Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 2):
June 4, 1898
David Fagen, an African American enlisted in the 24th Infantry at the age of 24.
Born in Tampa, Florida around 1875, he gained prominence during the Philippine-American War when he defected to Emilio Aguinaldo's Philippine Revolutionary Army on November 17, 1899.
The former US "Buffalo Soldier" based in the guerrilla areas of Mount Arayat, Pampanga was under the command of Gen. Jose Alejandrino.
Fagen was promoted from lieutenant to captain and won the hearts and trust of the Filipinos which earned him the name "General Fagen."
The New York Times in a front page story mentioned him as a "cunning and highly skilled guerilla officer who harassed and evaded large conventional American units."
Authorities offered a $600 reward for his capture, dead or alive but he continued to elude arrest and married a Filipina.
One story mentioned that he was beheaded by a Tagalog hunter and his head given to the authorities in exchange for the reward but Philippine Constabulary authorities continued to receive reports of Fagen alive.
(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved
Photo credit: wikipedia.org
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