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36-600: On, January 29, 1899, Colonel Luciano San Miguel, Filipino Commander had his first meeting with Colonel John M. Stotsenburg , Commander of the First Nebraska Volunteers on this bridge to discuss the boundaries of their respective forces. On February 4, 1899, an encounter between the Filipino and American forces in present-day Sampaloc , Manila led to a shooting incident and sparked the Battle of Manila . On February 5, 2009,

72-503: A failed attempt to outflank the American line. During the fight, seven or eight Nebraskans were wounded and one was killed, and two men of the regiment were awarded the Certificate of Merit . Part of the regiment came under artillery fire on August 5, losing two men wounded. When American troops occupied Manila on August 13 in an affair partially arranged with the local Spanish commander,

108-656: The Mariquina River and a Hotchkiss gun . During the two days of fighting, the regiment had six men killed and 22 wounded. Eight of the regiment's members were cited for gallantry. From February 7 to March 15, the regiment, along with an artillery battery from Utah , guarded a water pipeline. The Nebraskans and Filipinos at first fought small set-piece battles , but the Filipinos found they were not having success with those tactics and began to move to guerrilla warfare . A larger action occurred on February 22, in which part of

144-747: The National Historical Commission of the Philippines installed a historical marker on San Juan River Bridge commemorating its role to the start of the Battle of Manila. After Emilio Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence at Kawit , Cavite on June 12, 1898, there still was uneasy peace around Manila following the Philippine Revolution against Spain . Filipinos revolutionaries felt that Spain simply ceded

180-580: The Philippines . Soldiers in the occupying American forces often referred to the locals by racial slurs, and some of the soldiers behaved in a hostile manner towards the Chinese minority population of Manila. Some looting occurred as well. Bratt was sent home due to illness in September, and John M. Stotsenburg was promoted to colonel to command the regiment on October 4. Disease caused many illnesses and deaths in

216-404: The 1st Nebraska fought at the Battle of Santo Tomas , where it suffered its final battle losses. After American forces captured San Fernando, the 1st Nebraska entered the city on May 6 and stayed there through the 20th. Battle and disease had taken the regiment from a strength of 923 men on February 4 to only about 300 when it reached San Fernando. The campaign for Malolos and San Fernando had cost

252-564: The 1st Nebraska was one of the units that advanced into the town. It did not fire a shot and suffered no casualties. American troops performed occupation duty in the city, with the First Nebraska policing the waterfront district near the customs house. Tensions remained between the Americans and the Spanish and with the Filipino rebels under General Emilio Aguinaldo , who desired independence for

288-506: The 1st Nebraska was present at the Capture of Malolos , where it served as a skirmish line and captured a few small defensive positions. On April 23, the 1st Nebraska sent a scouting party armed with new Krag–Jørgensen rifles. Filipino fire pinned the scouts down in a ditch, starting the Battle of Quingua . A charge by the Nebraskans drove off the Filipinos, but Stotsenburg was killed during

324-519: The Americans. The first shot was previously believed to have been exchanged at the San Juan River Bridge until studies by Filipino historian Benito J. Legarda concluded that the shot was not fired at the bridge, but was instead fired at what is now the corner of Sociego Street and Silencio Street in Santa Mesa. Later, a study done by Ronnie Miravite Casalmir that came out in 2023 solidly debunked

360-590: The Philippines to the United States who were determined to take over from where the Spaniards left off. American forces started to come between June and July 1898 where 8,000 were deployed around Manila and 11,000 more deployed along the Zapote Line . On December 5, 1898, the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment under Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, started to camp at Santa Mesa (now part of present-day Sampaloc ). Their camp

396-618: The Sociego-Silencio location, and instead placed the event at the turn towards Blockhouse 7 along Sociego Street, currently the corner of Sociego Street and Tomas Arguelles Street. The following day, February 5, 1899, General Elwell Stephen Otis deployed his troops to Santa Mesa and later on sparked the Battle of Manila , just two days before the US Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris on February 6, 1899. The war that lasted till 1902 resulted in

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432-406: The area when they encountered Filipinos approaching the outpost. Grayson and Miller asked them to "Halt!" but the Filipino men continued to advance. This prompted Grayson to fire the first shots and retreated back to their line, with one Filipino lieutenant and another Filipino soldier as fatalities. This spread to the other parts of the line and sparked an exchange of shots between the Filipinos and

468-483: The battle, having been shot through the heart. Major Harry Mulford took command of the regiment after Stotsenburg's death. The Americans, including the 1st Nebraska, then began moving to the northwest towards San Fernando , which was a Filipino stronghold. The regiment participated in the opening portion of the Battle of Calumpit on April 25, crossing the Calumpit River and driving back Filipino forces. On May 4,

504-460: The capture of the city . Remaining in the Philippines through the rest of the year, the 1st Nebraska was engaged when Philippine-American War and the 1899 Battle of Manila began with William W. Grayson firing the first shot of the war. After fighting in the Battle of Manila and then guarding a water pipeline, the regiment was present in a campaign that began in late March and resulted in the Capture of Malolos , fighting in several battles. In April,

540-399: The death of more than 4,200 Americans and over 20,000 Filipino nationalists. On September 15, 2018, the bridge was demolished to give way for the construction of Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Section 2B, which passes over San Juan River. The barges needed to lay the foundations of the pillar sections of Skyway required the bridge's demolition to gain access to the construction area. The bridge

576-535: The enemy across the Santolan River and captured the water works pumping station before the Filipinos could destroy it. During those maneuvers, Colonel Stotsenburg commanded more troops than any brigadier general on the field in the Philippines had handled up to that time: the First Nebraska, four guns of the Utah Light Battery, and a battalion of the 23rd U.S. Infantry . On April 23, 1899, Colonel Stotsenburg

612-400: The location of the 1st Nebraska's camp being a point of contention. The Philippine–American War began on February 4. Filipino soldiers did not answer to American sentinels , and Private William W. Grayson of the 1st Nebraska fired a shot. Firing all along the American lines soon broke out, as the Battle of Manila had begun. The next day, the Nebraskans captured a pumping station on

648-460: The men trained more. While at Camp Merritt, an order was made to increase the size of the regiment's companies , and a few men were sent back to Nebraska for further recruiting. The regiment left for Manila on June 15, traveling on the steamship SS Senator , with three other troopships in the convoy. On June 24, the men were allowed to disembark at Honolulu in the Republic of Hawaii while

684-719: The opening of hostilities until after his death, Colonel Stotsenburg's regiment was constantly in the field and always on the firing line. In the first major engagement of the Philippine–American War, on February 5, 1899, Colonel Stotsenburg personally led his troops into action that resulted in the capture of the San Juan Bridge, the powder magazine, the water work reservoir, the Convent of San Juan del Monte, and San Felipe, all of which were contested heavily by General Emilio Aguinaldo's forces. The following day, his troops drove

720-703: The outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, two regiments of the Nebraska National Guard were sent to Lincoln, Nebraska , on April 23 to mobilize, per orders by Governor of Nebraska Silas Holcomb . The unit entered United States service on either May 12 or May 10, with an enlistment period of two years or the end of the war, whichever came first. After training in Nebraska at Camp Alvin Saunders,

756-571: The regiment 20 killed and 168 wounded. The United States began to replace the state volunteer regiments with new national ones, and the 1st Nebraska was sent back to Calumpit on May 20. From there, it returned to Manila by rail, where it performed guard duty for a month. On June 21, the regiment boarded the SS Hancock , leaving Manila on July 1. Hancock made stops in Nagasaki and Yokohama in July, and

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792-464: The regiment a route with which to quickly take the city's waterworks if needed. In December, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish–American War, and the United States signaled that it intended to keep the Philippines as a colonial possession , although Aguinaldo and his followers still desired independence. Tensions between the Americans and the Filipinos mounted through January 1899, with

828-419: The regiment chased a detachment of Filipinos. On February 26, a detachment of the regiment was fired upon from the town of Mariquina , and the Nebraskans burned the town in response. An investigation was launched into Stotsenburg in early March, but after interviewing men of the regiment, the investigators determined that the complaints that had led to the investigation had been made by maligners, and Stotsenburg

864-410: The regiment fought at the Battle of Quingua , where its commander, Colonel John M. Stotsenburg , was killed. After fighting in Battle of Calumpit and the Battle of Santo Tomas the regiment occupied San Fernando before being returned to Manila. On July 1, the regiment boarded the steamship SS Hancock , which brought the men back to the United States, where they mustered out on August 23. Upon

900-539: The regiment was originally intended to be sent to Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia , but was instead sent to San Francisco, California , leaving on May 16. The trip was made by railroad and cost the government $ 15,808.80. Colonel John P. Bratt commanded the unit, which would eventually receive the nickname "Fighting First". After arriving the San Francisco, the unit reported to Camp Merritt , on May 19 and 20, where

936-459: The regiment was present at the Battle of Marilao River . Part of the regiment helped a South Dakota unit capture a bridge, and later in the action, the 1st Nebraska routed the left side of the Filipino line. After spending March 28 repairing the capture bridge, the regiment advanced on March 29 and 30. On the latter day, it was heavily engaged after crossing the Guiguinto River. On March 31,

972-421: The ships took on coal. The vessels left Hawaii the next day, stopping again at Wake Island on July 4. Manila Bay was reached on July 17. With Manila itself still in Spanish hands, the regiment disembarked at Cavite City on July 20. The American troops occupied a position established by local Filipino rebels, and at 21:40 on August 2, the 1st Nebraska came under fire for the first time. Spanish troops made

1008-499: The unit, and 300 soldiers were discharged in December and shipped back to the United States due to illness or infirmity. The losses to illness were partially offset by the arrival in late November of the additional recruits that had been authorized in June. In December, the regiment was transferred to Camp Santa Mesa, which was in a salient of the American lines outside of Manila that would allow

1044-466: Was a lawyer, judge and writer. On February 11, 1885, Stotsenburg married Mary LaTourette (died March 31, 1929) at Fort Union in New Mexico. Her father was a U.S. Army chaplain. They had two daughters, both of whom married U.S. Army officers. Stotsenburg and his wife are interred at Arlington National Cemetery . 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment (1898) The 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment

1080-688: Was a native of New Albany , Indiana , and entered the United States Military Academy from that state on July 1, 1877. His brother was Evan B. Stotsenburg , the twenty-second Indiana Attorney General . He was graduated in 1881, and assigned to the Sixth Cavalry , with which he served in New Mexico , Arizona , Nebraska , and Fort Myer , Virginia . After graduating from the Infantry and Cavalry School of Application at Fort Leavenworth , he

1116-725: Was an infantry regiment that served in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War . After mustering in May 1898 for service in the Spanish–American War, the regiment trained in Nebraska and at Camp Merritt in California before leaving for the Philippines in June. The regiment was present in the actions against Manila in August, including

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1152-474: Was appointed a Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in December 1897. Immediately after the declaration of war with Spain , he was assigned as mustering officer for Nebraska and assisted in organizing its first regiment of which he was appointed a major . With that rank, he took the regiment to the Philippines, where he was promoted to colonel on November 10, 1898. From

1188-488: Was cleared. During the time the regiment guarded the pipeline, it lost seven men killed and 14 wounded. Aguinaldo had his capital at Malolos , and the Americans made a movement to attack it. The offensive began on March 25, with the 1st Nebraska being part of the leading American force. Fighting through San Francisco del Monte , the regiment continued fighting on March 26, driving to the Meycauayan River. The next day,

1224-487: Was killed in action during the Battle of Quingua while leading a charge on a Filipino position. He was 40 years old at the time of his death and was later buried at Arlington National Cemetery . The former Fort Stotsenburg , established in 1902 and later replaced by Clark Air Base , was named for him. Stotsenburg was the son of John Hawley Stotsenburg (December 13, 1830 – June 7, 1909) and Jane Frances (Miller) Stotsenburg (August 12, 1835 – December 31, 1901). His father

1260-636: Was later reconstructed by Skyway Stage 3 proponent San Miguel Corporation through its infrastructure arm SMC Infrastructure and it reopened on March 11, 2020. John M. Stotsenburg John Miller Stotsenburg (November 24, 1858 – April 23, 1899) was a captain of the Sixth U.S. Cavalry , and a colonel of the First Nebraska Volunteers . He was killed in the Philippine–American War , while leading his regiment in action near Quingua , Bulacan , Philippines on April 23, 1899. Colonel Stotsenburg

1296-493: Was surrounded on three sides by Philippine Revolutionary Army forces led by Colonel Luciano San Miguel of the Morong Battalion . Outnumbered, the Nebraskans had to build their defenses consisting of a series of outposts. They had regular patrol around the area since they felt restless on their location. On the evening of February 4, 1899, Private William W. Grayson , Private Orville Miller and another soldier were patrolling

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