Balangiga massacre

The Balangiga massacre was an incident in which the residents of the town of Balangiga on the Philippines island of Samar conducted a surprise attack on an occupying unit of the US 9th Infantry, killing 54. It is also known as the Battle of Balangiga, Balangiga encounter, Balangiga incident, or Balangiga conflict. The attack was led by Valeriano Abanador, who was the Jefe de la Policía (Chief of Police).

The operation

Prelude

Samar was a major center for the production of Manila hemp, the trade of which was financing Philippine forces on the island. At the same time United States interests were eager to secure control of the hemp trade, which was a vital material both for the United States Navy and American agro-industries such as cotton.

Filipino forces in the area were under the command of Captain General Vicente Lukbán who had been sent there in December 1898 to govern the island on behalf of the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo had been captured by American forces on March 23, 1901. On April 1, he had sworn allegiance to the US and told his followers to lay down their arms and give up the fight.

On May 30, 1901, prior to the stationing of any Americans in Balangiga, town mayor Pedro Abayan had written to Lukban pledging to "observe a deceptive policy with [Americans] doing whatever they may like, and when a favorable opportunity arises, the people will strategically rise against them."

In the summer of 1901, Brigadier General Robert P. Hughes, who commanded the Department of the Visayas and was responsible for Samar, instigated an aggressive policy of food deprivation and property destruction on the island. The objective was to force the end of Philippine resistance. Part of his strategy was to close three key ports on the southern coast, Basey, Balangiga and Guiuan prevent supplies from reaching Lukban's forces in the interior. Company C was to close the port at Balangiga.

On August 11, 1901, Company C of the 9th US Infantry Regiment, arrived in Balangiga—the third largest town on the southern coast of Samar island—to close its port and prevent supplies reaching Philippine forces in the interior, Abaya's letter to Lukban had been among papers captured by American troops on August 18; it read, in translation:

However, this information never reached the American troops in Balangiga.

A few days later, Connell had the town's male residents rounded up and detained for the purpose of hastening his clean-up operations. Around 80 men were kept in two Sibley tents unfed overnight. In addition, Connell had the men's bolos and the stored rice for their tables confiscated. These events sufficiently insulted and angered the townspeople, and they planned revenge against the Americans. To address the issue of sufficient manpower to offset the Americans' advantage in firepower, Abanador and Daza disguised the congregation of men as a work force aimed at preparing the town for a local fiesta which, incidentally, also served to address Connell's preparations for his superior's visit. Abanador also brought in a group of "tax evaders" to bolster their numbers. Much palm wine was brought in to ensure that the American soldiers would be drunk the day after the fiesta. Hours before the attack, women and children were sent away to safety. To mask the disappearance of the women from the dawn service in the church, 34 men from Barrio Lawaan cross-dressed as women worshippers.

Attack on American soldiers

thumb|right|400px|The US 9th Infantry Regiment in the Philippines, 1899

Between 6:20 and 6:45 in the morning of September 28, 1901, the villagers made their move. Abanador, who had been supervising the prisoners' communal labor in the town plaza, grabbed the rifle of Private Adolph Gamlin, one of the American sentries, and stunned him with a blow to the head. This served as the signal for the rest of the communal laborers in the plaza to rush the other sentries and soldiers of Company C, who were mostly having breakfast in the mess area. Abanador then gave a shout, signaling the other Philippine men to the attack and fired Gamlin's rifle at the mess tent, hitting one of the soldiers. The pealing of the church bells and the sounds from conch shells being blown followed seconds later. Some of the Company C troopers were attacked and hacked to death before they could grab their rifles; the few who survived the initial onslaught fought almost bare-handed, using kitchen utensils, steak knives, and chairs. One private used a baseball bat to fend off the attackers before being overwhelmed.

The men detained in the Sibley tents broke out and made their way to the municipal hall. Simultaneously, the attackers hidden in the church broke into the parish house and killed the three American officers there. An unarmed Company C soldier was ignored, as was Captain Connell's Philippine houseboy. The attackers initially occupied the parish house and the municipal hall; however, the attack at the mess tents and the barracks failed, with Pvt. Gamlin, recovering consciousness and managing to secure another rifle, causing considerable casualties among the Philippine forces. With the initial surprise wearing off and the attack degrading, Abanador called for the attackers to break off and retreat. The surviving Company C soldiers, led by Sergeant Frank Betron, escaped by sea to Basey and Tanauan, Leyte. The villagers captured about 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition and suffered 28 dead and 22 wounded.

Aftermath

This was described as the worst defeat of United States Army soldiers since the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Legacy

The attack and subsequent actions on Samar have been some of the longest-running and most controversial issues between the Philippines and the United States.

Factual disputes

Mutilation of the bodies of the Americans who were killed was reported in testimony before the US Senate Committee on the Philippines the and information about that has appeared elsewhere. The asserted mutilations have been disputed by historiat George Borrinaga with a counter-assertion to the effect that Filipinos have respect for the dead, he says, and would do no such thing.

Several asserted factual inaccuracies in early published accounts have surfaced over the years as historians continue to re-investigate the Balangiga incident. These include: However, Eugenio Daza wrote, "The Filipino believes that the profanation of the dead necessarily brings bad luck and misfortune ... there was no time to lose for such acts [after the Balangiga attack]."

Balangiga massacre

The operation

Prelude

Attack on American soldiers

Aftermath

Legacy

Factual disputes

Cultural references

See also

Notes

References

Further reading