In light of our new ranks (thanks Alamid!), I got curious on what the uniforms our soldiers used during the Revolution. Anyway from what I can remember, officers use white uniforms with single-(or is it double?)breasted tunics and chino-type collars. Gold buttons, rank epaulettes, wide black leather belts and black leather shoes complete the outfit. Enlisted soldiers wear white uniforms with blue vertical pinstripes. Wide-brimmed native hats pinned on front with the letter 'K' and wide black leather belts complete the outfit. Footwear, if any, are sandals or leather shoes.

Anyone got any pics/info?

My lolo had pictures of Aguinaldo soldiers wearing pinstripes uniform and I could still vividly remember some of the soldiers were wearing sandals while others were barefoot! Unfortunately the pics were lost when a fire gutted our ancestral home.

I'm in the company of two of Aguinaldo's best officers, Capitan Rallion Tiger and Teniente General Aldon. A salute sirs from a lowly barefoot cabo segundo :beer:

Brig. General Henry W. Lawton on the Katipunan soldiers (Magdalo Faction):
Katipuneros under the Magdalo Faction were Filipino soldiers serving the Spanish gov’t. who defected, joined the Katipunan in 1897 just after the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal.

That’s why their head gear, rifle & most accessories were similar to that of the Spanish soldiers. One main difference is that they wear a blue & white striped uniform while the Spanish soldiers wear plain light blue.

Since they have military background & headed by Filipino generals who were educated, they score many victories
compare to the Katipunan of the Madgiwang Faction under Bonifacio who suffer great loss.

“Taking into account the disadvantages that Filipinos have to fight against in arms, equipment and military discipline, without artillery, short of ammunition, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are defective. . .they are the bravest men I have ever seen. . .These men are indomitable.”

Katipunan Soldiers


Katipunan officer


Look closely Rallion if the enlisted men are barefooted

Incidentally, Gen Lawton death along the banks of the Marikina river dividing San Jose Del Monte (now part of Quezon City, just behind the Batasang Pambansa Building) and San Mateo is the first sniper engagement recorded in the Philippines.

It was believed to be a 400 yd head shot done by an unknown magdalo marksman.

:wow: wow, what rifle was used, a Krag or Spanish Mauser? No scope probably :thumb:

Its probably a spanish mauser with a 1896 action, which was superior to the Krag-Jorgensen turn bolt.

Pare naka isa tayo dun!

According to this report on his death, Gen. Lawton laughed when shots fired by Filipino marksmen clipped the grass near him:

General Lawton was walking along the firing line within 300 yards of a small sharpshooters' trench, conspicuous in the big white helmet he always wore and a light yellow raincoat. He was also easily distinguishable because of his commanding stature.

The sharpshooters directed several close shots which clipped the grass near by. His staff officer called General Lawton's attention to the danger he was in, but he only laughed. with his usual contempt for bullets.

Suddenly he exclaimed:
"I am shot!" clinched his hands in a desperate effort to stand erect, and fell into the arms of a staff officer.

Lawton Falls in Battle

Poor General, he did not realize that shots to the grass were elevation ranging shots (wala pang laser rangefinder noong araw). Anyways, for that period it was a good shot even if it was a lucky one (imagine a yellow raincoat as a target silouhette, must the marksman's lucky day).

In my humble (and civilian) opinion, would'nt it be great if the AFP were to return to the Revolutionary War ranks, insignias and uniforms? For formal dress uniforms, that is. Regular BDUs should be the same camo BDUs currently in use. Rank epaulets and insignias would be the Revolutionary Version 1, instead of the American-inspired ones we have today. Ranks would be the english or pilipino equivalents of the spanish ranks. But commands would still be in pilipino.

That way you'll give our soldiers a link to times that we are most fond of. The time when we had risen up and beaten an oppresive colonizer. But as fate would have it, another one came and grabbed the victory that was already in our hands.

Yeah victory and the ensuing fratricide we committed, our revolutionary generals became our forebearing politicians during this period.

oops that was me again, clicked my posts in haste

Hey I'm learning Philippine history here.... :thumb:

I followed Alamid's link and found this tidbit:

http://www.culbertsonmansion.com/Lawton/

Truth be told, this is the first time I have read about a Filipino revolutionary general named Licerio Geronimo, so I did some googling and found this:

LICERIO GERONIMO

A Katipunero, he was with the group that attacked the San Juan del Monte gunpowder magazine on August 30, 1896.

He organized his own forces in Montalban, San Mateo, and Marikina. His forces served under Gen. Francisco Makabulos in San Rafael, Bulacan, and then under Gen. Mariano Llanera

during the military operations in the towns of San Miguel de Mayumo (Bulacan) and Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija).

He was one of the Filipino leaders who fought in the battle of Mt. Purog in 1897 where a large Spanish war force was annihilated.

After the death of Andres Bonifacio in 1897, a Department Government of Central Luzon was created. In this assembley, Geronimo was designated as the Division General of the revolutionary army for Rizal province.

During the Filipino-American War, he was appointed by Gen. Antonio Luna as commanding generalof the third military zone of Manila. In the battle of San Mateo on December 19, 1899, Gen. Henry W. Lawton and 13 American officers were killed by General Geronimo's forces.

On July 12m 1900, he was named by Gen. Mariano Trias as jefe superior of the fused second and third zones of Manila. A month later, he took command of the district of Morong.
Date of Birth: August 27, 1855
Place of Birth: Sampaloc, Manila
Date of Death: January 16, 1924


http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/hero/ncr/page6.html

We may not have the best of war-making equipment but we really know how to give a good fight!

RT, you can thank Aldon for starting this thread which motivated you to learn more about our history. :)

But of course :beer:

Now I'm gonna go back to google (my learning aide) to learn about that flag you placed as icon for unregistered guests.


:bounce:

Also, who would have thought that the home of the FSRR (and formerly the Marines in Bulacan) Camp Tecson was named after the first female general of the Philippines Gen. Trinidad Tecson.

<----- Hey I like my flag here, thanks mods!

i know that flag :) its Gen. Pio del Pilar's standard

It gives me great comfort to see that our Revolutionary forefathers have chosen the color red as the color of their struggle. We actually used the color before the communists did. Think about it. When Lenin and Marx were still in diapers, our Revolutionary forefathers were already rising above their mundane lives against the tyranny and oppression of a colonial master.

True that. These people may be heroes but they are not saints. Heck, some saints even have sordid pasts.

Sure, Aguinaldo was power hungry; Gregorio del Pilar was vain; Antonio Luna was pompous; what else?

Is it not up to us to emulate the good that was in these people and learn from them so that we may not repeat the bad things they have done?

Do we not have the free will to differentiate what is right from what is wrong?

Are we supposed to be power-hungry, vain and pompous too?

then...as now... Gen. Lawton's comment on the Filipino soldier still rings true.

As a general observation, the Magdalo Katipuneros were better-equipped and clad than the Magdiwang Katipuneros.

how about gabriela silang, wasnt she a general too?

One of the 'unknown' victories of Katipuneros over the American invaders:

The Battle of Pulang Lupa in Torrijos, Marinduque Sept. 13, 1900

In that battle, Col. Maximo Abad, together with 37 of his trusted officers and men, laid out a plan to ambush Capt. Devereux Shields and a hundred of his men in Pulang Lupa. Three columns of the Filipino guerillas surrounded the Americans . The fight lasted the whole morning and ended about two o'clock in the afternoon the following day when the remaining Americans finally surrendered.

Image below: Col. Abad surrendering to the Americans 7 months later in April 1901:

Hehehe, Im more of an 'enemy' in this thread than a 'friendly' - but all is past now.

You see, the Philippine Scouts originated from the Macabebe Scouts, the Filipino soldiers that fought under US command and who captured Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in March 1901.


Macabebe Scouts at drill


Macabebe Scouts on river patrol

very well said boss aldon :bow:


and BTW very cool new ranks too!


nindot kaayo bay - PDFF rocks!

samanabits..... I must say I'm enjoying this topic :D

Too bad I cant find many pics of those uniforms.. anyway I hope you guys dont mind if i copy and paste whats on the forums.. :D

I admit that I still think Aguinaldo is a real jerk ever since I've read my history way back in elementary and found out he had Bonifacio shot... Tsk Tsk.. and to think that he didn't do anything to redress the soldier (I forgot the name and rank....although i believe its high) who raped Bonifacio's wife... THIS SOLDIER SHOULD HAVE BEEN SHOT AS WELL... :asniper:

I remember reading somewhere about the accounts of Bonifacio's demise (A Filipino paper..) and it shocked me that it claims that Bonifacio begged for his lfie and turned tail... But I still hold him in high regard.. after all, he is just a brave, simple folk, as do most Magdiwangs, who took it upon themselves to take steps in liberating our nation..

bonifacio's wife was raped?

man i do have to review my history lessons :wacko:

Not according to this account:

Gen. Lazaro Makapagal's Account of Bonifacio's Execution

“With some troops, I was ordered to escort the Bonifacio brothers to Mount Buntis. I was instructed to stop before reaching the summit of the mountain at a concealed yet spacious place; there I was to put the prisoners under heavy guard. Then I was to open the sealed letter to be given to me by General Mariano Noriel and to read it to the Bonifacio brothers.

“I followed the instructions carefully ... First I read the letter by myself. When I understood its contents, my lips trembled and I was speechless for some time. Oh, what compassion I felt!

“The instructions said I was to obey strictly the order to shoot the brothers. Should I fail to do so, it would be I who would be shot on my return to headquarters ...

After I had read the order to the prisoners, Procopio wept, embraced Andres, and asked, 'Kuya, paano tayo?'

“Andres did not say a word. He bowed his head and sobbed while bitter tears welled in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Not able to bear it, I turned my back, and when I faced them again, the deed was done. My men had fired shots and the poor Bonifacio brothers were prostrate and dead. Then I paid proper respect to their remains.”

The Bonifacio brothers were assassinated on Monday, May 10, 1897. Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo and Father of the Philippine Revolution was only 34 years old.



http://www.geocities.com/valkyrie47no/himno.htm

It does came as a shock to me but it was another eyewitness account, or so they claimed.... Now, I am not making this up as I had to read the account over and over because, as I have previously stated, I have a great admiration for Bonifacio and great loathing for Aguinaldo... as I still view Aguinalo as a power hungry, cowardly murderer.. maybe the first of our great line of "GREAT" Presidents...

I have read this in one from the Filipino community papers that is so abundant here in Toronto but it is a reprint from a Philippine paper... I am not sure if its from an article of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism or I might be confusing it with something else entirely as their articles are common in Filipino papers here... I did save the paper, if I can find it... I'll search for it online as well as this has stroked my interests again.. :grrr:

From what I remember from the article, they even named the present day site of the execution, nay I say MURDER, of the brothers.. as it is only now mark by a simple plaque...

Sir that was well said

That made me think for a while, but technically she led an uprising and was in command of armed resistance. Nevertheless, no historical record that exists that the Silang uprising formed a rebel goverment and appointed her a general. Technically she was just a commander of a group of armed fighters without formal heirarchies.

Otherwise was aguinaldo who first formed a government entity and indiscrimately appointed political, military and political-military leaders of the times.

Oops posting error, should be .....

Otherwise it was aguinaldo who first formed a government entity and indiscriminately appointed political, military and political-military leaders of the times.

...sorry

according to this site - :armygrin:

Aguinaldo purchased 2,000 rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition for P50,000 to resume the revolution in May 1898.

amusing trivia -

During the first skirmish of Katipuneros and Spaniards on August 26, 1896, both sides retreated: the Katipuneros retreated because they had only a few guns and bolos; the Spaniards retreated because they were greatly outnumbered.

http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/trivia.html

i found this in my search for Aguinaldo's revolver which proved elusive...

and also bonifacio fought not with his bolo?

Andres Bonifacio's popularly known image (waving a bolo, wearing an open camisa chino, and rolled-up pants) is probably far from his true likeness. Bonifacio preferred in battle his revolver over his bolo. The sole known photograph of him shows him wearing a coat.

P50,000 for 2,000 rifles? :armyeek: my how times changed

Frederick Funston, the American who captured Aguinaldo, personally?

Colonel Frederick Funston was ordered to stamp out Aguinaldo's forces and capture its fiery, inspired leader. This was a job easier ordered than performed. The Filipino was a wily jungle fighter whose techniques centered about ambush and sabotage, which Funston quickly learned while battling insurgents around Manila. He countered Aguinaldo's tactics by setting up large espionage and counterespionage networks throughout Luzon. He accomplished this by taking captives, interrogating them at length and then converting them into spies.

Moreover, many of Funston's spies were recruited from the Filipino middle-class which quietly sided with the Americans, preferring the protection of the U.S. to a sudden independence that would leave the Philippines without a world power army and navy to defend itself against predatory nations such as Japan. One by one, Funston raided insurgent pockets and destroyed or captured the enemy in large numbers. Aguinaldo, however, continued to elude him.

More than 75,000 American troops were tied up in Luzon in an attempt to track down the dwindling guerrilla band that followed Aguinaldo from one hidden camp to another. Funston's spies then reported in March 1901 that the guerrilla leader was hiding in northern Luzon, but the exact location could not be pinpointed.

Using his network of spies, Funston was able to narrow the hiding spot to a small area in one province and then led an Expeditionary Force to the village. Creeping up on the encampment at night, Funston and his men dashed forward, capturing the force by surprise. Funston himself dove through a hail of gunfire and into a hut where, revolver in hand, he captured Aguinaldo.

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/1spy/Funston.html


is this really what happened or some facts were twisted? :armytwisted:

Another question comes to mind. What rifles where bought?

The PMA is going the way of the Revolutionary Army:

From the Philippine Star --

Cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will soon be part of a fashion revolution.

The cadets will soon shed off their old "West Point inspired" uniforms and jump into the rayadillo, the uniform worn by their forefathers during the Philippine revolution against Spain.

By next year, the academy’s more than 1,000 cadets will be wearing the rayadillo and the hot full dress uniform will be a thing of the past.

Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Cardoso Luna said the change in uniforms is part of the PMA’s general makeover.

The PMA, formally established in 1936, traces its origins to the foundation on Oct. 25, 1898 of the Academia Militar.

The PMA commandant has another reason to be excited by the change. Luna is descended from the designer of the rayadillo, painter and revolutionary Juan Luna.

The painter’s brother, then Secretary of War Gen. Antonio Luna, wanted a design that would make Filipino soldiers stand out from their battlefield opponents.

"During the Philippine revolution and the Philippine—American War, the rayadillo uniform was truly unique," Luna said. "It epitomized (the) patriotic passion for emancipation from centuries of subjugation."

To complete the outfit and also to give credit to Bonifacio's role in the Revolution, replace the sabers worn by cadet officers with bolos.



:aberet:

Ang labo mo RT, ang bigat ng bolo at tsaka di masyadong pangporma tulad ng saber.

Ano ang award sa valedictorian - Presidential Bolo?