Capture of Malolos

Capture of Malolos
Part of the Philippine-American War
Filipino soldiers in Malolos
Date March 31, 1899 Location Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
United States	Philippine Republic
Commanders and leaders
Arthur MacArthur, Jr. Loyd Wheaton Irving Hale Frederick Funston	Antonio Luna
Strength
10,000 to 15,000	5,000
Casualties and losses
8 killed, 105 wounded (official report)	unknown

The Capture of Malolos, alternately known as the Battle of Malolos, occurred on March 31, 1899, in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine-American War. General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.'s division advanced to Malolos along the Manila–Dagupan Railway. By March 30, American forces were advancing on Malolos. Meanwhile, the Aguinaldo government had moved its seat from Malolos to San Isidro, Nueva Ecija.

Despite the failure of the Filipino counterattack to retake Manila on February 23, 1899, the Americans still saw their position as being unsafe, for the Filipino forces in Marikina still threatened Manila more than that of the forces in Malolos. So, they waited for reinforcements under General Henry Ware Lawton, which arrived between March 10 and March 23. After Lawton's arrival, the overall American force was divided into two divisions: one under the command of Arthur MacArthur, Jr. and another under Lawton. On March 25, the American offensive resumed under MacArthur, which attempted in vain to encircle the Filipinos retreating to Malolos. It was then decided that Malolos be approached via the Manila–Dagupan Railway. On March 27, the advancing Americans faced Aguinaldo's force in the Battle of Marilao River, which resulted in an American victory. Due to increasing pressure from the American offensive and the Republican Army officers, Aguinaldo had reinstated Antonio Luna as Chief of War Operations in Central Luzon on March 28. So, it was Luna who facilitated the Philippine Republican Army during the event.

After resting at Guiguinto, Bulacan, from March 29 to 30, 1899, the American division under MacArthur pushed towards the suburbs of Malolos, reaching there by the afternoon of March 30. In the morning of March 31, the Americans conducted an artillery bombardment for 25 minutes. According to Colonel (later General) Funston's account, he was the first to enter Malolos and his unit was "fired upon by about a dozen men behind a street barricade of stones". The Americans then exchanged fire with the Filipinos at the plaza. It was at that point that Funston and his men saw that Emilio Aguinaldo's Presidencia (headquarters) and the Hall of Congress had caught fire. This buoyed the spirits of the Americans, who cheered before informing their division commander, MacArthur, that Malolos was theirs for the taking. The American official history described the Presidencia as an edifice of "considerable architectural beauty". It also noted that Funston's account of the event was oversimplified, stating that Filipino resistance, which had lasted almost two hours, had been "stubborn".

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