Battle of Manila

The Battle of Manila, the first and largest battle fought during thePhilippine–American War, was fought on 4 and February 5, 1899, between 12,000 Americans and 15,000 Filipinos. Armed conflict broke out when American troops, under orders to turn away insurgents from their encampment, fired upon an encroaching group of Filipinos. Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo attempted to broker a ceasefire, but American General Elwell Stephen Otis rejected it and fighting escalated the next day. It ended in American victory, although minor skirmishes continued on for several days afterward.

First shots

Sources generally agree that the first shots were fired by Private William Walter Grayson, a British citizen who had immigrated to America circa 1890, had enlisted as a volunteer soldier in Lincoln, Nebraska, in May 1898, a month after the Spanish-American War erupted, and had deployed with his unit to the Philippines in June 1898. Grayson's unit, the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry under Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, had been encamped in Santa Mesa, Manila, since December 5, 1898.

On the morning of February 4, Stotsenburg ordered, "Your orders are to hold the village. If any armed men come into our lines order them out. If they persist in coming, summon...

Source: http://pages.rediff.com/battle-of-manila--1899-/413405