NY Times on PH-American War, 1899

In 1901 Henry E. Jones, founder of the American Hardware and Plumbing Company, bought idle land in Malate and Paco. After developing this, he sold off small lots in what would be one of the earliest “subdivisions” in the country. Malate and Paco, part of Manila or Metro Manila today, were originally arrabales (suburbs) of Spanish Manila, then the area “within the walls” or intra-muros. Jones named the subdivision streets after US states that were renamed postwar to honor historical figures more relevant to Filipinos: Arkansas to Engracia C. Reyes, California to Josefa Llanes Escoda, Colorado to Felipe Agoncillo, Dakota to Macario Adriatico, Florida to Maria Y. Orosa, Indiana to Pilar Hidalgo Lim, Kansas to Francisco T. Benitez, Nebraska to Jorge Bocobo, Pennsylvania to Leon Guinto, Sr., Vermont to Julio Nakpil, Tennessee to Miguel Malvar, Oregon to Galicano Apacible, and Georgia to Luis Ma. Guerrero.

Many of the original street names above appear in the New York Times of Feb. 10, 1899, a dispatch datelined Manila, Feb. 6 at 7:15 p.m. reporting on the spark that ignited the Philippine-American War. The old Malate street names referenced the origin of volunteer contingents that served in the pacification of the Philippines. Article reads:

“… details regarding individual fighting have been extremely difficult to obtain. So far as can be gathered, the brush commenced at 8.45 on Saturday Evening [Feb. 4, 1899] by the firing of a Nebraskan Sentry at Santa Mesa upon Filipinos who were deliberately crossing the line, after repeated warnings, with the evident purpose of drawing our fire.”

Santa Mesa? Where did the San Juan Bridge in textbook history come from?

“The first shots from the American sentry were evidently a pre-arranged signal, for they were followed almost immediately by a terrific fusillade along the entire Filipino line on the north side of the Pasig River. The American outposts returned the fire with such vigor that the Filipino fire was checked until the arrival of reinforcements.”

While textbook history identifies Willie Grayson as the enemy soldier who fired the first shot, the New York Times of Feb. 6, 1899 credits a certain “Corp. Greely of Nebraska.” The US volunteer regiments are listed here:

“At 10 o’clock the fighting was resumed, the American firing line consisting of the Third Artillery, the Kansas and Montana regiments, the Minnesota regiment, the Pennsylvanians, the Nebraskans, the South Dakotas, the Colorados, the Utah Battery, the Idahos, the Washingtons, the Californians, the Fifth Cavalry, North Dakotas Sixth Artillery, and Fourteenth Infantry.”

Unfortunately, most of the extant contemporary accounts of the battle are from the enemy’s point of view. We know the name of the enemy soldier who fired the first shot, but we don’t know the name of the Filipino soldier who was shot. The New York Times continues:

“The Filipinos concentrated their forces at three points: Caloocan, Santa Mesa and Galingatan [?], and maintained an intermittent fusillade for some hours. They brought artillery into action at Galingatan at 10.30 but only one gun annoyed the Americans to any appreciable extent, a howitzer on the road beyond Santa Mesa. The Third Artillery silenced the Galingatan Battery by firing two guns simultaneously, which was followed immediately by volleys from the infantry.

“At about midnight there was a lull in the firing lasting until 3:45 A.M. when the whole Filipino line reopened fire. The Americans poured a terrific fire into the darkness for twenty minutes, and then there was another lull until daylight, when the Americans generally advanced.”

Admiral Dewey provided cover for the enemy troops by firing at the Filipino trenches in Caloocan and shelling Malate for hours. By 10 a.m. the enemy had taken Palawpong [?], Santa Mesa, Paco, Santa Ana, San Pedro Makati, Pandacan, and Pasay destroying many huts along the way to take the water main and reservoir. Next day Filipino refugees, today we would call them “bakwit,” turned up in great numbers seeking shelter in Intramuros. Many of them made it on foot because there was no public or rental transport available. Shops were closed, and for protection against shelling or looting many houses and shops displayed foreign flags, even white flags of surrender. Primary sources provide many of the details missing in textbook history.

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