Battle of Alapan
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Filipino victory
- Surrender of all Spanish forces in Cavite to Filipino forces[1]
- Raising of the Philippine National Flag for the first time[2]
changes Filipino revolutionaries liberate Cavite province
| Battle of Alapan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Philippine Revolution | |||||||||
 Shrine of the National Flag | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Philippines |
 Spanish Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Emilio Aguinaldo Artemio Ricarte Mariano Noriel Luciano San Miguel Juan Cailles |
Leopoldo García Peña  | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
~18,000 12,000 at Alapan 6,000 nearby |
~3,070 270 in Alapan garrison 2,800 in Cavite[3]: 427 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown |
132 killed 200+ captured at Alapan garrison 2,800 surrendered by May 31[3]: 427 | ||||||||
 | |||||||||
The Battle of Alapan (Filipino: Labanan sa Alapan, Spanish: Batalla de Alapan) was fought on May 28, 1898, and was the first military victory of the Filipino Revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo after his return to the Philippines from Hong Kong. After the American naval victory in the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned from exile in Hong Kong, reconstituted the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and fought against the Spanish troops in a garrison in Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The battle lasted for five hours, from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
After the victory at Alapan, Aguinaldo unfurled the Philippine flag for the first time, and hoisted it at the Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Nuevo (present-day Cavite City) in front of Filipino revolutionaries and more than 270 captured Spanish troops. A group of American sailors of the US Asiatic Squadron also witnessed the unfurling.
Flag Day is celebrated every May 28 in honor of this battle. This day also marks the start of the national Independence Day celebrations, as well as of the province-wide Kalayaan Festival celebrated all over Cavite province, honoring the province's role in the achievement of national independence.
The previous year marked the end of the first part of the Philippine Revolution with the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. Under the terms of the agreement, Aguinaldo went into exile in Hong Kong and prepared for the continuation of the revolution.
When Aguinaldo was in exile, the Spanish–American War began. While most of the war's battles were in the Spanish colony of Cuba, the first battle was between the U.S. Navy and Spanish Navy in the Battle of Manila Bay. On May 1, 1898, U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey and the U.S. Asiatic Fleet decisively defeated the Spanish and seized control of Manila Bay, effectively controlling Manila and the Spanish government of the Philippines. Aguinaldo, who at the time of the battle was visiting Singapore enroute to Europe, traveling under an assumed name, returned to Hong Kong and was transported to the Philippines by Dewey. On May 19, 1898, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines aboard the U.S. Navy ship the USS McCulloch.
He had with him a flag of his own design, sewn in Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo and her daughter, with the help of Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, niece of José Rizal.
Upon returning to the Philippines, landing at Kawit in May 20, Aguinaldo reconstituted the revolutionary army and formed a dictatorial government with himself as dictator. With word of Aguinaldo's return and the reforming of the revolutionary army spreading, insurgents and restive elements from all over Luzon flocked by droves to Cavite to join the war of liberation taking place there.[3]: 427