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General Gregorio Del Pilar: The Last Stand At Tirad Pass
The Task. The standing military order was to engage the pursuing American troops under Major Peyton March in combat. The underlying motive was to stall the Americans and provide enough time and space for President Emilio Aguinaldo to flee to the northernmost part of the Philippines.
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| Major Peyton March commanded the American troops at The Battle of Tirad Pass. (wiki) |
The Task Force. A revolutionary regiment, consisting of 60 weary soldiers under the command of General Gregorio Del Pilar, was to serve as rear defense force of the fleeing President of the Republic. General Del Pilar, nicknamed Goyong by his friends, was one of the youngest generals of the revolutionary army. His meteoric rise in the military heirarchy was due to his reputation as a courageous leader and combatant. At 24, he registered numerous victories against the invaders. A great part of his force consisted of soldiers who once belonged to General Antonio Luna's army. General Luna was assassinated earlier in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.
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| General Del Pilar and his men in Central Luzon (wiki) |
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| General Del Pilar was one of the youngest Filipino generals during the Phil-Am War. (google) |
The Battle Site. General Del Pilar and his men positioned themselves at Tirad Pass, a mountainous area that overlooked the towns of Cervantes and Concepcion in the province of Ilocos Sur. Tirad Pass is an uphill trail that leads to the Cordillera mountains. Beyond Tirad Pass is Mankayan, Benguet where Lepanto Mining Company is presently located. A little to the north is Abra.
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| The vast mountains in Ilocos Sur where Tirad Pass is located. (google) |
The Odds. While the Filipino rebels under General Del Pilar were strategically positioned atop a hilly portion of the town of Concepcion, which is now named Del Pilar, and it would appear, at first glance, that it was unassailable, the odds still tilted in favor of the Americans considering their enormous strength in personnel and weaponry. General Del Pilar had only 60 tired and hungry men while Major March commanded a force consisting of about 300 well-trained soldiers. The Americans had cannons and high powered firearms while the Filipinos had to contend with the standard weapons.
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| Photo of Tirad Pass in the early 1900's (Phil-Am War photo) |
The Actual Battle. Due to an advantage in position, the Filipino rebels under General Del Pilar succeeded in holding the Americans at bay for about five hours on December 2, 1899. With shots being fired from almost all directions, the Americans could not advance. The revolutionaries even unleashed boulders to fend off the Americans. But the turning point of the battle came when a local villager betrayed his countrymen. Januario Galut, an Igorot all too-familiar with the battle site, pointed to the Americans a secret passage that enabled the Americans to launch an attack from the rear. With cannons being fired, the battle turned into a rout. It was a massacre. Of Del Pilar's 60 men, only eight survived. Del Pilar was killed in action. The Americans lost only 2 men.
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| Statue of General Del Pilar at the battle site (Photo from Trip to Tirad) |
Post Battle Analysis. While General Del Pilar and his men showed to the whole world their bravery in making their last stand at the Battle of Tirad Pass, Del Pilar's seemingly courageous defiance, what with the confidence of youth on his side, perhaps did them in. Courage turned into bravado. When his men started falling one by one, and the American offensive was too much to fend off, he could have raised the white flag. But, no, he decided to make a last stand. He sacrificed the lives of his own men. And in the course of the battle, those who survived the fight were saying that General Del Pilar was too reckless. He apparently did not know the meaning of prudence. Instead of docking, he continued to expose himself to danger. He died with several gunshot wounds.
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| Historical marker at the battle site (Manila O.T) |
While Del Pilar and his men lost the Battle of Tirad Pass, President Aguinaldo and his troops made good their escape to the north, taking the dangerous Cordillera mountains en route to Palanan, Isabela. It would take more than a year before the pursuing Americans would catch up with the elusive Aguinaldo and company.
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| President Aguinaldo managed to elude the pursuing American troops for more than a year after The Battle of Tirad Pass. (g'gle) |
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| American soldiers with Filipina girls somewhere in the North in the early 1900's (Phil-Am War) |
- Konted
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