This Battle of Santa Cruz was a battle fought in the early stages of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

during General

Henry W. Lawton Henry Ware Lawton (March 17, 1843 – December 19, 1899) was a U.S. Army officer who served with distinction in the Civil War, the Apache Wars, and the Spanish–American War. He was the only U.S. general officer to be killed during the Philip ...

's Laguna de Bay campaign.

Background

After defeating the Filipino nationalists at the second battle of Manila, General Elwell S. Otis, commander of the US VIII Corps, sent the 1st Division under

Arthur MacArthur Arthur MacArthur is the name of: *Arthur MacArthur Sr. (1815–1896), lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and acting governor for four days; United States federal judge *Arthur MacArthur Jr. (1845–1912), his son, general in the United States Army an ...

to the north to threaten the Filipino capitol at

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...

. At the same time, the 2nd Division under

was sent south into the

Laguna province Laguna, officially the Province of Laguna ( fil, Lalawigan ng Laguna), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz while its largest city is the City of Calamba and the province is sit ...

, to the Filipino stronghold located in the town of Santa Cruz..

Landings

On April 8, 1899, Lawton's division boarded a small fleet of ''cascos'' escorted by the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s ''Laguna de Bay'', ''Oeste'' and ''Napindan'', on the

Pasig River The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and souther ...

east of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and sailed towards

Laguna de Bay Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...

. The flotilla did not reach the opposite shore of the lake until early afternoon the next day, because the pilots were unfamiliar with the river and frequently grounded the boats. At 10:30 a.m. on April 9, landing craft began offloading Lawton's troops south of the stronghold of Santa Cruz. Ashore in the afternoon of April 9, the troops set out for Santa Cruz in a long

skirmish line Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an ir ...

, advancing through driving rain. At 5:45 p.m., the right flank, consisting of the 1st Idaho and 14th Infantry, encountered a defense complex of entrenchments and bamboo obstructions, through which they advanced slowly against resistance, until darkness fell, when the troops camped in the fields.

Advance on Santa Cruz

Early on April 10, Lawton personally went ashore with the 4th Cavalry north of town. They advanced along the main road leading into the town. Early on, Lawton ordered the telegraph lines be cut, severing the Filipinos' communication with Emilio Aguinaldo up north. The Americans met light resistance from the Filipinos until their approach to a bridge outside of town, which was heavily guarded by Filipinos under the command of General

Juan Cailles Juan Kauppama Cailles (born Juan Cailles y Kauppama; November 10, 1871 – June 28, 1951) was a Filipino of French-Indian descent. A member of the revolutionary movement Katipunan, he was a commanding officer of the Philippine Revolutionary Arm ...

. The 14th US Regular Infantry Regiment, 1st Idaho, and 1st Washington volunteers charged the bridge and managed to rout the Filipinos. At the same time, dismounted Troops C and L of the 4th US Cavalry Regiment began to land under fire on a beach just north of town. The 4th Cavalry was supported by fire from ''Laguna de Bay'', ''Oeste'', and ''Napindan'' and managed to secure a foothold on the beach. That same day, Lawton took control of Santa Cruz as Cailles and his units withdrew to

Pagsanjan Pagsanjan (pronounced ''PAG-sang-han''), officially the Municipality of Pagsanjan ( tgl, Bayan ng Pagsanjan), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,327 peop ...

.Report of an Expedition to the Province of La Laguna, Luzon, Philippine Islands, April 8th to April 17th 1899
Major General H.W. Lawton. While Gen. Lawton consolidated his forces in Santa Cruz, he planned to push on to Pagsanjan where he figured the Filipinos had retreated. After capturing Pagsanjan on April 11, he again defeated the Filipinos in a stiff engagement at the

Battle of Paete The Battle of Paete (Pronounced Pie-tê) was a small battle fought between American forces, commanded by General Henry W. Lawton, and Philippine nationalists on April 12, 1899, during the Philippine–American War. Background Upon capturing Santa ...

Withdrawal

On April 16, Lawton's forces reboarded their transport ships to return to Manila, noticing enemy soldiers entering the town as they left..

Results and aftermath

Overall, the results of the Santa Cruz expedition amounted to the capture of six launches and the deaths of some 125 Filipino soldiers. After the expedition,

Aguinaldo A thirteenth salary, or end-of-year bonus, is an extra payment given to employees at the end of December. Although the amount of the payment depends on a number of factors, it usually matches an employee's monthly salary and can be paid in o ...

ordered forces at

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

, and Laguna to concentrate at

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...

, tying up manpower south of

which might otherwise have gone north. The expedition demonstrated that towns on

were vulnerable to raiders, forcing local officials to keep their military forces close to home in case of defensive need..

References

External links

Report of an expedition to the Province of La Laguna

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz (1899), Battle Of

Battle of Santa Cruz (1899) This Battle of Santa Cruz was a battle fought in the early stages of the Philippine–American War during General Henry W. Lawton's Laguna de Bay campaign. Background After defeating the Filipino nationalists at the second battle of Manila, Ge ...

Battles of the Philippine–American War History of Laguna (province) Naval battles of the Philippine–American War April 1899 events