LUKBAN
to abandon Lavezares along with 10 men and all those who wanted to come on board the San Bernardino. Seaman returned in the evening with about 25 Chinese and two Spaniards, agents of Warner, Barnes & Co. There were numerous reports brought in by the natives that large bodies of insurgents were in the mountains, some armed with rifles and the remainder with bolos. 7
Calbayog attacked
This was probably one of the boldest attacks on the American detachments yet considering that the Calbayog outpost had more than 100 troops. Gilmore had just arrived by boat at around 3:00 early morning of the 26th. He decided to wait until daylight before disembarking. But by 5:00, he was awakened by a call to arms and a few minutes later heard heavy firing. He disembarked immediately, and was told the town was attacked by a party of bolomen, one of whom reportedly went up to his quarters apparently to kill the officers there. Fortunately, Gilmore and his adjutant were not there.
In the next room, Lt. Mills and Dr. Welch heard the man go out of the room and through the hall, then heard the thud of a blow as he struck a private who was sleeping in the adjacent room. Unarmed, the doctor rushed out for help and came back with three men. The boloman had in the meantime killed the private, then hid in the room of Gilmore. When they found him, he did not give up easily. He stabbed one man in the arm, and cut off the finger of another as the latter tried to parry a bolo cut directed at his head, went through the gunsling and half an inch into the stock – before he was slain.
A private who served as sentinel at the hospital, a building located between the headquarters, sounded the alarm. He was likewise hit by a bolo, but was able to get to the headquarters where he sounded the alarm. A patrol from the guard went out immediately and, going up a street from the hospital, encountered 12 or 15 of the assailants and opened fire upon them.
The command, in the meantime, was set up between the church and the head- quarters building, with a troop formation of about 100 men. They opened fire immediately, killing five or six bolomen.
Gilmore later found out from arrested prisoners that there were only 19 attackers involved. He suspected that this was a different group of fanatics, not members of Lukban’ s troops as some of wounded men smelled of alcohol in their breaths. Nine of them were killed, four were treated in the hospital and four were in prison. Two had escaped. 8
50