The rebels were repulsed at every point with great loss. Lines of smoke from the burning villages marked the direction taken by the Americans advancing under the leadership of Generals Otis, Wheaton, Hale, and Hall. An immense amount of impedimenta in the shape of pontoons, telegraph posts and wires, ammunition, and provisions followed the infantry in perfect order. On the line taken by the troops many native householders hoisted white flags to indicate their peaceful intentions. Ambulances were frequently seen coming in with the wounded Americans and Filipinos, and among them was brought the chief of an Igorrote tribe with a broken thigh. His tribe, who had been persuaded by Aguinaldo to bring their bows and arrows to co-operate with him, were placed in the front and suffered great slaughter. In hospital the Igorrote chief spoke with much bitterness of how he had been deceived, and vowed vengeance against the Tagálogs. The next day at Caloocan the rebels made a determined stand, but were driven out of the place by 10-inch shells fired from the Monadnock over the American lines. General Hall occupied Santólan and the pumping-station there and repelled the repeated attacks made on his column. General McArthur with a flying column cleared the surrounding district of the enemy, but owing to the roughness of the country he was unable to pursue them. Aguinaldo was therefore able to escape north with his army, reinforced by native troops who had been trained in Spanish service. There was also a concentration of about 2,500 natives from the southern Luzon provinces. The insurgents had cut trenches at almost every mile along the route north. In the several skirmishes which took place on March 25 the Americans lost one captain and 25 men killed and eight officers and 142 men wounded. The next day there was some hard fighting around Polo and Novaliches, where the insurgents held out for six hours against General McArthurʼs three brigades of cavalry and artillery. After the defeat at Paco, Aguinaldo moved on to the town of Malabon, which was shelled; the enemy therefore immediately evacuated that place in great confusion, after setting fire to the buildings. Over 1,000 men, women, and children hastened across the low, swampy lands carrying their household goods and their fighting-cocks; it was indeed a curious spectacle. General Wheatonʼs brigade captured Malinta, and the insurgents fled panic-stricken after having suffered severely. The American loss was small in numbers, but Colonel Egbert, of the 22nd Infantry, was mortally wounded whilst leading a charge. As he lay on the litter in the midst of the fight General Wheaton cheered him with the words, “Nobly done, Egbert!” to which the dying colonel replied, “Good-bye, General; Iʼm done; Iʼm too old,” and at once expired.
In March the natives tried to burn down one of the busiest Manila suburbs. At 8 oʼclock one evening they set fire to the Chinese quarters in Santa Cruz, and the breeze rapidly wafted the flames. The conflagration lasted four hours. The English Fire-Brigade turned out to quench it. Hundreds of Chinese laden with chattels hurried to and fro about the streets; natives rushed hither and thither frantically trying to keep the fire going whilst the whites were endeavouring to extinguish it; and with the confusion of European and Oriental tongues the place was a perfect pandemonium. General Hughes was at the head of the police, but the surging mob pressed forward and cut the hose five times. With fixed bayonets the troops partially succeeded in holding back the swelling crowd. The electric wires got out of working order, and the city was lighted only by the glare of the flaming buildings. Bullets were flying in all directions about Tondo and Binondo. The intense excitement was intentionally sustained by batches of natives who rushed hither and thither with hideous yells to inspire a feeling of terror. Many families, fearing that the insurgents had broken through the American lines and entered the city en masse, frantically fled from the hotels and houses. Incessant bugle-calls from the natives added to the commotion, and thousands of Chinese crowded into the Chinese Consulate. Finally the rioters were driven back, and a cordon of troops assured the safety of the capital. Sharp engagements simultaneously took place at the Chinese cemetery and at San Pedro Macatí. Bands of insurgents were arrested in Tondo. A group of 60 was captured escorting two cartloads of arms and ammunition to a house. Business was almost entirely suspended, and a general order was issued by the Military Governor commanding all civilians to remain in their houses after 7 p.m. This hour was gradually extended to 8 oʼclock, then 9 oʼclock, and finally to midnight, as circumstances permitted. An edict was posted up fixing the penalties for incendiarism. During two days smoke hovered around the neighbourhood, and the appearance of Manila from the bay was that of a smouldering city.
In the fighting up country, one of the greatest difficulties for the Americans was that the insurgents would not concentrate and have a decisive contest. They would fire a few volleys from cover and retreat to other cover, repeating these harassing, but inconclusive, tactics over many miles of ground. On their march the Americans had to fight a hidden foe who slipped from trench to trench, or found safety in the woods. Sometimes a trenchful of the enemy would fire a volley and half of them disappear through gullies leading to other cover. The next point of importance to be reached was Malalos, and on the way some thirty villages had to be passed. Besides the volleys delivered by hidden insurgents all along the line, a hard-fought battle took place on March 28 under the personal direction of General Aguinaldo, who concentrated about 5,000 men near Marilao. Aguinaldo directed the movements without appearing on the field; indeed it is doubtful whether, during this war, he ever led his troops into action. General McArthurʼs division had halted at Meycauayan the previous night, and in the morning advanced north in conjunction with General Haleʼs brigade, which took the right, whilst General Otis led his troops to the left of the railroad, General Wheatonʼs brigade being held in reserve. After a three-mile march these forces fell in with the enemy, who opened fire from trenches and thickets; but General Otisʼs troops charged them gallantly and drove them back across the river. There the insurgents rallied, relying upon the splendid trenches which they had dug. The battle raged for three hours, the combatants being finally within fifty yards of each other. Eventually the American artillery came into play, when the advanced works of the insurgent defences were literally pulverized and the general rout of the enemy began. They retreated to their second stronghold of bamboo thickets, pursued by the 1st South Dakota Infantry, which made a brilliant charge in the open, under a galling fire, with a loss of three lieutenants and seven men killed on the field and about a score wounded. The insurgents, however, were completely defeated and scattered, leaving 85 dead counted in the trenches and thickets, and a hundred prisoners in the hands of the Americans. Before abandoning Marílao the insurgents burnt the town to the ground and continued their hurried flight to Malolos. They had plenty of time to rally, for the Americans found great difficulty in bringing their artillery across the river at Guiguinto. It had to be drawn over the railway bridge by hand whilst the mules swam across to the northern bank, all being, at the same time, under a desultory fire from the enemy. The resistance of the Filipinos to the passage of the river at Guiguinto was so stubborn that the Americans lost about 70 killed and wounded. At 6 a.m. the Americans started the advance towards Malolos in the same order taken for the march to Marilao, General Haleʼs brigade taking the right and General Otisʼs the left of the railroad. Several skirmishes took place on the way and General Wheaton brought his reserves forward into the general advance. At Bocaue the river presented the same difficulties for artillery transport as were experienced at Guiguinto, except that the enemy was nowhere to be seen. Bigaá was reached and not an armed native was in sight, all having apparently concentrated in the insurgent capital, Malolos. The American casualties that day, due solely to the morning skirmishes, amounted to four killed and thirty wounded.
It is apparent, from the official despatches, that at this time the American generals seriously believed the Aguinaldo party would acknowledge its defeat and make peace if Malolos, the revolutionary seat of government, fell. All that was going on in Manila was well known to the insurgents in the field, as the news was brought to them daily by runners who were able to enter the city during daylight without interference. On March 30 General McArthurʼs division resumed the advance and brought up the baggage trains, after having repaired the several bridges damaged by the enemy. The environs of Malolos were reconnoitred up to within a mile of the town, and the dead bodies of insurgent soldiers were seen scattered here and there. Groups of hundreds of non-combatants were hurrying off from the beleaguered insurgent capital. General Otisʼs brigade pushed forward without any encounter with the enemy, but General Haleʼs column, which continued to take the right side of the railway, was fired upon from the woods, the total casualties that day being five killed and 43 wounded. At 7 a.m. (March 31) the Americans opened the combined attack on Malolos. General McArthur directed the operations from the railway embankment, and half an hourʼs artillery fire dislodged the enemy from their cover. The columns advanced cautiously towards the town in anticipation of a fierce resistance and, it was hoped, a fight to the finish. General Otis marched on direct: General Hale executed a flanking movement to the east; General Wheatonʼs brigades were held in reserve, and a halt of half an hour was made preparatory to the final assault. The scouts then returned and reported that the insurgents had abandoned their capital! It was a disappointment to the Americans who had looked forward to inflicting a decisive and crushing defeat on the enemy. The first troops to enter the town were the 20th Kansas Regiment, under Colonel Funston. The natives, in the wildest confusion, scampered off, after firing a few parting shots at the approaching forces, and the Americans, with a total loss of 15 killed and wounded, were in undisputed possession of the insurgent capital. Aguinaldo had prudently evacuated it two days before with his main army, going in the direction of Calumpit. Only one battalion had been left behind to burn the town on the approach of the Americans. Aguinaldoʼs headquarters, the parish church, and a few hundred yards of railway were already destroyed when the Americans occupied the place, still partly in flames. Some few hundreds of Chinese were the only inhabitants remaining in Malolos. The value of the food-stuffs captured in this place was estimated at ₱1,500,000. Simultaneously, General Hallʼs brigade operated five to seven miles north of Manila and drove the insurgents out of Mariquina, San Mateo, and the environs of the Montalbán River with a loss of 20 men wounded and Lieutenant Gregg killed. It was now evident that Aguinaldo had no intention to come to close quarters and bring matters to a crisis by pitched battles. His policy was apparently to harry the Americans by keeping them constantly on the move against guerilla parties, in the hope that a long and wearisome campaign would end in the Americans abandoning the Islands in disgust, leaving the Filipinos to their own desired independence. Aguinaldo had moved on to Calumpit with his main army with the intention of establishing his Government there. On the American side, active preparations were made to dislodge him. Small gunboats were fitted out for operating on the Rio Grande de Pampanga, and an armoured train was prepared for use farther north. From Parañaque, on the bay shore south of Manila, the insurgents fired on the monitor Monadnock, but a few shots from this vessel silenced the shore battery. In several places, within 10 to 15 miles of the capital, armed groups of insurgents concentrated, but Aguinaldo moved on towards Baliuag, in the province of Bulacan, so as to be within easy reach of the hill district of Angat in case of defeat.
A few days after the capture of Malolos, General Otis issued a proclamation to the Filipinos, in the hope that by drawing off public sympathy from the insurgent cause it would dwindle away. The terms of this document were as follows, viz.:—
(1) The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced throughout every part of the Archipelago. Those who resist can accomplish nothing except their own ruin.
(2) The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted which is reconcilable with the maintenance of a wise, just, stable, effective, and economical administration, and compatible with the sovereign and international rights and obligations of the United States.
(3) The civil rights of the Filipinos will be guaranteed and protected, religious freedom will be assured, and all will have equal standing before the law.
(4) Honour, justice, and friendship forbid the exploitation of the people of the Islands. The purpose of the American Government is the welfare and advancement of the Filipino people.
(5) The American Government guarantees an honest and effective civil service, in which, to the fullest extent practicable, natives shall be employed.