relieve or reinforce the 2nd Division; therefore, he directed MacArthur to hold on to San Fernando with what force he had, operating against and holding Luna as best he could. At any rate, Otis permitted Lawton to advance on San Isidro.
Company B, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1899 To start off, Lawton assigned 2nd Lt. James E. Thornton of Company B, 2nd Oregon Volunteers, as new chief scout, in place of the fallen William H. Young.
Young's Scouts, now commanded by 2nd Lt. James E. Thornton (at far right)
Lawton's staff relaxing at their headquarters in Baliuag, Bulacan Province, May 1899. On May 16, from Baliuag, Lawton ordered Thornton to try and locate Filipinos blocking the road to San Isidro. As the 23 scouts approached a wooden bridge on the Cabon River about 3 miles (5 km) south of San Isidro, they discovered a Filipino entrenchment on the opposite side. When the Filipinos spotted the scouts, they set fire to the bridge. Trying to save the bridge, Thornton and two scouts ran across the burning bridge. The other 20 scouts waded across the river while steadily firing on the Filipinos. The Filipinos took off and the bridge was saved. A scout, Pvt. James Harrington, and 6 Filipinos were killed.
Young's Scouts at Manila. Photo was taken in late May 1899. For their actions on May 13 and 16, Medals of Honor were awarded to 13 members of the Young's Scouts.
Colonel (later General) Owen Summers, CO of the 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment, at Baliuag, May 1899. Lawton ordered Colonel Owen Summers, commander of the 2nd Oregon Volunteers, to lead a provisional brigade and capture San Isidro.
Third US Infantry marching on to San Isidro, May 1899; two Chinese litter-bearers employed by the Americans are included in the photo.
Scott's Battery on the way to San Isidro, May 1899. Colonel Summers formed an advance guard; it consisted of a 3-gun section (Scott's Battery) of Utah Light Artillery Battery B, Troop I of the 4th Cavalry, elements of the 22nd, 1st North Dakota, and 2nd Oregon infantry regiments, and Young's Scouts. On May 17, at about 4 o'clock A. M., Colonel Summers (RIGHT) and the advance guard left San Miguel de Mayumo, arriving at 6 A. M. just north of the bridge to San Isidro.
The Americans moved toward the town, and when within about 1,800 yards of it, the Filipinos, estimated to number 2,000, opened fire. The Filipinos withdrew when the Americans turned their right flank. The advance guard went on to occupy San Isidro. Two Americans were wounded; 15 Filipinos were killed and 3 captured.
Contemporary photo of house used as headquarters by Emilio Aguinaldo at San Isidro. The owner was Crispulo Sideco, also known as "Kapitang Pulong". It is now occupied by a Christian organization. [Photo taken on March 11, 2010 by Shubert Ciencia]. Several Spaniards who claimed to have been held prisoners by the Filipinos were found in the town, among them 3 officers, who were later returned to Manila. President Aguinaldo (LEFT) withdrew to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, 18 miles (30 km) to the north. After the capture of San Isidro, President McKinley sent the following dispatch to Major-General Otis: "Convey to General Lawton and the gallant men of his command congratulations on the successful operations during the past month, resulting in the capture this morning of San Isidro."
Filipinos captured by General Lawton amusing themselves at Fort Santiago, Manila, 1899. After San Isidro fell, Lawton was eager to press ontoTarlac. On May 17th, he wired headquarters that his provisions could be made to hold out until the 30th. He was well supplied with ammunition. Nevertheless he was ordered to fall back.
The Times, Washington, D.C., May 19, 1899 In the interim, an arrangement was made for the entry of a Filipino Peace Commission; it was composed of Gen. Gregorlo del Pllar, Capt. Lorenzo Zialcita, Alberto Barretto and Gracio Gonzaga, who desired to go to Manila for a conference with the Schurman Commission and with a view to the termination of hostilities.
Gen. Gregorio del Pilar and other Filipino Peace Commissioners at San Isidro, May 18-19, 1899. Source: The Lopez of Balayan History Museum They came within the American lines on May 18th, and the next morning started for Manila, accompanied by 2Lt. Edward L. King of the 8th Cavalry. As soon as Lawton began a retrograde movement, the scattered Filipino forces reassembled and attacked his columns as they withdrew through Cabiao, Arayat, and Candaba.
American soldiers in camp at Baliuag, Bulacan Province, 1899. A permanent garrison was left at Baliuag. The proximity of the rainy season had been cited as a reason for the abandonment of the forward movement.
General Otis knew that rains made the muddy roads virtually impassable for re-supply wagons. He feared that Lawton might get isolated and his forces cut to pieces by the surrounding Filipinos.
Company I, 3rd Infantry Regiment, at Baliuag, Bulacan Province. Photo was taken on Sept. 5, 1899. May 22-23, 1899: Filipinos negotiate with the Schurman CommissionWith the Philippine army unable to contain the American offensive, President Emilio Aguinaldo created a peace commission to negotiate an armistice. He appointed 23-year-old General Gregorio del Pilar to head the Filipino panel, with Captain Lorenzo Zialcita, Alberto Barretto and Gracio Gonzaga as members.
May 22-23, 1899: The Filipinos conferred with the U.S. First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, at the house occupied by the Americans at Malate district, Manila.
The Philippine government was represented by, left to right: Captain Lorenzo Zialcita, Alberto Barretto, General Gregorio del Pilar, and Gracio Gonzaga. [Captain Zialcita, who had taken a business course in Hong Kong, spoke English; General Del Pilar was killed in action at Tirad Pass, Concepcion, Ilocos Sur Province on Dec. 2, 1899].
The members of the Schurman Commission, left to right: Jacob Schurman (Chairman), Charles Denby, Dean C. Worcester, and John MacArthur (Secretary).
The armistice sought by the Filipinos was rejected. The American panel insisted on the recognition of United States sovereignty which the Filipinos understood to mean the unconditional surrender of the Filipino army.
Ten days later, on June 2, Pedro Paterno, the head of Aguinaldo's cabinet, issued a manifesto recognizing the futility of the peace efforts with the Americans and exhorted all Filipinos to continue the struggle: "To war, then, beloved brothers, to war."
House occupied by the US First Philippine Commission (aka Schurman Commission) at Malate district, Manila. Photo was taken in 1900.
Living room of the house occupied by the US First Philippine Commission Nov. 12, 1899: Aguinaldo shifts to Guerilla WarfareBy the closing months of 1899, the army of the Philippine Republic was no longer a regular fighting force.
Issue of Nov. 14, 1899 President Emilio Aguinaldo himself was under siege in Pangasinan Province from three pursuing American generals, from the north by Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton, from the south by Brig. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, Jr., and from the east by Maj. Gen. Henry Lawton. On Nov. 12, 1899, at a meeting of the council of war in Bayambang, the army was dissolved by Aguinaldo. It was formed into guerrilla units that would carry on the war unconventionally, relying on ambush, concealment, and the avoidance of set-piece battles.
The Wichita Daily Eagle, Wichita, Kansas, issue dated Nov. 11, 1899, quotes the La Independencia, official newspaper of the Philippine Republic
The Filipinos also hoped that William Jennings Bryan, Democratic party candidate who opposed the annexation of the Philippines, would topple Mckinley in the 1900 US presidential election. Otherwise, they would prolong the war until the Americans tired out. Aguinaldo, in a proclamation circulated among his troops, said: "In America there is a great party that insists on the Government recognizing Filipino Independence. That party will compel the United States to fulfil the promises made to us in all solemnity and good faith, though not put into writing. Therefore, we must show our gratitude and maintain our position more resolutely than ever. "We should pray to God that the great Democratic party may win the next Presidential election and imperialism fall in its mad attempt to subjugate us by force of arms." He also denounced "the imperialists" in the United States, and declared that "we do not want war against the United States; we only defend our independence against the imperialists; the sons of that mighty nation are our friends and brothers."
13th Minnesota Volunteers in action against Filipinos
Americans dash for cover. Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified.
American scouting party under fire. Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified. When Americans fell into an ambush, nearby barrios were ordered burned. If an American was assassinated in one of the towns, that town was burned.
Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified
Americans engaging Filipinos in a bamboo thicket. Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified
American troops at rest before a battle. PHOTO was taken in 1899.
Men of Company D, 30th US Volunteer Infantry Regiment, take hasty positions just outside Manila at Pasay, 1899.
US troops moving in the bamboo, 1899.
Americans in bamboo fighting. Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified
Americans in bamboo fighting. Photo taken in 1899. Location not specified On Dec. 20, 1900, Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., declared in an official proclamation that since guerrilla warfare was contrary to "the customs and usages of war," those engaged in it "divest themselves of the character of soldiers, and if captured are not entitled to the privileges of prisoners of war." Less self-disciplined men found in the proclamation authorization for identifying Filipino fighters as outlaws and dealing with them accordingly.
POWs bringing in a wounded Filipino to a field hospital of the 1st Colorado Volunteers, 1899. Official American reports claimed fifteen Filipinos killed for every one wounded; the historical norm was five wounded for every soldier killed. Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis explained this anomaly by the superior marksmanship of rural southerners and westerners who had hunted all their lives.
A medic attends to a wounded American soldier. PHOTO was taken in 1899, somewhere in Luzon Island. MacArthur added a racial twist, asserting that Anglo-Saxons do not succumb to wounds as easily as do men of "inferior races." John Roberts, a bugler in the 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, said, "We have been vastly more cruel than the Spanish. I have known of orders being given which, if put in writing, would read, in effect: Let there be no wounded among the enemy."
Two Filipinos fight behind cogon grass; undated photo and location not specified Few of the Filipinos had rifles; most were armed only with bolo knives. Ammunition was equally scarce, and the Filipinos were forced to manufacture their own cartridges and powder. The latter was unreliable and released thick black smoke that revealed their positions. Richard E. Welch, Jr., a professor of history at Lafayette College, wrote that the Filipinos' use of guerrilla tactics was the result of his inferior mind and his lowly race. He said, "...the American soldier viewed his Filipino enemies with contempt because of their short stature and color. Contempt was also occasioned by the refusal of the Filipino 'to fight fair'- to stand his ground and be shot down like a man. When the Filipino adopted guerrilla tactics, it was because he was by his very nature half-savage and half-bandit. His practice of fighting with a bolo on one day and assuming the guise of a peaceful villager on the next proved his depravity." Charles Ballantine of the Associated Press stated that the Filipinos were "unreliable, untrustworthy, ignorant, vicious, immoral and lazy . . . tricky, and, as a race more dishonest than any known race on the face of the earth."
Original caption: " U.S. troops moving into the back country in the war against Philippine insurgents"
Original caption: "Bloody Lane, where the 14th Infantry charged." Photo was taken in 1899, location not specified.
Americans with loot and prisoners; photo taken in 1899; location not specified. Captain John H. Parker argued in a November 1900 letter to President Theodore Roosevelt complaining that the U.S. Army should not “attempt to meet a half civilized foe… with the same methods devised for civilized warfare against people of our own race, country and blood.” Father and son killed by Americans. Photo taken in 1899, location not specified. A U.S. Red Cross worker reported seeing “horribly mutilated Filipino bodies,” and said, “American soldiers are determined to kill every Filipino in sight.” A soldier from Washington wrote of bloodthirsty “sights you could hardly believe,” and concluded, “A white man seems to forget that he is human.” U.S. military forays descended into a series of atrocities that included the massacre of prisoners, civilian and military, and entire villages. General William Shafter told a journalist it might be necessary to kill half the native population to bring “perfect justice” to the other half.
American soldiers at an outpost; photo undated and location in the Philippines not specified
American soldiers at an outpost somewhere in Luzon Island, 1899.
American soldiers at an outpost somewhere in Luzon Island, 1899.
American soldiers at an outpost. Colorized photo was taken in 1899, somewhere in Luzon Island. Leonard F. Adams, 1st Washington Volunteers, wrote home about a campaign in Luzon: "In the path of the Washington regiment..there were 1,008 dead niggers and a great many wounded. We burned all their houses. I don't know how many men, women and children the Tennessee boys did kill. They would not take any prisoners. One company of the Tennessee boys was sent to headquarters with thirty prisoners, and got there with about a hundred chickens and no prisoners."
A group of Filipino women and children. Photo taken in 1898 or 1899. General Robert Hughes, U.S. commander in Manila, justified the Army's atrocities against civilians: “The women and children are part of the family and where you wish to inflict punishment you can punish the man probably worse in that way than in any other.”
A Filipino and his children. Photo taken in 1898 or 1899. The San Francisco Argonaut, an influential Republican newspaper, spoke candidly: "We do not want the Filipinos. We want the Philippines. The islands are enormously rich, but unfortunately they are infested with Filipinos. There are many millions there, and it is to be feared their extinction will be slow." The paper's solution was to recommend several unusually cruel methods of torture it believed "would impress the Malay mind" ”—“the rack, the thumbscrew, the trial by fire, the trial by molten lead, boiling insurgents alive.” The advice was well taken. The Baltimore American had to admit the U.S. occupation “aped” Spain's cruelty and committed crimes “we went to war to banish.” American historian Leon Wolff quoted an observer, "Even the Spaniards are appalled at American cruelty."
The U.S. Army hangs 2 Filipinos, circa 1899.
Thanksgiving Day dinner for Company D, 30th US Volunteers, a few miles south of Manila at Pasay, Nov. 24, 1899. Trapping Aguinaldo, Oct.12 - Nov. 20, 1899
Map of the Northern Luzon campaign intended to trap President Emilio Aguinaldo. In October 1899, the Americans launched a campaign intended to cut Emilio Aguinaldo's northward retreat and trap his remaining conventional forces. The 3-pronged attack consisted of Lawton's command (red and green lines) moving northeastward to cut off any possibility of Aguinaldo's army heading east to take refuge in the mountains; Wheaton's command (light blue line) steaming from Manila around the northwestern edge of Luzon, coming through Lingayen Gulf and landing at San Fabian, Pangasinan Province, to block roads heading north; and MacArthur's command (dark blue line) moving northwestward along the Manila-Dagupan railroad from Angeles to Dagupan, Pangasinan Province, to push Aguinaldo into the pocket created by Lawton's and Wheaton's forces. At this time, Aguinaldo was at the southern Pangasinan town of Bayambang.
Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton and his aide, Capt. Edward L. King. Photo taken near the Rio Grande de Pampanga at Arayat, 1899. On October 12 a strong column, under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton, with Brig. Gen. Samuel BM Young commanding the advance, commenced the northerly movement up the Rio Grande de la Pampanga from Arayat, Pampanga Province, driving the Filipinos before it to the northward and westward. . Lawton's men negotiating a waterlogged road between Arayat and Cabiao
Lawton's men halt at a muddy road between Arayat and Cabiao On October 18, the Americans reached Cabiao, Nueva Ecija Province. On October 19, Lawton's column recaptured San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province. It was rainy season in the country. The Americans had taken San Isidro in May 1899 but did not occupy the town.
General Lawton at Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province. On October 27 Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, was occupied and a permanent station established there. On November 1, the Nueva Ecija towns of Aliaga and Talavera were occupied. In the meantime detachments, chiefly of Young's cavalry, were operating to the west of the general line of advance, striking Filipino parties wherever they were found and driving them toward the line of the railroad.
Original caption: "The gunboats bombarding San Fabian preparatory to the landing of the troops." PHOTO was taken on Nov. 7, 1899. On November 6, with Lawton's column well under way, Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton sailed from Manila with 2,500 men, and with the assistance of cruisers and gunboats under Commander Henry Knox, US Navy, landed at San Fabian on November 7, and drove the Filipinos from their entrenchments around the town, killing 2, wounding 2, capturing 35 and releasing 20 Spanish prisoners.
Original caption: "The Gatling Gun on the beach at San Fabian."
Original caption: "Bringing in wounded Filipinos." PHOTO was taken at the churchyard in San Fabian, Pangasinan Province. [An aged Filipino picked up in a field a little child who had been wounded by one of the shells from a gunboat. He carried the child in his arms to the hospital that the Americans had established in the church at San Fabian. The Americans gave him a pass back to his farm, and on his way he was hailed by a sentry on one of the 33rd Infantry's outposts. The sentry shouted "Halt!" three times, but the old man, who probably had never heard the English language spoken, would not stop.The sentry shot him through the heart, killing him instantly.]
110 years later: The San Fabian Church in 2009. Photo by Boyette A.
Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., and staff advancing to the north on a freight train. On November 8, Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., began his northward advance from Angeles through the Central Luzon plain. On the same day, Aguinaldo ordered his men to repair the road leading to the pass near Tayug in the northeast; the pass led to remote Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya Province, in the forested Cagayan Valley, where he planned to establish a new base. His equipment and supplies preceded him in Tayug. However, the Americans got wind of Aguinaldo's order. A part of Lawton's force was directed to take Tayug. Meanwhile, on November 10, Companies B, G, E and H, 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment (part of Wheaton's expedition), under Maj. Peyton C. March, attacked a party of Filipinos 600 strong under Colonel Carlos about 2 1/2 miles (4 km) from San Fabian on the Mangaldan road, and dispersed the whole force, killing 70, including Carlos. The Americans suffered 2 killed.
Nov. 11, 1899: The bridge at Bamban, Tarlac Province, destroyed by the Filipinos to prevent General MacArthur from closing the pincer on President Emilio Aguinaldo, who, at this time, was being assailed in northern and eastern Pangasinan Province by Generals Wheaton and Lawton.
On November 11, Wheaton sent eleven companies of the 33rd Volunteers under Col. Luther R. Hare, and 1 Gatling Gun under Capt. Charles R. Howland, 28th Volunteers, to disperse Tinio's blocking force. Both sides had roughly 1,200 men. Tinio and his men were forced to withdraw. The Americans lost 7 men killed and 15 wounded and reported 134 Filipinos killed.
The Times, Washington, D.C., issue of Nov. 15, 1899
Monument marking the spot where Maj. John H. Logan was killed at San Jacinto. This photo was sent to his mother by Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, then Governor-General of the Philippines (1921-1927). A battalion commander, Maj. John H. Logan (RIGHT, in 1899), was among the American dead. He was a son of the late General and Senator John A. Logan of Illinois.
[A bronze and steel marker put up by the Americans to commemorate his death still stands in barangayMacayug, San Jacinto.]
The Filipinos regrouped in Pozorrubio town and set up their defenses in barangays Dilan and Malasin.
President Emilio Aguinaldo's newspaper printing machinery seized by the Americans in Tayug, Pangasinan Province, on Nov. 11, 1899. In addition, the Americans captured 13 carts with Filipino war records, several hundred thousand pounds of rice, 3,500 pounds of flour, 7,500 pounds of salt, 1,300 uniform coats, many blankets and other articles of clothing. They also captured several Filipino army officers and liberated 69 Spanish and 2 American prisoners. PHOTO was taken in front of the US army printing office in Manila.
Dismounted 3rd US Cavalry troopers drilling on Luzon Island
The St. Paul Globe, St. Paul, Minnesota, Nov. 15, 1899, Page 1 On November 11, Lt. Col. Henry W. Wessels of the 3rd US Cavalry (part of Lawton's forces) attacked and captured Tayug; at the latter, the Americans also found a letter written by Aguinaldo indicating that his treasury and certain valuables would be sent to nearby San Nicolas and over a mountain trail to Bayombong. US troops were pushed out to San Manuel and Binalonan and a troop dispatched to capture the treasure.
The Marietta Daily Leader, Marietta, Ohio, Nov. 19, 1899, Page 1 The following day, the Americans captured San Nicolas and seized 75,000 Mexican pesos belonging to the fugitive Philippine government. The capture of Tayug and San Nicolas effectively blocked Aguinaldo's passage to the east and northeast. From Bayambang, Aguinaldo decided to go north in the direction of Pozorrubio. He would attempt to slip through the 20-mile (32 km) open gap between San Fabian and Tayug.
Aguinaldo's headquarters at Tarlac On November 12, MacArthur seized the town of Tarlac in Tarlac Province.
General MacArthur's supply train near Bamban, Tarlac Province. PHOTO taken on Nov. 13, 1899.
The San Francisco Call, datelined Manila, November 13, issue dated Nov. 14, 1899, Page 1 By November 13, Lawton's advance had turned to the westward, having captured San Jose and Lupao in Nueva Ecija Province, and the Pangasinan towns of Umingan, San Quintin, Tayug, and San Nicolas. In the evening of the same day, Aguinaldo and his entourage left Bayambang by special train for Calasiao (10 miles, or 16 km by road from the American headquarters at San Fabian); from Calasiao, they marched and reached Pozorrubio at 6:00 p.m. on November 14. Aguinaldo, his wife Hilaria, and son Miguel stayed the night in the house of Apolinario Salcedo. On November 15, at about 9:00 a.m., Wheaton's troops attacked Pozorrubio. While the Filipinos stalled the Americans, Aguinaldo and his entourage escaped northward for La Union Province. Brig. Gen. Samuel BM Young, who was in nearby Binalonan town, could have blocked Aguinaldo's escape from Pozorrubio, had not his Filipino guide deliberately misdirected the American cavalry. The guide led the Americans westward to Manaoag via what is now the town of Laoac instead of going northward and straight to Pozorrubio. An American correspondent reported, “General Wheaton sent General Lawton’s division, spearheaded by Brig. Gen. B.M. Young to intercept or capture Aguinaldo in Pozorrubio. Frantically they pressed forward from Binalonan to Pozorrubio, the next town led by a native guide. Were they on time?" “The only reason that the guide who led us to Manaoag instead of Pozorrubio was not shot was because he could no longer be found.”. Nevertheless, General Wheaton noted "the unusual courage and spirited resistance put up by the Filipino troops in San Jacinto and Pozorrubio."
Mounted detachment of Company H, 12th US Infantry Regiment (part of MacArthur's column), in La Paz, Tarlac Province. The company commander was Capt. David J. Baker, Jr. Photo was taken on Nov. 16, 1899. By November 18 Lawton's advance had occupied Asingan and Rosales, and was moving on Pozorrubio, about 12 miles (20 km) east of San Fabian. His forces now held a line of posts extending up the eastern side of the Pangasinan plain and curving around and across the northern end to within a few miles of the Gulf of Lingayen.
The US Navy's Gunboat No. 41, Samar, moored in the Dagupan River, November 1899. Wheaton linked up with MacArthur's column at Dagupan on November 20. Inexplicably, although Wheaton had captured San Fabian on November 6 and Lawton's men were in Tayug by November 11, Wheaton did not link up with them. This allowed their quarry, President Aguinaldo, to slip through the open gap. Consequently, on November 17, three days before Wheaton and MacArthur met up, Aguinaldo had already reached the upland town of Naguilian, La Union Province, 20 miles (32 km) up the road from San Fabian. At Naguilian, a band of music, all the leading men, and a great crowd of people turned out to meet Aguinaldo and his party.
The Salt Lake Herald, issue of Nov. 24, 1899, Page 1
MacArthur told reporter H. Irving Hannock: "When I first started in against these rebels, I believed that Aguinaldo’s troops represented only a faction. I did not like to believe that the whole population of Luzon—the native population that is—was opposed to us and our offers of aid and good government. But after having come this far, after having occupied several towns and cities in succession, and having been brought much into contact with both insurrectos and amigos, I have been reluctantly compelled to believe that the Filipino masses are loyal to Aguinaldo and the government which he heads."
The Salt Lake Herald, issue of Nov. 26, 1899, Page 1
The U.S. Army hangs 2 Filipinos in Urdaneta, Pangasinan Province, circa 1900-1901 Capture of Aguinaldo, March 23, 1901
On Nov. 12, 1899, with his conventional forces shattered, Emilio Aguinaldo ordered a shift to guerilla warfare. Since then, the Americans found it frustrating to crush an enemy who appeared from nowhere, struck at will and slinked back into the shadows. They concluded that the resistance would never be broken until Aquinaldo was killed or captured. However, they did not know his whereabouts.
General Funston's headquarters at San Isidro. The house served as Aguinaldo's capitol from the fall of Malolos on March 31, 1899 until May 17, 1899, when San Isidro was taken by the Americans. It was owned by Crispulo Sideco, also known as "Kapitang Pulong." It is now occupied by a Christian organization. On Feb. 8, 1901, Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston was at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Provinceon Luzon Island when six tired and famished guerillas surrendered at Pantabangan town to 1Lt. James D. Taylor, Jr., commander of Company C, 24th Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers. The town mayor, Francisco Villajuan, had convinced the worn-out men to give up. The group was led by Cecilio Segismundo, an Ilocano and Aguinaldo's messenger, who carried some important dispatches. He was a native of Ilocos Norte Province who had moved to Bulacan Province at age 12; he used to be a member of the municipal police (Guardia Civil Veterana) of Manila under the Spanish. He defected to theKatipunan when the Revolution broke out in August 1896. In 1899, he became a corporal in the Philippine army under Major Nazario Alhambra.
Original caption: "AGUINALDO'S BODY-GUARD. This was regarded as the finest regiment in the Filipino service, and it was accordingly selected as the body-guard of the commander. The buildings on the hill at the right were occupied by Aguinaldo as his headquarters at the time of his capture."
Segismundo pinpointed the village of Palanan, in mountainous Isabela Province, as Aguinaldo’s headquarters. He told Funston that there was no more than fifty guards at Palanan (Aguinaldo later charged that Segismundo did not talk until after he had been given the water cure twice, but American officers insisted that he gave his cooperation voluntarily).
Macabebe scouts that captured Emilio Aguinaldo Funston disguised the Macabebes and sent them to Palanan, posing as the men Aquinaldo had requested. Funston and four other American officers, disguised as prisoners of war, accompanied the column. The handpicked Macabebes --78 in number, members of Company D, First Battalion, Macabebe Scouts-- spoke Tagalog in addition to their dialect. They turned in their Springfields and were issued 50 Mausers, 18 Remingtons and 10 Krag-Jorgensens, which were the types of rifles used by Aguinaldo's soldiers. Twenty of them wore the rayadillo uniform of the Philippine army. In addition to Segismundo, Funston included in the column Hilario Tal Placido, Lazaro Segovia, Dionisio Bato, and Gregorio Cadhit. Placido had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Philippine army and he knew Aquinaldo personally. Some months previously, Funston had captured General Urbano Lacuna's seal and official signed correspondence. From this material, two letters were forged—supposedly from Lacuna to Aguinaldo. One letter contained information as to the progress of the war. The other stated that in accordance with instructions from General Baldomero Aguinaldo, he was sending eighty men to Palanan under the command of Placido, Segovia, and Segismundo. General Lacuna's signature was forged by Roman Roque, an expert penman and a former officer in the Philippine army who had surrendered to the Americans; he was employed by the US army as interpreter and clerk. Roque was a native of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija.
French journal features the capture of Aguinaldo in its issue of April 14, 1901. The "Le Petit Journal / Parisien" was a leading illustrated news journal published in France from 1891 until WWII. It was famous for its brightly colored prints graphically depicting news events around the world as well as happenings in France.
A decoration for President Emilio Aguinaldo on his 32nd birthday on March 22, the day before his capture. The remote village was in gala dress, with arches and such other decorations that were provided. The day was celebrated with horse races, dancing, serenades, and amateur theatricals. PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 24, 1901.
Diagram of Aguinaldo's headquarters. KEYS TO NUMBERS: A. Aguinaldo's house. 1. Sitting room. 2. Hallway. 3. Bedroom used by Aguinaldo, Barcelona and Villa. 4. Kitchen. 5,6. Doorways. 7,9. Barracks. 8. Village church. 10,11. Bandstands. 12. Summer house. 13. Window from which Aguinaldo called to the Macabebes to cease firing. 14. Position of Aguinaldo's guard when fired on. 15, 16. Position of Funston's men at beginning of attack. The marks "- - - -" indicate trenches placed in the public square around the bandstands.
Issue dated March 23, 1901. On March 23, the men in disguise reached Palanan, Isabela Province.
Issue dated March 23, 1901.
The house in which Aguinaldo was captured. The man in white coat, with his hat on back of his head, is Lazaro Segovia. The rest are Macabebes. The house is still festooned with garlands from the previous day's celebration of Aguinaldo's birthday. PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 23, 1901. In his memoirs, Aguinaldo describes his capture (paraphrasing mine): "It was not long before the new troops...entered the village...and halted in the plaza in front of my house, where about twenty soldiers of my guard were drawn up waiting to receive them. It was about three o'clock... The officers, Colonel Tal Placido and Captain Segovia...then came into my house... After talking with Tal Placido and Segovia for fifteen or twenty minutes, I gave orders that the newly arrived men be allowed to fall out and go to rest...Segovia immediately left the house and returned to the place where his men were drawn up...Segovia shouted...an order which we did not hear distinctly...Instantly his men began to shoot...not suspecting any plan against myself, I thought it was a salute with blank cartridges...I ran to the window and cried out several times, 'Cease firing.' But seeing that the ...bullets from the rifles of the attacking party were directed against me as well as against the soldiers of my guard, I for the first time realized that the newcomers were enemies. I...ran into another room ... seized a revolver, intending to defend myself, but Dr. Barcelona threw both arms around me, crying out, 'Don't sacrifice yourself. The country needs your life.' ...Colonel Villa ran from the house in an attempt to break through the lines of the enemy and rally our men, but he was shot three times and finally taken prisoner. "Tal Placido...told us that we were the prisoners of the Americans, who, he said, were on the other side of the river with four hundred American soldiers, and would soon be here...several of Tal Placido's soldiers came into the house...and surrounded Barcelona and myself. A little later five Americans...came into the room where we were...one of them asked, 'Which one of you is Aguinaldo?' As soon as I had been identified by the Americans I was placed, with Dr. Barcelona and Colonel Villa, in one of the rooms of the house...We were then informed that our captors were General Funston, Captains Newton and Hazzard, and Lieutenants Hazzard and Mitchell..."
Macabebe Scouts patrol in front of Aguinaldo's headquarters at Palanan.
The quarters of Aguinaldo's guard, taken from the window of his house a few moments after the capture. The two white objects are men of his guard who were killed. PHOTO taken on March 23, 1901. Two of Aguinaldo's guards were killed. Colonel Simeon Villa, aide to Aguinaldo, suffered superficial gunshot wounds.
The 5 ex-Philippine army officers who helped the Americans to capture President Emilio Aguinaldo. LEFT to RIGHT: Gregorio Cadhit, Cecilio Segismundo, Hilario Tal Placido, Dionisio Bato and Lazaro Segovia. PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 24, 1901.
The 5 American officers in the expedition. LEFT to RIGHT: Capt. Harry W. Newton, 1Lt. Burton J. Mitchell (who brought a small camera), 1Lt Oliver P.M. Hazzard, Brig. Gen Frederick Funston, and Capt. Russell T. Hazzard. PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 24, 1901.
LEFT to RIGHT: Col. Simeon Villa, President Emilio Aguinaldo, Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston, and Dr. Santiago Barcelona. Funston, at 5'4" (162.6 cm), was an inch taller than Aguinaldo (160 cm). PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 24, 1901.
The Macabebes with Capt. Russell T. Hazzard and 1Lt. Oliver P.M. Hazzard. PHOTO taken at Palanan, March 24, 1901.
March 25, 1901: Aguinaldo and his aides are being prepared for loading onto the USS Vicksburg. PHOTO was taken near the beach at Palanan Bay. On the morning of March 25, Aguinaldo and three of his men were marched six miles (10 km) to the seashore at Palanan Bay, arriving there at noon.
The USS Vicksburg. Photo taken in 1898. The Americans made two signal fires and hoisted a white flag. A little later, a steamer rose on the horizon. Within two hours the warship USS Vicksburg was anchored near the beach.
President and General Emilio F. Aguinaldo boarding the USS Vicksburg as a POW By five o'clock in the afternoon, the prisoners and their captors were all on board, the anchor was hoisted, and the ship made for the open sea bound for Manila.
Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston and President Emilio Aguinaldo on the USS Vicksburg, on the way to Manila.
Aguinaldo (LEFT), Col. Simeon Villa (CENTER) and Dr. Santiago Barcelona (RIGHT) on theUSS Vicksburg. Funston wrote: "The prisoners were treated with the greatest courtesy, being entertained in the officers' messes, and sitting about on deck whenever they desired."
Aguinaldo on board the USS Vicksburg on the way to Manila During the trip, Aguinaldo admitted to Funston that he had been completely fooled by the phony dispatches. He later confided that he could "hardly believe myself to be a prisoner" and that he was gripped by a "feeling of disgust and despair for I had failed my people and my motherland."
Issue of March 28, 1901 At 2:00 a.m. of March 28, the USS Vicksburg anchored in Manila Bay, with all lights screened, to keep the return of the expedition secret.
The Vicksburg launch, with Aguinaldo and his aides on board, steaming for the mouth of the Pasig River, at daybreak, March 28, 1901. At 6:00 a.m., General Funston and Aguinaldo, accompanied by some officers, boarded one of the launches and left the USS Vicksburg.
Malacañan Palace: Photo taken in 1904 or 1905 They went up the Pasig River to the residence of the Governor-General in Malacañan, where they disembarked. Aguinaldo was presented to Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. as a prisoner of war. He was treated by the Americans more as a guest than as a prisoner.
Malacañang Palace (with the letter "G"), 2010
San Francisco Chronicle, August 4, 1901
At breakfast, MacArthur promised Aguinaldo that he would immediately send for his family, whom he had not seen for a long time. Aguinaldo complimented his captors: "At all times since our capture, as well in Palanan as on board the Vicksburg, we have been treated with the highest consideration by our captors, as well as by all the other American officers with whom we have come in contact."
The administration in Washington called Aguinaldo's capture "the most important single military event of the year in the Philippines."
Issue of March 29, 1901
Hilaria Aguinaldo, wife of Emilio Aguinaldo, issue of March 29, 1901
Nine days after his capture, on April 1, Aguinaldo swore allegiance to the United States.
Issue of April 4, 1901
Macabebe Scouts who captured Emilio Aguinaldo
Photo published in the New-York Daily Tribune, issue of June 23, 1901 The Macabebes were fierce freedom fighters when they first appeared in written history; they fought the Spanish invaders in 1571. Ironically, it was the Tagalogs (under Lakandula of Tondo and Rajah Soliman of Manila) who eventually welcomed the Spaniards while the Kapampangans (under Tarik Soliman of Macabebe) had to die fighting in the Battle of Bangkusay. Years later, Macabebes helped the Spaniards drive away the Chinese pirate Limahong, and that was the start of a friendship that would endure to the very last day of the Spanish Period. The Macabebes helped the Spaniards colonize the rest of the archipelago; they also joined in the invasion of the Marianas, Moluccas, Borneo, Formosa, Indochina and the Malay Peninsula. Without the Macabebes, the Philippines would have been colonized by the Dutch and later by the British, two Protestant nations. This is the reason the feast of the La Naval is celebrated only in two places, Manila and Pampanga.
When the Revolution broke out, the Macabebes sided with the Spaniards even while the rest of Pampanga threw its support for the quest for independence. On June 26, 1898 representatives from all Pampanga towns, except Macabebe, gathered in San Fernando and swore allegiance to Gen. Maximino Hizon (LEFT, image from www.nhi.gov.ph) who was the provincial military governor and representative of General Emilio Aguinaldo. Macabebes in the Spanish military were called "Voluntarios de Macabebe". Macabebes protected the retreating Spaniards, rescuing friars and the families of the Spanish Army. The Spaniards promised to return and resettle the Macabebes to the Caroline Islands should the revolution succeed. In retaliation, Antonio Luna's troops burned the town of Macabebe and executed a large number of its residents (hundreds, according to one unverified account). When the Americans bought and colonized the Philippines, Macabebes enlisted in the US Army by the hundreds. These events fueled the enmity between Kapampangans and Tagalogs, climaxing in the sensational capture of the Tagalog general, Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the Republic of the Philippines. The US President and US Congress, jubilant over Aguinaldo's capture, authorized the formal inclusion of the Macabebes into the Philippine Scouts, a special unit of the US Army.
Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston (sitting) and the 4 officers who helped capture Aguinaldo: LEFT to RIGHT, Captains Harry W. Newton and Russell T. Hazzard, and First Lieutenants Oliver P.M. Hazzard and Burton J. Mitchell. [Aguinaldo's son, Emilio Jr., entered West Point in 1923, in the same class as Gen. Funston's son; see their photo below, in section entitled "Aguinaldo, In Later Years"].
In 1901 scarcely an American alive was unfamiliar with the story of the "hero of the Philippine insurrection". [LEFT, Harper's Weekly, April 6, 1901] But Funston soon fell under criticism for his methods used to capture Aguinaldo. An editorial in the Boston Post made the following comments: "When the capture of Aguinaldo by Funston was announced by cable, it was hailed as a great exploit... But, as the details have come to light, contempt and disgust have taken the place of admiration. The American people accepted, though not without some qualms of conscience, the forgery, treachery and disguise with which Funston prepared his expedition.” In 1902, Funston toured the United States to increase public support of the Philippine-American War. He became the focus of controversy by bellicosely promoting total war, enthusiastically endorsing torture and condoning civilian massacres. In Chicago, he stated, in reaction to the courts-martial of Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith and Maj. Littleton Waller for atrocities committed in Samar: "I personally strung up thirty-five Filipinos without trial, so what was all the fuss over Waller's 'dispatching' a few 'treacherous savages'? If there had been more Smiths and Wallers, the war would have been over long ago. Impromptu domestic hanging might also hasten the end of the war. For starters, all Americans who had recently petitioned Congress to sue for peace in the Philippines should be dragged out of their homes and lynched."
General Funston and family at San Francisco, California. In San Francisco, he suggested that the editor of a noted anti-imperialist paper "ought to be strung up to the nearest lamppost." At a banquet in the city he called Filipinos "unruly savages" and claimed he had personally killed fifty prisoners without trial. Captain Edmond Boltwood, an officer under Funston, confirmed that the general had personally administered the water cure to captives, and had told his troops "to take no prisoners." Frederick Funston was born on Nov. 10, 1865 in New Carlisle, Ohio. He graduated from High School in 1886 and entered the University of Kansas, but left college without earning a degree. In 1896, he enlisted in the Cuban Revolutionary Army and was made a captain of artillery. Before he became sick with malaria in 1898 and returned home he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. When the Spanish-American war broke out, Funston was appointed a Colonel of the US 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
He rose to the rank of Major General (LEFT). In the 1910’s his subordinates included Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing and future generals, then Captain Douglas MacArthur, Lieutenant George S. Patton, Jr., and Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower. On Feb. 19, 1917, he was having dinner with friends at theSt. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, close to his headquarters at Fort Sam Houston. He had just finished dinner and was listening to the hotel orchestra play when a moment later he was dead. A heart attack took his life; he was 51-years-old. The people of Texas showed their respect by opening their most sacred shrine, the Alamo, so that he could lie in state there. He was the first person ever so honored. His body was then taken to the San Francisco City Hall Rotunda, where he laid in state for two days. He was laid to rest at the Presidio (San Francisco NationalCemetery) in full dress uniform on a hill overlooking the city. A San Francisco park was named after General Funston.
Had he not died in early 1917, President Woodrow Wilson would have picked him, not General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, to command the American forces in World War I.
Entrance to Malacañan Palace in San Miguel District, Manila. Photo was taken in 1900 or 1901
Aguinaldo's quarters in the Malacañan Palace grounds, Manila
Aguinaldo at Malacañan Palace with an American visitor, Annie Mitchell, a few days after his arrival in Manila.
Emilio Aguinaldo, Colonel Simeon Villa, Chief of Staff, and Dr. Santiago Barcelona on the balcony overlooking the Pasig River at Malacañan. PHOTO was taken on Dec. 4, 1901.
Balangiga Massacre, September 28, 1901
Some soldiers of Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry ("Manchus") Regiment, in Balangiga in August 1901. Valeriano Abanador, the native chief of police who would lead the attack on the Balangiga garrison seven weeks later, is standing with arms folded across his chest (sixth from right).
On Aug 11, 1901, Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment, arrived in Balangiga on the southern coast of Samar island, to close its port and prevent supplies reaching Filipino guerillas in the interior. A glamour unit, Company C was assigned provost duty and guarded the captured President Emilio Aguinaldo upon their return to the Philippines on June 5, 1901, after fighting Boxer rebels and helping capture Peking in China. They also performed as honor guard during the historic July 4, 1901 inauguration of the American civil government in the Philippines and the installation as first civil governor of William Howard Taft, later president of the U.S.
Soldiers of the 9th US Infantry "Manchus" Regiment enjoying a cockfight, somewhere in the Philippines. Thirteen companies arrived in Manila on April 23 and 27, 1899. The regiment was temporarily deployed to China during the Boxer rebellion and arrived there on July 6, 1900. Three members were awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism at Tientsin on July 13, 1900, including Pvt. Robert H. Von Schlick of Company C, who was killed in action. Grateful Chinese officials bestowed on the regiment the nickname “Manchu”. Eleven companies returned to Manila on June 2, 1901, and the remaining two on June 5, 1901. They left the Philippines in batches on June 12 and 20, 1902. Filipino historian, Prof. Rolando O. Borrinaga, tells the story of the massacre in an article entitled "Vintage View: The Balangiga Incident and Its Aftermath": "The first month of Company C’s presence in Balangiga was marked by extensive fraternization between the Americans and the local residents. The friendly activities included tuba (native wine) drinking among the soldiers and native males, baseball games and arnis (stick fighting) demonstrations in the town plaza, and even a romantic link between an American sergeant, Frank Betron, and a native woman church leader, Casiana “Geronima” Nacionales. "Tensions rose when on September 22, at a tuba store, two drunken American soldiers tried to molest the girl tending the store. The girl was rescued by her two brothers, who mauled the soldiers. In retaliation, the Company Commander, Capt. Thomas W. Connell, West Point class of 1894, rounded up 143 male residents for forced labor to clean up the town in preparation for an official visit by his superior officers. They were detained overnight without food under two conical Sibley tents in the town plaza, each of which could only accommodate 16 persons; 78 of the detainees remained the next morning, after 65 others were released due to age and physical infirmity. Finally, Connell ordered the confiscation from their houses of all sharp bolos, and the confiscation and destruction of stored rice. Feeling aggrieved, the townspeople plotted to attack the U.S. Army garrison.
"The mastermind was Valeriano Abanador (LEFT, IN OLD AGE), a Letran dropout and the local chief of police; he was assisted by five locals and two guerilla officers under the command of Brig. Gen. Vicente Lukban: Capt. Eugenio Daza and Sgt. Pedro Duran, Sr. The lone woman plotter was Casiana “Geronima” Nacionales. Lukban played no role in the planning of the attack; he only learned about it a week later. About 500 men in seven attack units would take part. They represented virtually all families of Balangiga, whose outlying villages then included the present towns of Lawaan and Giporlos, and of Quinapundan, a town served by the priest in Balangiga.
“on September 27, Friday, the natives sought divine help and intervention for the success of their plot through an afternoon procession and marathon evening novena prayers to their protector saints inside the church. They also ensured the safety of the women and children by having them leave the town after midnight, hours before the attack. Pvt. Adolph Gamlin observed women and children evacuating the town and reported it, but he was ignored. "To mask the disappearance of the women from the dawn service inside the church, 34 attackers from Barrio Lawaan cross-dressed as women worshippers. "At 6:45 a.m., on Saturday, September 28, Abanador grabbed Pvt. Adolph Gamlin's rifle from behind and hit him unconcious with its butt. Abanador turned the rifle at the men in the sergeant’s mess tent, wounding one. He then waved a rattan cane above his head, and yelled: “Atake, mga Balangigan-on! (Attack, men of Balangiga!). A bell in the church tower was rung seconds later, to announce that the attack had begun. "The guards outside the convent and municipal hall were killed. The Filipinos apparently sealed in the Sibley tents at the front of the municipal hall, having had weapons smuggled to them in water carriers, broke free and entered the municipal hall and made their way to the second floor. The men in the church broke into the convent through a connecting corridor and killed the officers who were billeted there. The mess tent and the two barracks were attacked. Most of the Americans were hacked to death before they could grab their firearms. The few who escaped the main attack fought with kitchen utensils, steak knives, and chairs. "The convent was successfully occupied and so, initially, was the municipal hall, but the mess tent and barracks attack suffered a fatal flaw - about one hundred men were split into three groups, one of each target but too few attackers had been assigned to ensure success. A number of Co. C. personnel escaped from the mess tent and the barracks and were able to retake the municipal hall, arm themselves and fight back. Adolph Gamlin recovered consciousness, found a rifle and caused considerable casualties among the Filipinos. [Gamlin died at age 92 in the U.S. in 1969]. "Faced with immensely superior firepower and a rapidly degrading attack, Abanador ordered a retreat. But with insufficient numbers and fear that the rebels would re-group and attack again, the surviving Americans, led by Sgt. Frank Betron, escaped by baroto(native canoes with outriggers, navigated by using wooden paddles) to Basey, Samar, about 20 miles away. The townspeople returned to bury their dead, then abandoned the town." Capt. Edwin V. Bookmiller, West Point Class 1889 and commander of Company G of the 9th US Infantry at
Basey, commandeered a civilian coastal steamer from Tacloban, the SS Pittsburg, and with his men steamed to Balangiga. The town was deserted. The dead of Company C lay where they fell, many bearing horrible hack wounds. Bookmiller and his men burned the town to the ground. Of the original 74 man contingent, 48 died and 26 survived, 22 of them severely wounded. The dead included all of Company C's commissioned officers: Capt. Thomas W. Connell (RIGHT), 1st Lt. Edward A. Bumpus, and Maj. Richard S. Griswold (the Company surgeon). The guerillas also took 100 rifles with 25,000 rounds of ammunition; 28 Filipinos died and 22 were wounded.
The Akron Daily Democrat, Akron, Ohio, Sept. 30, 1901, Page 1 The massacre shocked the U.S. public; many newspaper editors noted that it was the worst disaster suffered by the U.S. Army since Custer's last stand at Little Big Horn. An infuriated Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, military governor for the “unpacified” areas of the Philippines, assured the press that "the situation calls for shot, shells and bayonets as the natives are not to be trusted." He advised newspaper correspondent Joseph Ohl, "If you should hear of a few Filipinos more or less being put away don't grow too sentimental over it." Chaffee informed his officers that it was his intention "to give the Filipinos 'bayonet rule' for years to come." President Theodore Roosevelt ordered Chaffee to adopt "in no unmistakable terms," the "most stern measures to pacify Samar."
Adna Romanza Chaffee (LEFT, in 1898) was born in Ohio in 1842. A veteran of the Civil war and countless Indian campaigns, he served throughout the Spanish-American War, and commanded American troops in the capture of Peking, China, during the Boxer rebellion. He replaced Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., as military governor of the “unpacified” areas of the Philippines on July 4, 1901. He appointed Brigadier Generals James Franklin Bell to Batangas and Jacob Smith to Samar, with orders to do whatever was necessary to destroy the opposition--he wanted an Indian-style campaign. Chaffee’s orders were largely responsible for the atrocities that marked the later stages of the war. When the war ended in 1902, Chaffee returned to the States, where he served as lieutenant general and Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army from 1904-1906. He retired in 1906 and died in 1914.
St. Anthony Church: the present structure dates from 1927. The original church was burned down by the Americans on September 29, 1901
General Jake "Howling" Smith and his staff inspecting the ruins of Balangiga in October 1901, a few weeks after the retaliation by Captain Bookmiller and his troops. Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee (left) and Brig. Gen. Jacob Smith in Tacloban, Leyte in 1902
Colors of the 9th Infantry Regiment, Calbayog, Samar. These same colors entered Santiago (Cuba), Tarlac (Philippines), and Peking (China).
Survivors of Balangiga Massacre in April 1902 photo taken in Calbayog, Samar
Source: L. Mervin Maus's book, An Army Officer On Leave In Japan, published in 1911.
This 1895 Balangiga bell ---the smallest of the three Balangiga church bells---was turned over to the headquarters of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment in Calbayog, Samar, around April 1902. This relic is on permanent display at the museum of the 9th U.S. Infantry, stationed in Camp Hovey, Tongduchon, South Korea. It is now considered by most Filipino historians as the one that was rung during the Balangiga attack.
The two bigger Balangiga bells: These were brought to the U.S. by returning 11th Infantry soldiers to their home station at the former Fort D.A. Russell, now the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Both are displayed at the Balangiga Memorial in its Trophy Park.
Issue of April 22, 1902 After the massacre at Balangiga, General Smith issued his infamous Circular No. 6, which stated his plans for crushing all resistance on the island of Samar. He ordered his command thus: "I want no prisoners" and "I wish you to kill and burn; and the more you burn and kill, the better it will please me."
Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith's infamous order "KILL EVERYONE OVER TEN" was the caption in the New York Journal cartoon on May 5, 1902. The Old Glory draped an American shield on which a vulture replaced the bald eagle. The bottom caption exclaimed, "Criminals Because They Were Born Ten Years Before We Took the Philippines." The Philippine occupation was the first war, historian Gail Buckley has pointed out, in which “American officers and troops were officially charged with what we would now call war crimes.” In 44 military trials, all of which ended in convictions, including that of General Jacob Smith, “sentences, almost invariably, were light.” The Baltimore American had to admit the U.S. occupation “aped” Spain's cruelty and committed crimes “we went to war to banish.”
Then he tasked his men to reduce Samar into a "howling wilderness," to kill anyone 10 years old and above capable of bearing arms. He stressed that, "Every native will henceforth be treated as an enemy until he has conclusively shown that he is a friend." His policy would be "to wage war in the sharpest and most decisive manner," and that "a course would be pursued that would create a burning desire for peace." [On Dec. 29, 1890, as a cavalryman, Smith was present at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, an incident ---also referred to as a massacre---that left about 300 Sioux men, women and children, and 29 Army soldiers dead.]
An American river expedition in Samar In Samar, he gave his subordinates carte blanche authority in the application of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 General Order 100. This order, in brief, authorized the shooting on sight of all persons not in uniform acting as soldiers and those committing, or seeking to commit, sabotage.
The exact number of civilians massacred by US troops will never be known, but exhaustive research made by a sympathetic British writer in the 1990s put the figure at about 2,500; Filipino historians believe it was around 50,000. General Smith and Major Waller (RIGHT) underwent separate courts-martial for their roles in the suppressive campaign of Nov 1901- Jan 1902. Although he received the "Kill all over ten" order from Gen. Smith, Waller countermanded it and told his men not to obey it. However, he was specifically tried for murder in the summary execution of 11 Filipino porters. After a long march, Marine Lt. A.S. Wlliams accused the porters of mutinuous behavior, hiding food and supplies and keeping themselves nourished from the jungle while the Marines starved. Waller ordered the execution of the porters. Ten were shot in groups of three, while one was gunned down in the water attempting to escape. The bodies were left in the square of Lanang (now Llorente), as an example, until one evening, under cover of darkness, some townspeople carried them off for a Christian burial.
An American expedition enters the Calbiga River, Samar
US soldiers drill on main plaza at Catbalogan, Samar.
USS Vicksburg sailors led by Lt. ((later Rear Admiral) Henry V. Butler burning a village church in Samar, October 1901. In an eleven-day span, Major Waller also reported that his men burned 255 dwellings, slaughtered 13 carabaos and killed 39 people. Other officers reported similar activity.
US Marines in action in the Philippines; at left, a Marine appears to have been hit. Photo was probably taken in Samar island, where the Marines battled extensively with General Vicente Lukban's guerillas in 1901-1902. During the Philippine-American War, 50 US Marines were killed in combat while 300 died from other causes, mainly disease. The "Philippine Insurrection" was the basis of the US Marine Corps' Small Wars Manual, which remains its bible to this day. Smith commanded the Sixth Separate Brigade, which included a battalion of 315 Marines under Waller. Waller's court martial acquitted him but Smith's found him guilty, for which he was admonished and retired from the service. Gen. Smith was born in 1840 and died in San Diego, California on March 1, 1918.
The San Francisco Call, April 29, 1902, Page 1
USS Vicksburg sailors led by Lt. ((later Rear Admiral) Henry V. Butler burning a village in Samar, October 1901. Outcry in America over the brutal nature of the Samar campaign cost Waller his chance at the Commandancy of the US Marine Corps. Liberal newspapers took to addressing him as "The Butcher Of Samar". Waller was born in York County, Virginia on Sept. 26, 1856. He was appointed as a second lieutenant of Marines on June 24, 1880. He rose to Major General, retired in June 1920 and died on July 13, 1926. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1942, the destroyer USS Waller was named in his honor. In April 1902, Abanador accepted the general amnesty offered by the Americans. He died sometime in the 1950's.
Balangiga Plaza in front of the municipal hall with a monument to Valeriano Abanador. An annual event, “Balangiga Encounter Day”, was made possible by the passage into law on February 10, 1989 of Republic Act. No 6692, “An Act Declaring September Twenty-Eight as Balangiga Encounter Day and a Special Non-Working Holiday in the Province of Eastern Samar.” The original bill was filed by Eastern Samar Rep. Jose Tan Ramirez. Dec. 27, 1901: Atrocity in Panay Island
Page 1
"It was on the 27th day of December, the anniversary of my birth, and I shall never forget the scenes I witnessed on that day. As we approached the town the word passed along the line that there would be no prisoners taken. It meant that we were to shoot every living thing in sight—man, woman, and child. The first shot was fired by the then first sergeant of our company. His target was a mere boy, who was coming down the mountain path into the town astride of a caribou. The boy was not struck by the bullet, but that was not the sergeant's fault. The little Filipino boy slid from the back of his caribou and fled in terror up the mountain side. Half a dozen shots were fired after him. The shooting now had attracted the villagers, who came out of their homes in alarm, wondering what it all meant. They offered no offense, did not display a weapon, made no hostile movement whatsoever, but they were ruthlessly shot down in cold blood—men, women, and children. The poor natives huddled together or fled in terror. Many were pursued and killed on the spot. "Two old men, bearing between them a white flag and clasping hands like two brothers, approached the lines. Their hair was white. They fairly tottered, they were so feeble under the weight of years. To my horror and that of the other men in the command, the order was given to fire, and the two old men were shot down in their tracks. We entered the village. A man who had been on a sick-bed appeared at the doorway of his home. He received a bullet in the abdomen and fell dead in the doorway. Dum-dum bullets were used in that massacre, but we were not told the name of the bullets. We didn't have to be told. We knew what they were. "In another part of the village a mother with a babe at her breast and two young children at her side pleaded for mercy. She feared to leave her home, which had just been fired—accidentally, I believe. She faced the flames with her children, and not a hand was raised to save her or the little ones. They perished miserably. It was sure death if she left the house—it was sure death if she remained. She feared the American soldiers, however, worse than the devouring flames." Company M was commanded by Capt. Fred McDonald. The Last Holdouts: General Vicente Lukban falls, Feb. 18, 1902
General Vicente Lukban (4th from Left, right hand on pistol holster), with staff officers on Samar Island. General Vicente Lukban commanded Filipino guerilla forces on Samar and Leyte islands in the eastern Visayas, central Philippines.
Lukban's men on dress parade at Samar.
Chained together in photo are, LEFT to RIGHT: Major Esteban Aparri, General Vicente Lukban, and Colonel Benedicto Sabater. On Feb. 18, 1902, he was captured by a scouting party composed of Americans and Filipinos commanded by 1Lt. Alphonse Strebler of Company 39, Visayas, Philippine Scouts.
General Vicente Lukban (in LEFT PHOTO, seated at center) as a prisoner of war, February 1902. Photos published in the Detroit Free Press-Illustrated Supplement, issue of May 17, 1903. Maj. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, military governor for the “unpacified” areas of the Philippines, ordered that Lukban be treated as a prisoner of war of officer's rank.
General Vicente Lukban is flanked by his captor, 1Lt. Alphonse Strebler (LEFT), and 1Lt. Ray Hoover (RIGHT), officer-in-charge of the guard over him, February 1902. He was imprisoned in Talim Island in Laguna de Bay until July 15, 1902 after he took an oath of allegiance to the United States.
Four days later, on Feb. 22, 1902, at Cagbayan, Samar, 2Lt. Frank Pratt of the 1st U.S. Infantry Regiment, encountered and captured William C. Denton (LEFT, in February 1902), a deserter from the ill-fated Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment, who had joined Lukban's guerilla force. Eleven Filipinos in Denton's group were killed. [Denton deserted to the Filipinos shortly before the Balangiga massacre; Lukban described him as a "noble son of Washington, who had joined the Filipino cause as a lover of liberty."]. [Two weeks earlier, on Feb. 8, 1902, another white American deserter, John Winfrey, from the 43rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, was killed along with 8 Filipino guerillas in a clash with 1Lt. Allen Walker of Company 45, Visayas, Philippine Scouts. The encounter took place in the vicinity of Loguilocon, Samar. On his body was found a commission as second lieutenant from Gen. Vicente Lukban.]
Newspaper report on the death of American deserter John Winfrey On Feb. 27, 1902, the New York Times reported: "The officials of the War Department regard the capture of Lucban as the most important military event since Aguinaldo's capture. He was run down on the Island of Samar. The place of his confinement is a tiny island in a bay on the north coast of Samar. Lucban is one of the most energetic and ferocious of rebels. He is a half-breed, a mixture of Chinese and Filipino stock, and has been an irreconcilable from the first. He had various fastnesses in the mountains of Samar, from which he would descend upon the coast towns, and his reign of terror was so complete that the entire population of the island paid tribute to him as the price of freedom from attack." The Americans tagged Lukban as the mastermind of the infamous "Balangiga Massacre" on Sept. 28, 1901, in which 48 troopers of Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment, were killed. In fact, he played no part in the planning of the attack; he only learned about it a week later, on Oct. 6, 1901. Lukban was born on Feb. 11, 1860 at Labo, Camarines Norte Province. After his elementary education at the Escuela Pia Publica in his hometown, he proceeded to Manila and completed his secondary schooling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He took up Law at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and then worked in the Court of First Instance in Quiapo, Manila, before becoming Justice of the Peace in Labo. In 1894, he was inducted into the Masonic Lodge adopting the name "Luz del Oriente" (Light of the Orient) and co-founded Bicol Lodge in Libmanan, Camarines Sur with Juan Miguel. He joined the secret revolutionary society Katipunan that same year. In 1896, Lukban resigned from government service and engaged in business and agriculture. He founded the agricultural society La Cooperativa Popular. On Sept. 29, 1896 Lukban was in Manila attending a meeting of the agricultural society when Spanish authorities arrested him for his involvement with the Katipunan. He was kept at the Carcel de Bilibid and despite torture did not expose his fellow revolutionaries. Torture and imprisonment in a flooded cell left him with a permanent limp. He was released on May 17, 1897 after Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera granted amnesty to political prisoners. He immediately joined General Emilio Aguinaldo’s forces.
After the Pact of Biak na Bato was forged on Dec. 14, 1897, he went into exile with Aguinaldo in Hongkong and became part of the revolutionary junta (LEFT, photo taken in Hong Kong). In May 1898, Lukban returned to the Philippines and resumed his involvement with the revolutionists; he was given the rank of a Colonel. On Oct. 29, 1898, General Aguinaldo appointed him Comandante Militar of the Bicol region. On December 21 of the same year, he was promoted General of Samar and Leyte. When the Filipino-American War broke out on Feb. 4, 1899, Lukban established his arsenal in the mountains of Catbalogan and carried out guerrilla warfare. Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr., offered $5,000 (read as "Pesos") for Lukban’s head. He was offered the position of governor of Samar under the American regime, with autonomy, if he would surrender, but he refused to accept the offer. After his capture, the Americans asked Lukban to use his influence and convince the rest of his command to surrender. He demurred at first, but subsequently changed his mind and wrote several letters, which were sent out and carried by pro-American Filipinos. Col. Claro Guevarra succeeded Lukban and forbade his men to give attention to the latter's letters. He assumed the rank of General and prepared to continue the resistance. The Americans sent peace envoys to negotiate with Guevarra.
Issue of April 28, 1902, Page 1 On April 26, 1902,Guevarra relented and the following day surrendered with 744 men to Brig. Gen. Frederick Dent Grant, commander of the Sixth US Infantry Brigade, at Catbalogan, Samar.
April 26, 1902: Gen. Claro Guevarra and his men on board the U.S. Navy collierNanshan, while being transported from the mouth of the Gandara River to Catbalogan, Samar, where they formally surrendered the following day.
April 26, 1902: The first lighter load of guerillas under General Guevarra approaching the wharf at 4 pm; a welcome arch had been erected under which they would pass.
April 26, 1902: Gen. Claro Guevarra (LEFT) and his chief of staff, Col. Francisco Rafael, are photographed on arrival at Catbalogan, Samar.
April 26, 1902: Gen. Claro Guevarra (CENTRAL FIGURE, tallest man in front row) and his officers. His chief of staff, Col. Francisco Rafael, stands to his right. Photo taken at Catbalogan, Samar.
April 27, 1902: Gen. Claro Guevarra and Brig. Gen. Frederick Dent Grant shake hands for the camera at Catbalogan, Samar. Grant was the oldest son of Civil War general and United States President Ulysses S. Grant; he graduated from West Point in 1871.
April 27, 1902: Gen. Guevarra and his men formally surrendering at the town plaza of Catbalogan, Samar. Photo, taken at about 3:30 P.M., was published in the Detroit Free Press-Illustrated Supplement, issue of May 17, 1903.
Guevarra's entourage consisted of 65 officers, 236 riflemen and 443 boleros. A few days later, 5 more riflemen and 53 boleros also surrendered at Catbalogan. Arms and ammunition surrendered: 115 Krag rifles, 1 Krag carbine, 79 Remington rifles, 31 Mauser rifles, 14 miscellaneous guns; total, 240. Seven thousand five hundred rounds Krag cartridges, 500 miscellaneous; total, 8,000. On May 11, 1902, 18 guerillas with 2 Remington rifles, 1 shotgun and 18 rounds of ammunition surrendered at Catbalogan. Two days later, Lt. Ignacio Alar, with 3 officers, 35 men, 12 Krag rifles, 1 Springfield rifle, 3 shotguns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition gave up at Tacloban. This last surrender accounted for every guerilla officer known then to the Americans in Samar, and for every rifle except two. On June 17, 1902, provincial civil government was established on Samar Island by an act of the Philippine Commission.
In 1904, Lukban was arrested with two of his brothers, Justo and Cayetano, on charges of sedition filed against them by the Manila Secret Police. The Supreme Court, however, acquitted them for lack of evidence. In 1912, Lukban ran for Governor in Tayabas and although not a native of the place, won handily (His mother, though, was born in Lucban, Tayabas). He was reelected for another term in 1916 but died on November 16 of the same year. March 30, 1902: US Newspaper Lists Filipino Collaborators
Page 10 Gen. Miguel Malvar surrenders, April 16, 1902
Miguel Malvar and his wife Paula Maloles (seated, left) and mother-in-law, late 1880's.
General Miguel Malvar was born on Sept 27, 1865 in Santo Tomas, Batangas Province, to a wealthy sugarcane and rice farming family. He was one of the generals exiled with Emilio Aguinaldo to Hongkong as a result of the Pact of Biyak-na-Bato forged on Dec. 14, 1897 between Spain and the Filipino rebels. He was appointed treasurer of the revolution's funds. When the truce collapsed, Malvar returned to the Philippines with 2,000 rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition. He liberated Tayabas Province from the Spaniards on June 15, 1898. After Aguinaldo's capture by the Americans on March 23, 1901, Malvar assumed control of all the Filipino forces. He setup his own government of the Philippine Republic, with him as supreme head and Commander-in-Chief, and waged guerilla warfare against American-held towns in Batangas.
Excerpted from: Melvin L. Severy, Gillette's Social Redemption, Herbert B. Turner & Co., Boston, 1907, p.242. Brig. Gen. James Franklin Bell, in charge of military operations on Luzon Island, employed scorched earth tactics that took a heavy toll on Filipino guerrillas and civilians alike. He told the New York Times on May 1, 1901, that: "One-sixth of the natives of Luzon have either been killed or have died of the dengue fever in the last two years. The loss of life by killing alone has been great, but I think that not one man has been slain except where his death served the legitimate purposes of war. It has been necessary to adopt what other countries would probably be thought harsh measures, for the Filipino is tricky and crafty and has to be fought in his own way."
Original caption: "A capture of seventy insurgents at Quinka, Batangas Province." Photo was actually taken in the town of Cuenca in 1901. The Americans belonged to Troop K, 1st US Cavalry Regiment.
Original caption: "Another capture at Quinka". Photo, taken in 1901 at Cuenca, Batangas Province, shows soldiers of Troop K, 1st US Cavalry Regiment and Filipino POWs.
Original caption: "A capture of insurgents at Lagnas". Photo was taken in 1901 at BarrioLagnas, Bauan, Batangas Province. The Americans belonged to Troop K, 1st US Cavalry Regiment. In 1969, Lagnas became a separate municipality and renamed "San Pascual".
Original caption: "A group of natives in the interior from which we selected a fine bunch of insurgents." The men were rounded up by Troop K, 1st US Cavalry Regiment. Photo was taken in 1901 at Bauan, Batangas Province.
Filipino guns captured by soldiers of Troop K, 1st US Cavalry Regiment. These were kept in the church convent at Bauan, Batangas Province. Photo was taken in 1901.
Original caption: "After the fight of Nov. 12, 1901. Bauan. Soldiers of Troop K 1st Cav." Photo was taken at Bauan, Batangas Province. Capt. John DL Hartman and 50 troopers outflanked Filipino guerillas who waited in ambush on the Bauan-Taal road, killing 25; 2 Americans were wounded. The cavalry was tipped off by collaborators.
Original caption: "Gov'mt. issuing rice to poor people in Bauan during the concentration." Photo was taken in 1901 at Bauan, Batangas Province. The town was garrisoned by Troop K of the 1st US Cavalry Regiment. General Bell ordered the entire population of the provinces of Batangas and Laguna to gather into small areas within the poblacion of their respective towns by Dec. 25, 1901.Barrio families had to bring clothes, food, and everything they could carry into the designated area. Everything left behind, houses, gardens, carts, poultry and animals, were burned by the U.S. Army. People found outside the concentration camps were shot.
A reconcentrado (concentration) camp for civilians at Tanauan, Batangas Province. General Bell insisted that he built these camps to "protect friendly natives from the insurgents, assure them an adequate food supply" while teaching them "proper sanitary standards." The commandant of one of the camps referred to them as the "suburbs of Hell." Starvation and disease took the lives of thousands. Between January and April of 1902, there were 8,350 deaths out of 298,000. Some camps lost as many as 20% of the population. There was one camp that was two miles by one mile (3.2 by 1.6 km) in area. It was "home" to some 8,000 Filipinos. Men were rounded up for questioning, tortured and summarily executed.
A ROUNDUP OF FILIPINO CIVILIANS. Undated photo and location not specified. A corres- pondent to the Philadelphia Ledger wrote, "Our soldiers...have taken prisoner people who held up their hands and peacefully surrendered, and an hour later, without an atom of evidence to show that they were even insurrectos, stood them on a bridge and shot them down one by one, to drop into the water below and float down as an example to those who found their bullet riddled corpses."
American soldiers hang two Filipinos. (LEFT) The prisoners are forced up on the scaffold at gunpoint; (RIGHT) The nooses are adjusted and the Filipinos' hands are tied behind their backs. Undated photo, location not specified. Reverend W. H. Walker received a letter from his son and showed it to the Boston Journal, which reported about it on May 5, 1902. The letter described how 1,300 prisoners were executed over a few weeks. A Filipino priest heard their confessions for several days and then he was hanged in front of them. Twenty prisoners at a time were made to dig their mass graves and then were shot. The young Walker wrote, “To keep them prisoners would necessitate the placing of the soldiers on short rations if not starving them. There was nothing to do but kill them.”
Filipino POWs in Nasugbu, Batangas Province When an American was "murdered" in Batangas, Bell ordered his men to "by lot select a POW--preferably one from the village in which the assassination took place--and execute him."
He also rounded up the wealthy and influential residents of Batangas (ABOVE). They were packed like sardines in small rooms, measuring 15-by-30-by-6 feet, into which up to 50 of them were crammed for months. They were pressed into work gangs to burn their own homes, until they agreed to aid American forces.
Female prisoners in Batangas Bell said, "It is an inevitable consequence of war that the innocent must generally suffer with the guilty". He reasoned that since all natives were treacherous, it was impossible to recognize "the actively bad from only the passively so." Some estimates of civilian deaths on Luzon are as high as 100,000. Many of Malvar's officers and men gave up and collaborated with the Americans. Malvar realized that continuing the war would harm the people more.
Filipino POWs in Batangas Province. A report in the Army and Navy Journal told of 600 Filipinos penned in a building 70-by-20 feet, suffocating, starving, dying of dysentery and thirst in the brutal tropical sun.
On April 16, 1902, Malvar and his entire command surrendered to the Americans, who treated him honorably. General Bell reported that during the campaign against Malvar, US forces secured 3,561 guns and 625 revolvers, captured, or forced to surrender some eight or ten thousand "insurgents".
After his surrender, Malvar [RIGHT, at surrender] lived a quiet and comfortable life. He graciously declined the offer for him to become governor of Batangas Province. On Oct. 13, 1911, he died of a liver ailment in Manila. He was 46. His remains were brought to Santo Tomas, Batangas and was buried with high military honors. [LEFT, Malvar Monument in Santo Tomas]. James Franklin Bell was born on Jan. 9, 1856 in Shelby County, Kentucky. He graduated from West Point in 1878, finishing 38th in a class of 43. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 9th Cavalry Regiment, a black unit. While in Illinois in 1886-89, he read law and passed the Illinois bar. He participated in the Pine Ridge, South Dakota Indian campaign in 1891. After a few months in the Philippines, Bell was promoted from Captain to Brigadier General, outranking many officers previously his senior. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions of Sept. 9, 1899 near Porac, Pampanga Province. In 1903, General Bell assisted Secretary of War Elihu Root in developing the overall plan for the reorganization of the US Army’s educational system. He was then designated Commandant of the Infantry and Cavalry school, the Signal School, and the Staff Collegeat Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. As Commandant from 1903 to 1906, he implemented the reorganization plans and became known as the founder of the modern method of instruction in the US Army. From April 1906 to April 1910 Bell served as Chief of Staff, US Army, with rank of Major General from June 1907 (LEFT). E. Polk Johnson, author of "History of Kentucky and Kentuckians", published in 1912, wrote of Bell, "...his frank, open nature and sunny, warm-hearted, generous disposition have won to him a host of friends, both in the army and out of it. To such friends and to this numerous kindred and 'cousins' throughout Kentucky, his official title and trappings are of far less moment than his own loyal, lovable, big-hearted manhood, and with these, his own home people, he is even to this day simply but affectionately plain 'Frank Bell'". Bell died in New York City on Jan. 8, 1919 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Sarah Buford Bell (1857-1943) is buried with him. May 30, 1902: President Theodore Roosevelt's Memorial Day comments on American atrocities
May 30, 1902: President Theodore Roosevelt addresses a vast Memorial Day crowd at Arlington Cemetery before assembled veterans and journalists. In his "indignant" speech, Roosevelt defended the U. S. Army against charges of "cruelty" in the ongoing Philippine-American War by racializing the conflict as one being fought between the forces of "civilization" and "savagery." He dismissed the Filipinos as "Chinese half-breeds," and insisted "this is the most glorious war in our nation's history."
(LEFT), US soldiers and a native collaborator applying the "water cure" to a Filipino "insurgent". (RIGHT), Life Cartoon: European colonial powers mock the US. In the same year, Albert Gardner, in Troop B of the 1st U.S. Cavalry, composed a would-be comic song dedicated to "water-cure" torture, sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic:
Original caption: "Philippine Islands---A Harmless Method of Torture Alleged to Have Been Occasionally Used by Soldiers in the Philippines as one of the Necessary Accom- paniments of War." The men belonged to the 35th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Edward H. Plummer, West Point Class 1877. The regiment, which mainly operated in Bulacan Province, Luzon Island, arrived in the Philippines on Nov. 6, 1899 and departed on March 15, 1901. President Roosevelt privately assured a friend the water cure was "an old Filipino method of mild torture" and claimed when Americans administered it "nobody was seriously damaged." The "treatment" consisted of spread-eagling a prisoner on his back, forcing his mouth open with a bamboo stick and pouring gallons of water down his throat. Helpless, the prisoner was pumped with water until his stomach was near the bursting point. Then he was questioned. If he refused to answer, an American soldier stood or kneeled on his belly, forcing the water out. One report by a U.S. soldier told how "a good heavy man" jumped on a prisoner’s belly "sending a gush of water from his mouth into the air as high as six feet."
US soldiers administering the "water cure" to a Filipino "insurgent". This cure was repeated until the prisoner talked or died. Roughly half the Filipinos given the cure did not survive. How many Filipinos were killed by torture is not known, but the extent of the practice is documented by a letter sent home by a soldier who bragged of inflicting the water cure on 160 Filipinos, 134 of whom died. A Harvard-educated officer, 1st Lt. Grover Flint, testified before the US Senate on the routine torture of Filipino combatants and civilians. He described the “water cure” as standard US Army torture. July 4, 1902: President Theodore Roosevelt declares official end of Philippine "Insurrection"
July 4, 1902: The 30th U.S. Infantry Regiment on parade in Manila for the Fourth of July U.S. Independence Day celebration "Whereas, many of the inhabitants of the Philippine Archipelago were in insurrection against the authority and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Spain at diverse times from August, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, until the cession of the archipelago by that Kingdom to the United States of America,
and since such cession many of the persons so engaged in insurrection have until recently resisted the authority and sovereignty of the United States; and Whereas, the insurrection against the authority and sovereignty of the United States is now at an end, and peace has been established in all parts of the archipelago except in the country inhabited by the Moro tribes, to which this proclamation does not apply; and Whereas, during the course of the insurrection against the Kingdom of Spain and against the Government of the United States, persons engaged therein, or those in sympathy with and abetting them, committed many acts in violation of the laws of civilized warfare, but it is believed that such acts were generally committed in ignorance of those laws, and under orders issued by the civil or insurrectionary leaders; and Whereas, it is deemed to be wise and humane, in accordance with the beneficent purposes of the Government of the United States towards the Filipino people, and conducive to peace, order, and loyalty among them, that the doers of such acts who have not already suffered punishment shall not be held criminally responsible, but shall be relieved from punishment for participation in these insurrections , and for unlawful acts committed during the course thereof, by a general amnesty and pardon: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby proclaim and declare, without reservation or condition, except as hereinafter provided, a full and complete pardon and amnesty to all persons in the Philippine Archipelago who have participated in the insurrections aforesaid, or who have given aid and comfort to persons participating in said insurrections , for the offenses of treason or sedition and for all offenses political in their character committed in the course of such insurrections pursuant to orders issued by the civil or military insurrectionary authorities, or which grew out of internal political feuds or dissension between Filipinos and Spaniards or the Spanish authorities, or which resulted from internal political feuds or dissension among the Filipinos themselves, during either of said insurrections : Provided, however, That the pardon and amnesty hereby granted shall not include such persons committing crimes since May first, nineteen hundred and two, in any province of the archipelago in which at the time civil government was established, nor shall it include such persons as have been heretofore finally convicted of the crimes of murder, rape, arson, or robbery by any military or civil tribunal organized under the authority of Spain, or of the United States of America, but special application may be made to the proper authority for pardon by any person belonging to the exempted classes, and such clemency as is consistent with humanity and justice will be liberally extended; and Further provided, That this amnesty and pardon shall not affect the title or right of the Government of the United States, or that of the Philippine Islands, to any property or property rights heretofore used or appropriated by the military or civil authorities of the Government of the United States, or that of the Philippine Islands, organized under authority of the United States, by way of confiscation or otherwise; Provided further, That every person who shall seek to avail himself of this proclamation shall take and subscribe the following oath before any authority in the Philippine Archipelago authorized to administer oaths, namely: 'I, ________________ , solemnly swear (or affirm) that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America in the Philippine Islands and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that I impose upon myself this obligation voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.' Given under my hand at the City of Washington this fourth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and two, and in the one hundred and twenty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States."
July 4, 1902: US troops on parade in Manila for the Fourth of July U.S. Independence Day celebration July 6, 1902: Aguinaldo Is Given Liberty, But Fears Assassination
March 27, 1903: General Luciano San Miguel dies in battleGeneral Luciano San Miguel was one of only two generals of the army of the First Philippine Republic killed in action during the Philippine-American War (General Gregorio del Pilar was the other fatality). He was one of only two leading Filipino revolutionary leaders who did not accept American rule (the other was General Artemio Ricarte). And he was one of the few leading figures in all phases of the Philippine Revolution.
San Miguel ( RIGHT, photo from www.nhi.gov.ph) was born on Jan. 7, 1875 in Noveleta, Cavite Province. He joined the Katipunan in 1896 and was a colonel when the war with the Americans broke out on Feb. 4, 1899. He rose to General and saw action in central and western Luzon. He did not surrender or take the oath of allegiance to the United States. In September 1902, he revived the Katipunan and continued to fight the guerrilla war in Bulacan and Rizal provinces. The American authorities considered San Miguel as the most serious menace to the peace of the Philippines in the years 1902 and 1903. On Oct. 1, 1902, at a meeting of guerilla leaders presided over by General Benito Santa Ana, San Miguel was elected Supreme Commander of all existing resistance forces, following his great activity in the wilder parts of the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal. On several occasions he had surprised and destroyed detachments of the Philippine Constabulary, and his force had grown to a well-disciplined, well-armed army. The other resistance leaders present during the meeting were: Laureano Abelino, Severo Alcantara, Anatalio Austria, Miguel Capistrano, Perfecto Dizon, Gregorio Esteban, Ismael Francisco, Carlos Gabriel, Francisco Rivera, Apolonio Samson, Marcelo Santa Ana and Julian Santos.
Philippine Constabulary troopers, circa 1901-1902 In Bulacan, in January 1903, San Miguel attacked the command of Capt. William W. Warren, and later, in February 1903, the company of Lt. G.R. Twilley. On both occasions, the Constabulary had been soundly whipped. The month of February 1903 found every available Constabulary soldier in the Bulacan-Rizal area in the field in an attempt to locate San Miguel and destroy his force. Flying columns of Scouts and Constabulary, each one company strong, were dispatched with orders to contact his army and co-operate in massed attack upon his positions.
Company C, 2nd US Infantry Regiment, at Montalban, Rizal Province, March 27, 1903
Photo of Philippine Scouts, circa 1903 On March 27, 1903, at Corral-na-Bato, Marikina, Rizal Province, General San Miguel's camp was surrounded and attacked by the First and Fourth Companies of the Philippine Scouts led by First Lieutenants Boss Reese and Frank Nickerson; San Miguel and 34 of his men were killed while the Scouts suffered 3 dead.
General San Miguel was respected by the army and Constabulary officers who pursued him. In 1938, Capt. Cary Crockett (LEFT) --who clashed with General San Miguel in Boso-Boso in February 1903--spoke of him as a brave man and an efficient soldier. Vic Hurley, the aurhor of "Jungle Patrol: The Story of the Philippine Constabulary" (published 1938), wrote: "With the passing of San Miguel, the final heartbeat of the Philippine Insurrection sounded. His death was followed by the surrender of many minor leaders, and never again was theUnited States to encounter resistance from any legitimate leader. San Miguel must be rated a sincere insurgent and not a bandit. The leaders who followed him were bandits." September 25, 1903: General Simeon A. Ola surrenders in Albay
Simeon Ola, a native of Guinobatan, Albay Province, was the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans, although the latter classified him as a bandit leader, as they did other Filipinos who continued resisting after the US declared the Filipino-American war officially over on July 4, 1902. On Sept. 22, 1898, less than 5 months before the outbreak of the Fil-Am war on Feb. 4, 1899, the provincial revolutionary government of Albay was formed, with Anaceto Solano as provincial president. Maj. Gen. Vito Belarmino, appointed military commander, reorganized the Filipino army in the province, with Ola serving as a Major. The Americans set up a civil government in Albay on April 22, 1901, and Belarmino surrendered on July 4 of the same year. But Ola, with a thousand men, continued to defy American authority. He launched guerrilla raids on towns garrisoned by combined Philippine Constabulary, Philippine Scouts, and elements of the US Army.
Colorized photo was taken in the early 1900s. Ola's attacks in Albay caused an estimated $6,000,000 losses for the US-controlled hemp industry. Col. Harry H. Bandholtz, CO of the Philippine Constabulary in the Bicol region, employed 12 companies of Scout soldiers and an equal number of Constabulary against Ola.
The Minneapolis Journal, issue of Sept. 26, 1903, Page 1 Ola finally surrendered on Sept. 25, 1903 along with about 1,500 men. He showed Bandholtz an electric light bulb; it served as his personal "anting-anting" (amulet). He explained its virtues as follows: "It has always been a sure warning of the presence of American troops near by. When I grasp it in my hand and the wires tremble, I know that the Americans are very near." Bandholtz jokingly offered the suggestion that the hand trembled to shake the wires because the Americans were near. Some of Ola's men were tried under the vagrancy law and given road-work sentences of 6 months to 2 years. About 60 were sentenced to Bilibid Prison in Manila for sedition, and 12 were hanged. When Ola turned state's evidence he was given a 30-year suspended sentence. Ola (RIGHT) became the first mayor of Guinobatan, serving for 2 consecutive terms. Camp Simeon Ola (formerly Camp Ibalon), Philippine National Police Regional Office V headquarters in Legaspi City, was named after the Bicolano General on June 24, 1991. Camp Ibalon was called Regan Barracks when it was set up by US army soldiers under Brig. Gen. William Kobbe on Jan. 23, 1900. The Philippine Constabulary, organized in 1901, later took over the camp. May 20, 1904: Colonel Faustino Guillermo is hanged
June 10, 1903: Colonel Faustino Guillermo is captured by Philippine Constabulary troops commanded by a Captain Teong Faustino Guillermo was born in 1860 in Sampaloc, Manila. As a Katipunero, he fought alongside Andres Bonifacio. He surrendered to the Americans at Malabon in 1900. Shortly after taking the oath of allegiance to the United States, he established himself at San Francisco del Monte, Morong Province (renamed "Rizal Province" in 1901) and began recruiting men to continue the resistance against American rule. Guillermo was arrested there in 1901 by the Filipino police of Sampaloc. After three months' imprisonment, he was freed by Lieutenant Lucien Sweet of the municipal secret police, who appointed him as a police informer.
The old church at San Francisco del Monte, circa late 1890's or early 1900's Upon his release, Guillermo returned to San Francisco del Monte and resumed recruitment work for the resistance. He was re-arrested by the Philippine Constabulary (PC) and placed under the custody of Inspector Licerio Geronimo in San Mateo, Rizal Province.(Geronimo commanded the Filipino troops that killed Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton at the Battle of San Mateo on Dec. 19, 1899; he surrendered to the Americans on March 30, 1901; he was among a handful of Filipinos admitted into the officer ranks of the colonial Philippine Constabulary). Geronimo (RIGHT, image courtesy of Macky Hosalla) compelled Guillermo to act as a spy for him. Captain Keithley of the PC then ordered his release. He went to the mountains and commenced to recruit men, inviting his friends and acquaintances to join him in fighting the Americans. They wandered about the woods, going from Rizal to Bulacan and vice versa, living upon food given them by the people of thebarrios. In early 1902, he joined the forces of General Luciano San Miguel who gave him the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (promoted to Colonel in January 1903). They operated in the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan. Guillermo figured in at least 15 skirmishes with the Philippine Constabulary and Philippine Scouts. He permitted spies to penetrate his camps. However, before the infiltrators got the chance to report to their American bosses, he unmasked and buried them up to their necks, their heads and faces exposed to the painful bites of huge red ants (hamtik). On July 15, 1902, Inspector Licerio Geronimo, who was scouting in the Diliman country with seven men (Diliman is now a part of Quezon City), was surprised in a house where he and his men were resting, by Faustino Guillermo and Apolonio Samson with about 25 men, and narrowly escaped capture, after having one of his men killed and another seriously wounded. Geronimo also lost 3 horses, with their trappings and saddles, his uniform, hat and shoes, and escaped in his undershirt and drawers. In the evening, Guillermo made good use of Geronimo's PC outfit. He wore it when he entered the PC garrison of 16 men in San Jose, Bulacan; the unsuspecting garrison commander, a Sergeant Omano, obeyed Guillermo's order and formed the detachment into arms. At this juncture, Guillermo's men rushed in and took all the constables prisoners and secured their firearms. One of the constables defected to Guillermo's band.
Photo taken in 1904 On March 27, 1903, at Corral-na-Bato, Marikina, Rizal Province, Guillermo and General San Miguel were surrounded and attacked by the First and Fourth Companies of the Philippine Scouts led by First Lieutenants Boss Reese and Frank Nickerson; San Miguel and 34 of his men were killed while the Scouts suffered 3 dead. Guillermo and other survivors escaped to Mt. Laniting, near Boso-Boso (now asitio of Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City).
Issue of June 12, 1903, Page 1 On June 10, 1903 Colonel Guillermo was captured by the Philippine Constabulary. He was charged and convicted of bandolerismo (brigandage). On Oct. 24, 1903, he was sentenced to death by the Court of First Instance of the Province of Rizal. On April 12, 1904, the Supreme Court of the Philippines headed by Cayetano S. Arellano (LEFT), a Filipino and the first Chief Justice, affirmed the judgment of the lower court; also concurring were Filipino associate justices Florentino Torres and Victorino Mapa, and American associate justice Joseph Cooper. The lone dissenter was American associate justice John Mcdonough who recommended the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment. (Arellano and Torres were among the founders of the pro-American Partido Federal on Dec. 23, 1900). On May 20, 1904, Colonel Guillermo died at the gallows in Pasig, Rizal. He was 44 years old and a widower. Sept. 13, 1907: Macario Sakay dies at the gallows
1907 Photo. L to R, seated: Julian Montalan, Francisco Carreon, Macario Sakay and Leon Villafuerte; L to R, standing: Benito Natividad and Lucio de Vega Filipino resistance to American rule did not end with the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901. There were numerous resistance forces fighting for independence until 1910. One of these forces was led by Macario Sakay who established the "Republika ng Katagalugan" ( literally, "Tagalog Republic", but by "Katagalugan", Sakay meant the entire Philippines, and not only the Tagalog-speaking provinces; he and his men were loathed to use "Philippines", which was named after King Philip of Spain). He was born on Tabora St. in 1870 in Tondo, Manila, it is presumed, out of wedlock since Sakay was his mother's family name. He worked as an apprentice in a kalesa (a horse drawn carriage) manufacturing shop and as a tailor.
A Filipino theater in Manila, circa 1898. Sakay also acted in komedyas and moro-moros, which were stage plays named for their depiction of Christian/Muslim conflict. During this time, it can be safely assumed that he met Bonifacio who was also from Tondo and acted in moro-moros as well. In 1894, Sakay joined the Dapitan, Manila branch of the Katipunan. Sakay fought side by side with Bonifacio in the hills of Morong (now Rizal) Province. Captured by the Americans and amnestied in July 1902, Sakay established the Republika ng Katagalugan in the mountains of Southern Tagalog. He operated in the provinces of Morong, Laguna, Cavite, and Tayabas (now Quezon). His headquarters was first in Mt. Cristobal, Tayabas, and later transferred in the mountains of Morong.
This vest with all its religious figures and Latin phrases belonged to Macario Sakay. It was his "anting-anting" (amulet) and he believed it protected him from bullets and other hazards of war. Many Filipinos who participated in the fight against Spain and theUnited States used anting-antings of all types for personal protection. Sakay and many of his followers favored long hair, something strange for his era. This affectation was exploited by the Americans in their efforts to portray Sakay and his men as wild bandits. The Tagalog Republic enjoyed the support of the Filipino masses in Morong, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite. The Philippine Constabulary continually complained of municipal authorities cooperating and abetting Sakay. Sakay taxed merchants, farmers, and laborers ten percent of their income. He ordered those who could pay but refused to do so to be arrested and put to work. Suspected informers were liquidated, tortured or had their ears and lips cut off as a warning to others.
A company of the Philippine Constabulary . Photo taken in the early 1900's. The Philippine Constabulary and the U.S. Army employed "hamletting" or reconcentration in areas where Sakay received strong assistance. This cruel counter-insurgency technique proved disastrous for the Filipino masses. The forced movement and reconcentration of a large number of people caused the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Food was scarce in the camps, resulting in numerous deaths. Philippine Constabulary troops, circa 1906 The Philippine Constabulary relentlessly operated search and destroy missions in an attempt to suppress Sakay's forces.
A unit of the Moro Constabulary in Zamboanga, Mindanao Island, circa 1906 The Muslim Moro Constabulary was brought in from Mindanao Island; Bloodhounds from California were imported to pursue Sakay and his men. On Jan. 31, 1905 the writ of habeas corpus was suspended in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas. In mid-1906, Governor-General Henry Clay Ide (LEFT) wrote Sakay and promised that if he and his men surrendered, they would be amnestied. The letter was read by Dominador Gomez, a popular labor leader and politician, to Leon Villafuerte, one of Sakay's generals. Gomez advised Villafuerte to assure Sakay that a Philippine Assembly comprised of Filipinos will be formed to serve as the "gate of kalayaan.(freedom)." His surrender was necessary to establish a state of peace that was a prerequisite for the election of Filipino delegates to the Philippine Assembly. Gomez acted as the intermediary in the succeeding negotiations.
Issue of June 16, 1906 On June 16, 1906 Sakay took the bait, went down to Manila from the hills of Tanay, Morong, and surrendered to Col. Harry H. Bandholtz, Director of the First Constabulary District. Sakay and his men were followed by a brass band and hundreds of townspeople shouting "Long Live Sakay! Long Live the Patriots!"
Sakay viewed his surrender not as capitulation but as a genuine step towards independence. He believed that the struggle had shifted to constitutional methods and that through the Philippine Assembly, the Filipinos could win their independence. On July 17, 1906, Sakay and his staff attended a dance hosted by Col. Louis J. Van Schaick, acting governor of Cavite. Just before midnight, they were arrested. On Aug. 22, 1906 Sakay, Francisco Carreon, Lucio De Vega, Cornelio Felizardo, Julian Montalan and Leon Villafuerte were arraigned in the sala of Judge Ignacio Villamor and accused of bandolerismo under the Brigandage Act of Nov. 12, 1902, which interpreted all acts of armed resistance to American rule as banditry. The specific charges against Sakay and his men were robbery in band, murder, rape, arson and kidnapping. During the trial, Dominador Gomez (RIGHT, in 1907) was not around to produce the letter from the American governor-general. He did not even show up and the letter had mysteriously disappeared. (Gomez won a seat in the First Philippine Assembly). Judge Villamor (LEFT) convicted all the men as charged; Sakay and De Vega were sentenced to be hanged, and the rest were sentenced to life in prison. [Ignacio Villamor was born on Feb.1,1863, in Bangued, Abra. He completed his Law Course at the University of Santo Tomas in 1893. In 1898, he represented Ilocos Sur in the Malolos Congress and helped draw up a constitution for the First Philippine Republic. He was a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federalwhen it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900. Under the American regime, he served as judge, Attorney-General, the first Filipino executive secretary, the first Filipino President of the University of the Philippines (appointed June 7, 1915), and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (appointed May 19, 1920). He died on May 23, 1933].
New-York Tribune, July 27, 1907, Page 3 On July 26, 1907, the death sentences on Sakay and De Vega were affirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines headed by Cayetano S. Arellano.
The "Presidio de Manila", more popularly known as the Carcel de Bilibid or Bilibid Prison, as it looked in 1899; the American-run prison was crammed with "brigandage" suspects, with a soaring death from overcrowding and malnourishment in these years, 72 per 1,000 in 1902, 99 per 1,000 in 1903, 118 per 1,000 in 1904, and by September 1905, 438 per 1,000. The prison is still operational as of the early 21st century and is known as "Manila City Jail". On Friday, 9:00 am, Sept. 13, 1907, at the Bilibid Prison in Manila, Lucio de Vega ascended the scaffold first. "We are members of the revolutionary force that defended our country, the Philippines. We are the true Katipuneros!" He shouted moments before the hangman's noose was placed around his neck. He was followed by Macario Sakay who paused briefly and said these parting words: "Death comes to all of us sooner or later, so I will face the Lord Almighty calmly. But I want to tell you that we were not bandits and robbers, as the Americans have accused us, but members of the revolutionary force that defended our mother country, Filipinas! Farewell! Long live the republic and may our independence be born in the future! Farewell! Long live Filipinas!"
The US Army hangs two Filipinos. Photo taken in the early 1900's.
Three "Ladrones" (bandits) are about to be hanged in Tayabas Province (now Quezon). The Brigandage Act of 1902 interpreted all acts of armed resistance to American rule as banditry. PHOTO was taken in the early 1900s.
The three "Ladrones" in preceding photo are dead, after the drop.
Manila Grand Opera House on Calle Dulumbayan (renamed Rizal Avenue in 1911), Sta. Cruz district, Manila, where the First Philippine Assembly was inaugurated on Oct. 16, 1907. An election was held on July 31, 1907. The qualified voters were severely limited to those who owned real property worth five hundred pesos; could write and read; and could speak Spanish or English. Only about 1.41 % of the population voted.
The First Philippine Assembly: Of the 80 elected delegates, 79 were present during the inauguration. The first session was actually held at the Ayuntamiento de Manila in Intramuros district in the afternoon of the same day. The Ayuntamiento was a two-storey building occupying half a block near the Manila Cathedral. The Assembly was the lower house (all Filipino members), and the Philippine Commission (all Americans) served as the upper house. The all Filipino Assembly seemed to be a promise of independence from the Americans. Closer to the truth was that it was meant to pacify into colonial contentment a people fresh from a losing war of liberation. Gen. Artemio "Vibora" Ricarte: He never surrendered
1st commanding general of the Philippine army: March 22, 1897 to Jan 22, 1899. Born on Oct 20, 1866 in Batac, Ilocos Norte. His original surname was “Dodon,” the Ilocano word for “grasshopper.” He graduated from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He took up teaching at the Universidad de Santo Tomas and then at the Escuela Normal de Manila.
He supervised a primary school in San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, Cavite). He embraced freemasonry and was made a master mason in September 1896. He joined the Katipunan in Cavite and adopted the name Vibora (viper). Ricarte (LEFT, in 1898 photo) operated in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Aguinaldo ordered him to remain in Biyak na Bato, San Miguel, Bulacan to supervise the surrender of arms and to see to it that the Spanish government complied with the terms of the Biyak na Bato peace pact of Dec. 14, 1897. Aguinaldo renewed the revolution upon his return from exile in Hong Kong on May 19, 1898. On June 2, 1898, at San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias), Cavite Province, Ricarte accepted the surrender of General Leopoldo Garcia Peña, the Spanish commanding general in Cavite, who gave up with 2,800 men. When the Fil-Am War started on Feb. 4, 1899, he was Chief of Operations of the Filipino forces in the second zone around Manila. In June 1900 he and some of his men sneaked into Manila, intending to organize the populace for an uprising.
The Salt Lake Herald, issue of July 3, 1900, Page 1 On July 1, 1900 Ricarte was arrested at the foot of the Paco bridge. He was confined at the American military headquarters on Anda street in Intramuros, Manila.
Original caption: "Insurgent leaders deported to Guam" On Jan. 16, 1901, Ricarte was put on the USS Rosecrans and deported to Guam, along with the following 31 military officers and civilians: GENERALS Francisco de los Santos, Piodel Pilar, Maximino Hizon and Mariano Llanera; COLONELS Lucas Camerino, Esteban Consortes, Macario de Ocampo and Julian Gerona; LT. COLONELS Mariano Barroga, Pedro Cubarrubias, Hermogenes Plata and Cornelio Requestis; MAJOR Fabian Villaruel; SUBORDINATE ARMY OFFICERS Igmidio de Jesus, Jose Mata, Alipio Tecson and Juan Leandro Villarino; CIVILIANS Lucino Almeida, Pio Barican, Jose Buenaventura, Anastacio Carmona, Bartolome de la Rosa, Norberto Dimayuga, Doroteo Espina, Silvestre Legaspi, Apolinario Mabini, Juan Mauricio, Pablo Ocampo, Antonio Prisco Reyes, Simon Tecson and Maximino Trias.
The Salt Lake Herald., Jan. 25, 1901, Page 1 [On Jan. 24, 1901, an additional 11 men from Ilocos Norte, described by the Americans as "insurgent abettors, sympathizers and agitators", were loaded on the USS Solace and also deported to Guam. They were: Faustino Adiarte, Pancracio Adiarte, Florencio Castro, Inocente Cayetano, Gavino Domingo, Pedro Erando, Leon Flores, Jaime Morales, Pancracio Palting, Marcelo Quintos and Roberto Salvante.] In response to public demand in the US, Ricarte and others were allowed to leave Guam.
Colorized photo was taken in the 1900's. They arrived in Manila on the U.S. transport Thomas on Feb. 26, 1903.
The New York Tribune, issue of Feb. 27, 1903, Page 1 Ricarte was the only one who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the US. He was transported to Hong Kong and there kept under the surveillance of American agents. His mail address in Hong Kong was "U.G. Viper, Esq., Ripon Terrace, Bonham Road". Jointly with Manuel Ruiz Prin, he established the United Democratic Filipino Republican Committee.
Page 3 He slipped back to the Philippines on Dec. 25, 1903 hoping to rekindle the Revolution; the Americans offered a reward of $10,000 for information leading to his capture, dead or alive.
Page 4 Corporal Carlos Ayala and Second-Class Private Nicolas Calvo of the Philippine Constabulary, while on detached service at Arayat, Pampanga Province, allegedly corresponded with Artemio Ricarte upon his arrival from Hongkong, with the purpose of organizing an insurrection against the colonial government. Upon their return to their home station at Vigan, Ilocos Sur Province, they induced other constables to join, together with a number of residents of the neighboring barrios, in a mutiny. On the night of Feb. 7, 1904, after supper between 7 and 8 PM, the mutineers went into action. They ransacked the commissary, released the prisoners confined in the provincial jail, tore down the telegraph line, and shot to death fellow constable, Second-Class Private Segundo Bautista, when he refused to cooperate. They went through the streets of Vigan for two hours, firing their guns and cheering for Ricarte and the liberty of the Philippines. At 9 AM on the following day, more than forty mutineers entered the town of Narvacan. They tore down the American flag from the municipal building, took 28 pesos from the municipal safe, and compelled the town mayor and councilmen to pass a resolution supporting the revolution against the colonial government. At 1 PM of the same day they entered the municipal building at Santa Maria, took 315 pesos from the office of the municipal treasurer, and also compelled the town officials to sign a resolution similar to the one at Narvacan. The same night they entered the town of Santiago, took 350 pesos from the office of the municipal treasurer, and took shelter in the parochial house. They left at 9 AM on the following day,February 9, after forcing town officials to sign a resolution of cooperation.
Issue of Feb. 13, 1904, Page 3 Constabulary, Scouts, and United States troops of adjoining provinces were sent after the mutineers. By February 15, most of them had surrendered or were captured. . The mutineers were charged with and convicted of treason by the court of first instance at Vigan and were given the following sentences: Death—Corporal Carlos Ayala, and Second-Class Privates Macario Agapay and Nicolas Calvo. Forty years and fine of 10,000 pesos—Second-Class Privates Santiago Asuncion, Doroteo Ayson, Teodoro Edralin, Antonio Guerzon, Cenon Lazo, Maximiano Manganaan, Benito Paez, Modesto Polido, Bruno Propio, Pablo Silvestre, Mariano Vallehermosa, and Anselmo Ygarta.
A company of the Philippine Constabulary. Photo taken between 1906 and 1910.
Ricarte was arrested by the Philippine Constabulary on May 29, 1904 at the cockpit in Mariveles, Bataan Province, where he had gone to meet some co-conspirators. He was then acting as a clerk for a Justice of the Peace under the name of "Jose Garcia". He was denounced by Luis Baltazar, a clerk of the Court of First Instance in Bataan.
American photographer's caption: "Ricarte--'The Viper'--Now doing 6 years in Bilibid". "THE only free Filipino," a journalist wrote in describing General Artemio Ricarte during the American rule in the country. To the very end, Ricarte remained true to his vow never to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
The "Presidio de Manila", more popularly called the Carcel de Bilibid or Bilibid Prison. Photo taken in 1902.
Ricarte was brought to Manila and conducted into the sala of Judge Manuel Araullo (LEFT, in 1922). He was charged and found guilty of illegal possession of firearms and conspiracy. Judge Araullo sentenced him to six years' solitary confinement in prison and to pay a fine of $10,000. (Araullo was a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federal when it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900. He later served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from Nov. 1, 1921 until his death on July 26, 1924. Manuel Araullo High School in Manila and Araullo University in Nueva Ecija were named in his honor).
Colorized photo of the Carcel de Bilibid or Bilibid Prison, taken in the early 1900's. Officially named Carcel y Presidio Correccional (Correctional Jail and Military Prison), it was established on June 25, 1865 under a Spanish royal decree. In 1940 the prisoners, equipment and facilities were transferred to a new prison in Muntinlupa, Rizal Province, called "The New Bilibid Prison". The old facility is still being used by the City of Manila as its detention center, known as Manila City Jail. Ricarte served his sentence at the Bilibid Prison in Manila until his release on June 26, 1910. As soon as he stepped out of Bilibid, he was met and detained by several American police agents and brought to the Bureau of Customs. He was asked to swear allegiance to the US; he declined and he was once more deported to Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Ricarte published a magazine entitled "El Grito del Presente" (Cry of the Present).
Artemio Ricarte (SEATED, CENTER), with members of the Philippine revolutionary council in Hong Kong, 1911.
In May 1911, he married Agueda Esteban (LEFT, in old age) who had gone to Hong Kong the previous year; she was the widow of Lt. Col. Mariano Barroga, a Katipunero and later an officer in the Philippine Republican Army, and Ricarte's fellow deportee to Guam (Colonel Barroga died in November 1902). Ricarte, Agueda and stepdaughter Salud lived on Lamma Island and later inKowloon. In 1913, to dissociate the country from its colonial heritage, Ricarte (RIGHT, ca 1910's), proposed that the Philippines, which was named after King Philip of Spain, be renamed “Rizaline Islands” in honor of national hero Jose Rizal and Filipinos, “Rizalines”. In 1915, during World War I, the British government removed all political exiles from Hong Kong. The Ricartes were shipped to Shanghai and from there, toJapan. They resided in Aichiken, then Tokyo, where Ricarte made his living by teaching Spanish at the Kaigai Shokumin Gakko (Overseas School).
Artemio Ricarte (standing, 3rd from left), his wife Agueda Esteban (standing, 2nd from right), and Filipino acquaintances in front of Ricarte's restaurant, Karihan Luvimin. SOURCE: Ambeth Ocampo's album "History." In April 1923, they moved to Yokohama. They lived at 149 Yamashita-cho, Yokohama. Ricarte put up a restaurant whose earnings allowed the family to live in comfort.
Nov. 15, 1935: Inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. At the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth on Nov. 15, 1935, the giant Philippine flag, made of Japanese silk, was a gift from General Artemio Ricarte, who was still in exile in Japan. His gift of the Philippine flag was a token of solidarity with his countrymen as they embarked on full autonomy, the penultimate step to independence.
Artemio Ricarte and his wife Agueda, photo taken in Manila during the Japanese occupation. Ricarte collaborated with the Japanese during World War II; on Dec. 21, 1941 they flew him back to the Philippines, via Aparri, Cagayan---he was then 75 years old. On Feb. 16, 1942, Time Magazine reported: "Old General Artemio Ricarte y Vibora drove proudly about Manila in a sleek limousine, with a spluttering escort of Jap motorcycle guards." On Oct 14, 1943, he and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo raised the Filipino flag during the inauguration of the Japanese-sponsored "Second Philippine Republic". Ricarte was not given a high position by the Japanese because of his advanced age. He toured the provinces and promoted cooperation with Japan [RIGHT].
The Americans returned on Oct. 20, 1944, initially smashing Japanese forces on Leyte Island. They proved unstoppable from then on. On Dec. 8, 1944, Ricarte (LEFT, in Japanese military garb) and Benigno Ramos organized a quisling militia, the Makapili (Makabayan Katipunan ng mga Pilipino) or "Alliance of Patriotic Filipinos", which eventually numbered 5000 strong. It assisted the Japanese in anti-guerilla operations. Roundups of suspected American agents intensified, and there were lineups at which hooded Makapilis denounced suspects who were then imprisoned and tortured in the dungeons of Fort Santiago. Only a few survived the ordeal. In January 1945, when General Tomoyuki Yamashita was preparing to abandon Manila, Japanese officials offered to evacuate him to Japan. Ricarte declined. He said: "I cannot take refuge in Japan at this critical moment when my people are in direct distress. I will stay in my Motherland to the last." He fled with Japanese forces under Yamashita into the mountains of northern Luzon. Without his knowing it, the Japanese executed some 20 of his relatives because the Japanese feared that they knew too much. His own grandson, Besulmino Romero, would have been executed, too, had he not understood what the Japanese were saying and pleaded with them to spare his life,
Hungduan Rice Terraces: The rice terraces in Hungduan have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural Landscape. This confirms the exceptional universal value of the rice terraces as a cultural landscape which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity Ricarte and Yamashita's army held out in the scenic, highland town of Hungduan, Ifugao Province (then a part of Mountain Province). Ricarte was afflicted with dysentery and with very little to eat, he fell seriously ill and died on July 31, 1945 at the age of 78. He was originally buried on the slopes of Mt. Napulawan. (Yamashita surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945 in Kiangan, Ifugao).
General Ricarte's remains now lie at the Libingan ng mga Bayani ("Cemetery of Heroes"), Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila.
The corvette BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS37) was named in the hero's honor by the Philippine Navy. She was originally called HMS Starling of the Hong Kong Squadron of the British Royal Navy. The ship was built by Hall Russell in the United Kingdom and was commissioned into Her Majesty's British Royal Navy service in 1984. The corvette was sold to the Philippines and turned over to the Philippine Navy on August 1, 1997 when Hong Kong was ceded back to China. | Filipinos attack San Fernando, May 24, 1899 and June 16, 1899
American photographer's caption: "Looking for trouble." Photo taken in 1899, somewhere in Central Luzon. On May 24, 1899, at about 7:00 a.m., the Filipinos opened fire on the line occupied by the US 1st Brigade, 2nd Division now commanded by Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston, at San Fernando, Pampanga Province.
1st Montana Volunteers on outpost duty, somewhere in Central Luzon, 1899. Two battalions of the 1st Montana Volunteer Infantry fell on the Filipinos' right flank while two battalions of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry moved on their left. Two guns of the Utah Volunteer Light Artillery took up a position opposite the Filipinos' center. The Filipinos retreated toward Bacolor, leaving 53 dead with 29 taken prisoner. American losses were 2 dead and 10 wounded.
June 16, 1899: US soldiers haul away a dead Filipino, San Fernando, Pampanga Province On June 16, 1899, at about 4:45 a.m., the Filipinos attacked the Americans at San Fernando anew. They employed several pieces of artillery and the Americans estimated that at least 4,000 infantry were in the attacking force. The Filipinos were driven back. The Americans reported 36 Filipinos killed while they suffered only 6 men wounded. May 30, 1899: First observance of Decoration Day in the PhilippinesDecoration Day was a United States federal holiday first observed on May 30, 1869 to honor Union soldiers who died in the American Civil War; it later expanded to commemorate all Americans who died while in the military service. In 1967, the name was officially changed to "Memorial Day", and four years later, observance was moved from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The change created a convenient three-day weekend.
Soldiers of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry laying flowers on the grave of a fallen comrade at Paco Cemetery, Manila, on Decoration Day, May 30, 1899.
Original caption: "Decorating the graves of the Oregon Volunteers in Battery Knoll Cemetery, Decoration Day, 1899, Manila, P.I."
May 30, 1899
May 30, 1899
May 30, 1899
June 2, 1899: Services over American remains
American military cemetery in Manila. PHOTO was taken in late 1899. General Otis Unsuspends Spanish-legacy Courts of Law, May 29, 1899
"The Filipino-American Supreme Court of Manila/Colonel Crowder Administering the Oath of Office to the Filipino Judges.—Drawn from Life by William Bengough." Harper's History of the War in the Philippines (1900) [The oath-taking ceremony was performed on June 5, 1899. Standing are Manuel Araullo, Florentino Torres, Gregorio Araneta, Cayetano Arellano, and Captain William E. Birkhimer. Seated are Colonel Enoch H. Crowder and Major Richard W. Young — Colonel Crowder sits, legs crossed, to administer the oath. The Filipino judges all stand]. Prior to the American invasion, the highest judicial body with jurisdiction over the Philippines was the Supreme Court of Spain sitting in Madrid. Locally, the highest court was the Audiencia Territorial de Manila (literally, "Regional Court of Manila"), with two branches, Sala de lo Civil, and Sala de lo Criminal. When Manila fell to the Americans on Aug. 13, 1898, Gen. Wesley Merritt, Commanding General of the 8th U.S. Army Corps and military governor of the Philippines, suspended the criminal jurisdiction of the Audiencia Territorial and organized military commissions or court martial or provost courts. On May 29, 1899, Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis, who succeeded Merritt, consulted with Cayetano Arellano, a collaborationist Filipino lawyer who had occupied a high position in Aguinaldo's government, and re-established the Audiencia Territorial, with the following general orders:
The Orders gave the new Audiencia Territorial de Manila jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases but only insofar as this was compatible with the sovereignty of the United States. The present Supreme Court of the Philippines traces its roots only from June 11, 1901 when Act 136 of the Second Philippine Commission granted it genuine judicial independence. The judicial structure introduced by Act 136 was reaffirmed by the US Congress with the passage of the Philippine Bill of 1902. June 2, 1899: Last Spanish holdouts surrender in Baler
Tribunal, court...Trincheras, trenches...Casas Fortificadas, fortified houses...hacia el rio, towards the river...Calle de Cisneros, Cisneros Street...Plaza del Pueblo con naranjos, town square with orange trees...Huerto, orchard...Pozo Negro, black pit. Fifty-three Spanish soldiers and 4 officers staked out at the Baler Church, Baler, Nueva Ecija Province, from June 28, 1898 to June 2, 1899 (Baler is now the capital town of Aurora Province; it is 140 miles, about 225 kilometers, due north of Manila, but on the eastern or Pacific side of Luzon Island). Not knowing that the Spanish-American War had ended on Aug 13, 1898, that Spain ceded the Philippines to the US on Dec 10, 1898, and that the Filipinos were now battling the Americans, they held on, fighting the Filipinos and resisting several demands for surrender. They fought despite hunger, illnesses, and desertion from among their ranks.
The USS Yorktown, circa 1890-1901. She was 244 feet (74 m) long and 36 feet (11 m) abeam with six 6-inch (15.2 cm) guns augmented by an assortment of smaller-caliber guns. On April 12, 1899, the gunboat USS Yorktown, under the command of Commander Charles Sperry, arrived at Baler Bay, for the purpose of taking the besieged Spanish troops back to Manila. Sperry sent a cutter, with 14 men under the command of Lt. Commander James C. Gillmore, to ascertain whether there was a sufficient depth of water to enable the Yorktown to enter the mouth of the Kinalapan- Pingit River. Gillmore and his crew took soundings of the water depth, but for no apparent reason, they went upriver.
The mouth of the Kinalapan- Pingit River; about a half-mile (1 km) upriver, Lt. Commander Gilmore and his landing party were ambushed and captured by the Filipinos. The cutter was ambushed by the Filipinos; 4 of the Americans died and the 11 survivors captured. The prisoners were marched to town and kept there for three days then taken to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija Province. From Nueva Ecija they were taken further north to the Ilocos region. The captors then deserted the prisoners.
Lt. Commander James C. Gillmore (Front row, 2nd from right) after he and his men were rescued on Dec. 28, 1899. A party from the 33rd U.S. Infantry Regiment rescued the Americans on Dec. 28, 1899.
Facade of Baler Church
Lateral view of Baler Church
In making their last stand the Spanish holdouts made Baler the last Spanish outpost in Luzon. When finally convinced that the war was over, they gave up and the 35 men who survived the siege were greeted by the Filipinos with shouts of "Amigos! Amigos!" President Emilio Aguinaldo had magnanimously decreed that the Spanish holdouts be treated not as enemies but as honored friends. They were given safe-conduct to Manila.
Original caption: "Los ultimos de Filipinas, a su llegada a Barcelona despues del largo asedio de Baler." The Spanish contingent left Manila on July 20, 1899, reaching Barcelona, Spain, on Sept. 1 that year. The Los Ultimos de Filipinas, as how they were called, were received as heroes. Of the 57 men who entered the church of Baler on June 27, 1898, 35 survived the 337-day siege; 19 men died, 15 from diseases. Only 2 men died from wounds, the only battle casualties.
There were 5 deserters from the garrison: Filipino natives Corporals Alfonso Sus Fojas and Tomas Paladio Paredes; and the Spaniards Felipe Herrero Lopez, Jaime Caldentey Nadal, and Jose Alcaide Bayona. Two men ---Antonio Menache Sanchez and Vicente Gonzalez Toca---were imprisoned at the baptistry of the church for helping in the desertion of Alcaide, and executed on orders of Spanish Lt. Saturnino Martin Cerezo (LEFT) on June 1, 1899, the day before the surrender.
1904: A magazine in Spain features the last Spanish holdouts at Baler.
1904: A Spanish magazine features the repatriation of the remains of Spanish soldiers who died at Baler.
Baler Church in 1939 after undergoing renovation
Baler Church in the 1990's June 4, 1899: Americans capture Antipolo
While the Americans pursued Emilio Aguinaldo in the north, they also moved against his forces operating from the mountain town of Antipolo (ABOVE, 1898 photo), Morong Province, 26 kms (16 miles) east of Manila.
June 3, 1899: Americans battling Filipinos at the base of the mountains leading to Antipolo On June 3, 1899, Brig. Gen. Robert H. Hall, in command of 2,500 troops, went after General Pio del Pilar who was entrenched in the approaches to Antipolo. His men came from the 4th US Cavalry, 4th US Infantry and 9th US Infantry Regiments, and 1st Colorado Volunteer, 2nd Oregon Volunteer and Wyoming Volunteer Regiments, supported by 2 guns mountain battery and 2 mountain Hotchkiss guns.
Americans battling Filipinos near a hill. Undated photo, location not specified. Source: Ambeth R. Ocampo's album "History". The rough terrain and the heat caused Hall's column to move slowly. It met with stout resistance from a scattered force of 300 at the base of the mountains; 2 Americans were killed and 9 wounded. Filipino losses were unknown.
An American soldier poses with captured Filipino bladed weapons and flag. Undated photo, location not specified. Source: Ambeth R. Ocampo's album "History". The Americans entered Antipolo the following day at about 10:00 a.m.. The town was deserted; the Filipinos had moved to Tanay, Morong Province.
Antipolo Church. Photo taken in 1898. In the church was found about 1,000 Mauser cartridges, 2,500 Remington cartridges and a small number of 3.2 inch shells and improvised canisters of the same caliber. All these were thrown into a well.
Pilgrims at Antipolo, late 1890's or early 1900's. [ The shrine of Mary as "Lady of Peace and Good Voyage" in the church has for centuries attracted pilgrims from all over the country, particularly those intending to travel, work overseas and, beginning in the 20th century, those who have bought new motor vehicles. This belief in the good luck bestowed by the Nuestra Senora De la Paz Y Buen Viaje has its roots in the Manila-Acapulco (Mexico) Galleon Trade of 1565-1815 when the Marian statue accompanied and supposedly protected ships from bad weather, pirates and the Dutch and British blockades ].
June 5, 1899: Assassination of Gen. Antonio Luna
The house in Binondo district, Manila, where General Antonio Luna was born. Photo was taken on Oct. 29, 2008, the 142nd anniversary of his birth.
At the age of six, Antonio learned reading, writing, and arithmetic from a teacher known as Maestro Intong. He memorized the Doctrina Cristiana (catechism), first published in 1593, and believed to be the first book printed in the Philippines.
In 1881 he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila(ABOVE). He earned a Licentiate in Pharmacy at the Universidad de Barcelona in Spain and in 1890 was conferred a Doctorate in Pharmacy by the Universidad Central de Madrid.
Antonio Luna with fellow propagandists Eduardo de Lete (CENTER) and Marcelo H. Del Pilar (RIGHT). PHOTO was taken in Spain in 1890. In Spain, Luna joined the Propaganda Movement, a cultural and literary organization of Filipino expatriates; it called for the assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain, Filipino representation in the Spanish legislature, freedom of speech and the press, and Filipino equality before the law. Like most of the Filipino reformists, he joined Masonry and rose to Master Mason. He commissioned Pedro Serrano Laktaw to secretly organize Masonic Lodges in the Philippines to strengthen the Propaganda Movement. Luna also wrote in La Solidaridad, a newspaper published by the propagandists in Spain. He wrote under the penname "Taga-Ilog".
Antonio Luna poses with a microscope at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. PHOTO was taken in the early 1890's. After receiving his doctorate, In 1894 he went back to the Philippines with a commission from the Spanish government to study the bacteriology of contagious diseases. Later that year, he won the post of Chemist Expert of the Municipal Laboratory of Manila.
Antonio and his brother, Juan, also opened a fencing school, the Sala de Armas (ABOVE), on Calle Alix (now Legarda St.), in Sampaloc district, Manila. Luna’s political activities in Europe and his friendship with leading propagandists made him a marked man at the start of the 1896 Revolution. Like Jose Rizal and other leaders, he favored reforms rather than independence. Even so, the Spanish authorities linked him with the militant Katipunan.
Luna was charged with illegal association and deported to Spain in 1897, and imprisoned at the Carcel Modelo (ABOVE, ca 1904) in Madrid. Upon his release, he went to Belgium and studied military tactics and strategy under General Gerard Mathieu Leman (RIGHT, in WWI). He returned to the Philippines in July 1898. He was appointed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as Chief of War Operations on Sept 26, 1898 and assigned the rank of brigadier general. With President Aguinaldo's approval, he established a military academy at Malolos on Oct. 25, 1898. He was appointed commanding general of the Philippine Army on Jan. 23, 1899 and held that position until his assassination. Luna had a volatile temper and sharp tongue. He was a strict disciplinarian and alienated many officers and men in the ranks. He fought gallantly at battles in Caloocan, Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija against better equipped U.S. forces. At Caloocan, the Kawit Battalion from Cavite refused to attack when given the order. The men told him they only took orders from General Emilio Aguinaldo, their townmate. He promptly disarmed them. He believed the Filipinos had a chance against superior American firepower by waging a guerilla war. He asked the aid of Aguinaldo's advisor Apolinario Mabini as early as April 1899 to convince the leader to adopt guerilla warfare. Aguinaldo chose to fight with a regular army as a sovereign nation would, only to revert to secret guerilla units beginning on Nov. 12, 1899. On May 5, 1899, the Schurman Commission proposed what they called "autonomy" for the Philippines, but the US President would hold absolute power. About fifteen remaining members of the Malolos Congress met, accepted the offer, and asked President Aguinaldo to dismiss Apolinario Mabini and appoint a new cabinet.
The Salt Lake Herald, issue of May 8, 1899, Page 1 On May 7, 1899, Aguinaldo appointed a new cabinet headed by Pedro Paterno. The new executive advisers favored Philippine autonomy under the tutelage of the United States.
Felipe Buencamino with his daughters at his country house in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan Province. PHOTO was taken on Dec. 25, 1904. Paterno appointed a commission of nine to negotiate with the Americans; it was chaired by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Felipe Buencamino (ABOVE). Like Mabini, Luna was very vocal against entering into any deal with the Americans. He strongly advocated a fight to the finish for independence. On May 21, 1899, at Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, an enraged General Luna confronted the cabinet members. He yelled, “To compromise with the enemy is to have a new era of slavery and suffering!”
The Salt Lake Herald, issue of July 5, 1898, datelined June 27, 1898, Page 1 Luna slapped Buencamino, and called him a traitor and his son a coward. He had once been an ardent defender of Spanish rule and of the friars Luna arrested the Cabinet after calling everybody a traitor. He turned over the men to Aguinaldo, but the Cabinet members were turned loose as soon as Luna left. These men then cautioned Aguinaldo that the hot-headed general was planning a coup d' etat for June 13. On June 4, 1899, Luna was directing the establishment of a guerilla base in the Mountain Province from his headquarters in Bayambang, Pangasinan If he had not been bogged down by his wounds, Colonel (later General) Benito Natividad (RIGHT) , who was then General Luna’s top aide and a Nueva Ecija native, could have accompanied Luna to Cabanatuan instead of Colonel Roman. On June 5, Luna and his party arrived at the outskirts of Cabanatuan but the broken bridge threatened to delay the whole party. The impatient General left his escort and proceeded to his summons accompanied only by Colonel Roman and Captain Rusca. At about 3:00 p.m., they arrived at the casa parroquial (convent) in Cabanatuan where the Philippine Republic was holding office. The first man the general met was an officer he had disarmed in Angeles for cowardice. His famous temper provoked, General Luna slapped a sentry who failed to salute him and, upon being informed that Aguinaldo had already left for San Isidro, Nueva Ecija (Aguinaldo actually went to Bamban, Tarlac Province), he ran upstairs and saw Felipe Buencamino. They exchanged heated words. A rifle shot was heard and the general rushed downstairs to investigate, and there, waiting for him, were Capt. Pedro Janolino and members of the Kawit Battalion of Cavite Province. These were the same soldiers who had refused to take orders from Luna during the battle at Caloocan on Feb. 10, 1899; as punishment, Luna had disarmed and relieved them of their duties.
A plaque at the entrance to the casa parroquial and a blue signboard mark the scene of General Luna's assassination. The signboard reads "General Antonio Luna Death Place". The casa parroquial is now occupied by a school. The men mobbed him. Luna was stabbed with daggers and shot. Mortally wounded, he still managed to stagger to the street, away from his assassins. He fired his pistol, but didn't hit anybody.
LEFT, Colonel Francisco "Paco" Roman, General Luna's aide-de-camp. RIGHT, arrow points to the spot where he fell and died.
As Luna fell on the convent yard, all he could say was "Cow....ards! As...sas...sins!" Aguinaldo's mother, Trinidad Famy y Aguinaldo (RIGHT, in 1901) was said to have watched the killing. She shouted "Nagalaw pa ba iyan?" (Is he still alive?). One of the assassins nudged Luna's body with his boot. The general was dead. Buencamino emptied Luna's pockets and took the telegram that Luna had received.
After Luna's death, Aguinaldo ordered all chiefs of brigades under Luna arrested. Some were killed like Major Manuel Bernal who was tortured first and his brother Captain Jose Bernal (LEFT) who was released but was later assassinated at Candaba, Pampanga Province, on June 16, 1899. Aguinaldo also ordered the disarming of two companies suspected of being pro-Luna.
Monument to General Antonio Luna at Plaza Lucero, Cabanatuan City Years later, when asked about his role in the death of Luna, Aguinaldo replied that he had nothing to do with it; in fact, he was no longer in Cabanatuan when the assassination took place.
[Interestingly, on the very same day that Luna died, Gen. Venancio Concepcion (LEFT), then in Angeles, received a telegram from President Aguinaldo. It was sent from the Cabanatuan telegraph office; the transmission time approximated the time of Luna's assassination. Aguinaldo informed General Concepcion that he (Aguinaldo), had taken charge of the military operations in Central Luzon in place of General Luna. The President further informed Concepcion that he was on his way to Bamban; it was going to be Aguinaldo's temporary executive and military general headquarters. Aguinaldo also said that Concepcion should meet him in Bamban at 4:00 p.m., the estimated time of his arrival. In fact, Aguinaldo and his party arrived at 7:00 p.m. via a special train. In his diary, General Concepcion wrote that there were instant loyalty checks among the officers and their respective commands in the headquarters that same night. It was only the next day, June 6, that General Concepcion learned about the death of General Luna and Colonel Roman.] The assassination of General Luna drew front-page reporting in American newspapers.
On June 14, 1899, the New York Times reported Luna's assassination, described the fiery general as "one of the most intelligent and turbulent of the Filipino leaders," and added that "Aguinaldo was in mortal terror of him." On the same day, the San Francisco Call also came out with the news of Luna's death, blaming Aguinaldo for the murder:
The Times, Washington, DC, June 14, 1899 South of Manila Campaign: Battle of Las Piñas and Parañaque, June 10, 1899
Troops of the 9th US Regular Infantry Regiment at Las Piñas A force of 4,500 American troops assembled on June 10, 1899 at San Pedro de Macati to conduct a campaign south of Manila to sweep the country between Manila Bay and Laguna Lake. They were commanded by Maj. Gen. Henry Lawton, Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton and Col. Samuel Ovenshine. The Americans quickly broke through the Filipino lines. They entered an area known as "El Desierto", a barely cultivated road-less expanse of thickets, head high grassland, rice-fields, ridges and gullies. Snipers raked the footpaths, forcing the US troops to march in extended skirmish order through the ravines and scrub.
The gunboat Helena (ABOVE, LEFT) and the double-turreted USS Monadnock (ABOVE, RIGHT) shelled the coastal towns of Parañaque and Las Piñas all day with the full power of their batteries. Near Las Piñas, at the base of Telegraph Hill, the Filipinos launched a determined attack, but were beaten back by the Americans defending the hill. The heat during the battle proved overpowering to the Americans. Most threw away their ponchos, blankets and haversacks, everything but rifles, ammunition, and canteens. It was estimated that forty percent of the troops had heat exhaustion. Capt. Henry Nichols, Commander of the Monadnock, died of heat stroke the day following the battle. The Americans suffered 2 men killed in action and 21 wounded. The Filipinos lost 50 men killed and 20 captured.
Filipino cannon captured at Las Piñas
Original caption: " View looking up the Parañaque road toward Manila from the insurgent trench commanding it : Rizal province -- 1899."
Unexploded 10-inch shell fired by the U.S.S. Monadnock, after penetrating a six-foot trench and killing 3 Filipinos
Filipino soldiers - prisoners of war at Las Piñas
Las Piñas Church, used as headquarters by Maj. Gen. Henry Lawton. Photo was taken during the period June 10-12, 1899.
The church at Las Piñas in contemporary times
A portion of the church at Parañaque shattered by shot and shell.
Original caption: "Dismantled church and convent at Parañaque occupied by Filipino insurgents as barracks with telegraph office. Room in annex occupied as United States Signal Corps telegraph office."
Original caption: "Victorious American soldiers gathered in the Main Street of Paranaque, the morning after its surrender--Filipino flags of truce displayed--the celebrated 'Buck' Harlan and his Washington Scouts in the foreground.". PHOTO was taken on June 11, 1899.
Parañaque: Crews of Light Battery E, 1st Artillery and Light Battery D, 6th Artillery
"Municipal Home-Rule for the Filipinos/Organizing the Local Government at Las Piñas. The Interpreter explaining American Institutions to the newly elected President.—Drawn from Life by William Bengough." Harper's History of the War in the Philippines (1900). [Seated are Brig. Gen. Frederick D. Grant; Dean C. Worcester, Philippines Commissioner, and Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton. Standing behind Gen. Grant is Calixto Laral, President, and, to his left, Paulo Ellanigat, Vice-President. The American officials all have chairs. Only one Filipino is seated. The newly elected president is standing]. Battle of Zapote Bridge, Cavite Province, June 13, 1899
The action at Zapote, Cavite is also known as the Battle of Zapote River. It was fought on June 13, 1899 between 3,000 American soldiers led by Capt. William H. Sage, 23rd US Infantry Regiment, won his Medal of Honor by volunteering to hold an advanced position. With 9 men he fought under a heavy fire from the Filipinos. Taking up a rifle from a wounded man he personally killed 5 Filipinos and held them in check until his squad had reached the safety of the American line. [Sage, West Point Class of 1882, rose to Brigadier General and served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in World War I.] The New York Times reported that the Filipino force at Zapote Bridge was "the largest and best organized body of men which had yet met American troops." Accurate American rifle and machine gun fire inflicted terrible losses on the Filipinos, who were armed with a motley of firearms or bolos, and did not have the firepower to successfully retaliate on most occasions. American gunboats also devastated the Filipino positions.
Filipino smooth-bore cannon captured at Zapote
US soldier with Filipino smooth-bore cannon captured at Zapote
The Americans suffered 75 casualties, 15 of which killed, and the Filipinos suffered over 500 casualties, between 140 and 150 of which were deaths.
10th Pennsylvania Volunteers with big muzzle-loader captured from the Filipinos at Bacoor, near the Zapote River, June 13, 1899. Zapote River separates what is now the city of Las Pinas in Metro Manila from Bacoor, Cavite. Zapote Bridge in ruins still stands along the General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway near Manila Bay.
Muzzle-loader captured from the Filipinos at Bacoor, near the Zapote River, June 13, 1899.
10th Pennsylvania Volunteers in destroyed church at Bacoor, June 13, 1899 Battle of Dasmariñas, Cavite Province, June 19-20, 1899
The rear guard of Company L, 4th US Infantry Regiment (Regulars), at the Battle of Dasmariñas, Cavite Province. Photo taken on June 19, 1899. Brig. Gen. Loyd Wheaton, commanding the attacking American force, estimated Filipino losses at between 100-200 killed. The Americans suffered 2 men killed and 16 wounded.
Scouts of the 4th US Infantry Regiment (Regulars), in what appears to be a posed photo, 1899. [From March 1899 to December 1901, the 4th Infantry saw extensive action in Cavite Province and throughout southern Luzon Island as part of expeditions led by Generals Henry Lawton, Theodore Swann, John C. Bates, Lloyd Wheaton, and Frederick D. Grant (son of ex-President Ulysses S. Grant) and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. Frank D. Bladwin.] The Schurman Commission and "Ilustrado" Collaborators, July 24, 1899
When Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898, he appointed Filipino "ilustrados" (men from the upper social classes) to draft the Philippine Constitution in the Malolos Congress. The constitution they crafted was intended to show the Americans that Filipinos were fully capable of self-government. But this same group ---including Cayetano Arellano, Benito Legarda, Pardo de Tavera, Florentino Torres and Pedro Paterno---deserted Aguinaldo at a critical moment.
Mestizo hacienda owners and ilustrados wanted America to fill the power vacuum that formed following the defeat of the Spanish instead of what they saw as an illiterate, rag-tag Filipino peasantry.
Cayetano Arellano at his desk in Manila. Photo was taken in 1899. On July 24, 1899, Cayetano Arellano, Benito Legarda and Pardo de Tavera testified before the Commission that the Filipinos were not capable of self-rule and could not be abandoned, and that they welcomed American tutelage. The three men indicated their desire to serve in the autonomous government proposed by the Americans.
Issue of April 28, 1900 On April 25, 1900, Pedro Paterno, the head of Aguinaldo's cabinet, was captured in Tublay, Benguet Province. He was amnestied on June 21, 1900 and lost no time in jumping into the ilustrado bandwagon of opportunists. He, along with Cayetano Arellano, Felipe Buencamino, Pardo de Tavera, Benito Legarda and Florentino Torres founded the Partido Federal on Dec. 23, 1900 at No. 37 Calle de Villalobos, Quiapo district, Manila; the meeting was attended by 119 other pro-American upper class Filipinos.
The collaboration of former top officials of the Aguinaldo government provided the Americans with a ready justification for colonizing the Philippines. Their presence in the American camp created an image of Filipino cooperation. US officials foisted on the American people the myth that the Filipinos welcomed American rule, and that a spirit of altruism had dictated the American decision to retain the Philippines. This allowed the US government to belittle the resistance that still raged.
Responding to this serious threat, on Feb. 28, 1901, Gen. Juan Cailles (LEFT), Aguinaldo's military governor of Laguna and half of Tayabas (now Quezon province), directed that all Federalistas and others seeking peace should be immediately shot without trial; 28 suspected collaborators were assassinated. [Four months later, on June 24, Cailles himself surrendered; three weeks later, on July 16, Gen. Miguel Malvar outlawed Cailles and threatened him with death for abandoning the Filipino cause. The following month, Cailles joined the Partido Federal and became a member of its directorate]. The ilustrado collaborators were rewarded with plum positions by Howard Taft, American civil governor of the Philippines. On June 11, 1901, Cayetano Arellano was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. On June 17, 1901, Florentino Torres was named Associate Justice. In the same year, Benito Legarda (RIGHT, in early 1900s) and Pardo de Tavera were appointed into the Second Philippine Commission - the US-controlled legislative body of the Philippines appointed by Pres. William Mckinley on March 16, 1900. It continued to participate in the governance of the Philippines until 1934, when the Philippines was declared a Commonwealth. Pedro Paterno received an appointment to the prestigious Manila municipal board.
Original caption: "Arch erected by the Partido Federal representing Filipina offering another star to the American flag".
July 26-30, 1899: Capture of Calamba, Laguna Province
The American force comprised 450 of the 21st Infantry, 400 of the 1st Washington Volunteers, 150 of the 4th Cavalry and 2 guns of the 1st Artillery. The troops boarded cascoes the preceding night. These and the gunboats Napindan and Oeste assembled opposite Calamba. The Filipinos were commanded by General Miguel Malvar.There were two hours of sharp fighting, during which 4 Americans were killed and 12 wounded. The Filipinos retreated through the town, shooting from houses and bushes as they fled to the nearby Mt. Makiling. After the fight 12 Spanish men holding up their hands and shouting " Castillanos!" met the American cavalry. They embraced the Americans hysterically. There were 50 Spanish prisoners at Calamba, of whom some were civil officials and some were soldiers. They had been given the choice of joining the Filipino army or becoming servants to Filipinos, and chose the army, intending to surrender at the first opportunity.
July 27, 1899, Calamba, Laguna Province: From left to right: Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton, Manley Lawton, Capt. Edward L. King, Mrs. Mary Craig Lawton, Garvin Denby, Dean C, Worcester (the photographer & writer) and Filipino collaborators Felipe Calderon and Benito Legarda. Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton, Professor Dean C. Worcester, of the First Philippine Commission; Mrs. Lawton and General Lawton's son Manley accompanied the expedition on board a launch and sat in an unprotected boat close to the shore during the fighting. The following day, July 27, the reinforced Filipinos, thinking that the Americans had evacuated the town, descended from Mt. Makiling, intending to reoccupy Calamba. The Americans drove them back.
Headquarters of Brig. Gen. Robert H. Hall at Calamba, Laguna Province. Three days later, on July 30, General Hall, hearing that General Malvar was preparing to make an attack, sent 3 companies of the 21st Infantry, 3 troops of cavalry and 1 gun to attack the Filipinos. This detachment found a force of about 1,000 Filipinos behind hastily made entrenchments. The Filipinos held their fire until the contingent of the 21st Infantry was within 300 yards, when they fired a volley. The Americans dropped in the high grass out of sight and returned the fire. A Filipino officer stood at the top of the trenches, directing the fire of his men until he was killed, when the Filipinos fled. The total American loss at Calamba was 7 killed and 20 wounded. Sixteen dead Filipinos were found.
1Lt. Matthew Batson inspects the rifles of members of Company E , 4th U. S. Cavalry Regiment stationed in Calamba. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on the first day of the battle for the town. Batson founded the infamous Macabebe Scouts in Pampanga Province on Sept. 10, 1899.
General Hall, a member of West Point Class 1860, left a garrison in the town.
39th US Volunteers and Filipino civilians riding a string of small railcars pulled by acarabao (water buffalo) at Calamba, 1900. Aug. 16, 1899: Battle of Angeles, Pampanga ProvinceAfter an extended period of comparative quiet due to the continual heavy rains, General MacArthur began his advance north from San Fernando. He ordered Lt. Col. Jacob H. Smith to press 10 miles northward along the railroad. On Aug. 16, 1899, Colonel Smith moved out with 10 companies of the 12th U.S. Infantry Regiment, with 1Lt. William L. Kenly's 2 guns of Light Battery E, 1st Artillery. Overall, the American force consisted of 28 officers and 648 men.
Filipino soldiers and civilians at Angeles, Pampanga Province, probably late 1898 The objective was Angeles, the largest town and an important crossroads in Pampanga Province, where the Americans hoped to catch up with and capture Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo. They were too late; Aguinaldo had left for Tarlac Province 25 days earlier, on The Filipinos, estimated to number 2,500, were led by Gen. Venancio Concepcion (RIGHT). The first shots were fired at 7:20 a.m. when the Americans encountered a Filipino outpost. The main battle opened at 10:30 a.m. The Filipinos were entrenched in the bamboo thickets which skirted the southern edge of Angeles. They faced the open ricefields over which the Americans had to pass. The engagement continued for 30 minutes, when the Filipino fire somewhat slackened as the result of the artillery fire and the steady volleys of the advancing 12th Infantry. The Filipinos finally withdrew at 11:30 a.m. They took up positions on the northern banks of the Abacan River, at Mabalacat town, Pampanga Province.
The Americans lost 2 men killed and 12 wounded. They reported that Filipino casualties aggregated over 200. In addition, they captured 3 locomotives, 25 cars, and a large quantity of unhulled rice.
The historic Pamintuan residence, used as headquarters by the 12th U.S. Infantry Regiment and afterwards by the 1st U.S. Division. The house was previously the head- quarters of General Venancio Concepcion, General Antonio Luna and official residence of President Emilio Aguinaldo from May 1899 to June 1899. During the Second World War, it was commandeered for quarters by Japanese occupation soldiers. [PHOTO was taken on Aug. 18, 1899].
The Pamintuan residence now houses a regional office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The Americans made Angeles the base of their operations to the north. But monsoon rains, which made roads virtually impassable, forced them to tarry in the town for several months.
Original caption: "Third Artillery shelling insurgents to protect engineers working to recover wrecked engines at Angeles, August 18, 1899." While the Americans waited out the rainy season, they built up their forces at Angeles, San Fernando, Bacolor, Santa Rita and Guagua.
US army battery at Angeles, 1899. By the end of October, their strength had reached 7,016 men.
Company A, 12th US Infantry Regiment, on the skirmish line at Angeles, 1899. |
Pio Del Pilar was born "Pio Castañeda" on July 11, 1865 in Culi-culi, San Pedro de Macati (now Makati City). In May, 1896, he joined the Katipunan and formed a Katipunanchapter called Matagumpay (Triumphant) and he took the symbolic name Pang-una(Leader). He changed his last name to "Del Pilar" to safeguard his family and prevent them from harassment by Spanish authorities.
rejected offers to serve in the colonial government, and also refused to take the oath of allegiance to the American flag. He resided in a small nipa house in Nagtahan, Manila, earning his living by writing for the local newspapers.
Gerónimo was born to Graciano Geronimo and Flaviana Imaya in Sampáloc district, Manila on Aug. 27, 1855. (LEFT, Geronimo in 1904, pic courtesy of David Banaghan).
Geronimo's base of operations was Mt. Puray in Montalban. Here an assembly was held in June 1897 for the purpose of appointing generals into the various military divisions into which the country was divided. The assembly was presided over by General Emilio Aguinaldo. A Departmental Government of Central Luzon was created and Geronimo was designated division general of the revolutionary army in Morong. [LEFT, Geronimo, probably in the 1910's].
military zone of Manila (comprised of Mariquina, San Mateo, Montalban, Novaliches, and other areas northeast of Manila); on July 12, 1900, he was appointed by Gen. Mariano Trias as commander of the fused second and third zones of Manila, and a month later, Morong and Marinduque provinces as well. (The second zone covered Pasig and other areas south and southeast of Manila). 
Geronimo became one of a handful of Filipinos admitted into the officer ranks of the colonial Philippine Constabulary (PC). He enlisted on June 1, 1902. As a PC Inspector, he successfully brought in former Filipino soldiers roaming the countryside. He was also part of the search party that brought down and killed General Luciano San Miguel on March 27, 1903.
On January 23, at Legaspi, Albay, Generals Jose Ignacio Paua and Vito Belarmino (LEFT) put up a strong resistance against the 47th US Infantry but in the end had to retreat; 7 Americans were wounded, and 50 Filipinos killed and wounded. 
He also taught the Filipinos how to melt metals, including church bells, for the manufacture of arms and bullets. He raised money for the Philippine army, much of it from his fellow Chinese. Paua proved himself in battles against the Spanish at Binakayan, Zapote, Perez Dasmariñas, Salitran, Imus, among others.
Two hundred men from the 19th U.S. Regular Infantry Regiment led by Capt. Andrew S. Rowan, West Point Class 1881 (LEFT), reinforced the Americans on Bohol.
On Jan. 4, 1901, Apolinar Velez (LEFT, postwar photo) was surprised and captured in Opol town, Misamis Province, by Maj. James F. Case, who led a force of 40 mounted men of Company L, 40th Infantry Regiment USV. 
pacify the district. Alvarez had been for a long time provoking hostilities in Mindanao. It was he who effected the disastrous attack on Oroquieta some time ago and he was preparing another when he was captured." [RIGHT, Monument to General Vicente Alvarez in Zamboanga City]
The Americans managed to withdraw to the bank of the river where they entrenched themselves. On the 19th, 1Lt. Joseph T. Sweeney, with a dozen men, effected a landing and brought the hard-pressed soldiers away..
On April 17, the town of Laoag, garrisoned by Companies F, G and H, 34th Infantry Regiment, USV, and commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Lee Howze, West Point Class 1888 (LEFT), was attacked by about 200 Filipinos, armed with 20 rifles and the rest with bolos(machetes) and clubs. The Filipinos suffered 44 dead, 16 wounded and 70 captured. The Americans were unscathed. 
soldier was killed.
On June 15, 1900, General Francisco Makabulos y Soliman surrendered to Colonel Emerson H. Liscum (SEE PHOTO BELOW) of the 9th US Regular Infantry in a barrio in Camiling, Tarlac. He gave up with 9 officers and 124 men; he turned over 124 firearms. He was the last general in Central Luzon to surrender to the Americans, doing so mainly due to lack of arms and ammunition. A family emergency might have played a big factor, too, in his decision to give up. His wife, Dorotea Pascual, had a difficult childbirth where she nearly lost her life. She pleaded with him to stay by her side and their newborn.
Antonio Luna. On the latter's order, he presided over the execution of General Pedro Pedroche on the grounds of the Camiling Catholic Church (PHOTO, LEFT). Luna had charged Pedroche with rebellion. When Aguinaldo summoned Luna to come to Cabanatuan for a conference, Luna asked Makabulos to accompany him, but the latter said he was indisposed at the moment but he was going to follow the next day. Makabulos was preparing to go to Cabanatuan when he received news that Luna had been assassinated on June 5, 1899.
On Sept. 17, 1900, about 800 Filipinos under General Juan Cailles (LEFT) defeated 145 soldiers of the 37th and 15th Infantry regiments commanded by Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham, Jr. 
Lonoy was a hilly barrio of Jagna town, Bohol Island. It was about 10 kilometers from thepoblacion.
Cavite. He brought with him 5 officers, 57 enlisted men and 62 firearms.
General Mariano Trias was born on Oct. 12, 1868 in San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias), Cavite province. He went to Manila and enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran for his Bachelor of Arts, then to the Universidad de Santo Tomas for his course in Medicine, which he was unable to finish as he returned home to help his parents manage the farm holdings.
Baldwin (RIGHT, as Major General) at San Francisco de Malabon, accompanied by Severino de las Alas, former Secretary of the Interior, Ladislao Diwa, ex-governor of Cavite, 9 army officers and 199 enlisted men.
In 1912, Aguinaldo (LEFT, IN 1914 PHOTO) organized the Asociacion de los Veteranos de la Revolucion (Association of Veterans of the Revolution).
Aguinaldo lived to see his lifelong goal of independence for his nation achieved on July 4,1946 (ABOVE), when the United States Government marked the full restoration and recognition of Philippine independence. (LEFT,Official program for the July 4, 1946 Independence Day ceremonies at the Luneta).
On May 9, 1962, the US House of Representatives rejected Philippine claims for an additional $73 million payment for the destruction wrought by American forces in World War II. In retaliation, President Diosdado Macapagal (LEFT, in 1962) changed the celebration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. Aguinaldo regarded this as the greatest victory of the Revolution of 1896. He rose from his sickbed to attend the celebration of independence 64 years after he declared it.
As soon as General Lawton returned to Manila from his Laguna expedition on April 17, General Otis ordered the second concerted move northward. This time General Lawton was to proceed northward to the east of General MacArthur's column, forming a junction with MacArthur's troops at San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan Province, to the north of the main Filipino forces, when an attack could be made on all sides at once.
General Manuel Tinio (LEFT), who was based in the far north at Vigan, Ilocos Sur Province, was sent south to San Jacinto, Pangasinan Province, to block Wheaton's advance and delay his pursuit of Emilio Aguinaldo. Tinio put up entrenchments about a mile west of the town.
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The U.S. Army's retaliation measures included actions that resulted in the courts-martial of two field commanders, Brig. Gen. Jacob "Howling Jake" Smith (LEFT, in Tagbilaran in 1901) and Marine Maj. Littleton Waller.
In the April 18, 1902 issue of the New York World,Richard Thomas O'Brien, formerly a corporal in Company M, 26th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment, based in Miag-ao, Iloilo Province, Panay Island, described how his birthday went on Dec. 27, 1901 at Barrio Lanog: [LEFT, Miag-ao Church, late 1890's]
Gen. Antonio Luna (LEFT, in 1898) was born in Urbiztondo, Binondo district, Manila on Oct. 29, 1866. He was the youngest of seven children of Ilocano parents; his father, Joaquín Luna, hailed from Badoc, Ilocos Norte Province, and his mother, Spanish mestiza Laureana Novicio, was a native of Namacpacan (now Luna), La Union Province. His brother, Juan, is recognized as one of the greatest Filipino painters.
Luna went to Paris and worked at the Institut Pasteur where he did research in histology and bacteriology under Professor Latteaux, and to Belgium where he trained in medical chemistry under Professor Laffons. He contributed to the leading Pharmacy scientific journals of the day; his doctoral thesis on malaria, El Hematozoario del Paludismo, was published in 1893 and was well received by medical scientists and physicians. 
and a commander of the militia set up by Spain to fight the Americans. Captured by Filipino revolutionary forces, Buencamino (RIGHT, in 1914) had immediately become Aguinaldo's adviser and speechwriter. He became a founding member of the pro-American Partido Federal when it was organized on Dec. 23, 1900.
Province, when he received a telegram summoning him to a conference with President Emilio Aguinaldo in Cabanatuan, 75 miles (120 kms.) away. He immediately left for his appointment accompanied by Col. Francisco "Paco" Roman, Maj. Simeon Villa, the brothers Maj. Manuel Bernal and Capt. Jose Bernal, Capt. Eduardo Rusca, and a bodyguard of 25 cavalrymen.
Colonel Roman (LEFT, born Oct. 4, 1869 in Alcala, Cagayan), came to his defense but was shot to death. Captain Rusca also tried to assist the stricken general but was shot in the leg. He took refuge in the nearby church.
The following day, Luna was buried with military honors but the assassins went free.
He further said that had he wanted the general disposed of cleanly, all that was needed was somebody to shoot him in the back in the thick of battle and nobody would have been any wiser.
Maj. Gen. Henry Ware Lawton and 5,000 Filipinos commanded by Generals Artemio Ricarte and Mariano Noriel (RIGHT). It was the largest battle of the Filipino-American War. It was this battle that Filipino soldiers earned the respect of General Lawton, whose dispatches invariably carried a sympathetic note of the heroism displayed by Filipinos fighting for their freedom.
The Party proposed Philippine statehood. This platform proved unpopular to both the Filipino masses and Americans. Elihu Root (LEFT), US Secretary oF War, told his colleagues: "Gentlemen, I don't want to suggest an invidious comparison, but statehood for Filipinos would add another serious problem to the one we have already. The Negroes are a cancer on the body politic, a source of constant difficulty, and we wish to avoid developing another such problem."
The Partido Federal pursued the surrender of "insurrecto" leaders through discussions and appeals beginning in February 1901. The Federalistas claimed that in six months they brought about the surrender of 220 "insurrecto" officers and 2,640 soldiers.
On July 26, 1899, an expedition under Brig. Gen. Robert H. Hall, attacked Calamba, an important trading town on the south shore of Lake Laguna de Bay about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Manila. It was much further south than U.S. troops had before penetrated on land. The taking of Calamba was made pursuant to a plan which contemplated surrounding Aguinaldo's southern army. It was Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton's direct objective on April 10, 1899 when he captured Santa Cruz, about 30 miles (50 km) to the east. Lawton was unable to reach Calamba then on account of shoal water. 
June 21.
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