LUKBAN
On June 12 , when Gilmore sent out a party to look for beef cattle , the group encountered rebels some two miles down the road to Caroyman . So he sent two parties out , one to assist and the other to scout around . About three miles away from the town , in a direction different from the one to Caroyman , Gilmore ’ s group found insurgents strongly entrenched . A firefight ensued for half an hour . The rebels were accordingly driven off , with two of them killed . But the thickness of the trenches and their position above the hill explained their few casualties . 3
Catbalogan besieged
In Catbalogan , the rebel forces launched their attack on the town about an hour past midnight on the 18 th of June . Spellman who commanded the American troops estimated that there must have been some 100 rifles in the group , but he could not say how many bolomen . The first to be hit was the north side of the town . They were eventually driven off , but not before they succeeded in firing a building on the outskirts .
Then they attacked the warehouse of Warner , Barnes & Co . across the river where there was an outpost of eight men . Still they were able to drive off the rebels with the help of some men who were on the other side of the river . At the east end of the river , they were also able to scare away the insurgent group . The rebels also tried to burn the town - without success .
The insurgents kept up the harassing fire for more than three hours more , but the Americans kept themselves hidden well enough , that there were no casualties on their side . On the other hand , two dead insurgents were found , although the officers believed there could have been more wounded because of the bloodied tracks coming from the town .
The gunboat Pampanga , which arrived at Catbalogan about June 12 , also assisted the Americans with its big guns trained at rebel entrenchments in the surrounding hills . These effectively silenced the latter after a few shots . In addition , Capt . Payne of the gunboat also offered his revolving cannon to be used during nightly attacks . This machine was likewise used by the Americans in Calbayog , after which the nightly attacks stopped .
“ Besides the killing done by the guns of the boat , the moral effect of its presence has been very great , and during its stay in the harbour , the outposts are not annoyed at night and the men get much needed rest ,” said Gilmore . 4
At the end of his report , Gilmore reiterated his request for troop reinforcement for Laguan at the earliest possible time . He said for over a month , the insurgents controlled the areas around the town .
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