He fought at Tirad Pass

Abstract

Somewhere east of Candon, over the jagged peaks of the Cordillera , is a tiny mountain pass which Ilocano mothers point out to their sons as a symbol of Filipino heroism. This is Tirad Pass.

A young general by the name of Gregorio del Pilar, in an attempt to cover the retreat of President Emilio Aguinaldo to the fastness of Lepanto, heroically fell on the spot with sixty brave young revolucionarios. (Actually, according to the Americans, there were 8 survivors of the 60 defenders; American troops numbered over 300.-E d.)

What actually happened in the pass on the morning of December 2, 1899, an old man now in his early eighties still recalls, vividly - the bloody engagement between del Pilar's handful of insurgents and the blue uniformed, towering Americanos.