Gregorio del Pilar
For the municipality in the Philippines, see Gregorio Del Pilar, Ilocos Sur.Gregorio del Pilar (
November 14,
1875—
December 2,
1899) was the youngest and the most picturesque general in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the
Philippine Revolution and the
Philippine-American War.
He was born on
November 14,
1875 to Fernando H. del Pilar and Felipa Sempio of
San Jose,
Bulacan. He was the nephew of the great propagandist
Marcelo H. del Pilar and Toribio del Pilar, who was exiled to
Guam for his involvement in the
1872 Cavite Mutiny.
"Goyong", as he was fondly known, enrolled at the
Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor's degree in
1896, at the age of 20. When the
revolution broke out in August under the leadership of
Andres Bonifacio, Del Pilar decided to become a soldier of the revolution. Under his command, the Filipinos mounted daring attacks on Spanish garrisons in Bulacan where Del Pilar distinguished himself as a battlefield commander.
He then joined General
Emilio Aguinaldo to
Hong Kong after the Truce at
Biak-na-Bato. Upon resuming control of the Philippine revolution, Gen. Aguinaldo appointed Del Pilar to lead the revolutionary forces in
Bulacan and
Nueva Ecija. On June 1, Del Pilar landed in Bulacan with rifles purchased in Hong Kong, quickly laying siege on the Spanish forces in the province.
When the
Spaniards surrendered to Del Pilar, the "boy general" brought his troops to
Caloocan and
Manila to support the other troops battling the Spaniards there. When the
Philippine-American War broke-out on February 1899, he led his troops to a short victory over Major
Franklin Bell in the
Battle of Quingua on
April 23,
1899, in which his forces repelled a cavalry charge, and killed the highly decorated Colonel Stotsenberg (
Clark Air Base originally named Fort Stotsenberg).
The 24 year-old "boy general" led a 60-man Filipino rearguard in the
Battle of Tirad Pass against the "
Texas Regiment", the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the United States Volunteers. The awesome story has been told and retold with epic grandeur, how Del Pilar stood with his valiant soldiers on the steep and solitary mountain Pass of Tirad, steadfast to repel the invader, or fight and die like honorable men. In a moving eulogy the Filipino soldiers' "stand against overwhelming odds has been fittingly compared by American contemporary writers to that of Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylae, and that of the embattled Afridis at Dargai Ridge. Even now, we are thrilled with the account of their courage. But the death of Del Pilar is something more than a soldier's death. It was the sublime protest of a patriot against the decree of adverse fate. He had yearned for death when he saw that all was lost for the Republic. He had wished for it when long before the battle of Tirad, he proposed to meet the pursuing enemy after the disaster at Caloocan. He felt its obsession when at midnight on the bank of the river at Aringay he woke up his soldiers and pointedly asked them this question: ‘Brothers, which do you prefer, to die fighting or to flee like cowards?'
"…From morning till noon he repelled charge after charge, he tenaciously held on with his handful of men through the heat and agony of battle, till he himself fell dead among his slain soldiers. And well chosen and most fitting was the place where he offered the sacrifice of his life. It was on the mountain summit, overlooking the plains and the shores of his country, a massive and tremendous altar, built as it were for Titans, caressed by the rolling clouds of morning, lighted by the stars of dusk."
Admittedly, it was one of the darkest hours in Philippine history. President Aguinaldo was retreating to the mountains with only a few faithful followers about him. The young general could not bear to see the misfortune of his country. A man of iron who could not yield to the foe like Andrés Bonifacio and Antonio Luna, Del Pilar could accept no compromise.
The six hour battle standoff resulted in the death of Gregorio del Pilar by a shot to the neck. In the Philippines, del Pilar's brilliant and heroic rear-guard action is referred to as the "Filipino
Thermopylae."
A diary belonging to del Pilar was later recovered by the Americans. Its poignant final entry, written on the night of 1 December, read:
'"The General has given me the pick of all the men that can be spared and ordered me to defend the Pass. I realize what a terrible task has been given me. And yet I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. What I do is done for my beloved country. No sacrifice can be too great."
'
An American officer, Lt. Dennis P. Quinlan ordered his men to give honor to the fallen but valorous foe, "An Officer and a Gentleman".
Fort Del Pilar, the home of the
Philippine Military Academy, was named after him.
