Philippine Insurrection, 1899 to 1902

During the Philippine Insurrection, more than 125,000 American soldiers were sent to the Philippines, and over 4,000 deaths occurred during this conflict. This was also known as the Philippine-American War and the War of Philippine Independence.

History
After the Spanish-American War (1898), the Philippines were given to the US. President McKinley felt Germany would take over the Philippines if the US did not. Many Filipinos wanted independence, and fighting began in 1899 and continued until 1902.


 * History of the Philippine Insurrection against the United States, 1899-1903, and documents relating to the War Department Project for Publishing the History. NARA M719, 9 rolls FHL films 1695802-1695810

The following have information about the Philippine Insurrection:


 * US History.com
 * Global Security
 * The History Guy

Service Records

 * Trevor K. Plante "Researching Service in the U.S. Army During the Philippine Insurrection" Prologue 32(Summer, 2000)
 * Military Service during the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1901 NARA Reference Report #926

Volunteers

An index to service records for the Philippine Insurrection is listed below:


 * Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served during the Philippine Insurrection. National Archives Microfilm Publication M872. The index lists each volunteer’s name, rank, and unit.

The service records have not been filmed and are only available at the National Archives.


 * State volunteers came from California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.


 * Record of service of Connecticut men in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States in the Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection and China Relief Expedition, from April 21, 1898, to July 4, 1904.
 * From Iowa to the Philippines : a history of company M, Fifty-First Iowa Infantry Volunteers.
 * Kansas troops in the volunteer service of the United States in the Spanish and Philippine wars, mustered in under the first and second calls of the President of the United States : May 9, 1898-October 28, 1899.
 * Franklin F. Holbrook. Minnesota in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection.
 * Brigadier General C. U. Gantenbein. The Official records of the Oregon volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippines insurrection. Salem, Oregon : J.E. Whitney, State Printer, 1903

Officers

A list of volunteer officers is in Vol.2 pages 185–272 of the following:


 * The "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army..." by Francis B. Heitman lists Regular Army and volunteer officers from 1789 to 1903 in two volumes giving a brief history of the officers service and awards received.

Regular Army

Enlisted Men

The "Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914" (NARA M233) consists of U.S. Army registers that recorded the name and other information on soldiers that enlisted between 1798 and 1914. The collection includes enlistees from the time period of the Philippine Insurrection, however, it does not specify whether they served in the war or not. See US Army Enlistments, 1798-1914.

Officers


 * The "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army..." by Francis B. Heitman lists Regular Army and volunteer officers from 1789 to 1903 in two volumes giving a brief history of the officers service and awards received.

Pension Records
Indexes

Pensions were first granted in 1922 to veterans of the Philippine Insurrection. The General Index to Pension Files and the Organization Index to Pension Files are the two indexes to the pension files this war. The actual pension files have not been filmed and are available at the National Archives.

You will need to send form 85 to the National Archives to obtain copies of the pension file. The National Archives will mail you copies of the form if you will write to them or send them an e-mail request to:


 * National Archives and Records Administration Attn: NWCTB 700 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20408-0001 Tel. 202-501-5400 http:www.nara.gov

See Military Records: Pre-WWI Pension Applications (16 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.

Casualty Records
Regular Army Officers


 * The "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army..." by Francis B. Heitman lists Regular Army and volunteer officers from 1789 to 1903 that were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. See Vol.2 pp. 13-42.
 * Philippines. Applications for Headstones. 1909-1923. NAID 167772427

Census Records
1900 U.S. Federal Census

The 1900 Federal Census (NARA T623) enumerated military personnel stationed overseas in places such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The census gives the soldier’s name, rank, place of residence in the United States, birth date and place, company, regiment, and branch of service.

1930 U.S. Federal Census

The 1930 Federal Censusasked if a person was "A veteran of the U.S. military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition" and "What war or expedition" they served in.

1940 U.S. Federal Census

The 1940 Federal Census asked "Is this person a veteran of the United States military forces or the wife, widow, or under 18-year-old child of a veteran?" and "If child, is veteran-father dead?" and "War or Military" served in. These were only asked of persons which were recorded on 2 of the 40 lines per page, which would have covered about five percent of the population.

Prisoner of War Records
Regular Army Officers


 * The "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army..." by Francis B. Heitman lists Regular Army and volunteer officers from 1789 to 1903 that were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. See Vol.2 pp. 13-42.

National Archives Collections Relating to the War with Spain and the Philippine Insurrection

 * Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1927. NAID 654560
 * Carded Records Relating to Staff Officers of Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1927. NAID 654536
 * Muster Rolls of Volunteer Organizations During the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1901. NAID 654657
 * Regimental and Company Books of Philippine Insurrection Volunteer Organizations, 1899-1901. NAID 654700
 * Record Book of Volunteer Involvement in the War with Spain and the Philippine Insurrection, 1929-1935. NAID 17401090
 * Numerical Index Cards Concerning the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, ca. 1898- ca. 1901 NAID 7423821
 * Papers of Enlisted Men in the Hospital Corps During the War with Spain and the Philippine Insurrection. NAID 5557967
 * Field Records of Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection Hospitals, 1898-1902. NAID 655738
 * Papers of Individual Citizens Connected with the Philippine Insurrection and the War with Spain, 1898. NAID 5558016
 * Index to Casualties, 1898-1901. NAID 1200129
 * Records Relating to Civilians, 1898-1901. NAID 1200131
 * Memoranda Relating to the Transportation of troops to and from the Philippine Islands, 1898-19019. NAID 1200130

Bibliography of Historical Sources

 * Bain, David Howard. Sitting in Darkness: Americans in the Philippines. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.


 * Constantino, Renato. A History of the Philippines: From the Spanish Colonization to the Second World War. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1975.


 * Hahn, Emily. The Islands, America’s Imperial Adventure in the Philippines. New York: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1981.


 * LeRoy, James A. The Americans in the Philippines: a History of the Conquest and First Years of Occupation. New York: AMS Press, 1970.


 * Miller, Stuart C. Benevolent Assimilation: the American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.


 * Onorato, Michael P., ed. Philippine Bibliography, 1899-1946. Santa Barbara, California: American Bibliographical Center, 1969.


 * Sexton, William T. Soldiers in the Sun: an Adventure in Imperialism. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Military Service Publishing Co., 1939.


 * Stanley, Peter W. A Nation in the Making: the Philippines and the United States, 1899-1921. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1974.


 * Welch, Richard B. Response to Imperialism: the United States and the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979.


 * Wolff, Leon.Little Brown Brother: America’s Forgotten Bid for Empire Which Cost 250,000 Lives. London: Longmans, 1961.


 * Zaide, Gregorio F. The Philippine Revolution. Manila, Philippines: Modern Book, 1954.

Society Records
The United Spanish War Veterans was established in 1899. Its membership includes veterans with service in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection to 4 July 1902. The following sources contain information on their members who were veterans of the two wars.

Kansas


 * Kansas, United Spanish War Veterans Reports of Deaths, 1945-1970 (Ancestry) ($)

Michigan


 * United Spanish War Veterans Camp Index, ca. 1890–1984
 * United Spanish War Veterans Master Index, ca. 1890–1984

Utah


 * United Spanish War Veterans, Department of Utah. Muster Rolls of Members, 1929–1957. Lists the veteran’s name, age, residence, final discharge date, and unit. Some entries may contain additional data.