Capitalism, The American Empire, and Neoliberal Globalization by Kenneth E. Bauzon

Author:Kenneth E. Bauzon
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789813290808
Publisher: Springer Singapore

Then, after having destroyed the fort, the soldiers, followed a trail in the direction of the lake “destroying, as they went, everything in the shape of forts or strongholds which they encountered, and from which they had been fired upon” (Allen and Reidy, 90). This seemed reminiscent of a scorched earth practiced by the US military in other parts of the country against the insurrectos, but Allen, the primary author, addressed the question with an air of authority as to whether or not this was of a “cruel nature,” in the following words: “To this I can only state that having been amongst them since the origin of hostilities in the island of Mindanao, up to the present date, and having become rather familiar with their treachery and cruelties to American soldiers, wherever they could get a chance, I think as far as my judgment is concerned that they have been given a lesson which, to say the least, they richly deserve” (Allen and Reidy, 91). However, the main objective—Maciu—still laid ahead.

The next day, the camp broke and shortly after 7:00 in the morning, the march began realizing that that day was “designated for the capture of Maciu” (Allen and Reidy, 92). As the troops drew closer to Maciu’s fort, the troops deployed in skirmish lines as they advanced towards the fort and “prevent, if possible, the escape of any of the blood-thirsty Moros whose wild cries we could now hear within” (Allen and Reidy, 93). The Battery, having been positioned infront of the fort, immediately went into action. Allen and Reidy narrate: “The Artillery had opened up on the left. ‘Boom!, Boom!!’ went the cannons, and a rain of solid shot and shrapnel was hurled at the fort, and for a space of a moment nothing could be seen but the flying fragments, and splinters of bamboo and debris high in the air” (Allen and Reidy, 93). The Moros responded with their lantacas, followed by a volley from their rifles. But then the Artillery, now aimed to the right of the fort, responded with a steady volley. By 2:00 p.m., however, it seemed as though the Maciu fort was impregnable. Consequently, the artillery was moved closer to the fort, some 50 yards away which Allen and Reidy note that “it never has been known in the history of battles where Artillery has engaged an enemy at so short a range” (Allen and Reidy, 96). Despite this, “the Moros remained obstinate to the last singing wildly their religious songs to their God ‘Allah’ in the very midst of the struggle” (Allen and Reidy, 96). However, by around midnight, when the Moros had realized that the Americans were determined to take the fort, including the use of scaling ladders when needed, it appeared that the Moro fighters tried to escape from the fort and make a dash to freedom, which was anticipated. But Allen and Reidy attest to something contrary to Capt. Pershing’s principle of allowing for escape for those who wished to escape, as follows “In an instant every soldier was on the alert.

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