Battle of Tirad Pass

, as painted by Nicodemus David Hufford III The retreat of Aguinaldo from Bayambang, through the mountainous terrain began on November 13, 1899, after he had disbanded the regular Filipino army into guerrilla units. On November 23, Aguinaldo's party reached the pass, which provided a strategic bottleneck. It was to be protected by a rear guard under General Gregorio del Pilar, who noticed the advantageous terrain of Tirad Pass (Pasong Tirad as it was locally called), and hunkered down to defend it while Aguinaldo escaped through the mountains. The hand-picked force of Filipinos, which was the remaining contingent of Antonio Luna's army, constructed several sets of trenches and stone barricades on both shoulders of the pass, as well as on top of its height. Meanwhile, during early November, Major March had been given the task of pursuing Aguinaldo. By November 30, March and his men, in haste to catch the Philippine president, marched through Candon, Santo Tomas, La Union, and Salcedo, Ilocos Sur. He and his men found out that Aguinaldo had passed through Salcedo five days previously, and that fueled the Americans' march to Concepcion (now named Gregorio del Pilar), a town overlooked by the steep pass, which they reached by December 1. March had no clear idea of the size of Aguinaldo's rear guard, but he had calculated it to be no more than 150 men. ==Battle==

On the morning of December 2, the Americans advanced up the trail but were met with a steady volley of fire, enabling them to climb to only around 300 feet. The Americans abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and took cover in the zigzag trail. Texan sharpshooters positioned themselves on a hill overlooking the trenches, whittling down the Philippine rear guard with measured volleys. Nevertheless, the Filipinos continued to hold their ground, utilizing focused volley fire that repelled other advances by the Americans. ==Aftermath==

The Americans lost two dead and nine wounded, most of which resulted from the repelled frontal assault. Despite nearly total annihilation, however, the Filipinos under Del Pilar held off the Americans long enough for Aguinaldo to escape. Del Pilar's diary was recovered among the possessions looted by the victorious Americans, who had stripped him bare of his military decorations, his uniform and his personal belongings, leaving him, as the eyewitness, correspondent Richard Henry Little wrote, "We carved not a line and we raised not a stone, But we left him alone with his glory". The exact wording of its poignant final entry, written on the night of December 1, differs somewhat between sources quoting it. Two versions are: Del Pilar's corpse lay unburied for three days. American officer Dennis Quinlan, with a group of Igorots, later buried his body and left a plaque, "Gen. Gregorio del Pilar, Died December 2, 1899, Commanding Aguinaldo's Rear Guard, An Officer and a Gentleman." ==Memorials==

In honor of Del Pilar's heroism, the Philippine Military Academy was named Fort Del Pilar and a historical marker placed at the site of the battle. In 1955, the town where the battle happened, Concepcion, was renamed Gregorio del Pilar, Ilocos Sur. File:Gregmalolosjf.JPG|Gregorio del Pilar's statue (Bulacan Provincial Capitol plaza) File:Ahhcasarealjf.JPG|The tricolor flag of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar (in the Battle of Pasong Balite, Bulacan & Battle of Tirad Pass, Ilocos Sur, December 2, 1899, patterned after the Flag of Cuba) File:Battle of Tirad Pass PHC historical marker.jpg|National historical marker installed at the battle site in 1952 == Notes ==