The Philippine-American War 1899 - 1913

The Philippine-American War 1899 - 1913. Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park. , The Philippine-American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection (1899 -1902), was an armed conflict between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries. The conflict arose from the struggle of the first Philippine Republic to gain independence following annexation by the United States.The war was a part of a series of conflicts in the Philippine struggle for independence, preceded by the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish American War. , , Fighting erupted between U.S. and Filipino revolutionary forces on February 4,1899, and quickly escalated into the 1899 Battle of Manila. On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. The war officially ended on July 4, 1902. However, some groups led by veterans of the Katipunan society continued to battle the American forces. Among those leaders was General Macario Sacay, a veteran Katipunan member who assumed the presidency of the proclaimed Tagalog Republic, formed in 1902 after the capture of President Aguinaldo. Other groups, including the Moro people and Pulahanes, continued hostilities until their defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913. , , On the evening of February 4, two American sentries one of which was Pvt. Robert William Greyson, on guard duty at Manila's San Juan del Monte bridge fired the shots which began the 1899 Battle of Mande. The following day, General Arthur MacArthur, without investigating the cause of the firing, ordered his troops to advance against Filipino troops, beginning a full scale armed clash. , , On January 28, 1899, President McKinley had appointed Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman to chair a commission, with Dean C. Worcester, Charles H. Denby, Admiral Dewey, General Otis, as members to investigate conditions in the islands and make recommendations. Fighting had erupted between U.S. forces in February, and the non-military commission members found General Otis looking on the commission as an infringement upon his authority when they arrived in March. In the report they issued to the president the following year, the commissioners acknowledged Filipino aspiration for independence they declared, however, and the Philippines was not ready for it. Specific recommendations included the establishment of civilian control over Manila (Otis would have veto power over the city’s government), creation of civilian government as rapidly as possible, especially in areas already declared “pacified” (the American chief executive in the islands at the time was the military governor), including the establishment of a bicameral legislature, autonomous government in the principle and municipal levels, and a system of free public elementary schools. , , On July 4, Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of President McKinley on September 5 1901, proclaimed a full and complete pardon and amnesty to all participants of the Philippine archipelago who had participated in the conflict. . This historical marker was erected by Hillsborough County. It is in East Lake-Orient Park in Hillsborough County Florida