On This Day June 13, 1899, around 3,000 American soldiers led by Major General Henry W. Lawton and around 5,000 Filipinos commanded by Generals Artemio Ricarte and Mariano Noriel engaged in one of the bloodiest and largest battles of the Philippine–American War in Zapote, Cavite. It is also known as the Battle of Zapote River or Battle of Zapote Bridge.
The Battle of Zapote River was part of the armed scouting by the U.S. Army between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay that commenced on June 9, 1899, to rid the countryside of Filipino Army rebellion against the American forces. On the early morning of June 13, 1899, at the portion of the river, the U.S. Infantry Regiment were scouting the area when they were ambushed by about 1,000 Filipinos. Then, fierce fighting ensued against Filipinos armed with Remington and Mauser rifles. The bridge was not fordable as one span had been removed, and its wooden replacement had burned down. The rest of both armies soon joined the fighting, which expanded beyond the bridge.
Fuming in anger and sulking in his tent, Major General Lawton reorganized his troops. With the support of American gunboats, he stormed the Filipino fortifications at Zapote River. The battle raged the whole day, during which time General Elwell Stephen Otis had to send more reinforcements and ammunition to the front. By nightfall, the Filipinos, lacking of better arms and ammunition, abandoned their positions and fled. According to the reported aftermath by the U.S. War Department, both sides suffered heavily: the Americans suffered 14 killed in action with 61 wounded in action, and the Filipinos suffered 150 deaths and 375 wounded.*
The war was not a record of continuous American victories, for there were cases in which the Filipinos registered military triumphs. The American prestige suffered a serious blow on December 19, 1899, when Major General Henry W. Lawton, a splendid soldier and veteran of the American Civil War, was killed by General Licerio Geronimo’s men in the battle of San Mateo (now province of Rizal).
Consequently, the Filipino patriots instituted guerrilla warfare, and divided the country into military zones, each zone under a guerrilla commander. The Filipino patriots excelled in this method of fighting. Knowing the terrain of their country very well, they fought in scattered bands, harassing the American outposts at night and ambushing enemy patrols in the hills. The guerrilla warfare was successful, and it kept the war going on until the Filipinos surrendered to the American forces in 1902.
Sources and References:
1. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO)
2. Manuel D. Duldulao, A Century of Philippine Legislature, Experience Philippines, Quezon City, Vol. I, p. 45
3. Philippine Almanac Book of Facts, 1986 Edition, Aurora Publications, p. 34
4. Gregorio F. Zaide, Jose Rizal, Life, Works, and Writings, Department of History, Far Eastern University, Manila, September 21, 1957, pp. 270–271
5. Wikimedia Commons
*VFW Magazine and U.S. War Dept. (1900) p. 281
#BattleOfZapoteRiver
#BattleOfZapoteBridge
#ZapoteRiver #ZapoteBridge
#Zapote #Cavite #Battle
#PhilippineAmericanWar
#PhilippineHistory
#BoholProvincialLibraryDigital
* * *
Avail of easy and fast online loan at
www.tala.com Philippines
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=122648.0
