The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-13
FUNSTON'S EXPLOIT
REPORT ON AGUINALDO'S CAPTURE
MADE PUBLIC.
CAPT0R TELLS HIS STORY.
THE PLAN HAD GEN. MAC ARTHUR's
APPROVAL.

The Forged Letters and the Natural
Disposition of the FiIipinos TO
Treachery Made Easy the Taking
of AguinaldO After the Letters
Captured by Lieut.. Taylor Had
Been Placed in Funston's Hands.
Ex-Insurgents Took an Active
Part in the Affair.
Washington, July 12.-The War Depart
ment to-day made public Brig. Gen.
Funston's report of the capture of Agui-
naldo made under date of May 6. This
report presents in detail all the facts re-
ating to the capture of Aguinaldo which
were made pubic at that time. Gen.
Funston shows that his entire plan of the
| expedition was approved by Gen. Mac
Arthur. Gen. Funston gives the follow
ing account of the forged letters which
were used to deceive Aguinaldo:
''On Oct. "a. 1900. while scouting in the
vicinity of Gapan, Nueva Ecija, l had
surprised the insurgent chief Lacuna, in
his camp. and had captured, among 9TH
er things, some writing paper which al
ready bore his headquarters seal On
| this paper two letters were. written to
Aguinaldo over the carefully forged sig
nature of Lacuna. In one. under date.
| Feb. "a, Lacuna acknowledged the receipt
of Aguinaldos letters of Jan. 1S and IA,
and thanked him for the confirmation of
his Oacuna's) appointment as brigadier
general.
1T will be remembered that the letters
of Aguinaldo referred to had fallen into
our hands.
'Our letter indulged in the usual rhet-
oric employed by the insurgent chiefs in
their correspondence and gave a glowing
account of the progress of the campaign
from the standpoint of Lacuna.
YAnother letter, dated Feb 2S, was pre-
pared, stating that the writer had just
received a communication from Balder-
mo Aguinaldo, ordering him to send one
of his best companies under a reliable
chief to Emilio Aguinaldo in Isabella.
Nice Little Tale.
I'm accordance with these orders he
was sending this force under Lieut.. Col.
Hilario Placido. The latter, he stated,
had been captured by the Americans
| year ago and after his release had lived
in Jaen, but recently had taken to the
field again when ordered to do so by La
| cuna. This was included in the letter
1 lOE lear Iudl <AShludluO might nave ntdlu
that Placido had been captured by the
Americans and had taken the oath of
allegiance. The letter also stated that
| Aguinaldo's courier, Cecilio Sisismundo,
| was with Lacuna and would accompany
| the column. These two letetrs were die
| tated by me, but written by Segovia. We
were in possession of a number of sam
pies of Lacuna's signature, and had pre-
viously succeeded in executing a very
1 49, &C., I. l.. II
| of each one of the two Sheets"
How the Capture Was Effected.
OF the actual capture Gen. Funston
says:
"The Macabebes started up into the
town and we heard a few shots, followed
| by scattered firing. We hastily crossed
| the river and. running up into the town,
| found that the Macabebes were somewhat
demoralized and firing wildly in every
direction. They were gotten under con-
| troll with some difficulty. Aguinaldo's
| guard of about fifty armed and neatly
uniformed men had been drawn up to re-
ceive the reinforcements and on being
fired into broke and ran, few of them
returning the fire as they retreated.
Aguinaldo, with his officers, had awaited
| in his quarters. Placido and Segovia en-
| tered the house to report their arrival
and after a short conversation Segovia
stepped outside the house and ordered the
Macabebes. who had just come up from
the river bank, to open fire on the in
surgeDts, who were standing in line at
a distance of about fifty yards. The Mac
abebes were so excited and nervous that
their fire was very ineffective. But two
OF the insurgents were killed, the re-
mainder, in their flight, throwing away
eighteen rifles and a thousand rounds OF
ammunition.
LAS soon as Segovia had given the or
der he ran back into the house and open
ed fire on the officers surrounding Aguin-
aldo. He wounded Villa and Alhambra.
The latter jumped out OF the house into
the river and was not seen again. Villa,
on being wounded, surrendered, as did
also Santiago Barcelona, Aguinaldo's
treasurer.
Five Officers Escaped.
THE five remaining officers escaped
from the house and swan the river. Pla-
cido seized Aguinaldo and told him that
he was a prisoner Of the Americans. At
this Juncture the Americans arrived on
the scene and gave their attention to get
ting the Macabebes under control and
protecting prisoners from them. One Ma
cabebe was slightly wounded by a gun
shot wound in the forehead
In conclusion Gen. Funston deals out
praise generously to all who had a share
in the expedition. mentioning Capt Hbz-
ard Capt. Newton, Lieut.. Hazard ana
Lieut.. Mitchell, while especially praising
Lieut.. Taylor for the discretion he show
ed after obtaining the Aguinaldo letters.
He also speaks IN high praise OF Com
mander Barry of the Vicksburg and the
assistance the navy rendered him.