Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Balangiga bells
The Balangiga bells (Spanish: Campanas de Balangiga; Tagalog: Mga Batingaw ng Balangiga; Waray: Lingganay han Balangiga) are three church bells that were taken by the United States Army from the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines, as war trophies after reprisals following the Balangiga massacre in 1901 during the Philippine–American War. One church bell was in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while two others were on a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
People representing the Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Philippine government, and the residents of Balangiga had sought to recover the bells since the late 1950s, but their efforts were met with frustration for decades. Progress in negotiations was made in 2018, and the bells finally returned to the Philippines on December 11, 2018, after 117 years.
The Balangiga church was dedicated in 1854 to Roman martyr San Lorenzo, and in 1863, Fr. Cristobal Mirrales, a Jesuit Missionary maybe an Architect too, rebuilt the Balangiga Church consisting of Haligues o Poste de Madera, with four towers inside a quadrangle or fort, and that the church bell as told took four years probably by raising fund to acquire it. It was cast around 1853 and bears the Franciscan coat of arms. It has a mouth diameter of 31.25 inches (794 mm) inches and height of 30 inches (760 mm). The following inscription appears on this bell: "R. San Francisco Año El 1853" ("R. San Francisco The Year 1853"). R. San Francisco could have been the parish priest at that time, or the term may represent Religioso de San Francisco, a reference to the name of the religious order of Franciscans.
The second bell was cast around 1889 with a mouth diameter of 27.75 inches (705 mm) and height of 27.5 inches (700 mm). The town acquired it in 1889 through the initiative of Fr. Agustín Delgado, whose name is inscribed on it. The following inscription appears on this bell: "Se Refundió Siendo Cura Parroco El M.R.P.F Agustín Delgado Año 1889". The bells were referred to as campanas colgantes in Spanish, meaning "hanging bells". These are usually hung from a beam and are rung using a rope attached to the clapper.
The third and smallest bell may have been acquired in 1895 through the initiative of Fr. Bernardo Aparicio. Estimates of its size deduce a 23-inch (580 mm) to 24-inch (610 mm) height and a mouth diameter of about 20 inches (510 mm). It bears the Franciscan emblem. The following inscription appears on this bell: "Se Refundio Siendo Parroco P. Bernardo Aparicio Año 1895". Bells of this type are known as esquila (small bell) or Campana de vuelo, literally a "flight bell" used to sound warning in times of peril. The Spanish word refundió means that the bell had been recast from scrap bronze.
On September 28, 1901, Philippine Republican Army soldiers, and irregular military forces and/or the Pulahan[citation needed] from Balangiga and nearby towns ambushed Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment while they were at breakfast, killing 48 and wounding 22 of the 78 men of the unit, with only four escaping unhurt and four missing in action. The villagers captured about 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition. An estimated 20 to 25 of them died in the fighting, with a similar number of wounded.
In reprisal, General Jacob H. Smith ordered that Samar be turned into a "howling wilderness" and that they shoot any Filipino male above ten years of age who was capable of bearing arms. This was the most widespread killing of Filipino civilians in the entire duration of the war. The aftermath of the massacre also led to the increased use of the water cure in Samar. The American soldiers seized three church bells from the town church and moved them back to the United States as war trophies. The 9th Infantry Regiment maintained that the single bell in their possession was presented to the regiment by villagers when the unit left Balangiga on April 9, 1902. The bell had been actually given to them by the 11th Infantry Regiment, which had taken all three bells when they left Balangiga for Tacloban on October 18, 1901.
Smith and his primary subordinate, Major Littleton Waller of the United States Marine Corps, were both court-martialled for war crimes against the civilian population of Samar. Waller was charged specifically of tying a local resident to a tree and shooting bullets into their body for three straight days, before finally killing them on the fourth. Waller was acquitted of the charges. Smith was found guilty, admonished and retired from service, but charges were dropped shortly after. He was later hailed as a war hero.
Hub AI
Balangiga bells AI simulator
(@Balangiga bells_simulator)
Balangiga bells
The Balangiga bells (Spanish: Campanas de Balangiga; Tagalog: Mga Batingaw ng Balangiga; Waray: Lingganay han Balangiga) are three church bells that were taken by the United States Army from the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines, as war trophies after reprisals following the Balangiga massacre in 1901 during the Philippine–American War. One church bell was in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while two others were on a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
People representing the Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Philippine government, and the residents of Balangiga had sought to recover the bells since the late 1950s, but their efforts were met with frustration for decades. Progress in negotiations was made in 2018, and the bells finally returned to the Philippines on December 11, 2018, after 117 years.
The Balangiga church was dedicated in 1854 to Roman martyr San Lorenzo, and in 1863, Fr. Cristobal Mirrales, a Jesuit Missionary maybe an Architect too, rebuilt the Balangiga Church consisting of Haligues o Poste de Madera, with four towers inside a quadrangle or fort, and that the church bell as told took four years probably by raising fund to acquire it. It was cast around 1853 and bears the Franciscan coat of arms. It has a mouth diameter of 31.25 inches (794 mm) inches and height of 30 inches (760 mm). The following inscription appears on this bell: "R. San Francisco Año El 1853" ("R. San Francisco The Year 1853"). R. San Francisco could have been the parish priest at that time, or the term may represent Religioso de San Francisco, a reference to the name of the religious order of Franciscans.
The second bell was cast around 1889 with a mouth diameter of 27.75 inches (705 mm) and height of 27.5 inches (700 mm). The town acquired it in 1889 through the initiative of Fr. Agustín Delgado, whose name is inscribed on it. The following inscription appears on this bell: "Se Refundió Siendo Cura Parroco El M.R.P.F Agustín Delgado Año 1889". The bells were referred to as campanas colgantes in Spanish, meaning "hanging bells". These are usually hung from a beam and are rung using a rope attached to the clapper.
The third and smallest bell may have been acquired in 1895 through the initiative of Fr. Bernardo Aparicio. Estimates of its size deduce a 23-inch (580 mm) to 24-inch (610 mm) height and a mouth diameter of about 20 inches (510 mm). It bears the Franciscan emblem. The following inscription appears on this bell: "Se Refundio Siendo Parroco P. Bernardo Aparicio Año 1895". Bells of this type are known as esquila (small bell) or Campana de vuelo, literally a "flight bell" used to sound warning in times of peril. The Spanish word refundió means that the bell had been recast from scrap bronze.
On September 28, 1901, Philippine Republican Army soldiers, and irregular military forces and/or the Pulahan[citation needed] from Balangiga and nearby towns ambushed Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment while they were at breakfast, killing 48 and wounding 22 of the 78 men of the unit, with only four escaping unhurt and four missing in action. The villagers captured about 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition. An estimated 20 to 25 of them died in the fighting, with a similar number of wounded.
In reprisal, General Jacob H. Smith ordered that Samar be turned into a "howling wilderness" and that they shoot any Filipino male above ten years of age who was capable of bearing arms. This was the most widespread killing of Filipino civilians in the entire duration of the war. The aftermath of the massacre also led to the increased use of the water cure in Samar. The American soldiers seized three church bells from the town church and moved them back to the United States as war trophies. The 9th Infantry Regiment maintained that the single bell in their possession was presented to the regiment by villagers when the unit left Balangiga on April 9, 1902. The bell had been actually given to them by the 11th Infantry Regiment, which had taken all three bells when they left Balangiga for Tacloban on October 18, 1901.
Smith and his primary subordinate, Major Littleton Waller of the United States Marine Corps, were both court-martialled for war crimes against the civilian population of Samar. Waller was charged specifically of tying a local resident to a tree and shooting bullets into their body for three straight days, before finally killing them on the fourth. Waller was acquitted of the charges. Smith was found guilty, admonished and retired from service, but charges were dropped shortly after. He was later hailed as a war hero.