Emilio Aguinaldo is considered by many to be the “George Washington” of the Philippines. His family home is preserved – much like Washington’s at Mount Vernon – and a museum is dedicated to his life and times. Additionally, to the Aguinaldo home, the leader himself is entombed on the grounds behind the house. The grounds became the official Aguinaldo Shrine in 1964 just after his death.
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The Spanish-American war, forgotten mostly today, was a very popularly received event among the American public. The ongoing rebellion in Cuba was recurrent front-page news. Newspapers ever eager to entice readers with lurid tales of Spanish atrocities. Forgotten by most now, the Spanish-American War is remembered by numerous monuments spread around the country. Like the war they memorialize, those monuments tend to be overlooked and passed by today without much notice.
European nations were holding their breath as relations between Spain and the United States worsened in 1898. While much of the attention centered on Cuba and the Caribbean, the Philippines also gathered some thought. Several of the nations had ongoing commercial relationships within the Philippines. To officially protect their nationals living and working in the Spanish Manila naval ships were sent. One of those nations with more than a casual interest in events in the Philippines included Germany.
The men of the Second Oregon waited for a month and a half in Cavite, Philippines. July went on and the 1st California and 14th US were moved out of Cavite into the field taking positions to the south of Manila. Other units from later arriving forces did the same. The Oregonians were not excited about being left behind to drill back at Cavite while the others were out on the firing lines.
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The Spanish-American War enjoyed ramped up emotions across the United States. Oregon was by no means immune in the enthusiasm to teach Spain a lesson. The state’s National Guard – a part-time militia more trained in strike-breaking than actual warfare – consisted of a brigade of two regiments . President William McKinley requested the State to furnish the Army with one regiment in the war with Spain, so a little selecting had to be done initially. And with the distance involved between Oregon and Cuba, there was little chance of Oregon troops being involved in the main war there. Dewey’s 1 May victory at Manila Bay, however, gave the men from the Beaver State another opportunity, but instead of going transcontinental, the Second Oregon would need to go trans-Pacific to participate off to the Philippines.
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You can tell important seminal moments in many American cities by some memorials and parks found within the city. Philadelphia has the Liberty Bell. San Antonio has the Alamo. Indianapolis has the massive Soldiers and Sailors Monument from the Civil War. Portland has a leafy park across from the Federal Courthouse and the former Multnomah Courthouse where a statue stands proudly in the middle of the park. At first glance, someone might think the Civil War is being remembered in some way. But the rest of the monument has nothing to do with the Civil War. It is a monument honoring the dead of the Second Oregon Volunteers who fought in the Spanish-American War. Surrounding the monument, a series of marble stumps resemble artillery shells. The battle names inscribed have nothing to do with Oregon in Cuba or Spain, but everything to do with the Philippines.
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