Map of Field Operations of 2d Brigade 2d Division 8th Army Corps Commanded by Gen’l F.D. Grant…

A president’s son on the battlefield!

After victory in the 1898 Spanish-American War, the United States acquired control of the Philippines from the defeated Spanish in exchange for about $20 million. Inconveniently for both powers, native Filipinos had been fighting for independence for several years and controlled most of the nation, with the exception of Manila, at the outbreak of the war.

Neither Spain nor the U.S. recognized the declaration, and the First Philippine Republic was forced underground and into a conflict with its new imperial overseers that became known as the Philippine–American War, or the Philippine Insurrection. Heavy fighting continued into 1902, though scattered guerilla actions and isolated pockets of resistance persisted throughout the period of American rule, until 1946.

This map shows a portion of the campaign to suppress the insurrection performed by the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the 8th Army Corps under the command of Frederick Dent Grant (son of former President Ulysses S. Grant). From Nov. 1, 1899 to Apr. 15, 1900, Grant’s forces marched across western Luzon attempting to quell local insurgents. Various annotations highlight generally modest victories across the campaign – captured weapons (including bamboo cannons and swords), provisions (e.g. cattle and rice), and prisoners were among the spoils of war.