We just had the official first week of our new homeschool year 2 weeks ago and we ended our first week with a family field trip!

I like kicking off every new school year with fun activities. Having family field trips that are relevant to what is being celebrated that particular month is one example.

We discovered these monuments by accident. We were on our way to Cavite for our field last June. (You may read about that field trip here.) We noticed those monuments and got curious. But we didn’t have the luxury of time to stop and check them out on our way to our original destination and on our way home. So, I made a mental note to schedule a field trip to these monuments in the future.

That happened last weekend, finally.

We discovered that there were two (2) major and historical battles that took place on Zapote Bridge. The first battle was between the Spaniards and the Filipino Katipuneros in 1897 during the Philippine Revolution. The second battle was between the Americans and the Filipinos during the Philippine-American War.

Because of these historic battles, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines designated this bridge as a National Historical Landmark on September 9, 2013. A historical marker was placed on this bridge to commemorate these battles.

The first historical battle was on February 17, 1897. During this time, the Spaniards wanted to reclaim the territories that they lost to the Filipino revolutionaries. They realized that Cavite is the stronghold of the Katipuneros. So, their leader at that time, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja ordered General José de Lachambre to prepare an offensive against the Katipuneros in Cavite. José de Lachambre will attack the Filipinos in Silang, Cavite, while he will lead his men in fighting the Filipino forces in Zapote Bridge. Over 20,000 Spanish soldiers marched from Manila to Cavite to join in these battles.

To help you better understand the significance of this place, let me share Zapote Bridge and what places it connects. Zapote Bridge is a stone-arch bridge over the Zapote River. It connects the city of Las Pinas in Manila to the first town of Cavite, which is Bacoor. This is the entryway to Cavite where General Aguinaldo and his troops are.

General Aguinaldo commanded his soldiers to plant dynamite on the bridge and put pointed bamboo sticks on the riverbed below the bridge. He also asked his men to hide in the bushes on the southern bank of the river. Through this strategy, many Spanish soldiers were killed and wounded. Then, the Filipino men hiding emerged from the bushes and fought bravely against the Spanish soldiers who kept charging across the bridge and the river.

Although outnumbered, the Filipino revolutionary forces led by General Aguinaldo armed with only improvized firearms, bolos, and spears defeated the Spaniards in this battle. However, General Edilberto Evangelista, one of the leaders in the Katipunan who fought with General Aguinaldo in this battle, was killed. He was shot in the head.

A monument was made for him in this area also. However, there was no label or marker to let people like passers-by and visitors know who is the man honored through the monument.

The Spaniards retreated towards Muntinlupa because of this defeat. You may read more details about this battle here and here.

Two years later, another historical battle took place on this same bridge. American soldiers who were crossing the part of the Zapote River where it merged with Manila Bay were ambushed by Filipino forces. More American soldiers from nearby locations came to help out their troops when they learned about this. Admiral George Dewey led a fleet of gunboats on Manila Bay to provide naval support for the American soldiers fighting against the Filipino forces on the southern end of the bridge. The American soldiers had better arms and ammunition, too. The Filipinos were soon outnumbered and were forced to retreat, eventually. More American forces pursued them. Although there were Filipino soldiers who tried to defend their positions, they had to flee in the end.

Both ends suffered heavily. But more Filipino soldiers were wounded and killed. You may read more details about this battle here.

Today, a parallel and wider bridge made of concrete was constructed much later. This is what vehicles now use when passing between Manila to Cavite and vice versa.

Both sides of the original Zapote bridge have monuments to honor the heroism of the Filipinos who fought and died to defend our freedom.

There is also another monument with three women on one side of the bridge (Las Piñas side).

All the monuments were made by Eduardo Castrillo who also made the People Power Monument in EDSA.

TIPS

You can park your car near the original bridge after crossing the Zapote, Las Piñas interchange. Then, you can walk towards the monument with the three women. After that, you can go to the small bridge where a historical marker is placed.

You need to go to the bigger bridge and use the sidewalk to go to the monument on the southern side of the bridge (Bacoor, Cavite side). While walking on the sidewalk, you will pass by the monument in honor of General Edilberto Evangelista.

The river has a stench and it helped a bit that we were wearing face masks.

The City of Las Piñas and Bacoor need to improve the cleanliness in this area as a way to really honor the significance of this place.

I hope this blog post helps you have another simple and free field trip idea for the new school year.

Our family had fun during our field trip. We ate halo-halo and muffins afterward before heading home.