Battle of Santo Tomas The Battle of Santo Tomas was fought on May 4 , 1899 , in Santo Tomas , Pampanga , during the Philippine - American War . During this battle , General Antonio Luna , the commander of the Filipino forces , was wounded . The Battle of Santo Tomas followed the Battle of Calumpit , wherein Luna ' s main force had fought that of General Arthur MacArthur , Jr . The battle resulted in a defeat of the Filipino forces around Santo Tomas and their withdrawal from the town . Background . After the fall of Calumpit and the march through the Calumpit – Apalit Line , the Americans ' next objective was to capture San Fernando , Pampanga , which was immediately fronted by the Angeles – Magalang Line , the last of the three - tiered defense line Luna had made . Emilio Aguinaldo had transferred his capital to the nearby town of San Isidro , Nueva Ecija , before the Capture of Malolos on March 31 . Luna ' s main force , which had been fighting the Americans since the fighting around Malolos , retreated to the nearby town of Santo Tomas by April 28 . Therefore , the Americans decided that they had to capture Santo Tomas before taking San Fernando . As General Arthur MacArthur , Jr . ' s main force rested in Malolos , Brigadier Generals Loyd Wheaton and Irving Hale ' s forces were committed to the advance , with Colonel Frederick Funston , their immediate deputy , spearheading the initial American attack . Battle . The battle featured an easy rout of the Filipino forces under Luna , numbering around 2 , 500 , by Americans in Santo Tomas . In Funston ' s own account , he states that as soon as the Filipinos abandoned their trenches on the opposite bank of the lagoon , he sent two companies across to examine the vacated trenches and repair the railroad track that had been destroyed by the retreating Filipinos . However , when Lieutenant Colonel Cavestany brought up reinforcements consisting of about 1 , 600 men organized into eight companies , and crossed the bridge leading to San Fernando , Luna saw that the American advance could still be halted . Mounted on his horse , Luna then charged into the battlefield leading his main force in a counterattack . As they advanced , the American forces began firing upon them . Amidst the fire , Luna ' s horse was hit and he fell to the ground . As he recovered , Luna realized that he had been shot in the stomach . Seeing the Americans coming towards him and deciding that he must not let himself be captured , he attempted to kill himself with his revolver . He was saved , though , by the actions of a Filipino colonel named Alejandro Avecilla who , having seen Luna fall , rode towards the general to save him . Despite being heavily wounded in one of his legs and an arm , with his remaining strength Avecilla carried Luna away from battle to the Filipino rear . Upon reaching safety , Luna realized that his wound was not very deep as most of the impact of the bullet had been taken by a silk belt full of gold coins that his parents had given him , which he had been wearing . As he left the field to have his wounds tended , Luna turned over the command to General Venacio Concepción , the Filipino commander of the nearby town of Angeles . Aftermath . Upon seeing Luna fall , the Americans responded with jubiliation . As the Philippine Republic ' s Chief of War Operations in Central Luzon , Luna had been one of their most stubborn enemies in resisting their efforts to occupy the archipelago . Luna ' s death a month later would result in more celebrations by the Americans , who believed that the war would come to a swift conclusion with Luna ' s physical extinction . American losses during the battle were two killed , while Filipino casualties are unknown . For his part in the battle , Luna was presented with the Medal of the Republic by Aguinaldo . On the back of the medal , Luna ' s heroic battles were inscribed with their corresponding dates . Later , he was promoted to lieutenant general . On May 8 , 1899 , MacArthur captured San Fernando , and he stayed there to rest and improve his lines of communication . On May 12 , Luna handed over command of the Angeles – Magalang Line to General Concepcion . Later that same month , Luna withdrew his staff and 3 , 000 men to Tarlac . On May 16 , the Americans captured San Isidro , Nueva Ecija , but Aguinaldo yet again evaded his enemies by transferring the capital to Bamban , Tarlac .