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The siege of Baler ( fil, Pagkubkob sa Baler; es, Sitio de Baler) was a battle of the Philippine Revolution. Filipino revolutionaries laid
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
to a
fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...
defended by Spanish troops in the town of
Baler, Aurora Baler, officially the Municipality of Baler ( tl, Bayan ng Baler; ilo, Ili ti Baler), is a 3rd class municipality and capital of the province of Aurora, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 43,785 people. Baler is ...
, for 337 days, from 1 July 1898 until 2 June 1899. The war had ended with the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...
on 10 December 1898, with Spain's surrender and cession of claims over the Philippines to the United States. Cut off from communications with their own government and military, the Spanish forces in Baler continued their defense against the Filipino forces until 1899.


Background

Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configured ...
is located on the eastern coast of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
, about from
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 ...
. The Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule started in 1896. In September 1897, the Spanish garrisoned Baler with 50 Civil Guard soldiers under Lieutenant José Mota, to prevent
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 ...
from receiving smuggled arms. Mota's forces were attacked on the night of 4 October by Novicio's men, killing Mota and six other Spaniards, wounding several and capturing 30
Mauser Model 1893 The Mauser Model 1893 is a bolt-action rifle commonly referred to as the Spanish Mauser, though the model was adopted by other countries in other calibers, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The M1893 was based on the experimental M1892 rifle, whic ...
rifles. The initial phase of the revolution ended with the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 15, 1897, created a truce between Spanish colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo to end the Philippine Revolution. Aguinaldo and his fellow rev ...
in 1897. By 1898, with the resumption of the Philippine Revolution, Baler was still reachable only by ship or by traversing on foot through nearly impassable jungle trails across the
Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...
mountain range that were often washed out by torrential tropical rains. During this phase of the revolution, the Philippines was involved in the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
, and the Filipino rebels allied themselves with the American forces. This alliance would end with the outbreak 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 ...
in 1899. Baler was garrisoned by a 50-man detachment of the 2nd Expeditionary Battalion ''Cazadores'' of the Civil Guard, led by
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Enrique de las Morenas and three other officers; de las Morenas was serving as the district political-military governor. On 1 June 1898, las Morenas ordered his men to begin digging a well, stocking food supplies and ammunition, and fortifying the church compound of San Luís de Tolosa in Baler's town square against a possible attack. The church was the only stone building in the area.


Siege

On 26 June 1898, it was noticed that the town residents were leaving. The city was surrounded the next day. Then on the night of 30 June, 800 Filipino troops under Teodorico Novicio Luna attacked, and the garrison fell back to the church. The town priest, Candido Gómez Carreño, also quartered himself in the church. The first few days of the siege saw several attempts by the Filipinos to get the Spanish to surrender by leaving letters, while they surrounded the church with trenches. On 8 July, the revolutionary commander, Cirilo Gómez Ortiz, offered a suspension of hostilities until nightfall, which was accepted. On 18 July, Calixto Villacorta took command of the Filipinos. He also sent a warning letter, which was rebuffed. The Spanish had to endure confinement in a small, hot, humid space. As the siege progressed, their food supply began to diminish through usage and spoilage. Enemy rifle fire did cause casualties but diseases such as
beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, ...
,
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, and
fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
s did more damage. The first Spaniard to die was Gómez Carreño. In September, Lieutenant Alonso was killed; in November, Captain Las Morenas succumbed to beriberi and command fell to Lieutenant Saturnino Martín Cerezo. More than once the Spanish made forays to burn nearby houses to deprive the Filipinos of much needed cover. The Filipinos attempted to smoke them out by setting fires beside the church wall but were repulsed and had their timber captured. At the start of the siege, the Spanish had provisions of flour, rice, beans, chickpeas, bacon, canned Australian beef, sardines, wine, sugar, and coffee – but no salt. Supplementing their food supplies, the Spanish foraged for pumpkins, pumpkin leaves, oranges, plantain shoots, various herbs, and planted a garden of peppers, tomatoes and pumpkins. By mid-November, having failed to dislodge the Spanish defenders, Villacorta, under a flag of truce, left newspapers on the church steps that told of Spain's planned departure from the Philippines and that the Spanish–American War was over. Martín Cerezo considered this a ''
ruse de guerre The French , sometimes literally translated as ruse of war, is a non-uniform term; generally what is understood by "ruse of war" can be separated into two groups. The first classifies the phrase purely as an act of military deception against one' ...
''. Villacorta brought in Spanish civilians and ultimately a military officer left behind to wrap up Spain's affairs on the island, to no avail. By 22 November, a total of 145 days had elapsed since the siege began, during which 14 Spanish defenders died of disease. Of the 40 remaining men, only 23 were combat effective, with the rest being sick. The Filipinos also had suffered casualties, mostly from rifle fire the Spanish were able to inflict on them from their protected firing positions. Gómez Ortiz was one of these. The new year brought more Spanish emissaries to Baler, but again Martín Cerezo turned them away. At the end of February, the Spanish killed three water buffaloes, eating the meat before it spoiled, and using the leather for footwear. The
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...
formally ending their war with Spain having been signed in December, and after a specific request from the Archbishop of Manila on March 23, the Americans intervened in April. Commander
Charles Stillman Sperry Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry (September 3, 1847February 1, 1911) was an officer in the United States Navy. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sperry graduated from the Naval Academy in 1866. In November 1898, he became commanding officer of a ...
, commanding the gunboat USS ''Yorktown'', attempted to rescue the Spanish troops. By this time, Filipino rebels had declared independence and had been fighting the United States for two months. Five Americans on a reconnaissance mission were killed. Lieutenant James Clarkson Gilmore and nine others were captured, and held prisoner by the Filipinos until rescued in December. When their food ran out on 24 April, the Spanish resorted to eating stray dogs, cats, reptiles, snails and crows. On 8 May, Filipino artillery shelling hit an improvised cell that held three Spaniards who had attempted to desert earlier in the siege. One of them, Alcaide Bayona, ran out and joined the Filipinos. This was a blow to the Spanish as the deserter had important intelligence to share about their dire straits, and helped fire the cannon on the church to good effect. On 28 May 1899, there was yet another attempt to get Martín Cerezo to surrender. Again, another Spanish officer, Lieutenant Colonel Cristóbal Aguilar y Castañeda, appeared under a flag of truce and was turned away. He had brought recent Spanish newspapers, which Cerezo initially dismissed as bogus, until Martín Cerezo read an article concerning a close friend's posting, plans of which only he knew, convincing him the newspapers were genuine and that indeed Spain had lost the war. On 2 June, Martín Cerezo surrendered to the Filipinos.


Aftermath

Aguinaldo, now president of the
First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...
, decreed that they were to be considered, "Not as prisoners of war but as friends." He added: "... the valor, determination, and heroism with which that handful of men, cut off and without any hope of aid, defended their flag over the course of a year, realizing an epic so glorious and worthy of the legendary valor of
El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...
and Pelayo." Three months later, on 1 September, the survivors including Martín Cerezo, arrived in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
where they were received and honored as heroes. Martín Cerezo later published a memoir, ''El Sitio de Baler'', where he gave his reasons for holding out: "It would be somewhat difficult for me to explain, principally, I believe through mistrust and obstinacy. Then also on account of a certain kind of auto-suggestion that we ought not for any reason surrender because of national enthusiasm, without doubt influenced by the attractive illusion of glory and on account of the suffering and treasury of sacrifice and heroism and that by surrender, we would be putting an unworthy end to it all." The two
Franciscan priests , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
, Félix Minaya and Juan López, plus the ''Yorktown'' seaman George Arthur Venville, were kept as prisoners by Novicio, until the priests were rescued by American forces on 3 June 1900, having re-garrisoned Baler earlier that year. Venville however was led to his death at the hands of
Bugkalot The Bugkalot (also Ilongot or Ibilao) are a tribe inhabiting the southern Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains, on the east side of Luzon in the Philippines, primarily in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija and along the mountain bor ...
s, before the American arrival. Furthermore, Novicio was put on trial for ordering the ''Yorktown'' sailor Ora B. McDonald buried alive after the ambush. Found guilty, Novicio faced a life sentence of hard labor in Bilibid Prison. Las Morenas was posthumously promoted to "comandante" (major) and awarded the
Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand ( es, Real y Militar Orden de San Fernando), is a Spanish military order whose decoration, known as Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand ( es, Cruz Laureada de San Fernando), is Spain's highest mili ...
, Spain's highest military medal. His widow received a pension of 5,000  pesetas. Martín Cerezo was promoted to major with an annual pension of 1,000 pesetas. He also was decorated with the Royal Cross of the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand, and went on to become a brigadier general. He died in 1945. Lieutenant Zayas received a posthumous promotion. The enlisted men received the
Cross of Military Merit The Cross of Military Merit ( es, Cruces del Mérito Militar) is Spain's military awards for gallantry or merit in war or peace. Awarded to members of the Spanish Armed Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and attribution Established o ...
, and each received a monthly pension of 60 pesetas. Of the 50 men who entered the church, around thirty survived the 11-month siege. Fourteen men died from disease. Only two men died from wounds. There were four deserters from the garrison. Two men were imprisoned for helping in the desertion of another (Alcaide), and executed on orders of Martín Cerezo on the day before their surrender. The feat of the Spanish so inspired the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
General
Frederick Funston Frederick Funston (November 9, 1865 – February 19, 1917), also known as Fighting Fred Funston, was a general in the United States Army, best known for his roles in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. He received ...
that he had Martín Cerezo's memoir translated and gave copies to all his officers. It was published as ''Under the Red and Gold''. The survivors were known as "the last ones of the Philippines". A century after their return, the modern-day Spanish government paid homage to them. The siege is considered by some as the end of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
.


In popular culture

The siege of Baler is portrayed in the 1945 Spanish film ''
Last Stand in the Philippines ''Last Stand in the Philippines'' () is a 1945 Spanish biographical war film directed by Antonio Román. It is based on a radio script by Enrique Llovet, ''Los Héroes de Baler,'' and novel, ''El Fuerte de Baler,'' by Enrique Alfonso Barcones an ...
'', the 2008 Filipino film ''
Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configured ...
'', and the 2016 Spanish film ''
1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines ''1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines'' ( es, 1898, Los últimos de Filipinas) is a 2016 Spanish war drama film directed by Salvador Calvo. The film depicts the Siege of Baler from 1898 to 1899, where 54 Spanish soldiers defended themselves ...
''. The incident also appears in a two-part episode, "Tiempo de valientes", of the Spanish television series ''
El ministerio del tiempo ''El ministerio del tiempo'' (English title: ''The Ministry of Time'') is a Spanish fantasy television series created by Javier and Pablo Olivares and produced by Onza Partners and Cliffhanger for Televisión Española (TVE). It premiered on 24 ...
''.


See also

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References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baler, Siege of Battles of the Philippine Revolution Battles of the Spanish–American War Conflicts in 1898 Conflicts in 1899 History of Aurora (province) Sieges involving Spain Sieges involving the Philippines Sieges involving the United States