[ANNUAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL E.S. OTIS, U.S. VOLUNTEERS, COMMANDING DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC AND EIGHTH ARMY CORPS, MILITARY GOVERNOR IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. With:] OFFICE OF CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER DEPT OF PACIFIC & 8th A.C. MAP OF THE OPERATIONS AGAINST MANILA AUG. 13, 1898.

[Philippine-American War]: [Anderson, Thomas M.]: Otis, E.S.: Watkins, J.H.:

Edité par Manila. 1899; 1898.

A propos de cet article

An excellent association copy of the scarce Manila printing of Military Governor E.S. Otis's report on the first year of the Philippine-American War, with a rare blueprint map of the capture of Manila. This copy was owned by Major General Thomas M. Anderson, commander of the assault on Manila which ended the Spanish-American War, as well as an officer in the Battle of Manila which kicked off the following year's conflict. Otis's report was submitted in August of 1899, and thus covers the year immediately following the capture of Manila from the Spanish, including the failed annexation, rapid breakdown of U.S.-Philippines relations, and reopening of hostilities. Despite the former allying with the Filipino revolutionary faction under Emilio Aguinaldo, who declared independence and drafted a constitution in late 1898, neither the Americans nor the Spanish recognized the independent islands in their negotiations for the end of the Spanish-American War, instead annexing the Philippines to the United States. The first few months of Otis's report largely focus on questions of muddled ownership, taxation, customs enforcement, and the legal rights of the American occupation. By November he already writes about efforts to suppress "seditious" Filipino newspapers, though the key turning point was the attempted landing of occupation forces at Iloilo in late December. The orders issued to Brig. Gen. Marcus Miller are printed here, stating that he is to be "conciliatory but firm" in his duty, noting that "a new provisional cabinet has been formed [in Manila], hostile to the American annexation.These men are closely watching the results of your expedition and greatly hope that you will be obliged to use force to gain Iloilo." In the tense weeks that followed, Aguinaldo and the Filipino government issued proclamations vowing to resist American pretensions of sovereignty with armed force if pushed, and the first casualties of the Philippine-American War were recorded when an American soldier opened fire on February 4, 1899. The reports in the present document paint a fascinating and detailed picture of the confused American response to the rapidly deteriorating relations with their former allies, and of similarly deteriorating attitudes: in the tone of their reports, officers plainly cease to view their adversaries as meek natives to be "civilized," describing them instead as untrustworthy and bloodthirsty savages after they refused to politely roll over. General Anderson, who in command of a sizable force at the beginning of the war, is mentioned a number of times in these documents. His name is often underlined or otherwise highlighted, such as a particularly noteworthy mention on p.163, when his unit was permitted to launch the first formal attack against Filipino forces on February 5. Accompanying this copy of Otis's reports is an impressive blueprint map of the 1898 capture of Manila, possibly handcolored by Anderson or the drafter himself. The map, prepared by Sergeant J.H. Watkins of the Signal Corps in October 1898, depicts the lines of American entrenchments, insurgent forces (allied with the Americans in this instance), and of course the Spanish. Special attention is paid to the challenging terrain, with symbols representing "Swamp (Rice and Overflow)," "Jungle (Bamboo and other Tropical Undergrowth)," roads, churches, and telegraph lines. Anderson is the first named commanding officer on the map, and the map's compilers were members of his unit. Thomas McArthur Anderson (1836 1917) was a lawyer at the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry with the encouragement of his uncle Robert Anderson, the commanding officer of Fort Sumter. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel by 1864, and remained in the service. He was notably posted to Dyea, Alaska, at the beginning of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, before being promoted and given command of the first "Philippine Expeditionary Force" when war broke.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: [ANNUAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL E.S. OTIS, U.S. VOLUNTEERS, COMMANDING DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC AND EIGHTH ARMY CORPS, MILITARY GOVERNOR IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. With:] OFFICE OF CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER DEPT OF PACIFIC & 8th A.C. MAP OF THE OPERATIONS AGAINST MANILA AUG. 13, 1898.
• Éditeur: Manila. 1899; 1898.
• Édition: Edition originale