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Emilio Aguinaldo. PHoto by Harris & Ewing.

Top 10 Facts about the Capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by U.S Troops in 1901

Emilio Aguinaldo was a well-known military leader born on 22^nd March 1869 in the Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Empire. Although he joined the military leadership while he was very young, he is well known to be the first president of the Philippines as well as an Asian constitutional republic. Emilio became a very proactive leader as he led his forces in different battles and became a controversial figure in the history of Filipino. He was however captured by a troop led by General Frederick Funston who received help from Macabebe Scouts. Emilio was captured in his headquarters located in Palanan Isabela on 23^rd March 1901. Even after his capture some of his commanders still proceeded with insurrection.

Below are the top ten facts about the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by the U.S. troops in 1901.

1. Emilio Used the Guerrilla Tactic to Defeat the Americans

Photo by Roque Gameiro.

Although Emilio, the proclaimed president of the Philippines was arrested by the United States, he used skillful Guerrilla tactics severally. The American troops were also fond of defeating the rebel, especially using conventional and set-piece battles. The Americans were also not aware of the tactic deployed by Emilio and he ended up capturing several American soldiers in the battle. The Americans who fell into his hands faced severe hardship including torture and murder.

2. His Troops Had Killed Several Americans Before his Capture

Aguinaldo boarding USS Vicksburg following his capture. Photo by

Before Emilio was captured by the U.S. troops, he had also captured several of them and mercilessly tortured them, and also killed some. At the end of the battle, there were several casualties of the battle with about 6000 American soldiers either killed or wounded. This figure was far beyond the number of casualties that resulted from the battle between the Spanish and American. The Filipinos also had a huge loss of about 16,000 casualties which finally led to the capture of their great political leader, Emilio.

3. He was Captured by General Frederick Funston

Frederick Funston. Photo by Harris & Ewing.

The entire mission that led to the capture of the great political leader was led by General Frederick Funston. Frederick Funston was a well-known general of the volunteers who was unique in his distinguished colorful, military and civilian life. Funston was born in 1865 and obtained several jobs after completing his education including a coffee planter and newspaper reporter. Although General Frederick Funston did not have any prior knowledge about the proceedings of the battle, he adapted very fast and fought major battles.

4. Emilio Capture was Facilitated by Segismundo

Emilio was a very tactful political leader who led his troops into several battles though he was considered very young. General Frederick Funston, who captured him, had to come up with a very good strategy to capture him. Funston used the help of the commander, Cecilio Segismundo who was a trusted messenger of Emilio. Segismundo was also involved with carrying out several dispatches from Emilio which allowed him to access several secrets about his operations.

5. Funston had a Difficult Time Trusting Segismundo

Frederick Funston. Photo by Harris & Ewing.

Segismundo was a trusted messenger to Emilio and General Frederick Funston took advantage of that and obtained information about him to aid in his capture. The general did not however entirely trust Segismundo and thus tried to examine some dispatches to prove the validity of the information. The messages were replied to using some of the name codes used by Emilio which included “Pastor” and “Colon Magdalo”. The handwriting that was used was also unmistakably that of Emilio which proved that Segismundo was telling the truth.

6. Funston had a Plan of Landing his Forces at the Headquarter of Emilio

After General Frederick Funston received information from Segismundo, he came up with a plan of landing his force in Palanan. This was the headquarters where Emilio was reported to be residing according to Segismundo. This was however opposed by Segismundo who was very conversant with the premises and the troops. He advised that the landing of the forces in Palanan would be noticed easily and Emilio would have time to flee. General Frederick Funston heeded the advice and changed the plan.

7. A Disguise Group of Loyal Filipinos was used to Capture Emilio

General Frederick Funston later devised a plan of using a disguised group of loyal Filipinos to capture Emilio. This was a result of his request from Emilio to obtain reinforcement which was found in his captured dispatches. This meant that Funston in combination with a few American officers would act as prisoners of war and accompany them. Since this was a very delicate decision, the general presented it to the American headquarters and the request was approved though very risky.

8. Emilio Officer also aided in his Capture

Emilio Aguinaldo. PHoto by Harris & Ewing.

Some of the officers belonging to Emilio also aided in his capture after General Frederick Funston landed as one of the prisoners of war. Some of the members who were officers Emilio involved in his capture were Segismundo, Hilario Tal Placido, and Gregorio Cadhit. Placido was a very close individual to Emilio but he had already turned his back on him and taken an oath with the United States as a loyal officer.

9. Funston had Access to his Residence where he Captured him

After General Frederick Funston entered the land as a prisoner of the war, he sent messages to Emilio to claim that the reinforcement had arrived as he had requested. After receiving the messages, he welcomed them into his headquarters without knowledge about Funston. While in his residence, he had some shots but thought that prisoners were being welcomed. He was captured there and after a few shots, some of his officers with him escaped.

10. Emilio Admitted being Completely Fooled by Phony Dispatches

Emilio finally admitted to being fooled by the phony dispatches after he was captured by General Frederick Funston. He also claimed that he would hardly believe that he had been held as a prisoner. After his capture, some of his villagers escaped after they had some gunshots and he later asked them to surrender. He asked them to lay down their arms and accept American sovereignty.

Emilio was a very brave political leader who led his people in several battles until his capture by General Frederick Funston. He was however fooled into his capture by some of his trusted officers including Segismundo. He was also able to kill several American before his capture but his troops also received several casualties.