Philippine War

The Military Conquest of the Philippines

The outbreak of the Spanish–American War on April 25, 1898, was followed almost immediately by the U.S. defeat of the Spanish naval squadron at the battle of Manila Bay on May 1. Comm. George Dewey's small fleet dealt a crippling blow to Spanish power and ignited widespread [Page 629]Filipino uprisings throughout the Philippines. Many of these movements were headed by local elites and had little connection to the earlier independence movement directed by the exiled Emilio Aguinaldo. Although Aguinaldo returned on June 23 and proclaimed his leadership of a revolutionary government dedicated to Philippine independence, his actual control was largely confined to south and central Luzon. As Spanish authority collapsed, Pres. William McKinley, seeking to exploit Dewey's success and unaware of the local situation, ordered an American military expedition to capture the capital city of Manila. The first troops arrived in Manila Bay on June 30 and were rapidly increased to some 14,000, sufficient to take Manila against desultory Spanish resistance on August 13.

The military occupation of Manila alienated Aguinaldo, who sought to maintain a siege of the American forces at the same time he consolidated his military and political power. For his part, McKinley kept his ultimate intentions toward the Philippines unclear until December, when he instructed the commissioners negotiating peace with Spain to demand the entire archipelago. Although historians still debate his real motives, McKinley justified acquisition largely in moral terms: the United States had an obligation to bring economic prosperity, social justice, and peace to the Filipino people. However, his December 21, 1898, proclamation, while declaring that the nation's goal was one of ”benevolent assimilation,” made clear that U.S. authority would be extended throughout the archipelago, by force if necessary. Aguinaldo and his supporters proclaimed the formation of the Philippine Republic on January 20, 1899, but the government was national in name only. Outside of Luzon, insurgent leaders gave either little or no allegiance to Aguinaldo and they, in turn, were given virtually no representation in his government. Neither Aguinaldo nor the local civil and military authorities that wielded actual power sought to include the peasantry, who made up the vast majority of the population. The elitist character and objectives of the nationalist leaders weakened Filipino popular support for the revolution.

Relations between Aguinaldo and the U.S. Army rapidly deteriorated after the occupation of Manila and McKinley's December declaration. After a number of incidents, fighting broke out on the night of February 4, 1899, and for the next 10 months U.S. and Filipino conventional forces struggled for control of Luzon. In the second battle of Manila (February 4–22, 1899), American forces under the command of Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis drove Aguinaldo's army back from the capital, inflicting crucial losses in matériel and personnel. Two successful offensives in March captured the Republic's capital of Malolos and cut Aguinaldo's army in two. In late April, a sustained offensive into central Luzon almost destroyed what remained of the rebels, but a combination of weather, disease, poor communications, and logistical problems allowed the demoralized Filipino forces to escape. The summer monsoon led to a halt in major conventional operations on Luzon and the relief of the state volunteers who had enlisted to fight Spain.

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