Battle of Quingua
| Battle of Quingua | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Philippine-American War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States | Philippines | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Major J. Franklin Bell Colonel John M. Stotsenberg† General Henry Clay Hale | Gregorio del Pilar | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
4th Cavalry 1st Nebraskan Infantry 51st Iowa Infanry Utah Artillery | 1000 Filipino Rifleman | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 51 dead or wounded | ~ 100 killed or wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Quingua was fought on April 23, 1899 in Quingua (now Plaridel, Bulacan), Philippines during the Philippine-American War. It was a two-part battle. The first phase was a brief victory for the young Filipino general Gregorio del Pilar over the American Cavalry led by Major J. Franklin Bell, where Bell's advance was stopped. But in the second phase, Bell was reinforced by the 134th Nebraskan Infantry and the Nebraskans routed the Filipinos, but not before they repelled a cavalry charge that killed Colonel John M. Stotsenberg.
The battle began when Bell and his men, while on a reconnaissance mission, were attacked by a strong force of Filipinos led by Gregorio del Pilar. The Filipinos laid down a heavy fire, that halted Bell's advance and caused heavy casualties. After a short firefight, Bell saw that he was in a badly exposed position, and if he did not receive help soon he risked being captured or killed. Bell sent for reinforcements, and the 134th Nebraskans came to his aid under Colonel Stotsenberg.
When he entered the field, Stotsenberg ordered the charge, and the Nebraskan Infantry, Stonsenberg at their lead with a dozen or so cavalrymen, rushed the enemy's position. Stotsenberg, taking into account that most of his enemies were poor shots, perceived that a charge from such a force would dislodge and the route the enemy, which on most occasions, had been done rather easily before.
However, the Filipinos held there ground, and opened a heavy and effective fire into the charging cavalrymen. Stotsenberg was one of the first to fall, along with 6 of his men, another 5 were also wounded. Several of the cavalrymen's mounts were also slain. The Philippine soldiers sustained the heavy fire, forcing the 4th Cavalry to retreat.
The Nebraskans, only 200 strong, advanced under the withering fire, and managed clashed with the Filipinos fighters in close range fighting. After a stiff fight in which both sides suffered heavily, the Filipinos were driven into their secondary defenses. During the fight, the Nebraskan Infantry lost 3 killed and 31 wounded.
The Filipinos' secondary defenses seemed extremely formidable, and an American frontal assault might have resulted in extreme casualties. Having seen this the U.S. commanding General Henry Clay Hale ordered an artillery bombardment on the enemy lines. Two artillery pieces were brought up, and fired 20 shots into the Filipino positions. The powerful artillery barrage demoralized the Filipinos and they soon retreated before another attack by the Nebraskans.
Scources
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/sd/military/sp-am/lxx.txt
Pandia, Ralli (Feb. 1899) "Campaigning in the Philippines, Part 1", Overland Monthly, page images at Making of America, University of Michigan