Death
On December 2, 1899, del Pilar led 60 Filipino soldiers of Aguinaldo's rear guard in the Battle of Tirad Pass against the "Texas Regiment", the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the United States led by Peyton C. March. A delaying action to cover Aguinaldo's retreat, the five-hour standoff resulted in Del Pilar's death from shot to the neck, ether at the height or at end of the fighting, depending on eyewitness accounts. Del Pilar's body was later despoiled and robbed by the victorious American soldiers.
Del Pilar's body lay unburied for days, exposed to the elements. While retracing the trail, an American officer, Lt. Dennis P. Quinlan, gave the body a traditional U.S. military burial. Upon del Pilar's tombstone, Quinlan inscribed, "An Officer and a Gentleman".
In 1930, del Pilar's body was exhumed and was identified by the gold tooth and braces he had installed while in exile in Hong Kong.
Read more about this topic: Gregorio Del Pilar
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