LUKBAN
harvested in the north, the insurgents are in no need of food,” said Gilmore in his report. He said the insurgency would end if more troops were deployed. With few troops, natives friendly to the Americans dared not say so for fear of being killed, he said.
At the end of his report, he requested for a small gunboat to patrol the northern coast of the island to intercept rebel forces that come from Luzon in support of Lukban. The boat could also be used up the Catubig river, and its“ moral effect would be tremendous.” At this time, the Americans had to commandeer commercial ships that happened to be in the harbour at a time when needed. He noted that there were many large rivers in that section of the island that made travel on foot impractical.“ By the time any large force succeeds in crossing, the enemy has escaped to the hills … With a boat the force could be carried up several of these rivers or landed at points along the coast, where effective work could be done before notice got around that troops were there,” he said. 1
Rebels surround major towns
Back in Calbayog, where the Americans’ major detachment was located, rebel troops could be seen on the 21 st of May just outside the town. Gilmore had to dispatch Capt. Spellman with 80 men to make a reconnaissance in the direction of the village of Bato. Just a short distance from Calbayog, Spellman encountered a party of rebels armed with bolos and rifles, which prompted them to start shooting in their direction. This made them scamper away, Spellman said. He could not say if any of the rebels were killed. Near Bato, again another party of 30 rebels – with the same results.
Near Catbalogan, in Caroymon on the 25th, a considerable force of insurgents made their presence felt. Spellman sent Lt. Jones to investigate, but found the place deserted. The road between Caroymon and Calbayog was said to be full of mantraps which his men almost fell into.
The information about the presence of rebels in Sta. Margarita sent Spellman hurrying to the town with 50 men on board the gunboat Pampanga on the morning of the 25th. When they were close to the town, they bombarded it using the big guns of Pampanga. Spellman estimated that some 200 rebels were seen leaving when the bombardment began.
The next day, Capt. Fair was sent to Bato once more on a reconnaissance trip. A short distance from Calbayog, he discovered a party of insurgents digging trenches along the roads and trails. The soldiers fired upon them, killing 8 rebels. He also found a great quantity of rice which his troops destroyed. At around 8:00 that evening, the
69