Gregorio del Pilar

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For the municipality in the Philippines, see Gregorio del Pilar, Ilocos Sur. For the
current Philippine Navy ship, see BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15).
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Hilario
del Pilar and the second or maternal family name is Sempio.

Gregorio del Pilar

Governor of Bulacan

In office

May 28, 1898 – December 2, 1899

President Emilio Aguinaldo

Preceded by Office created

Succeeded by Isidoro Torres

Personal details
Born Gregorio H. del Pilar y Sempio

November 14, 1875

San Jose, Bulakan, Bulacan, Captaincy General of

the Philippines

Died December 2, 1899 (aged 24)

Tirad Pass, Concepcion, Ilocos Sur, First Philippine

Republic

Relations Fernando H. del Pilar (Father)

Felipa Sempio (Mother)

Marcelo H. del Pilar (Uncle)

Toribio H. del Pilar (Uncle)

Deodato Arellano (Uncle-in-law)

Military service

Nickname(s) "Goyong"

Allegiance  First Philippine Republic

 Republic of Biak-na-Bato

 Katipunan

 Kakarong Republic

Branch/service  Philippine Revolutionary Army

Years of service 1896–1899

Rank
 Brigadier General

Commands Commanding Gen. Aguinaldo's

 Rearguard

Battles/wars Philippine Revolution

  Battle of Kakarong de Sili

 Raid at Paombong

 Battle of Pasong Balite

Philippine-American War

 Battle of Quingua

 Battle of Calumpit

 Battle of Tirad Pass †

Gregorio Hilario del Pilar y Sempio (November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899) was
a Filipino general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American
War.
As one of the youngest generals in the Revolutionary Army, he was known for the
successful assault on the Spanish barracks in the municipality of Paombong, his victory
on the first phase Battle of Quingua and his last stand at the Battle of Tirad Pass during
the Philippine-American War. Because of his youth, he became known as the "Boy
General".[1] He was also known as a ladies man and was described by National Artist for
Literature Nick Joaquin as the "Byron of Bulacan".[2]

Contents

 1Early life and education

 2Philippine Revolution
 3Second phase and the Philippine-American War
 4Tirad Pass and death
 5Personal life
 6Memorials
 7In popular culture
 8See also
 9References
o 9.1Notes
o 9.2Citations
 10Further reading
 11External links

Early life and education[edit]

Historical marker and monument of del Pilar's birthplace in Bulakan

Born on November 14, 1875 to Fernando H. del Pilar and Felipa Sempio of Bulacan,
Bulacan, the fifth among six siblings.[3] His siblings were María de la Paz del Pilar
(b.1865), Andrea del Pilar (b. 1866), Pablo H. del Pilar (b. 1869), Julian H. del Pilar (b.
1872), and Jacinto H. del Pilar (b. 1878).[4] He was part of the del Pilar family (more
properly Hilario del Pilar; Hilario was the original surname before the Claveria naming
reforms and was contracted to "H.") of the principalia, whose members included his
uncles, lawyer-turned-propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar, editor-in-chief of Diariong
Tagalog and La Solidaridad, as well as the priest Toribio H. del Pilar, who was exiled
in Guam for his alleged involvement in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny. The del Pilar clan was
distantly related to the Gatmaitans. Although principalia, Gregorio del Pilar's branch was
relatively poor. It was said that del Pilar had to hawk meat pies as a child to survive. [2]
As a child, he completed his primary education under Maestros Monico Estrella and
Romualdo Sempio before being sent to study in Manila. [4] He was enrolled at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila at the age of 15, where he was rated good in Latin, Greek, Spanish
and French, middling in philosophy, and excellent in arithmetic and algebra. [2] During his
studies in the Ateneo, he stayed in the house of his fraternal aunt, Hilaria H. del Pilar,
and her husband, the propagandist Deodato Arellano. He helped his uncle distribute
revolutionary pamphlets and other materials. There was one incident in Malolos, where
del Pilar stole copies of the book Cuesteones de sumo interes from the parish priest,
Father Felipe García, who had a habit of distributing counter-revolutionary materials
after mass. These books were set to be distributed after the mass. Del Pilar removed
the book covers and pasted the pamphlets inside before distributing them after. [4]
Del Pilar finished his bachelor of arts in March 1896 and had intended to enroll at the
School of Arts and Trades and study to become a maestro de obras;[2] however when
the revolution broke out in August of that year his plans of further study were thwarted.
Del Pilar quickly went home to Bulacan and enlisted himself for military service under
Colonel Vicente Enríquez.[4]
Philippine Revolution[edit]
At the onset of the revolution, and in response to reports of "successive triumphs" in
Cavite, some 3,000 revolutionary forces marched to seize the town of Paombong,
Bulacan, forming a military government. Del Pilar was among those who marched
towards Paombong, although there are also rumors of him being present during the Cry
of Balintawak.[2]
Del Pilar was eventually assigned to the forces of Eusébio Roque (also known as Mang
Sébio) in Kakarong de Sili, a fort near the town of Pandi. On New Year's day, 1897, del
Pilar participated in the defense of Kakarong de Sili, managing to escape with only nine
others before the Spanish overran the fort. He recounts in his diary: [2]
"As for me, I need not say how I fought. Those who saw me in peril can tell. A Mauser
bullet grazed my forehead. Thank God I was spared that danger. Finally, I had to leave
the fort because, when I looked for our valiant brothers, none was any longer at his
post. This should not cause shame. Self-preservation is the law of God. I passed the
night in the barrio of Manatal."
His courage and bravery in that action won him recognition and a promotion to the rank
of lieutenant.[5] He eventually left Roque's unit - Roque was sold out to the Spanish by
his own soldiers and executed on February 1897, and del Pilar began to make his way
to Imus, Cavite, reaching as far as Montalban in February. He eventually returned to
Bulacan and joined Adriano Gatmaitán's army, being promoted to captain in the
process.[2]
As captain, del Pilar managed feats of bravery. He once managed to single-handedly
ambush a priest and his escort of cazadores from Mambog on their way to Malolos. He
shot of the cazadores which prompted the rest to flee. This act netted him
several Mauser rifles and four sacks of coins, which he distributed to his troops. He
decreed that married men be given 50 pesos each, unmarried ones 25 pesos, and the
remaining money be sent to Manila to buy a blanket and a cloak for each soldier. [4]

Flag of Gregorio del Pilar

On September 3, 1897, del Pilar executed an attack on the Spanish garrison in the town
of Paombong. He and ten other men slipped into town in the night and fell upon
the cazadores in the basement of the convent during Sunday mass. Del Pilar himself
was stationed in the plaza, firing at the second story of the convent to prevent any men
from approaching from the windows. They were eventually able to capture 14 Mauser
rifles. Other versions of the raid vary, however. Some tellings talk about how del Pilar
and his men slipped into town dressed as women, while other versions have them
disguised as cazadores.[2] Del Pilar's success in Paombong caught the attention
of Emilio Aguinaldo, who promoted the captain to a lieutenant colonel, eventually
earning his trust and being let into his inner circle of confidants. Artemio Ricarte noted
that Del Pilar's feat in Paombong “exalted him to the horns of the moon." [6]
Del Pilar celebrated his promotion to lieutenant colonel by creating a distinctive flag for
himself and his battalion: a tricolor with a blue triangle at the hoist, red stripe on top and
black at the bottom, taking cues from the Cuban flag. He first unfurled this flag during
his participation in the Battle of Pasong Balite (modern-day Polo, Bulacan) in 1897.
Due to his closeness to Aguinaldo, del Pilar became one of the signatories of the
provisional constitution of the Republic of Biak-na-Bato in November 1897. When
negotiations with the Spanish took place in the which concluded with the signing of
the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, Aguinaldo took del Pilar with him to exile in Hong Kong.[4]

Second phase and the Philippine-American War[edit]

The exiles in Hong Kong organized a Supreme Council, electing del Pilar to a position
second only to Tomás Mascardo. Aguinaldo's confidence in del Pilar grew such that he
wrote the following about him:[2]
"I took him to Hong Kong, Saigon, and Singapore. He was my man of confidence. I
could trust him with everything. Therefore, I had him always at my side until he died."

— Emilio Aguinaldo
When Aguinaldo was supposed to go to Europe, he took only del Pilar and Colonel José
Leyba with him. The trip ended in Singapore, where Aguinaldo conferred
with American consul E. Spencer Pratt, learning of the American declaration of war
against Spain. Spurred by this, Aguinaldo and the other exiles decided to return to the
Philippines to restart the revolution.[2]

Statue of Gregorio del Pilar in Plaza del Pilar, Bulacan, Bulacan

After the Americans defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo, del
Pilar, and other exiled leaders returned to the Philippines. Aguinaldo named del Pilar
Dictator of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija provinces, an honor Aguinaldo would not confer to
anybody else.[7]
On del Pilar's return to the Philippines, he set out to liberating his home province of
Bulacan, eventually accepting Spanish surrender on June 24, 1898. [8] Del Pilar was then
called to relieve the wounded General Pantaleon García and continue operations
in Caloocan, ultimately succeeded on August 13, 1898. The Revolutionary
Congress was then inaugurated on September 15, 1898 and del Pilar became in charge
of the military parade. He was promoted to brigadier-general after this event. [4]
When the Philippine-American War broke out in February 1899, following the cession of
the Philippines by Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris of 1898, del Pilar
fought alongside General Antonio Luna in Manila, suffering heavy casualties.[4] Del
Pilar's relationships with his fellow generals were contentious at best. General José
Alejandrino wrote of del Pilar:[2]
"There was a young pretentious general who set up his headquarters in one of the
nearby towns, not bothering even to present himself to General [Antonio] Luna. He did
not want to recognize any orders other than those which emanated directly from the
Captain General [Emílio Aguinaldo] of whom he was a great favorite. At the
headquarters of General Luna it was learned that his gentleman spent days and nights
at fiestas and dances which his flatterers offered in his honor."

— Jose Alejandrino

Historical marker of the Battle of Quingua (now Plaridel)

Another story between Luna and del Pilar have the two riding together on the front, with
Luna so absorbed in what he was saying that he did not notice they were moving into a
danger zone. Del Pilar did notice but did not back off because Luna had not. After
Manila, del Pilar and his troops moved to Bulacan. Major General Venancio
Concepción was placed under his command but the two did not get along. After the fall
of Baliuag each blamed the other. Concepción was eventually moved under the
command of Luna in Pampanga. Del Pilar, for his part, led his troops to a victory over
Major Franklin Bell in the first phase of the Battle of Quingua (modern-day Plaridel,
Bulacan) on April 23, 1899. During the battle, his forces repelled a cavalry charge and
killed American Colonel John M. Stotsenburg,.[9] The Americans were, however,
reinforced during the second phase of the Battle and the Filipino forces were forced to
retreat. Del Pilar then participated in the Battle of Calumpit alongside General Luna.
Luna, however, had left the battle to punish General Tomás Mascardo for
insubordination, leaving del Pilar with the defense of the Bagbag river. On Luna's return,
the Americans had already succeeded in penetrating the Filipino lines and they were
forced to retreat.[10]
On June 4, 1899, del Pilar joined Aguinaldo in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija and received
orders to capture Antonio Luna, dead or alive, on charges of high treason. It is said that
had Luna not come down himself to Cabanatuan and assassinated by the Kawit
Batallion from his headquarters in Bayambang that del Pilar would have gone down as
Luna's killer.[2] Del Pilar and Aguinaldo then descended upon General Concepcion's
headquarters in Pampanga to relieve him of his position, as he was suspected to be
partisan to the assassinated general. Troops surrounded Concepcion's headquarters
and sentries were replaced by the presidential guards. Concepción was then relieved of
his command on suspicions of a conspiracy being plotted against Aguinaldo.
Del Pilar was then tasked with taking possession of Luna's old headquarters in
Bayambang, and of liquidating Luna's former aides-de-camp, Manuel and José Bernal.
He arrived in Bayambang on June 7 and managed to capture a younger Bernal brother,
Angel, who was arrested and maltreated. Manuel Bernal was captured a few days later,
located in the house of the Nable José family. Remedios or Dolores, daughters of the
family, was said to be one of del Pilar's last loves.[4] Manuel was tortured in the presence
of his younger brother Angel by del Pilar and his brother Julian del Pilar for a week
before he was killed. José Bernal was captured soon after, taken to Angeles,
Pampanga and murdered by soldiers thereafter.[2]
After this, del Pilar was given command in Pangasinan, where he stayed for five months
from June to November 1899. He was also posted in Pangasinan to defend against a
possible mutiny from Ilocanos outraged with Luna's assassination, as well as to defend
against the Guardia de Honor, a millenarian cult fashioned after the Katipunan.[1] During
this time, the American forces were unusually quiet but the revolutionary government
failed to capitalize on this opportunity. Del Pilar himself, was engaged in a number of
love affairs.[2] In a letter sent to a relative in Bulacan, he asked for the finest of riding
boots, while he ordered the best horses in Dagupan to show off his horsemanship. [1]
By November, Tarlac had fallen to the Americans and Aguinaldo was moving northward
towards Bayambang, Pangasinan. From Bayambang, the fleeing government led an
expedition to Santa Barbara. Del Pilar, at the time, had 2,000 troops: 1,000 in the del
Pilar Brigade, 350 in the Joven column, 400 in the Kawit Battalion, 100 in the Corps of
Lancers, and two vanguard companies.[2] del Pilar led the expedition northward towards
Ilocos. During this time he carried a briefcase containing a girl's letter and a lock of hair,
from one of his loves in Bulacan.[2]