This and the ensuing seven pages of pictures show scenes, old and recent, in the Philippine Islands, and
are intended to accompany the articles on pages 363 and 367.
UPPER: PAGSANJAN RIVER, LAGUNA PROVINCE, P. I.
Courtesy James D. Black, S.C. 2/c, U. S. Navy
LOWER: LIGHTHOUSE, CORREGIDOR ISLAND, P. I.
Courtesy Commander J. H. Chalker, U. S. Coast Guard (Retired)
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UPPER: IGOROT RICE TERRACES IN THE BENQUE VALLEY, NORTHERN LUZON, P. I.
Courtesy James D. Black, S.C. 2/c, U. S. Navy
LOWER: PHILIPPINE BANCAS
Courtesy Lieutenant V. K. Bayless, U. S. Navy
UPPER: NAVY YARD, CAVITE, P. I., 1898
LOWER: OUTSIDE THE NAVY YARD GATE, CAVITE, 1898
The white line on the wall at the left of the gate is reputed to mark the spot where executions took place.
A MODERN SCENE AT ZAMBOANGA BAY, MINDANAO, P. I.
Destroyers of the U. S. Asiatic Fleet in the background.
OLD SPANISH CATHEDRAL CAVITE, P. I.
PHILIPPINE RIVER, BANCA, AND CARABAO
A scene in Zambales Province, Luzon. The carabao is the beast of all work, and his health and welfare are the chief concern of every small rice planter
from Baguio to Zamboanga.
BLUEJACKETS OF THE ASIATIC FLEET ON PARADE IN MANILA
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THE PHILIPPINE INSURRECTION
By COMMANDER FRANK LUCKEL, U. S. Navy (.Retired)
IT is the purpose of this article to describe briefly the essential phases of the Philippine Insurrection. The Filipinos were generally a peace-loving people and, despite Spanish atrocities, serious insurrections were limited to an average of less than one to a generation. The towns garrisoned by Spanish soldiers were normally tranquil, even though great sections such as the mountain districts of Northern Luzon and the Moro country were either totally unoccupied or under only nominal control. Other areas, including certain sections of the interior of Luzon, were not safe for unescorted Spaniards. The best illustration of this was the main military road from Batangas to Manila which ran only as far as Calamba, where travelers embarked and followed a water route through Laguna de Bay and the Pasig River to Manila. When visiting his summer palace at Los Banos near the present naval radio station, the Governor General avoided the dangers of a land journey and habitually proceeded by boat. Baguio was never even discovered by the Spaniards, that honor being reserved for a detachment of American soldiers.
We shall now take up the period immediately preceding the Spanish-American War. After some 15 years of comparative tranquility, a general slaughter of Priests and other Spaniards was planned for late in 1896. However, the leaders became known through the confession of the sister of one of the conspirators, and were arrested and deported.
Upon this miscarriage of plans, the Latipunan, a Filipino secret revolutionary society, organized a revolt; on August 26, 1896, Caloocan (known to naval officers for its excellent golf course) was attacked, and four days later a pitched battle was fought at San Juan de Monte in the environs of Manila. Though the insurgents were finally routed, most of Cavite province remained in their hands, and Emilio Aguinaldo, a young leader in the Katipunan, was chosen leader.
In an attempt to regain control, the Spanish forces were built up rapidly to a total of about 28,000, not counting several regiments of Filipinos. The re-enforced Spaniards cleared out the main rebel forces and would probably have crushed the uprising entirely when, unfortunately for everyone concerned, the humane and able Governor General Blanco was superseded by the reactionary, General Pola Vieja. The Filipino patriot, Dr. Jose Rizal, who was already on his way to serve in the medical branch of the Spanish forces in Cuba, was arrested in Spain at Vieja’s request. After being returned to Manila he was hastily tried, sentenced, and on December 30, 1896, executed by a firing squad on the Campo de Bagumbayan near the present Luneta. This bloodthirsty and unnecessary act horrified Filipinos and Spaniards alike. Rizal became the martyr of the Filipinos and so he has remained to this day. The fires of rebellion broke out with renewed strength and in an attempt to counteract the blunder, the able and popular young General Primo de Rivera, later Premier of Spain, was sent in the spring of 1897 to replace the unpopular Pola Vieja. After several Spanish detachments had been defeated or captured, a general amnesty proclamation was issued in July, 1897. Largely because of the trust the Filipinos placed in their new Governor General this was immediately successful.
On April 20, 1898, when conditions in the islands looked very hopeful, war broke out between Spain and the United States and on May 1 the Spanish fleet was completely destroyed in the Battle of Manila Bay. The Filipinos immediately took advantage of the situation and besieged Manila and many other fortified towns, Aguinaldo returning with the permission and assistance of the Americans and assuming command of the Filipino forces in Luzon. Manila surrendered on August 13, 1898, to the Americans, who had received very little real help from the Filipinos. Although the insurgents were eager to enter the captured city, they were rigidly excluded upon the excuse that the revolutionary troops were too recently raised to insure against pillage. Naturally the Filipinos were greatly disappointed to be kept in the trenches instead of being able to enjoy themselves among the pleasures of Manila. They took up positions outside the American lines and here the two forces remained facing each other during the autumn and winter.
First phase.—During this period of armed neutrality the Filipino provisional government was organized at Cavite and independence proclaimed. While at first the Filipinos seemed friendly enough they gradually began to suspect the motives of the Americans, especially when it became rumored that the treaty being negotiated in Paris proposed that Spain cede the islands to the United States. This hastened the plans for Philippine independence and the Malalos constitution was proclaimed in January, 1899, with General Emilio Aguinaldo as President. In the meantime the two armies remained in close contact and the suppressed hostility increased on both sides. As was a foregone conclusion, open hostilities finally began when on January 4, 1899, a Filipino soldier was killed by an American sentry, under circumstances such that each side could place the blame upon the other.
While originally confined to the vicinity of Manila, the fighting rapidly spread throughout the islands and some of the outlying provinces were occupied with the consent, and even at the request, of the natives. The non-Christians either sided with the Americans, as in the case of the Benguets and other mountain tribes, or aided neither the Filipinos nor the Americans, as in the case of the Moros.
While there were some hostilities in the other islands and a real campaign was fought in Samar, Luzon was the real theater, for as Paris was to France so was Luzon to the Philippines. The geography exercised a great influence upon the strategy and conduct of the campaign. A railroad ran through the fertile plain from Manila to the Gulf of Lingayan about 100 miles to the northward, and owing to the almost impassable mountain barrier the only escape for any considerable army driven northward through this valley was along the Ilocano coast. This should be kept in mind, for it greatly influenced the military operations.
After some preliminary fighting near Manila the Americans advanced northward on March 25 and easily captured Malalos six days later, but had made but little further progress when the rainy season set in and both armies suspended active operations. Re-enforcements from the United States kept arriving and plans were made for a comprehensive campaign as soon as the dry season returned. General Wheaton was sent by transport to the Gulf of Lingayan to block off a possible escape up the Ilocano coast and General Lawton, with a. light fast force of cavalry and mobile infantry, prepared to make a wide encircling movement to the eastward. This was intended to drive in the left flank of the enemy and bar any escape to the eastward. General MacArthur with the main body of infantry and artillery was to make a frontal attack and drive the Filipinos up the railroad and, in cooperation with Lawton, hem them in on Lingayan.
This well-conceived strategic plan was only partially successful. MacArthur was completely victorious and advanced stead- fly along the railroad. His general route was that used nowadays in going to and from Baguio. On November 11, 1899, the filipino generals held their last council of war at Bayambang, located where the Baguio road now crosses the Rio Agno, and decided to disperse but not to surrender; we shall see later how this influenced the war. General Lawton had advanced so rapidly that he drove the fleeing enemy in on Lingayan and almost cut off Tguinaldo’s escape. Even so, since General Wheaton was to have established an effective cordon from the sea to the mountains, there were still high hopes of capturing the Filipino leaders. Unfortunately, this was not to be. On November 15, 1899, Aguinaldo with some of his ministers and a small bodyguard slipped V Wheaton and escaped up the Ilocano coast, a narrow corridor between the China Sea and the almost impassable mountains of the Cordillero Central. Closely pursued, Aguinaldo went to Can- don where he turned abruptly eastward and headed for Tila Pass, the only practicable route through the precipitous mountains. Finding it impossible to shake off his pursuers, Brigadier General Gregario del Pilar was given 52 men and told to hold the pass. He did this so well that a battalion of the Thirty-third Infantry under Major Peyton C. March not only suffered heavy losses but took all day to get through. When the position was stormed at sunset, General del Pilar, who Was only 22 years of age, and all of his 52 men were dead. Rarely has there been a more heroic defense. After annihilating this small band, pursuit was continued without a breathing spell but Aguinaldo managed to get across the almost impassable mountains and finally reached the small town of Polanau near the Pacific coast. Here he was practically cut off from future participation in the insurrection and so ended the first phase.
Second phase.—When the Filipino army was ordered to disperse at Bayambang the units proceeded with their arms to their home provinces and awaited further orders. From outward appearances the insurrection seemed to be practically over, but this was not the case. Directed by the Juntas in Manila and Hongkong and the secret organization, the Katipunan, the provinces were organized into military zones, each under a zone commander usually with the rank of general. While these commanders were nominally under the Juntas, in practice they acted independently, recruiting, levying contributions, commissioning officers, etc. They even had the power of executing by a simple administrative order all who incurred their enmity. Peaceful Filipinos and American soldiers were assassinated, the roads became unsafe for all not escorted by armed guards, and to retain some semblance of safety the Americans established garrisons in practically all towns of any importance. There were 639 separate posts in December, 1900. Since the insurgents usually kept their arms hidden and wore no distinctive uniform, it was practically impossible to identify members of the many guerrilla bands. Often the leaders would live in occupied towns under the very noses of the American troops, taking the field for an occasional raid or expedition; the individual members of the bands maintained themselves by forced contributions and requisitions of food made upon the native population. These constant demands alienated many Filipinos from the insurgents’ cause and these friendly natives (Americanistas, as they were called) often furnished the Americans valuable information which led to the arrest of many bandits and spies. In not a few instances, those informed upon were holding positions of trust under the Americans. Filipinos in friendly provinces were enlisted and formed into the Philippine Scouts, an organization that was very effective in rounding up the insurgent bands. In the meantime, the Philippine Civil Commission had been appointed in April, 1900. Aguinaldo was captured by General Funston on March 21, 1901, and the chieftain issued a proclamation on April 19, 1901, calling on all his former troops to surrender but, unfortunately, this did not bring the war to an immediate close. On July 4, 1901, Judge Taft was inaugurated as Civil Governor, and the second phase was over.
Third phase.—While practically all responsible and respectable Filipinos had by now sided with the Americans or at least become neutral, many bandits and a few zone commanders still kept the field. Their irregular bands were particularly successful in the mountains of Cavite and Batangas notwithstanding the proximity to Manila. Since the bandits existed by preying on outlying plantations and barrios, the natives of disturbed areas were ordered into concentration camps which made it possible to consider all male Filipinos caught outside authorized camps as bandits. While life in the camps was hard, peaceful natives usually sought entry eagerly because of the safety. With practically all the working population removed from the countryside, the bandits found increasing difficulty in obtaining food, and when caught they were no longer able to pass themselves off as peaceful citizens. In consequence fighting died out, and the insurrection may be said to have officially ended on July 2, 1902. Upon this day the office of Military Governor of the Archipelago was terminated and the Secretary of War telegraphed that the insurrection in the Philippines against the sovereign authority of the United States had come to an end. So ended the last phase.
Such minor fighting as has taken place since has been almost wholly confined to the Moro tribes. However, it is significant that the important uprisings against Spain and the one against the United States all originated in southern Luzon. It is there that the disaffected feeling has persisted, in spite of the fact that General Aguinaldo, a staunch American supporter, lives in Kawit about midway between Cavite and Manila. Cavite province is even now somewhat anti-American, as is manifested by sporadic sabotage to the radio control line between Cavite and Los Banos and by occasional attacks on United States soldiers or sailors. Prominent Filipinos attending evening affairs in the Cavite Navy Yard usually prefer to go by boat and avoid what they consider to be a dangerous automobile trip. After independence, what?
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It can scarcely be repeated too often that when a country is thrown on the defensive, as regards its shore line, the effectual function of the fleet is to take the offensive.—Mahan, Strategy.