ANTONIO LUNA: Philippine Revolution's Most Outstanding General

ANTONIO LUNA:
Philippine Revolution’s Most Outstanding General

        Antonio Luna was born in Urbiztondo, Binondo (now part of San Nicolas), Manila, on October 29, 1866. The youngest of seven children born to Joaquin Posadas Luna de San Pedro (1829-1891), a traveling tobacco broker from Badoc, Ilocos Norte, and Laureana Ancheta Novicio (1836-1906), a Spanish mestiza from Namacpacan (now Luna), La Union. He is brother to Juan Luna (1857-1899), world renown Filipino painter.

        A brilliant scholar, Luna finished his Bachiller en Artes (Bachelor of Arts) at the age of 15 at the Ateneo de Manila in 1881. He then went on to study literature and chemistry at the University of Santo Tomas, where he won the top prize for a paper in chemistry titled Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales de la Quimica (Two Fundamental Bodies of Chemistry). It is also in UST where he took up Pharmacy, the course he chose to specialize on.

BACKGROUND ON SCIENCE

        In 1886 Luna left for Madrid to complete his licentiate in Pharmacy at the Universidad de Barcelona and later his doctorate at the Universidad Central de Madrid in 1890. Luna was very active and participated in many research in the scientific community. He went to France and worked as an assistant to Dr. Jean H. Latteaux at the Pasteur Institute, and to Belgium where he trained under a certain Dr. Laffen. In 1893, he published a scientific treatise on malaria entitled El Hematozorio del Paludismo (On Malarial Pathology), which was well-received by the scientific community. In 1894, he returned to the Philippines with a commissioned research grant from the Spanish government. He took part in an examination to determine who would become the chief chemist of the Municipal Laboratory of Manila. Luna topped the test and won the position.

        Luna can be credited for the first environmental science research in the Philippines, the bacteriological studies of the Pasig River water, and the first study on Philippine forensic science, that is, using human blood as evidence in judicial proceedings.

MILITARY SKILLS

        Luna is said to be one of the most skillful generals of the Philippine Revolution. His background on swordsmanship, fencing, and military tactics came from his studies under Don Martin Cartagena, a retired major in the Spanish Army. In addition, he also acquired skill in markmanship to become a sharpshooter.

        It was during his times in Europe when Luna involve himself in the study of military tactics and strategies. He sought to learn modern ways of warfare, including guerilla and commando methods of attacks and defenses. Luna studied field fortifications, guerrilla warfare, organization, and other aspects of military science under Belgian general Gerard Mathieu Leman (1851-1920), who would later be the commander of the fortress at Liège during World War I. He also read extensively about the discipline when he was at the Ateneo de Madrid.

        President Ferdinand E. Marcos (1917-1989) in his thesis, The contemporary Relevance of Antonio Luna's Military Doctrines, commented that “His (Luna) three-tiered defense, now known as the Luna Defense Line, gave the American troops a hard campaign in the provinces north of Manila. This defense line culminated in the creation of a military base in the Cordillera.”

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

        Luna courted Nellie Boustead, a Basque-Filipino woman who was also linked to José Rizal (1861-1896), between 1889 and 1891. Boustead was said to be infatuated with Rizal and, had circumstances allowed it, would have been Rizal’s wife. Boustead’s preference for Rizal caused Luna’s extreme jealousy and bitterness.

        In a party held by Filipinos, a drunk Luna made unsavory remarks against Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna to a duel. The circumstance could have led to tragedy for Rizal as Luna was superior in marksmanship and far superior in skills in sword. Fortunately, Luna upon getting sober realized his mistake and apologized to Rizal and took back everything he said about Bousted, thus averting a duel between the compatriots.

PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT

        While in Spain, Luna became one of the Filipino expatriates who mounted the Propaganda Movement and wrote for La Solidaridad, a newspaper founded and first headed by Rizal’s cousin, Galicano Apacible (1864-1949). He wrote a piece titled Impresiones (Impressions) which dealt with Spanish customs and idiosyncrasies under the pen-name “Taga-ilog.”

        Antonio Luna and his brother Juan also opened the Sala de Armas, a fencing club, in Manila. Initially, he turned down the offer to join in the mounting sentiment of armed revolution against Spain. Like Rizal and other Filipinos involved in the Reform Movement, he was in favor of reform rather than revolution as the way towards independence. Teodoro Agoncillo (1912-1985) in his History of the Filipino People, mentioned that “besides affecting their property, the proponents of the Reform Movement saw that no revolution would succeed without the necessary preparations.”

        Nevertheless, after the existence of the Katipunan was leaked in August 1896, a reign of terror ensued and the Luna brothers were among those arrested and jailed in Fort Santiago for “participating” in the revolution. Antonio Luna was exiled to Spain in 1897, where he was imprisoned in Madrid’s Cárcel Modelo. His brother Juan, who had been pardoned by the Spanish Queen Regent Maria Christina (1858-1929) herself, left for Spain to use his influence to intercede for Antonio in August 1897. Soon enough, Antonio’s case was dismissed by the Military Supreme Court and he was released.

        Meanwhile, the second phase of the revolution began with the return of General Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) to the Philippines on May 24, 1898. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, Luna was given a letter of recommendation to Aguinaldo and a revolver by Felipe Agoncillo (1859-1941). He returned to the Philippines in July 1898.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

        On May 28, 1898, Aguinaldo gathered a force of about 18,000 troops and fought against a garrison of Spanish troops in Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The battle lasted for around five hours. After the victory at Alapan, Aguinaldo unfurled the Philippine flag for the first time and hoisted it at the Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Nuevo (present-day Cavite City) in front of Filipino revolutionaries and more than 300 captured Spanish combatants. On June 12, General Aguinaldo declared Philippine Independence from Spain in Cavite El Viejo. Six days later he formed his dictatorial government, and on January 21, 1899, with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution, established the First Philippine Republic.

UNCERTAINTIES WITH THE AMERICAN PRESENCE

        Antonio Luna first saw action in Manila when Filipino troops laid siege to the last Spanish stronghold waiting for the latter’s surrender. Since June 1898, Manila had been completely surrounded by the Philippine revolutionary forces. Colonel Luciano San Miguel (1865-1903) occupied Mandaluyong, General Pío Isidro (1860-1931), Makati, General Mariano Noriel (1864-1915), Parañaque, Colonel Enrique Pacheco, Navotas, Tambobong (Malabon) and Caloocan. General Gregorio del Pilar (1875-1899) marched through Sampaloc, taking Tondo, Divisoria, and Azcárraga, Noriel cleared Singalong and Paco, and held Ermita and Malate.

        By mid-June, some 40,000 Filipino revolutionaries under Luna had dug fourteen miles of trenches around Manila. They seized control of Manila’s only pumping station, cutting off the water supply to the city. The Spanish forces were losing hope and on the verge of collapse as Aguinaldo presented the terms of surrender to Spanish Governor-General Basilio Agustin (1840-1910).

        Meanwhile, the United States Navy under the command of Commodore (later Admiral) George Dewey (1837-1917), blockaded Manila and waited for American land forces to arrive. The first contingent of American troops arrived in Cavite on June 30, the second under General Francis V. Greene (1850-1921) on July 17, and the third under General Arthur MacArthur (1845-1912) on July 30. By this time, some 12,000 U.S. troops had landed in the Philippines.

        Covert negotiations between Admiral Dewey and Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes (1836-1915), who replaced Agustin, were made without the knowledge of Aguinaldo, with the details of a mock battle being arranged on August 10. This was for the Spanish to save face in surrendering to a superior force – the Americans – rather than to the Philippine revolutionary troops. The plan agreed upon was for Dewey to begin a bombardment at 09:00 on August 13, shelling only Fort San Antonio Abad, a decrepit structure on the southern outskirts of Manila, and the impregnable walls of Intramuros. Simultaneously, Spanish forces would withdraw, Filipino revolutionaries would be checked, and U.S. forces would advance. Once a sufficient show of battle had been made, Dewey would hoist the signal “D.W.H.B.” (meaning “Do you surrender?”), whereupon the Spanish would hoist a white flag and Manila would formally surrender to U.S. forces.

        After the mock battle and surrender of the Spaniards to the Americans, Luna thought the Filipinos should enter Intramuros to have joint occupation of the walled city. But Aguinaldo made the mistake of trusting the Americans, heeding the advice of General Wesley Merritt (1836-1910) and Admiral Dewey, whose fleet had moored in Manila Bay, and sent Luna to guard the trenches around Manila.

        Amid the chaos created by the entry of American troops in Manila, Luna complained to American officers of the disorderly conduct of their soldiers. Aguinaldo, to appease Luna’s concern, assigned him the rank of brigadier general and appointed him chief of war operation on September 26, 1898.

        Seeing the need for a military school, on October 25, 1898, Luna established the Academia Militar de Malolos, which was the precursor of the Philippine Constabulary and the present Philippine Military Academy.

        When the Treaty of Paris, under which Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States, was made public in December 1898, Luna quickly decided to take military action amid the American treachery. He proposed a strategy that was designed to trap the Americans in Manila before more of their troops could land by executing surprise attacks (guerrilla warfare) while building up strength in the north. If the American forces penetrated his lines, Luna determined that he would wage a series of delaying battles at the same time prepare a fortress in northern Luzon, particularly the Cordillera. This, however, was turned down by the Aguinaldo High Command, who still believed that the Americans would grant full independence.

START OF THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR

        From the start, the Americans, using cunning, treachery and doubletalk, gained the time and the opportunity to begin hostilities with the Filipinos at the place and time of their choice. It started with the “mock” Battle of Manila Bay staged between Admiral Dewey and Spanish Governor-General Jaudenes, which led to the surrender of the Spanish forces in Manila to the Americans. Then came the signing of the Treaty of Paris, another stab on the back of Filipinos by the so-called American ally.

        By the end of December 1898, the full extent of American treachery was revealed in the “Benevolent Assimilation” proclamation of William McKinley (1843-1901) detailing the so-called American sovereignty over the Philippines robbing the country of her independence.

        On the night of February 4, 1899, when most of the Filipino generals were in Malolos, the Americans staged an incident along the concrete blockhouses in Santa Mesa near the Balsahan Bridge. Private William Walter Grayson and two other patrol soldiers fired without provocation on Filipino troops crossing a bridge. The whole Filipino line from Pasay to Caloocan returned fire and the first battle of the Philippine-American War ensued. Two days later, in response to the incident, the US Senate voted for annexation. In doing so, the conflict became the war of conquest, occupation and annexation that Luna, Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903), and others had predicted and about which they had warned Aguinaldo and his generals previously.

TO THE FRONTLINE

        After receiving order from Aguinaldo, General Luna rushed to the frontline to join General Gregorio del Pilar in the American-occupied Manila. He led a battalion to La Loma to engage General Arthur McArthur’s forces. Reenforced by Admiral Dewey’s naval artillery firing from the Manila Bay, Filipino casualties were high. Among them was Luna’s most trusted commander, Major Jose Torres Bugallon (1873-1899). On the American side, Major Edward McConville fell victim to one of Luna’s snipers.

        General Luna rallied his troops with the cry “Independence or death,” calling the American soldiers as an “army of drunkards and thieves,” for their barbarous acts against the civilian populace, the burning and looting of households, and raping of Filipino women.

        At dawn of February 22, 1899, a Filipino counterattack was launched. The Sandatahan or Filipino warriors carrying only bolos led by Colonel Francisco Roman (1869-1899), Luna’s trusted aide entered the walled city and set fire to the American barracks as a signal to attacks on three fronts.

        Troops directly under Luna’s command were divided into three: the Western Battalion under General Pantaleon García (1856-1936), the Center Battalion under General Mariano Llanera (1855-1942), and the Eastern Battalion under General Licerio Gerónimo (1855-1924). Luna earlier requested the battle-hardened Tinio Brigade from Northern Luzon, under the command of General Manuel Tinio (1877-1924), to support the attack. It had around 2,000 soldiers. Aguinaldo, however, only gave indefinite response and the Tinio Brigade was unable to engage, which could have turn the tide of the battle. This, and many more petty squabbles, common insubordinations and tactical blunders by the Aquinaldo High Command contributed to the decimation of the Philippine forces.

        After the setbacks in Manila, the failure of Aguinaldo to discipline General Tomas Mascarado (1871-1932) that resulted in the American forces breaking through the Filipino defences at the Bagbag River, and the rearmament of the Kawit Battalion which was put on hold for insubordination, General Luna resigned. As a result, Luna was absent from the battlefield for weeks, during which the Filipino forces suffered several defeats and setbacks.

RETURN TO BATTLE

        After receiving reports of debacles and defeats of Filipino troops from correspondents of La Independencia, the newspaper he established, Luna decided to ask Aguinaldo for reinstatement. Aguinaldo promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant General and made him Commander-in-Chief of all the Filipino forces in Central Luzon (Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Zambales).

        General Luna was among the most feared Filipino military leaders by the Americans. He planned and established the Luna Defense Line, creating a series of delaying battles from Caloocan to Angeles, Pampanga, as the Republic was constructing a guerrilla base in the Mountain Province, which will be the “last stand” headquarters in the event the Americans broke through the Defense Line.

        American military observers were astonished by the Defense Line, which they described as consisting of numerous bamboo trenches stretching from town to town. The series of trenches allowed the Filipinos to withdraw gradually, firing from cover at the advancing Americans. As the American troops occupied each new position, they were subjected to a series of traps that had been set in the trenches, which included bamboo spikes and poisonous reptiles. The American advance to the north was greatly slowed as more American casualties were reported.

        In this war campaign, Luna was wounded a couple of times. In one instance in the Battle of Santo Tomas (Pampanga, May 4, 1899), his horse was hit by a sniper bullet and as it backed, the falling general was hit by another bullet in the stomach. He was saved through the heroic effort of one of his officers, Colonel Alejandro Avecilla.

TREACHERY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

        Colonel Joaquín Luna, one of Antonio Luna’s older brothers, warned him that a plot had been concocted by “old elements” or the so-called autonomists of the Republic (who were bent on accepting American sovereignty over the country) and a clique of army officers whom Luna had disarmed, arrested, or otherwise sidelined for insubordination. Luna shrugged off all these threats, reiterating his trust for Aguinaldo, and continued building defenses at Pangasinan where the Americans were planning a landing.

        On June 2, 1899, while in Bayambang, Pangasinan, Luna received two telegrams – one asked for help in launching a counterattack in San Fernando, Pampanga; and the other, sent by Aguinaldo himself, ordered him “to go to the new capital at Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, to form a new cabinet.” In his jubilation, Luna wrote Arcadio Maxilom, military commander of Cebu, to stand firm in the war.

        Luna set course for Cabanatuan, first by train, then on horseback, and eventually in three carriages to Nueva Ecija with 25 of his men. During the journey, two of the carriages broke down, so he proceeded with just one carriage with Colonel Francisco Román and Captain Eduardo Rusca. On June 4, Luna sent a telegram to Aguinaldo confirming his arrival.

        Upon arriving at Cabanatuan on June 5, Luna alone, proceeded to the headquarters to communicate with Aguinaldo. As he went up the stairs, he ran into an officer whom he had previously disarmed for insubordination, Captain Pedro Janolino, commander of the Kawit Battalion; and an old enemy whom he had once threatened with arrest for favoring American autonomy, Felipe Buencamino, then Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Cabinet. He was told that Aguinaldo had left for San Isidro, Nueva Ecija (He actually went to Bamban, Tarlac). Enraged, Luna asked why he had not been told that the meeting was cancelled.

        Luna and Buencamino exchanged heated words as he was about to depart. In the plaza, a rifle shot was heard. Still outraged and furious, Luna rushed down the stairs and met Janolino, accompanied by some elements of the Kawit Battalion. Janolino swung his bolo at Luna, wounding him in the head. Janolino’s men fired at Luna, while others started stabbing him, even as he tried to fire his revolver at one of his attackers. He staggered out into the plaza and fell on his knees shouting “Cowards! Assassins!” Román and Rusca rushed to his aid, but they too were set upon and shot, with Román being killed and Rusca being severely wounded. Luna received more than 30 wounds. He was hurriedly buried in the churchyard, after which Aguinaldo relieved Luna’s officers and men from the field, including General Venancio Concepción, whose headquarters in Angeles, Pampanga Aguinaldo besieged the same day Luna was assassinated. 

GREAT LOSS

        General Antonio Luna’s death was publicly declared on June 8, 1899. While investigations were supposedly made concerning Luna’s death, not one person was convicted.

        The death of Luna, the most brilliant and capable of the Filipino generals at the time, was a decisive factor in the Philippine-American War. Even the Americans admitted to his military brilliance: General Frederick Funston (1865-1917), who received the credit of capturing Aguinaldo at Palanan, Isabela, stated that Luna was the “ablest and most aggressive leader of the Filipino Republic.” General Robert Hughes (1839-1909) remarked that “with the death of General Luna, the Filipino army lost the only General it had.”

        Consequently, Aguinaldo suffered successive, disastrous losses in the field, as he retreated northwards. On November 13, 1899, Aguinaldo decided to disperse his army and begin conducting a guerrilla war. General José Alejandrino (1870-1951), one of Luna’s remaining aides, stated in his memoirs that if Luna had been able to finish the planned military camp in the Mountain Province and had Aguinaldo agreed to shift to guerrilla warfare earlier as Luna had suggested, “Aguinaldo might have avoided having to run for his life in the Cordillera Mountains.”

        In his book, Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic, historian Agoncillo stated that “the loss of Luna showed the existence of a lack of discipline among the regular Filipino soldiers” and it was “a major weakness that was never remedied during the course of the war.”

        For his part, although Aguinaldo strongly denied the allegation of his involvement on Luna’s death, an original copy of the telegram he sent to Luna was discovered in 2019. While it didn’t indicate Aguinaldo as the primary suspect, the telegram clearly stated that Aguinaldo really ordered Luna to go to Cabanatuan. Something that Aguinaldo denied on multiple occasions in his testimonies.

        What would have happened if General Luna was not assassinated? We can only hypothesize. While the Filipinos may not have been victors in the Philippine-American War for obvious military inferiority, the war could have resulted in a different outcome. For one, the Filipinos could have kick the American ass much longer and frustrate them in their campaign. Who knows, the American politicians – Uncle Sam’s minions – could have assess it very costly to wage a war in an archipelago thousands of miles away. And foremost, the Americans would have given the Filipinos more respect sans the disunity and treachery they saw among what they called “natives living in tree tops.”