HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Battle of Mount Puray, sometimes known as Battle of Mount Purog, was fought on June 14, 1897, between the Philippine revolutionaries led by Revolutionary President
Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
and General Licerio Geronimo and Spanish forces sent under orders by Governor-General
Fernando Primo de Rivera Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, 1st Marquess of Estella (24 July 1831 – 23 May 1921) was a Spanish politician and soldier. Fernando Primo de Rivera was the son of Antonio Hermenegildo Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte and his wife Ana Ma ...
. 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 Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...
.


Prelude

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 Dasmariñas (colloquially shortened to Dasma), officially the City of Dasmariñas ( fil, Lungsod ng Dasmariñas), is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. With a land area of and a population of 703,141 people acc ...
, and it took via
Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...
until they reached the hills of Mount Puray which was in the hilly eastern part of the town of Montalban. 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.


Battle

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 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. 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 on 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.


Aftermath

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 Mariano Núñez Llanera (born Mariano Llanera y Núñez; November 9, 1855 – September 19, 1942) was a Filipino revolutionary general from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija who fought in his aforementioned home province, and also in the neighboring provinces ...
of
Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...
and
Francisco Macabulos Francisco Macabulos y Soliman (September 17, 1871 – April 20, 1922), commonly known today as Francisco Makabulos, was a Filipino patriot and revolutionary general who led the Katipunan revolutionary forces during the Philippine Revolution aga ...
of
Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...
, 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 Norzagaray, officially the Municipality of Norzagaray ( tgl, Bayan ng Norzagaray), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 136,064 people. It is the location of A ...
and then Angat until it was finalized at Biak-na-Bato in
Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...
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.


See also

*
Republic of Biak-na-Bato Republic of Biak-na-Bato is a designation referring to the second revolutionary republican government led by Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine Revolution, That government referred to itself as Republic of the Philippines ( es, República d ...
*
Battle of Aliaga 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. It is often described as one of the "most glorious battles" of the Philip ...


References

{{coord missing, Philippines Mount Puray History of Rizal Mount Puray