Battle of Tirad Pass The Battle of Tirad Pass , sometimes referred to as the " Philippine Thermopylae " , was a battle in the Philippine - American War fought on December 2 , 1899 , in northern Luzon in the Philippines , in which a 60 - man Filipino rear guard commanded by Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar succumbed to around 300 Americans of the 33rd Infantry Regiment under Major Peyton C . March , while delaying the American advance to ensure Emilio Aguinaldo ' s escape . Background . The retreat of Aguinaldo from Bayambang , Pangasinan , through the mountainous terrain began on November 13 , 1899 , after he had disbanded the regular Filipino army into guerrilla units . On November 23 , Aguinaldo ' s party reached the pass , which provided a strategic bottleneck . It was to be protected by a rear guard under General Gregorio del Pilar , who noticed the advantageous terrain of Tirad Pass ( " Pasong Tirad " as it was locally called ) , and hunkered down to defend it while Aguinaldo escaped through the mountains . The hand - picked force of Filipinos , which was the remaining contingent of the late Antonio Luna ' s army , constructed several sets of trenches and stone barricades on both shoulders of the pass , as well as on top of its 4 , 500 - foot height . Meanwhile , during early November , Major March had been given the task of pursuing Aguinaldo . By November 30 , March and his men , in haste to catch the Philippine president , marched through Candon , Santo Tomas , La Union and Salcedo , Ilocos Sur . He and his men found out that Aguinaldo had passed through Salcedo five days previously , and that fueled the Americans ' march to Concepcion , a town overlooked by the steep pass , which they reached by December 1 . March had no clear idea of the size of Aguinaldo ' s rear guard , but he had calculated it to be no more than 150 men . Battle . At about 6 : 30 in the morning of December 2 , the Americans advanced up the trail but were met with a steady volley of fire , resulting in them only being able to climb around 300 feet . The Americans abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and took cover in the zigzag trail . Texan sharpshooters stationed themselves on a hill overlooking the trenches and proceeded to whittle down the Philippine rear guard with measured volleys . Nevertheless , the Filipinos continued to hold their ground , utilizing focused volley fire that repelled other advances by the Americans . Therefore , March sent elements of their force with an Igorot villager named Januario Galut to determine Filipino positions and outflank the defenders . While the search party was not yet returning , three American soldiers , wanting to have a Medal of Honor , rushed to the battlefield but found themselves receiving Filipino fire . Two were dead , being the only Americans killed in the encounter , and the third one was badly wounded . More than five hours after the battle began , the Americans began to feel the scorching heat of the midday sun and decided to rest for a while in the rock cover . Later that day , as the search party had succeeded their task , the Americans fell upon the rear of the outnumbered defenders , defeating them . Over the course of the battle , 52 of the 60 Filipinos were killed . Among the dead was General del Pilar , shot through the neck at the height or end of the struggle ( depending upon which eye - witness account is to be believed ) . Aftermath . The Americans lost 2 dead and 9 wounded , most of which resulted from the repelled frontal assault . Despite nearly total annihilation , however , the Filipinos under Del Pilar held off the Americans long enough for Aguinaldo to escape . On September 6 , 1900 , Aguinaldo reached Palanan , Isabela , where he would continue to lead the guerrilla campaign he began on November 13 , 1899 . Later , on March 23 , 1901 , Aguinaldo would be captured by men of General Frederick Funston . According to Filipino writer and historian Nick Joaquin however , the main objective of the Americans was not to pursue Aguinaldo but to keep him away from linking up with the elite Tinio Brigade , which was under the command of Manuel Tinio . In his critical book of essays " A Question of Heroes " he notes that Tirad Pass was an " exercise in futility " in that it only allowed Aguinaldo to " run to nowhere " . Del Pilar ' s diary was recovered among the possessions looted by the victorious Americans , who had stripped him bare of his military decorations , his uniform and his personal belongings , leaving him , as the eyewitness , correspondent Richard Henry Little wrote , " We carved not a line and we raised not a stone , But we left him alone with his glory " . The exact wording of its poignant final entry , written on the night of December 1 , differs somewhat between sources quoting it . Two versions are : Del Pilar ' s corpse lay unburied for three days . American officer Lt . Dennis Quinlan , with a group of Igorots , later buried his body and left a plaque , " Gen . Gregorio del Pilar , Died December 2 , 1899 , Commanding Aguinaldo ' s Rear Guard , An Officer and a Gentleman . " Memorials . In honor of Del Pilar ' s heroism , the Philippine Military Academy was named Fort Del Pilar and a historical marker placed at the site of the battle . The Battle of Tirad Pass and the death of Del Pilar was also commemorated during World War II when the Japanese - backed government of President José P . Laurel sought to re - kindle anti - American sentiment by reviving memories of the Philippine - American War with the creation of the Tirad Pass Medal . The design of the obverse ( front ) of the medal included a bust of Del Pilar and a view of Tirad Pass . The design of the reverse ( back ) includes the date 1944 . The Tirad Pass Medal was the only military medal or decoration issued by the Laurel government during the Japanese occupation .