Back to top

University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

See More About This Repository

Address:

909 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
clements-reference@umich.edu

Philippine-American War Correspondence and Documents, March 6, 1899-December 23, 1899.

Navigate the Collection
Containers:
Box 4, Folders 22-25
Abstract:
Includes several battle letters concerning the intensity of the American campaign in the Philippines, most of them extremely hostile to the Filipinos. However, one letter, from artilleryman Fred Brock, notes deep respect for the scale of Philippine resistance to the U.S. Army as well as admiration for individual Filipinos. One letter is written on a folded ammunition box. Separate letters make note of the peace negotiations between Henry Lawton and Emilio Aguinaldo, and a large surrender of Philippine resistance fighters near Manila. Multiple separate letters also make reference to Chinese labour in the U.S. military, with one letter stipulating that Chinese labourers receive prisoner-of-war rations rather than Army rations. The American soldiers and officers wrote letters to friends, family, in one case a Rochester-based newspaper editor, in another case a Masonic lodge. American soldiers almost uniformly described fear and hatred of guerrilla warfare and frustration at the ambush tactics employed by Filipino soldiers. One August 1899 letter, sent from George Wood to his friend Thomas Henn in Indiana, draws attention to poor health of the American soldiery and discusses George's growing hatred of the racialized Filipinos. Other letters point to boredom, with Malcolm Graham writing to his officer father William that "I know my letters are short but what in the world can a man write about when there is nothing doing." One letter, sent by one of Fitzhugh Lee's sons to his father (at that time the U.S. consul to Cuba), details the son's voyage through the Mediterranean en route to the Philippines and his experiences in the British post at Gibraltar. A listing of names of men serving in the 9th Infantry and the 12th Infantry is included. Also present is a detailed letter mentioning that Filipino anti-American orators depicted the U.S. military as "semi-barbarians" who "would take the country, rob them of their women and whatever wealth they possessed, would murder by the thousands and commit all sorts of unspeakable crimes." However, while this letter notes that this propaganda was having an impact, it also mentioned that the R.C. Archbishop of New Orleans was about to embark on a highly anticipated trip that the devout Filipinos were hoping would make redundant the continued presence of Spanish clergy on the islands (the clerical question would later resolve in the creation of the Aglipayan Church, officially the Philippine Independent Church). Additional keywords: Prisoners of war, Masonic lodges, guerrilla warfare, military deaths by disease, war crimes, counterinsurgency, Aglipayan Church, Chinese labour in the Philippine-American War, war crimes. Partial geographical list: Manila (Philippines), Norwich (Conn.), Cavite (Philippines), San Francisco (Calif.), Malolos (Philippines), Sioux Falls and De Smit (S.D.), Pierre (S.D.), Lake City (Iowa), Red Wing (Minn.), Luzon (Philippines), Willoughby (Ohio), Calumpit (Bulacan, Philippines), Fort Leavenworth (Kan.), Paisley and New Haven (Ind.), Iloilo [City] (Philippines), Bacolad (Philippines), Rochester (N.Y.), Seattle (Wash.), Chicago and Chicago Heights (Ill.), Bacoor (Cavite, Philippines), Cebu (Philippines), Angeles (Luzon, Philippines), Pittsburgh (Pa.), Gibraltar, Mediterranean Ocean, Milwaukee (Wis.), Panique (Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines), Montgomery (Ala.), Zamboanga [City] (Philippines).
Extent:
32 items

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown