Philippine Insurrection Campaigns | U.S. Army Center of Military History

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.