Streamers: Blue with two red stripes. |
Manila, 4 February - 17 March 1899. During the War with Spain, Emilio Aguinaldo (who had led an unsuccessful insurrection in 1896-97) organized a native army in the Philippines and secured control of several islands, including much of Luzon. Cession of the Philippines to the United States (Treaty of Paris, 10 December 1898) disappointed many Filipinos, and on 4 February 1899 Aguinaldo's followers clashed with American troops near Manila. The Americans, numbering about 12,000 combat troops under Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis, defeated Aguinaldo's force of some 40,000 men and suppressed an attempted uprising in Manila.
American columns pushed north, east, and south from Manila to split the insurgent forces and seize key towns. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Wheaton's column pushed out of Manila, gained control of the Pasig River in March, permanently interrupting communications between insurgent forces in north and south Luzon.
Iloilo, 8-12 February 1899. Although control of Luzon was the principal military objective in 1899, measures were also taken to establish American control over other important islands. Iloilo on Panay was occupied on 11 February, Cebu on 26 February, Bacolod in Negros on 10 March and Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago on 19 May.
Malolos, 24 March - 16 August 1899. Maj. Gen. Arthur MacArthur's column advanced along the railroad to the north. Malolos, the insurgent capitol, was the first objective. MacArthur's column seized Caloocan (10 February 1899), Malolos, the rebel capitol (31 March), San Fernando, Pampagna (5 May), and the stronghold of San Isidro (15 May) which was held only temporarily. The exploitation of advantage gained through capture of Malolos consisted in advancing to Angeles which was captured 16 August 1899 by the 12th Infantry.
Laguna de Bay, 8 - 17 April 1899. While MacArthur's column had been hammering the insurgents along the railroad to the north, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Lawton took his column south, captured Santa Cruz in the Laguna de Bay area on 10 April and returned to Manila on the 17th
San Isidro, 21 April - 30 May 1899. On 21 April 1899, General Lawton's troops assembled at La Loma Church, advanced on San Isidro where insurgent troops were dispersed, and returned to Manila on the 30th of May. Later, the busy soldiers of Lawton's command overran strong insurgent entrenchments on the Zapote River.
Zapote River, 13 June.The rainy season in mid-1899 called a halt to further operations in Luzon. During this pause the first Philippine Scout units were organized and large numbers of additional troops began to arrive, bringing the strength of the American force (Eighth Army Corps) to some 47,500 men by the end of the year and 75,000 a year later.
Cavite, 7 - 13 October 1899. In October 1899, organized resistance in Cavite and adjacent provinces was destroyed by forces under General Wheaton and Brig. Gen. Theodore Schwan. In the same month, General Otis launched a three-pronged offensive in North Luzon directed at Aguinaldo's remaining forces.
San Isidro, 15 October - 19 November 1899. Lawton's column moved up the Rio Grande de la Pampagna, recaptured San Isidro (19 October), and neared San Fabian on Lingayen Gulf (18 November).
Tarlac 5 - 20 November 1899. MacArthur's forces advanced through the Central Luzon plain, seized Tarlac (12 November), and reached Dagupan on 20 November.
San Fabian, 6 - 19 November 1899. Wheaton with his command sailed from Manila on the 6th, landed at San Fabian (7 November), routed insurgents at San Jacinto (12 November), and linked up with MacArthur's column at Dagupan on 20 November.
After these campaigns only scattered insurrectionist elements remained active in north and south Luzon. Lawton (killed on 18 December 1899) drove up the Marikina in December to cut important insurgent communication lines, and Wheaton and Schwan completed pacification of Cavite in January - February 1900. Subsequently, insurgent remnants in the Visayans and Mindanao were dispersed. The capture of Aguinaldo by Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston, on 23 March 1901, dealt the final blow to the insurgent cause. President Roosevelt announced official conclusion of the Insurrection on 4 July 1902.
Mindanao, 4 July 1902 - 31 December 1904 and 22 October 1905. In 1902 serious trouble began with the Moros, a Mohammedan people in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, who had never been completely subjugated by the Spanish. When the Army occupied former Spanish garrison points, the Moros began to raid villages, attack soldiers, and otherwise resist American jurisdiction. Between July 1902 and December 1904, and again late in 1905, the Army dispatched a series of expeditions into the interior of Mindanao to destroy Moro strongholds. Col. Frank D. Baldwin with some 1,000 men (including elements of his own 27th Infantry and a mountain battery) invaded the territory of the Sultan of Bayan near Lake Lanao and defeated the Sultan's forces in the hotly contested Battle of Bayan on 2 May 1902. Capt. John J. Pershing headed a similar expedition into the Lanao country in 1903, and Capt. Frank R. McCoy finally killed the notorious Moro outlaw, Dato Ali, in the Cotabato district in October 1905.
Jolo, 1 - 24 May 1905 and 6 - 8 March 1906 and 11 - 15 June 1913. In May 1905, March 1906, and June 1913, Regulars had to cope with disorders too extensive to be handled by the local constabulary and Philippine Scouts on the island of Jolo, a Moro stronghold. During May 1905 Pala and some of his followers were killed; the remainder, gathered in a volcanic crater, surrendered to American forces. On March 6, 7, and 8, 1906 the battle of Bud Dajo was fought to a successful conclusion by Regulars and in mid-June 1913 Moros at Bagsac were whipped.