Campaigns of the Philippine–American War

Philippine–American War

Filipino soldiers outside Manila 1899
DatePhilippine-American War: June 2, 1899 – July 4, 1902
(3 years, 1 month and 2 days)
Moro Rebellion: 1899–1913
Location
Result American victory and occupation of the Philippines; Dissolution of the First Philippine Republic.
Territorial
changes
The Philippines becomes an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Belligerents

United States
Philippine Constabulary
Macabebe Scouts

Philippine Scouts
First Philippine Republic
Philippine Republican Army
Pulajanes
Sultanate of Sulu
Moro
Republic of Zamboanga
Republic of Negros
Commanders and leaders
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
Elwell Otis
Arthur MacArthur
John Pershing
Jacob Smith
Emilio Aguinaldo
Antonio Luna
Artemio Ricarte
Miguel Malvar
Manuel Tinio
Arcadio Maxilom
Macario Sakay
Dionisio Seguela
Sultan of Sulu
Strength

≈126,000 total

≈24,000 to ≈44,000 field strength
100,000–1,200,000
Casualties and losses

4,165 killed (about 75% from disease), ≈3,000 wounded;

2,000 Philippine Constabulary killed or wounded
≈12,000–20,000 killed
Filipino civilian dead: ≈200,000 to 1,500,000

Fighting erupted between forces of the United States and those of the Philippine Republic on February 4, 1899, in what became known as the 1899 Battle of Manila.

On the evening of February 4, 1899, Private William W. Grayson fired the first shot of the Philippine-American War at the corner of Sociego Street and Tomas Arguelles Street. A study done by Ronnie Miravite Casalmir places the event at this corner, not at Sociego-Silencio where they erroneously have the marker. The Ronnie Miravite Casalmir Study debunks the previous findings of Dr. Benito Legarda which was the basis for the erroneous placement of the marker at Sociego-Silencio. According to Ronnie Miravite Casalmir, the smoking gun for the Sociego-Arguelles corner is the presence of Blockhouse 7 in the background of Grayson's reenactment photo. The orientation of this Blockhouse 7 image lines up with the corner of Sociego and Arguelles when compared with the known photo of Blockhouse 7 taken from the same direction. In addition, the distance estimate of Lieut. Whedon placed the 100-yard distance from Santol at Sociego-Arguelles, not Sociego-Silencio. This meant that when Lieut. Whedon ordered the detachment at Santol to patrol 100 yards, he meant them to patrol all the way to Sociego-Arguelles. Col. Stotsenburg corroborated Lieut. Whedon's distance estimate.

On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. The war officially ended on July 2, 1902, with a victory for the United States. However, some Philippine groups—led by veterans of the Katipunan, a Philippine revolutionary society—continued to battle the American forces for several more years. Among those leaders was General Macario Sakay, a veteran Katipunan member who assumed the presidency of the proclaimed Tagalog Republic, formed in 1902 after the capture of President Emilio Aguinaldo. Other groups, including the Moro, Bicol and Pulahan peoples, continued hostilities in remote areas and islands, until their final defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913.

During the war, the United States Army conducted nine military campaigns. Two additional campaigns were conducted after the official end to the war on July 4, 1902 in connection with the Moro rebellion, which continued until 1913. Some other significant actions occurred outside of organized campaigns, both during the war itself and in the post-war period.