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14 September 2012 The North Star Monthly Left, a Marine has just been hit, probably fatally (far left in middle). Middle, U.S. troops fought under several different types of conditions. Right, the Gatling gun was the machine gun of its day and required three men to operate it. It looks staged, but it’s not — in action firing at Filipino lines across the field. These and Hotchkiss repeating cannons took a terrific toll. Forgotten Wars - Part IV Philippine-American War: A Bitter Three Years By Bill Amos Note: The Philippine archipelago is divided into three geographical regions: Luzon (the largest island with minor adjoining islands) to the north; the Visayas (six major islands in the central region); and Mindanao (the large Islamic island with adjoining islands) to the south. For the United States the Spanish-American War in 1898 was its first colonial foray into international waters. Success in nearby Cuba and Puerto Rico was predictable, but having to contend with wellestablished Spanish forces in the far-off Philippines was a different matter. For more than three centuries this huge archipelago of over 7,000 islands had been an important part of the Spanish Empire. With no logistical or strategic experience in a war beyond the continental United States, and with limited intelligence about the faraway islands, a new army group had to be raised to do the job. The peacetime United States Army consisted of only 28,000 men, but now another 20,000-man group had to be assembled from trained (Army) regulars, National Guard units and spottily trained (or brand new) volunteers. Hastily assembled at the Presidio military base in San Francisco, the new Eighth Army Corps was shipped 7,000 miles across the Pacific on antiquated and thoroughly unsuitable transport vessels (the best ships had been reserved for the nearby Cuban campaign). Conditions on board were so poor for enlisted troops confined en masse to cavernous spaces and fed vile rations that they became potentially mutinous. Recognizing this, officers kept to their more comfortable quarters and enjoyed the best food the ships could provide. Discord reached such alarming proportions that by the time they arrived in Manila weeks of re-training were necessary. This was the “army” that not only had to defeat the colonial Spanish Empire, but also police and occupy the islands in the aftermath. Protected and strengthened by the military, civilian management would consist primarily of legislative, legal and civil affairs administered by American authorities as they exercised control over experienced Filipinos, many of whom had been educated in Europe and possessed graduate degrees from prestigious Spanish, French and German universities. An entirely new educational system would have to be constructed from the ground up and the Catholic Church, the country’s official state religion for three centuries, would have to be divested of that powerful role in government. Manila was secured by American forces on Aug. 13, 1898. The next day the Schurman Commission in Washington urged that the United States take over the Philippines entirely, and this was immediately transmitted to Manila. Unforeseen difficulties arose at once. At the end of the Spanish- American War in which Filipino forces had played an important role by continuing their three-year rebellion against Spain, the Eighth Army Corps combat strength was 11,000 to 14,000 men in Manila alone. The Filipino Army of Liberation surrounding the city was of somewhat greater strength, while an estimated 200,000 more were on Luzon and nearby islands. The remaining American troops included command headquarters in the city, as well as detachments assigned to the naval base at Cavite across Manila Bay and Iloilo on the island of Panay in the Visayas (central Philippines). The southernmost Islamic-held islands would be attended to later — a major miscalculation that resulted in a decade of more hostilities, the Moro Wars. After ten weeks of engagements with the Spanish, some of which were little more than skirmishes, the victorious Americans stayed put according to their instructions. Sentries were posted throughout the city as the First Battle of Manila came to an end. Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the new Philippine Republic and commanding general of The Army of Liberation, had been fighting the Spanish since 1896. At the onset of the Spanish-American War he welcomed the Americans — believing they had come to his aid in making Manila the new nation’s capital. It was a reasonable assumption on his part. Upon his return from exile to the Philippines, he had a brief meeting with Commodore (newly promoted to Admiral) George Dewey, victor of the Battle of Manila Bay. The discussion was short, unrecorded and apparently neither he nor Dewey came away with a clear understanding of the war’s aftermath. Portions of Aguinaldo’s large Army of Liberation were poised to enter the city in triumph along with what he thought were his American allies. But once U.S. forces were established in the city after winning the First Battle of Manila against the Spanish, Commanding General Ewell Otis stood firm, fortified in his mind by the Schurman Commission’s report. Refused entry by the Americans, Aguinaldo saw duplicity in their action. He maintained Admiral Dewey had promised otherwise during their one brief meeting. Dewey later denied this and spoke only of generalities in their discussion. Puzzled and angry, an estimated 15,000 men of Aguinaldo’s troops occupied and strengthened a formidable system of trenches that nearly encircled the city. A standoff was also developing with Filipinos manning blockhouses within Manila, although they could exercise little control against the strength of the American occupation. The Americans settled into their occupying role and Philippine opposition grew more pronounced. For five months, the situation remained stable and relatively peaceful. With a large force of Filipinos under arms scattered around the country (women dressed as soldiers were also involved), the situation was fraught with uncertainty This was the situation on Feb. 4, 1899 when an American soldier fired the shot that exploded into the full-time, no-holds-barred Philippine- American War. Mentioned in a previous account, Pvt. William W. Grayson was on sentry duty at a crossroads in Manila when he and Pvt. Orville H. 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www.northstarmonthly.com September 2012 15 threatened by Filipino Cpl. Anastacio Felix of the Morong Battalion. Grayson shot the soldier and with Miller killed two more armed Filipinos emerging from a blockhouse. Hostilities quickly spread throughout the city and neighboring countryside. Within hours fierce fire-fights erupted on streets, bridges and in Manila’s ancient fortified Intramuros (Walled City). Filipinos of the Morong Battalion attacked Grayson’s unit, which had to give way — losing an artillery piece in the process. American forays attempting to advance beyond Manila came up against effective trenches and breastworks already in place and were repelled. It was clear that Filipino forces were prepared. By now the Americans were also ready for a fight, so much so that anti-war critics at home believed they had provoked the initial confrontation. Grayson’s own personal account of the incident does not suggest this, stating only that he and Miller were on sentry duty and were surprised when Cpl. Felix appeared and failed to respond when challenged other than to issue his own challenge, “halto!” Grayson took this as a threat and fired first. Grayson’s shouted alarm aroused his fellow soldiers (some of them at a local circus) to get ready for a fight, but most officers at the higher command level were not about. Generals Otis, Robert Hughes and Arthur MacArthur (father of WW II General Douglas MacArthur) were playing billiards and card games in different parts of the city. Mid-level officers in their dress uniforms were at their own games. Enlisted personnel and junior officers were the only ones available to engage the enemy, and they did so with skill and courage while being pushed back. The American press portrayed Grayson as a hero; the Above, Army troops in the trenches captured from Filipino army units. Right, there are almost no photos of Filipino troops in action. There are a few showing massed Filipino brigades marching. This is one of officers of the Filipino army — able and courageous. Filipinos saw the shooting as a planned provocation. His shot surely precipitated the war, although by now conflict of some kind was inevitable. Because the Eighth Army Corps was to be a post-war occupying force for Manila and environs, Washington had not provided instructions for anything more. The overall U.S. commander, Gen. Ewell Otis, operated on his own. He repeatedly disregarded orders from Washington to avoid military contact. His decisions were frequently made without Washington’s knowledge or permission, and he did nothing to halt the war’s sudden breakout on Feb. 4. From the beginning he insisted on unconditional surrender of all Filipino forces, believing that resistance would cease within a matter of days. When it did not, he reported that it had. Shortly after the initial fighting broke out, Gen. Aguinaldo called for a cease-fire and peace, but Otis refused to consider the offer and bluntly replied that, “fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end.” Such arrogance cemented enmity and resulted in an all-out war that cost thousands of lives on both sides and left a prosperous country devastated. Otis was a strict censor of reports and news, allowing very little to reach authorities at home. He suppressed a constant flow of information about American atrocities, but if something unfavorable did get out, the soldiers who were responsible were forced to write retractions. Foreign reporters were not allowed to send out their stories, but after they got home and accounts were published, they were barred from returning to the Philippines. Aguinaldo invited a member of the International Red Cross to inspect the situation, but Otis barred him from leaving Manila, although the official managed to slip into the field and discovered that “American soldiers are determined to kill every Filipino in sight.” The Philippine-American War was now underway and would continue under the most challenging conditions. Initial battles consisted of traditional stand-up-and-fight frontal engagements on both sides. The Spanish had been schooled in European frontal attack and the Americans had not changed their plan of attack from the slaughter of Civil War days. Early engagements were costly to both sides. The Americans were on new soil, literally and figuratively. The tropical terrain was unlike anything they’d ever seen and their unfamiliarity with mangrove swamps, rice paddies, razor-sharp kogan grass, bamboo forests and tropical jungle put them at major disadvantage tactically and strategically. Heavy field pieces couldn’t be transported or managed as planned and new, mobile replacements had to be brought in. The single-shot 1884 Springfield was inadequate in firefights and repeating Krag-Jorgensens were still in short supply. Standing up to face the entrenched enemy in frontal array was deadly, as numerous combat photographs show. In the first four months American troops suffered over 500 casualties. Filipino units were never a match for the Americans’ heavy mobile fire power, especially when standing in line during traditional frontal exchanges. They were the first to realize their greatest strength lay in ambush and hit-and-run encounters. Close quarter fighting, skirmishes and guerilla tactics provided their greatest opportunities for success, strategies that continued for three years of heavy but intermittent combat. Fighting under tropical conditions was a painful experience for the Americans, and they too had to adapt to unconventional warfare. Sharpshooting turkey hunters among the volunteers were highly valued, while the regulars included experienced fighters from the recent wideranging Indian Wars, where opposing sides gave no quarter. Contact, vicious fire fights, break off, regroup, wait, search, re-establish contact, more bloodshed — this was the pattern of hostilities for three grisly years. Americans kept pushing across Luzon and in the Visayas, but it was a slow process with many setbacks caused by skillful Filipino general officers and their determined troops. One impressed American soldier wrote, “Don’t these little fellows have grit!” Another said, “The enemy had courage, but could not shoot straight...if they could shoot accurately, they would have exterminated us.” Mostly, however, U.S. troops were frustrated by the slow, interrupted pace of the war in which the enemy would lie in wait and attack, then melt away, followed by a period of quiet — and suspense. 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Page 1 and 2: 150th Anniversary of the Civil War
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Page 5 and 6: Follow the Money Money Methadone by
Page 7 and 8: Mary Skovsted, left, owner of Joe
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Page 35 and 36: Page 33 Walden Town Clerk: Lina Smi

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