The Battle of Manila, the first and largest battle of the Philippine–American War, was fought on February 4–5, 1899, between 19,000 American soldiers and 15,000 Filipino armed militiamen. Armed conflict broke out when American troops, under orders to turn away insurgents from their encampment, fired upon an encroaching group of Filipinos. Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo attempted to broker a ceasefire, but American General Elwell Stephen Otis rejected it, and fighting escalated the next day. It ended in an American victory, although minor skirmishes continued for several days afterward.
U.S. soldiers of the First Nebraska volunteers, Company B, near Manila in 1899.
Private William Walter Grayson who fired the first shots in the Battle of Manila (1899).
Plan of Manila as it existed in 1851
U.S. battery in action at the Bridge of San Juan del Monte, 1899
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, was fought between the First Philippine Republic and the United States from February 4, 1899, until July 2, 1902. Tensions arose after the United States annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.
Image: Manila 646 1899
Image: Gregorio del Pilar and his troops, around 1898
Image: Battle of Quingua
Image: Americans guarding Pasig River bridge, 1898