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The Philippine-American War broke out in 1899 hard on the heels of the Spanish American War. Although the conflict began as conventional warfare against Spain, American troops unexpectedly found themselves engaged in a guerilla war with the Filipinos. This article examines one small incident that occurred on the island of Samar. It demonstrates how American Soldiers completely misread a situation that resulted in a massacre of American Soldiers.
In October 1897, a major typhoon struck the Leyte Gulf and had a terrible impact on the Philippines. Father Jose Algue of the Observatorio de Manila described it as the "montaña o masa de agua" (the mountain or mass of water) and reported that Samar and Leyte bore the brunt of the storm.1 As a result of the typhoon, fishermen and farmers lost their livelihoods. Virtually all provisions that had been stored were destroyed. The Barrier Miner, a newspaper from Broken Hill, New South Wales, reported that an estimated 7,000 people were killed. Numerous ships were wrecked and their crews lost.2 The few photographs that exist of the aftermath clearly show vast areas wiped clean of trees, houses, churches, and crops. The coconut trees that the locals relied on for income were decimated by the typhoon, and a coconut palm takes four to five years to become productive. Conservative estimates of the resulting food shortage and economic collapse placed the period for recovery at a decade.3 But the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar did not have a decade to recover. American troops would arrive in four short years. The stage was set for the U.S. Army's worst defeat since George Armstrong Custer met his end at Little Big Horn 25 years earlier.
As the Spanish-American War ended in 1899, Filipinos expected to be liberated from Spain. Instead, the United States purchased the Philippines for $20 million. There were Filipinos who appreciated the improvements that came with the American presence. But many of those who fought against Spain were not about to trade one colonial master for another. They were determined to throw off the new occupier of their lands. The Spanish-American War ended and the Philippine-American War began.
On 11 August 1901, Company C of the 9th United States Infantry arrived in Balangiga. They...