Balangiga Massacre

The Balangiga Massacre was an incident in 1901 during the Philippine-American War where many American soldiers were killed in an ambush by Filipinos in the town of Balangiga on Samar island. This incident is described as one of the United States' worst single defeats in its entire history. The subsequent retaliation of American troops resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Filipinos on Samar, a majority of whom were civilians.

This incident and the subsequent retaliation remains the longest and one of the most controversial issues between the Philippines and the United States. Conflicting records from both American and Filipino historians have muddled the issue. Recent events during the 1990s have cleared up many of the issues between Filipinos and Americans. Only the return of the bells of the church at Balangiga, taken by Americans as war booty and now collectively known as the Balangiga Bells, remains the issue of contention related to the war. To this day, one church bell is in the possession of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment at their base in South Korea, and two others remain with the 11th U.S. Infantry Regiment at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The Massacre

During the "Philippine Insurrection" officials of this municipality requested the presence of American troops to protect the residents from revolutionists and marauders. In fact, the officials were attempting to lure a small contingent of soldiers to this isolated village so that they could be massacred. This area was firmly under the control of Philippine revolutionary force commanded by Brigadier General Vicente Lukban.

In response to the request for assistance, Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment was sent to the village on 11 August 1901, under the assumption that this village was favorably disposed to the efforts being made to "civilize" the Philippines. The American soldiers further irritated the natives by forming them into work parties to clean up the village.

Several weeks after their arrival, on 29 September 1901, villagers and outside forces combined to surprise the garrison early on a Sunday morning while they were at breakfast. Most of the soldiers were hacked to death with bolo knives before they could gain access to their firearms. A handful of surviving soldiers drove off their attackers with rifle fire and escaped from the village in boats to a nearby American garrison. Of the original 73 man contingent, 48 were killed or found missing.

The burning of Samar

The effect of this battle was a brutal retaliation on the inhabitants of Samar Island, inflicted by the occupation forces. An immediate response from the garrison at Basey, led to an attack on the community by a gunboat and the subsequent execution of more than twenty inhabitants of Balangiga. Later, the 11th U.S. Infantry Regiment and U.S. Marines killed many rebels and male non-combatants aged 10 years and up, and torched their crops and property in a campaign to lay waste to the island and turn Samar into a "howling wilderness". The soldiers acted upon the orders of Brigadier General Manila.