Battle of Mount Puray | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Philippine Revolution | |||||||
![]() National Historical Commission marker | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
![]() | ![]() | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
![]() | ![]() | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light | Heavy |
The Battle of Mount Puray (Filipino : Labanan sa Bundok ng Puray, Spanish : Batalla de Monte Puray), sometimes known as Battle of Mount Purog (Filipino : Labanan sa Bundok ng Purog, Spanish : Batalla de Monte Purog), was fought on June 14, 1897, between the Philippine revolutionaries led by Revolutionary President Emilio Aguinaldo and General Licerio Geronimo and Spanish forces sent under orders by Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera. Filipino forces won a victory in this battle in which a Spanish army pursuing them was crushed and routed. The Filipinos' victory in the battle ended the long evacuation from Cavite to Morong, and made possible the setting up of their new revolutionary headquarters in the battlefield's vicinity and then later to Biac-na-Bato in Bulacan.
In 2024, the National Historical Commission installed a marker for the battle. [5]
Filipino revolutionaries who joined Aguinaldo and his staff evacuated Cavite after the fall of most of its territory to the Spanish. The retreat commenced from a remote village in Dasmariñas, and it took via Laguna until they reached the hills of Mount Puray which was in the hilly eastern part of the town of Montalban. [6] From there they were met by a Morong-based army led by Licerio Geronimo, and thence set up temporary camp until word reached that a huge Spanish column led by Colonel Felipe Dujiols was on its way to meet them. [7]
With the oncoming Spanish attack, Aguinaldo then commanded his to dig temporary trenches facing downwards from Mount Puray. Filipino units led by sub-commander Licerio Geronimo were positioned at their appropriate areas of defense. The thick forest of the hills also helped the Filipino defenders from the firepower of Spanish machine guns and artillery present. The Spanish column which is several times larger than that of the Filipino force present, had now arrived at the foot of the hill and encamped themselves there. Once in position, they were then ordered by Dujiols to promptly attack the hill which they did, although he was under express orders by Primo de Rivera not to engage until he and his reinforcements arrive in the field. For six hours the Spanish though more numerous predictably suffered heavy losses under Filipino enfilade fire coming from the dugouts and thickets, and they retreated back towards their camp. [8] Hours later, when Aguinaldo finally felt the initiative passed to his, he ordered some Filipinos to steal and wear the uniforms of the dead Spaniards and had them pretend to be among them, before sending them to infiltrate the Spanish camp where they caused confusion and then promptly ambushed the camp, suffering even more losses of dead and wounded upon the Spanish who then retreated from the field back as far away as into the town center of San Mateo in disorder. [9]
The Filipinos won their first battle in months, and the battle at Mount Puray proved to be a much-needed morale raiser for them and the revolutionary endeavor. News of Aguinaldo's victory in battle spread to other provinces, as a result by early August the province of Cavite, despite being reverted to Spanish control some months earlier, is once again in open revolt, seriously jeopardizing efforts to pacify the province.
Aguinaldo then set up his temporary headquarters in Mount Puray, and from there revolutionary commanders from across different provinces, including Mariano Llanera of Nueva Ecija and Francisco Macabulos of Tarlac, convened there for a time. The area was deemed too close to the front, however, and the revolutionary headquarters eventually had to be moved out to Norzagaray and then Angat until it was finalized at Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan by June 24 some distance north. Geronimo's force of Morong rebels had to stay behind Mount Puray to check any effort of Spanish pursuit while the revolutionary government relocates to a more secure location up north. From thence, it became the new capital of the Filipino revolutionary government, from which he, as the revolutionary president, would issue orders to be spread across the whole Philippine archipelago for the locals to rise up against the Spanish yoke, thereby extending the revolution from just eight of the original provinces who first rose up in revolt to include all of the Philippines. [10]
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and became the first president of the Philippines and of an Asian constitutional republic. He led the Philippine forces first against Spain in the Philippine Revolution (1896–1898), then in the Spanish–American War (1898), and finally against the United States during the Philippine–American War (1899–1901). Though he was not recognized as president outside of the revolutionary Philippines, he is regarded in the Philippines as having been the country's first president during the period of the First Philippine Republic.
The Philippine Revolutionary Army, later renamed Philippine Republican Army, was the army of the First Philippine Republic from its formation in March 1897 to its dissolution in November of 1899 in favor of guerrilla operations in the Philippine–American War.
Rodriguez, officially the Municipality of Rodriguez and commonly known by its former name Montalban, is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 443,954 people making it the most populous municipality in the country. Pending an affirmation through plebiscite, Republic Act No. 11812 repealed Batas Pambansa Blg. 275 and intend to formally revert to its original municipal name Montalban.
The Philippine Revolution was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year colonial rule of Spain in the archipelago. The Philippines was one of the last major colonies of the Spanish Empire, which had already suffered a massive decline in the 1820s. Cuba rebelled in 1895, and in 1898, the United States intervened and the Spanish soon capitulated. In June, Philippine revolutionaries declared independence. However, it was not recognized by Spain, which sold the islands to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.
Miguel Malvar y Carpio was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forces during the latter, following the capture of resistance leader Emilio Aguinaldo by the Americans in 1901. According to some, he could have been listed as one of the presidents of the Philippines. However, is not recognized as such by the Philippine government.
The Philippine Declaration of Independence was proclaimed by Filipino revolutionary forces general Emilio Aguinaldo on June 12, 1898, in Cavite el Viejo, Philippines. It asserted the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine islands from the 300 years of colonial rule from Spain.
Licerio Gerónimo y Imaya was a general of the Philippine Revolutionary Forces under Emilio Aguinaldo. He is remembered in Philippine–American War annals as the opposing general to Major General Henry Ware Lawton at the Battle of San Mateo on December 19, 1899, where Lawton lost his life along with 13 other Americans. Lawton had been previously credited with the capture of the Apache leader Geronimo. Licerio Geronimo possibly possessed Native American descent himself as the Spanish used to send Indios, Mestizos, and Criollos, from the Spanish-Americas to the Philippines during colonial times.
Mariano Malia Álvarez was a Filipino revolutionary and statesman.
San Miguel, officially the Municipality of San Miguel, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 172,073 people.
The Hong Kong Junta was an organization formed as a revolutionary government in exile by Filipino revolutionaries after the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 15, 1897. It was headed by Emilio Aguinaldo and included high-level figures in the Philippine revolution against Spanish rule who accompanied Aguinaldo into exile in British Hong Kong from the Philippines.
The Battle of Binakayan–Dalahican was a simultaneous battle during the Philippine Revolution that was fought on November 9–11, 1896 that led to a decisive Filipino victory. The twin battle took place at the shores of Binakayan, in the town of Cavite Viejo ; Dalahican and Dagatan in Noveleta; and, to minimal extent, in Imus and Bacoor towns in Cavite, Philippines that lasted for two days before the Spanish army retreated demoralized and in disarray. The result of the battle was the first significant Filipino victory in the country's history.
The Battle of Alapan was fought on May 28, 1898, and was the first military victory of the Filipino Revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo after his return to the Philippines from Hong Kong. After the American naval victory in the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned from exile in Hong Kong, reconstituted the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and fought against the Spanish troops in a garrison in Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The battle lasted for five hours, from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
The Battle of Aliaga was fought on September 4–5, 1897, between the Philippine revolutionaries of Nueva Ecija and the Spanish forces of Governor General Primo de Rivera.
The Retreat to Montalban occurred during the Philippine Revolution after the 1897 Battle of Naic southwest of Cavite when Philippine General Emilio Aguinaldo's and his forces retreated to Puray, Montalban on June 14. The Spanish pursued the Katipunero forces retreating towards central Luzon, killing many of the revolutionaries. However, the retreat finally ended when Aguinaldo and the Filipinos won the Battle of Mount Puray, from which he would make his temporary headquarters, relocating it again to Norzagaray and Angat, until finally reaching the caves of Biak-na-Bato on June 24, 1897, and making it the new revolutionary headquarters.
The Battle of San Mateo and Montalban was fought between the remaining Katipuneros under the command of Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto and the Spanish government after a failed attempt to capture the El Deposito water works at San Juan del Monte.
The Battle of Calamba was fought between Filipino Revolutionaries in Laguna in the Philippines and the colonial forces of the Spanish Empire.
Mamerto Alejandrino Natividad Jr. was a haciendero and a Filipino military leader who led numerous successful battles during the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards. He is credited with establishing army headquarters at Biak Na Bato, which today is a national park because of its historical significance. Together with Jose Clemente Zulueta, he wrote the proclamation entitled “To The Brave Sons of the Philippines”, which called for the expulsion of the friars from the Philippines. He was a signatory to the Biak Na Bato convention, but a steadfast dissenter to the Treaty of Biak Na Bato, which asked for peace and reforms. He preferred independence.
The Battle of Tayabas was a 2-month campaign of the Philippine Revolution that saw intense guerrilla warfare and bloodshed for the province. The battle occurred shortly after Aguinaldo's return from Hong Kong in May of the same year. Tayabas was just one of the many triumphs for the revolutionaries in that year, that led towards Philippine independence.
This is the timeline of the Philippine Revolution—the uprising that gave birth to Asia's first republic. The roots of the revolution trace back to the Cavite mutiny and subsequent execution of Gomburza in 1872, and ended with the declaration of independence from Spain in 1898.
Salvador Estrella was a Filipino general who fought in the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. For his courage in battle, he earned the moniker "red blooded."