hips of the work they
have undertaken to do, has grown and increased with every phase of
the difficult and trying campaign which the troops of the Philippine
expedition have brought to such a brilliant and successful conclusion."

The left or north flanks of General Green's camp extended to a point
on the "Calle Real," about 3,200 yards from the outer line of Spanish
defenses of the city of Manila. This Spanish line began at the powder
magazine, or old fort San Antonio, within a hundred yards of the
beach and just south of the Malate suburb of Manila, and stretched
away to the Spanish left in more or less detached works, eastward,
through swamps and rice fields, covering all the avenues of approach
to the town and encircling the city completely."

General Merritt defines with firmness and perspicuity his position
regarding the Filipinos in these terms:

"The Filipinos, or insurgent forces at war with Spain, had, prior
to the arrival of the American land forces, been waging desultory
warfare with the Spaniards for several months, and were at the time
of my arrival in considerable force, variously estimated and never
accurately ascertained, but probably not far from 12,000 men. These
troops, well supplied with small arms, with plenty of ammunition and
several field guns, had obtained positions of investment opposite to
the Spanish line of detached works throughout their entire extent; and
on the particular road called the "Calle Real," passing along the front
of General Greene's brigade camp and running through Malate to Manila,
the insurgents had established an earthwork or trench within 800 yards
of the powder-magazine fort. They also occupied as well the road to
the right, leading from the village of Passay, and the approach by the
beach was also in their possession. This anomalous state of affairs,
namely, having a line of quasi-hostile native troops between our forces
and the Spanish position, was, of course, very objectionable, but it
was difficult to deal with, owing to the peculiar condition of our
relations with the insurgents, which may be briefly stated as follows:

"Shortly after the naval battle of Manila Bay, the principal leader of
the insurgents, General Emilio Aguinaldo, came to Cavite from Hongkong,
and, with the consent of our naval authorities, began active work in
raising troops and pushing the Spaniards in the direction of the city
of Manila. Having met with some success, and the natives flocking