Of bolo rush & bolomen

[Dimasalang]

Originally Posted by migueldiaz

while the Balangiga memorial marker says in English:

BALANGIGA MASSACRE: In this town, on the 28th of September 1901, Filipinos armed with bolos attacked Company "C", Ninth Infantry of U.S. They killed almost all the American soldiers. In revenge the Americans launched a six-month "kill-and-burn" [campaign]. The town became like a "howling wilderness." Because of their cruelty, Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith and Major Littleton W.T. Waller were tried by court martial and cashiered.

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The memorial marker needs to be corrected. The atrocities ordered by Smith and performed by Waller made national news in America. The trial of both was carefully watched. The end result is atrocious…Smith was found guilty and was to be court-martial…his punishment was to be decided by the review board…their punishment for Smith, simply to turn in his resignation paper and retire from the military(with his present rank). And in the case of Waller “the Butcher of Samar”, he was acquitted of his charge. Waller would later make the rank of Colonel a couple years after the his alleged crime(if the case meant anything, this promotion would have never happened). His overall service in the Marine Corp is defined as exemplary, honorable, well respected, and a model Marine...he would retire in 1920 as a full fledge Major General. I HIGHLY doubt this trial made any type of dent or impact on his military career. Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

One other interesting thing about Waller. He led the famous Marine expedition through Samar 1901. It is considered by far to be the most dangerous and toughest expedition track of that era…estimated at 250miles, all the while battling Pulahans, Insurgents, bolo attacks, sickness, lack of food, and the rugged dense jungle terrain. It is also after this expedition where Waller gave the orders to execute the 11 native guides. In the long run, the expedition elevated the Marine toughness lore to great proportions throughout all the military branches of the US. Even several years after, the Marines from this expedition were still recognized through out the Marine Corp...regardless of rank, when a Marine from Wallers expedition walked in to a room, his presence would be acknowledged by a shout, “Stand gentlemen, he served in SAMAR!”, and all Marines would rise and salute.

[KuKulzA28]

Heroic people on both sides of the conflicts, that's for sure...

Was Samar a major hotbed of resistance? If so, how was it compared to... say Luzon or the Moros?


This is slightly off topic, but...
The "Talibon" was widely used in Samar if I'm not mistaken... and the "Sansibar" in Leyte... Pulahans were said to have used Talibons. However the Pulahan-Derobio eskrima group (claims to have martial arts from the Pulahan fighters) has "sansibars" as their principle bolos. What does that mean? Means different bolos used by the Pulahan? Means different bolos developed by the Waray-waray people of both islands?

[Dimasalang]

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

Heroic people on both sides of the conflicts, that's for sure...

Was Samar a major hotbed of resistance? If so, how was it compared to... say Luzon or the Moros?


This is slightly off topic, but...
The "Talibon" was widely used in Samar if I'm not mistaken... and the "Sansibar" in Leyte... Pulahans were said to have used Talibons. However the Pulahan-Derobio eskrima group (claims to have martial arts from the Pulahan fighters) has "sansibars" as their principle bolos. What does that mean? Means different bolos used by the Pulahan? Means different bolos developed by the Waray-waray people of both islands?

Definitely heroic people on both sides of the coin thats for sure...this is why I study accounts on both sides of the war. I have more favorite American war heroes of this era then any other time. I know many people here are collectors of Philippine artifacts, but taking in to account American artifacts of this era, it is just the same. Some people are floored by Barongs and Kris's selling for near $2k...a Krag rifle bayonet of this era just sold for $2,650...and thats the typical price. And a Philippine Krag Carbine from this era is seen as the ultimate prize of all Krags in the Krag world...they are almost nonexistent.

On the major hot regions. Between 1899 and 1913, all 3 regions had their time and place as being the major hotbed. First in Luzon, then in Visayas, and finally in Mindanao...all 3 over lapped one another but they all had their turn at being major hotbeds. From 1899-1903 Luzon was the major hot region...but Sakay and his group still roamed and threatened Luzon up until 1906. Then from 1902-1907, Visayas took over as the major hot region...the turning point came after the capture of Papa Ablen in 1907...the last major Pulahan to be killed was in 1911. And lastly, resistance in Mindanao went from 1904 to 1913...peaking from the disarmament act of 1911, which inevitably lead up to the Battle of Bagsak in 1913. By 1915, all major resistances in all 3 regions was extinguished. Looking at the annual war reports from 1915 on, there is almost nothing reported. It is difficult to say which is the worst out of all 3...but for me personally, I believe Samar-Leyte was the worst area...following in a very close second, Mindanao...with Luzon being last.

On the Talibon and Sansibar topic. I tend to believe both types of swords were used and found in either area, both regions are so close to one another they are typically grouped together when spoken of (Samar-Leyte)...this is because the groups living there share such cultural similarities. Kind of like saying San Jose and San Francisco...two different cities but so close you just call the entire region the Bay Area since everything going on there is essentially the same. The Waray people(who typically made up a huge majority of the Pulahan group) can be found in both regions...and the Pulahans traveled everywhere. But more then likely a larger majority of each sword were found in their respective region due to their origination in those areas. I wouldn't necessary restrict any sword to one region...the Philippines has 7100 islands, traveling by boat was typical. I know many may think, 100 years ago these groups were isolated, thats not true...mode of transportation by boat was infact easy and was an everyday occurrence.

[migueldiaz]

Here's an artist's interpretation of what happened on that fateful morning of Sept. 28, 1901, in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.

This plate came from the 10-volume Filipinas Heritage series published in the 1970s.

I'm not quite sure whether the depiction of the bolos is accurate.

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by Dimasalang

Definitely heroic people on both sides of the coin thats for sure...

Indeed!

Like on the American side, Prof. Borrinaga in his The Balangiga Conflict Revisited (2003) devotes one chapter to the heroism of Pvt. Adolph Gamlin, a survivor of the encounter.

On a related matter, Jean Wall (Gamlin's daughter) who has visited Balangiga several times described to Borrinaga the profile of the soldiers of Company C. She said that most of the soldiers were actually very young boys from the Midwest who had never been away from home before and did not have the benefit of good education.

[Of course the officers were well educated. Capt. Connell is a West Point graduate. Lt. Bumpus (second-in-command) studied in Harvard. And Maj. Griswold is a surgeon.]

In fact just a few days before the encounter, one soldier committed suicide apparently due to depression, while another deserted.

Just the same, when the surprise attack came, the soldiers fought valiantly, as exemplified by Gamlin's courage.

The survivors apparently also did not take things personally against the Filipinos. Three of the survivors were sergeants. One of them was Frank Betron. After his discharge from the army, he married a Filipina and settled in the Philippines.

Betron was also the only soldier cited by Abanador (the Balangiga police chief who led the attack, and who's also a tournament-caliber arnis master) as having truly learned arnis. Abanador apparently earlier tutored interested American soldiers arnis ...

[KuKulzA28]

Originally Posted by migueldiaz

The survivors apparently also did not take things personally against the Filipinos. Three of the survivors were sergeants. One of them was Frank Betron. After his discharge from the army, he married a Filipina and settled in the Philippines.

Interesting how at the end of war, bloodshed, and oppressive times people can still look at each other and love. It's a very comforting thought.

Originally Posted by migueldiaz

Betron was also the only soldier cited by Abanador (the Balangiga police chief who led the attack, and who's also a tournament-caliber arnis master) as having truly learned arnis. Abanador apparently earlier tutored interested American soldiers arnis ...

Now that is an interesting thing to note. Any examples of other US soldiers learning Filipino/Moro fighting arts?

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

Interesting how at the end of war, bloodshed, and oppressive times people can still look at each other and love. It's a very comforting thought.

Not to be mushy here, but Sgt. Barton's first love (in PI) was apparently a Balangiga lass. Unfortunately, our lovers were overtaken by events (and in the subsequent punitive expeditions to Samar, that lady's mother was one of the casualties). The sarge's crush died a spinster. These are all in Borrinaga's books.

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

Now that is an interesting thing to note. Any examples of other US soldiers learning Filipino/Moro fighting arts?

Do the pics below count?

On a more serious note, let me find out if I can dig up info on that. My impression is that the Moro warriors were secretive about their martial arts ..

[migueldiaz]

In imagining the blade the Balangiga bolomen used, the following passage from Borrinaga's The Balangiga Conflict Revisited would be relevant:

He [1st Lt. Bumpus, the second-in-command] noted the "great many coconut trees along the lowlands near the seacoast." He added that the "meat of the coconut and its milk are highly prized by the natives, and they get a good price for the oil." ...

It could be inferred from the above observation that, unlike western Samar towns around Catbalogan and Calbayog that engaged in hemp production [thus abaca instead of coconut would be the main crop], Balangiga in the south was more into coconut oil production for export. [p. 43]

Earlier, we saw that the Leyte-Samar coconut farmers' bolo of choice would be the talibon (also known simply as sundang among the natives).

So that must be it ... the Balangiga encounter would be a talibon vs. Krag encounter, if we may wrap up the type of weapons used in the Balangiga incident.