The boy general

AS we celebrate the 144th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal this week on June 19, we should recognize that there are other Filipino heroes to emulate as much as Rizal. For example, a hero who epitomized Rizal's same love of country is General Gregorio del Pilar.

US Chargé d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli of the US Embassy in Manila expressed his view that "of all the famous people of that era, Del Pilar has always been my favorite."

"While I admire many of the others," Mussomeli said, "Del Pilar has a special place in my heart, though I am not quite certain why. Perhaps because he died so young, or perhaps because he was so recklessly courageous. Or just maybe because I see in him that rare individual who sought the advancement of the Philippines over his own personal advancement. I think that Del Pilar is a good example for all of us -- whether Filipino, American or some other nationality -- someone we should emulate to remind ourselves that the welfare of our country is more important than our own."

Del Pilar was born on November 14, 1875 in San Jose, Bulacan, the nephew of Dr. Rizal's friend, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Toribio del Pilar, who was exiled to Guam for his involvement in the Cavite Mutiny of 1872.

"Goyong," as he was fondly known, enrolled at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor's degree in 1896, at the age of 20. When the revolution broke out in August under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio, Del Pilar decided to become a soldier of the revolution. Under his command, the revolutionaries mounted daring attacks on Spanish garrisons in Bulacan where Del Pilar distinguished himself as a battlefield commander.

Because of his leadership abilities, despite his youth, Del Pilar quickly rose the ranks. When General Emilio Aguinaldo accepted a "truce" with the Spaniards in the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in December of 1897 and agreed to go into exile in Hong Kong along with his top military leaders, Del Pilar was included in the select group.

After Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, Dewey brought Aguinaldo and his junta back to the Philippines on May 19, 1898. Dewey wanted the Filipinos to engage the Spanish forces in battle while he waited for American military troops to arrive.

Upon resuming control of the Philippine revolution, General Aguinaldo appointed Del Pilar to lead the revolutionary forces in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. On June 1, Del Pilar landed in Bulacan with rifles purchased in Hong Kong, quickly laying siege on the Spanish forces in the province.

When the Spaniards surrendered to Del Pilar, the "boy general" brought his troops to Caloocan and Manila to support the other troops battling the Spaniards there.

After the Philippine-American War broke out in February of 1899, the American forces pursued Aguinaldo and his troops as they retreated north from Manila. In rearguard action on April 23, General Del Pilar defeated the American cavalry under Major Bell in a major battle in Quinqua (now Plaridel), Bulacan.

The US forces sustained heavy losses, including Colonel Stotsenberg who was killed in action. General Licerio Geronimo defeated the Americans under General Lawton in San Mateo, Morong, in which battle Lawton, the army officer who captured Apache chief Geronimo, was killed by the soldiers of Gen. Geronimo. Sweet irony.

Despite sporadic victories, the Filipinos were outmanned and outgunned and suffered heavy losses. Aguinaldo was constantly on the run moving further north through Pangasinan and La Union.

With General Del Pilar by his side, Aguinaldo managed to stay ahead of the pursuing Americans as they ventured north through Ilocos Sur, reaching the highlands of Concepcion where they climbed the peak of Tirad Pass.

The American forces were following the strategy of General Elwell Otis to force the Filipino forces northward, to encircle and trap them and "capture Aguinaldo." To this end, Otis had sent three divisions in a pincer movement aimed at capturing Aguinaldo, under the command of Generals MacArthur, Lawton and Wheaton.

General Arthur MacArthur and his division followed the northern railway up to Dagupan in Pangasinan, where he was joined by the 2,500 troops of Gen. Wheaton which had sailed there from Manila Bay. Lawton's division was assigned to go up the Pampanga River, garrisoning the towns along the route and occupying all the mountain passes leading up north.

But as General Lawton's troops neared Aguinaldo, the Filipino forces started firing on them, pinning them along the riverbanks and causing heavy casualties on the American forces.

Stalled in the riverbank of San Isidro, Lawton decided to dispatch a mobile force led by Brig. Gen. Samuel Young to pursue Aguinaldo. The American troops under Young also had 300 mercenary "Macabebes" from Pampanga who had become scouts for the American troops. Young's men were also joined by 900 American troops under the command of Major Peyton March as they headed for Tirad Pass where they knew, from an intercepted courier messenger, that Aguinaldo and his men in the vicinity.

On November 22, Aguinaldo asked his "right hand man," Del Pilar, to defend Tirad Pass from the Americans, to give him time to escape to Palanan, Isabela.

In his diary, Del Pilar wrote: "The General has given me a platoon of available men and has ordered me to defend the Pass. I am aware what a terrible task has been given to me. And yet I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. I am surrounded by fearful odds that will overcome me and my gallant men, but I am pleased to die fighting for my beloved country."

Del Pilar and his 60 riflemen dug three lines of trenches to defend a pass that was 4,500 feet up a steep slope. He waited 10 days, even celebrating his 24th birthday there, until the Americans came. He thought the Pass was impregnable. It was not.

The Americans had taken Lingey, the village at the foot of the Pass. Then, with the help of his Macabebes, Major March found a way to the peak of Tirad Pass which he took with soldiers from the 33rd Infantry Regiment, the Texas Volunteers. On the morning of December 2, Major March launched a simultaneous barrage of fire from Lingey below and from the Peak above.

Richard Henry Little was a reporter with the Chicago Tribune and was with the Texas Volunteers at the Peak. He wrote this eyewitness account of the 6 hour long Battle of Tirad Pass:

"It was a battle above the clouds. I saw the most youthful and the bravest of Filipino generals trying vainly to line-up his soldiers to stave off the advance of the American troops who pursued him, with the purpose of covering Aguinaldo's retreat. I saw him talking to his soldiers from trench to trench, inspiring pride in themselves, to ponder over the valor and love of country… Later we saw from below one of our soldiers turn around, climb to the top of a rock and aim his rifle at General Del Pilar. We held our breath, not knowing whether or not to pray to God that the soldier hit or miss his mark. Afterwards we heard a shot and the youthful Del Pilar fell.

"We took his memoirs, his letters, all his papers. And Sullivan took his pants, and Snider his shoes, and a sergeant one of his silver spurs, and a lieutenant the other spur, and another soldier some of his buttons. I also took some of his buttons; his neck was still drenched with blood…

"And a soldier showed us a silk handkerchief. It was also Del Pilar's…Over the left was a embroidered the name of his girl friend. I saw another soldier of ours, seated on a rock, examining in his hands a golden locket taken from the General, containing a strand of woman's hair. A crow perched atop his feet, another hovered over his head. And I thought we had stripped Del Pilar of everything; but no, I was mistaken: His glory, his glory as a soldier remained."

It took the American forces more than a year before they were able to pick up the scent of where Aguinaldo and his men had escaped to, thanks to Del Pilar.

When Del Pilar's remains were exhumed in 1930, the coroner found that he was buried almost bare, wearing only his underwear and a button. Del Pilar was identified by the gold tooth and the braces that were placed on him when he was in Hong Kong.

The boy general was barely 24 when he died, still with his braces on.

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