Battle of Tres de Abril explained

Conflict:Battle of Tres de Abril
Revolt of Cebu
Partof:the Philippine Revolution
Date:3–8 April 1898
Place:Cebu, Cebu, Visayan Islands, Spanish East Indies (now Philippines)
Result:Spanish victory
Combatant1: Katipunan
Combatant2: Spanish Empire
Commander2: Fernando Primo de Rivera
Strength1:5,000 katipuneros
Strength2:500 cazadores
1 gunboat
1 cruiser
Casualties1:unknown
Casualties2:unknown

The Battle of Tres de Abril (Filipino; Pilipino: Labanan ng ikatatlo ng Abril, Cebuano: Sangka sa Ikatulo sa Abril, Spanish; Castilian: Batalla del Tres de Abril) occurred in 3 April 1898, during the Philippine Revolution. It was fought in the city of Cebu, a month after the Revolt of Cebu began.

Battle

At 5 AM on 4 April, the rebels drove the Governor, General Montero, and his Spanish volunteers into Fort San Pedro and took control of Cebu City.[1] When the gunboat Maria Cristina opened fire, the rebels retreated to the Chinese quarter of Lutao.[1] On 7 April, 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish cazadores arrived under the command of General Tejeiro, and with the cruiser Don Juan de Austria, forcing the rebels to retreat to San Nicolas.[1] The Spanish continued their pursuit of the rebels on 8 April into the mountain region.[1]

Aftermath

Leon Kilat was killed by his aide-de-camp, Apolinario Alcuitas, on April 8, 1898. The rebels then withdrew out of the city few weeks after he died. However, some of his generals, like General Maxilom, managed to capture some towns in the province such as Toledo and Balamban.

There is a commemorative monument for Leon Kilat on Kilat Street in Cebu City for the 3-day capture of Cebu City.

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Foreman, J., 1906, The Philippine Islands, A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons