Balangiga massacre

"Balangiga massacre"
Part of Philippine-American War
Date September 28, 1901 Location Samar, Philippines Result Decisive Filipino Victory
Belligerents
Samareno Rebels	United States
Commanders and leaders
General Vicente Lukban	Captain Thomas W. Connell†
Strength
180-200 Samareno bolomen	78 {Company C. U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment}
Casualties and losses
20-25 killed, 22 wounded; plus thousands of Samar civilians killed in reprisals	54 killed, 18 wounded 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition captured

The "Balangiga massacre" was an incident in 1901 during the Philippine-American War (or "Philippine Insurrection", according to older US terminology) where many American soldiers were killed in a guerilla ambush by Filipinos in the town of Balangiga on Samar island. This incident is described as one of the United States' worst single defeats in its entire history. For Filipinos, the attack is hailed as one of the bravest maneuvers in the war.

The subsequent retaliation by American troops resulted in the killing of thousands of Filipinos on Samar, a majority of whom were civilians. The heavy-handed reprisal by American soldiers on hapless civilians, resulting in untold thousands dead, brought a court-martial upon Gen. Jake "Howling Wilderness" Smith who had ordered the massacre of everyone ten years old and over. Reprimanded but not punished, Smith lost his command for the most sordid affair in Philippine-American War annals of such affairs.

This incident and the subsequent retaliation remains one of the longest-running and most controversial issues between the Philippines and the United States. Conflicting records from both American and Filipino historians have muddled the issue. Demands for the return of the bells of the church at Balangiga, taken by Americans as war booty and now collectively known as the Balangiga Bells, remain an outstanding issue of contention related to the war. To this day, one church bell is in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at their base in South Korea, and two others remain on a former base of the U.S. 11th Infantry Regiment at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

According to some nationalist Filipino historians, the true "Balangiga massacre" was the subsequent American retaliation against the Samar population.

The Battle

On August 11, 1901, Company C, United States 9th Infantry arrived in Balangiga, the third largest town on the southern coast of Samar island, to close its port and prevent supplies reaching Filipino forces in the interior. Several months earlier, the town's principals allegedly wrote a letter to Brigadier General Vicente Lukban assuring him that, should American forces arrive, they would pretend to be friendly and then attack the Americans at a strategic moment. However, doubt has been expressed regarding the authenticity of the letter.

Initially, relations between the soldiers and the townspeople were good. Tensions increased due to what the traditionally conservative townspeople saw as inappropriate behaviour towards their womenfolk. Later, the Company Commander, Thomas W. Connell ordered the rounding up and forced labour of able-bodied townsmen to clean up the town in preparation for an official visit by his superior officers. There was an incident where a private even raped a young girl. {[fact]} Finally, Connell ordered the seizure and destruction of food stored in the town to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Filipino forces. {[fact]}

Fearing they would starve to death in the coming rainy season, the townspeople decided to attack the U.S. Army garrison.

At 6:45 a.m., on Saturday, 28 September 1901, the Filipinos made their move. After the few armed sentries were killed, the Balangiga police chief, Valeriano Abanador, gave the signal to attack, and around 200 bolomen burst out of concealment, catching the Americans totally by surprise. With some of them disguised as women, the townspeople surprised the garrison while they were at breakfast with their firearms stacked in the municipal hall some twenty yards away. Most Americans were hacked to death with bolos before they could gain access to their firearms. Captain Connell led some men out into the street, before he was encircled by the bolomen and cut down. The few who escaped the main attack fought with kitchen utensils, steak knives, and chairs. A private even fought off many of the attackers with a baseball bat before he was overwhelmed. A handful of surviving soldiers managed to secure some firearms and drive off their attackers, who were primarily armed with bolos, axes and other working implements. But with insufficient numbers and fear that the rebels would re-group and attack again, they escaped from the village in boats to a nearby American garrison.

Of the original 78 man contingent, 54 were killed or missing, 20 were severely wounded, and only 4 escaped unscathed. The guerillas also took 100 rifles with 25,000 rounds of ammunition. Around 20-25 guerillas died in the attack.

The burning of Samar

The consequence of this battle was a brutal retaliation against the inhabitants of Samar Island, inflicted by the U.S. Army occupation forces. The day after the attack, two 9th Infantry companies, with some of the Company C survivors, went to Balangiga aboard a commandeered coastal steamer, the S.S. Pittsburg, and found the town abandoned. Without finding any townspeople or Filipino forces, they buried the American dead and set fire to the town.

General 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."

General Jacob H. Smith instructed Major Littleton "Tony" Waller, the commanding officer of the Marines assigned to clean up the island of Samar, of the methods he was to employ. He was quoted to have said: "I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn; the more you kill and burn the better it will please me." He directed that Samar be converted into a "howling wilderness." All persons, who did not surrender and were capable of carrying arms, were to be shot, and this meant anyone over ten years of age, according to Smith. Due to these orders, he became known as Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith.

What followed was a sustained and widespread massacre of Filipino civilians. The basic elements of Smith's policy were brutal. Food and trade to Samar were cut off to starve the revolutionaries into submission. He instructed his officers to regard all Filipinos as enemies and treat them accordingly until they showed conclusively that they were friendly by specific actions such as revealing information about the location of revolutionaries or arms, working successfully as guides or spies, or trying actively to obtain the surrender of the guerrillas in the field. He gave his subordinates carte blanche authority in the application of General Order 100. (Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 General Orders No. 100, in brief, authorized the shooting on sight of all persons not in uniform acting as soldiers and those committing, or seeking to commit, sabotage.)

Smith's strategy on Samar involved the use of widespread destruction to force the inhabitants to cease supporting the guerrillas and turn to the Americans from fear and starvation. He used his troops in sweeps of the interior in search for guerrilla bands and in attempts to capture Philippine General Vicente Lukban, but did nothing to prevent contact between the guerrillas and the townspeople. American columns marched all over the island destroying homes and killing people and draft animals.

Waller, for example, reported that in an eleven-day span his men burned 255 dwellings, slaughtered 13 carabaos and killed 39 people. Other officers reported similar activity.

As the Judge Advocate General of the army observed, only the good sense and restraint of the majority of Smith's subordinates prevented a complete reign of terror in Samar. Still, the abuses were sufficient to cause outrage in the United States when they became known near the end of March 1902.

After receiving his orders from Smith, Waller issued his own written orders with regard to his men's conduct, what they were to seize and destroy, and other matters of similar nature. Toward the end, he wrote, "We have also to avenge our late comrades in North China, the murdered men of the Ninth U.S. Infantry." This added more to the rage. The Chinese and the Filipinos were, it seems, of the same nature, and stock, and even ideology. There was no difference among "asiatics."

Waller was later accused of ordering the execution of eleven Philippine guides because, during a long march, they had found edible roots and had allegedly conspired to keep this knowledge from the famished American troops.

See also

• Philippine-American War
• Battles of the Philippine-American War
• History of the Philippines
• Timeline of Philippine-American War
• Little Brown Brother, by Leon Wolfe

Further reading

• Borrinaga, Rolando O. (2003). The Balangiga Conflict Revisited. New Day Publishers. ISBN 971-10-1090-9.
• Couttie, Bob (**). Hang the Dogs, The True and Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre. **. ISBN **. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
• Schott, Joseph L (1965). The ordeal of Samar. Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN B0006BLRF0.
• Taylor, James O (1931). The massacre of Balangiga : being an authentic account by several of the few survivors. McCarn Printing Co. ISBN B00085UHX2.

External links

• Philippine NewsLink interview with Bob Couttie author of "Hang the Dogs, The True and Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre
• Philippine History Group of Los Angeles The Balangiga Massacre: Getting Even
• Historic church of Balangiga in Eastern Samar: Cebu Living

by:kevin san miguel cuevas