Littleton Waller - Philippine-American War and War Crimes Acquittal

Philippine-American War and War Crimes Acquittal

After the Balangiga massacre, U.S. Army Brigadier General Jacob H. Smith asked for Marine Corps assistance to help subdue the Philippine population on the island of Samar. Major Waller and his Marine Battalion were given this assignment. Prior to proceeding, Major Waller had had this conversation with General Smith:

"I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States.", General Smith said.
Since it was a popular belief among the Americans serving in the Philippines that native males were born with bolos in their hands, Major Waller asked, "I would like to know the limit of age to respect, sir?"
"Ten years.", Smith said.
"Persons of ten years and older are those designated as being capable of bearing arms?", asked Waller.
"Yes.", Smith confirmed his instructions a second time.

Waller largely ignored these illegal orders. Waller and his battalion of 315 Marines departed Cavite on 22 October 1901 and landed at Catbalogan, Samar, on 24 October. In the southern half of Samar, Waller ran patrols, amphibious operations, and led a detachment of marines which defeated Philippine insurgents in a battle at Sohoton cliffs on 5 November 1901. He was having some success in registering the inhabitants and pacifying the Philippine towns.

General Smith ordered Waller to scout a possible telegraph route across the island from Lanang on the east coast to Basey on the west coast — straight across trackless, uninhabited jungle. Waller's March across Samar began from Lanang on 28 December 1901 with 60 Marines, including Sgt. John H. Quick, two Philippine scouts and 33 Philippine porters. In terrible physical conditions, most of the men were soon sick and running out of food. To stave off disaster, Major Waller divided his force on 3 January 1902. Leaving Marine Captain David D. Porter in charge of a group remaining in the jungle, Waller and 14 others went for help at Basey, arriving there on 6 January. On 7 January, Waller led a relief operation back to Porter, but for nine days could not find them.

Growing more desperate for food, Captain Porter left the sick and dying behind, under the command of Marine Lieutenant A.S. Williams, and set out with 7 Marines and 6 porters to Lanang. Having arrived at Lanang on 11 January, Cpt. Porter then sent out a relief column to pick up his own stragglers and rescue Lt. William's command. By 18 January, when Williams was rescued, 10 marines had died, one had gone insane and the porters had mutinied. Williams later testified that their mutinous behavior left the Marines in daily fear of their lives; the porters were hiding food and supplies from the Marines and keeping themselves nourished from the jungle while the Marines starved; then three porters attacked and wounded Williams with a bolo knife. The other 11 porters were placed under arrest when Williams' command reached Lanang.

After an investigation, Waller ordered the summary execution, without trial, of the eleven Filipino porters for treason, theft, disobedience and general mutiny. Ten were shot in groups of three (one had been gunned down in the water attempting to escape) The bodies were left in the square as an example, until one evening under cover of darkness, some townspeople carried them off for a Christian burial.

Waller's Marine Battalion on Samar was relieved by U.S. Army units on 26 February 1902. He and his Battalion left Samar on 29 February, returning to Cavite on 2 March, 1902.

Waller reported the executions to Smith, as he had reported every other event. "It became necessary to expend eleven prisoners. Ten who were implicated in the attack on Lieutenant Williams and one who plotted against me." Smith passed Waller's report to General Adna Chaffee. For some reason, Chaffee decided to investigate these executions, despite General J. Franklin Bell and Colonel Jacob H. Smith having carried out similar executions on a much larger scale months before with no subsequent investigations.

Waller was tried for murder in ordering the execution of the eleven Filipino porters. A court martial began on March 17, 1902. The court-martial board consisted of 7 Army officers and 6 Marine Corps officers, led by U.S. Army General William H. Bisbee.

Major Henry P. Kingsbury, USA, the prosecutor, read the charge and specification.

CHARGE: Murder, in violation of the 58th Article of War.
SPECIFICATION: In that Major Littleton W.T. Waller, United States Marine Corps, being then and there detached for service with the United States Army by authority of the President of the United States, did, in time of war, willfully and feloniously and with malice aforethought, murder and kill eleven men, names unknown, natives of the Philippine Islands, by ordering and causing his subordinate officer under his command, John Horace Arthur Day, 1st Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, and a firing detail of enlisted men under his said command, to take out said eleven men and shoot them to death, which said order was then and there carried into execution and said eleven natives, and each of them, were shot with rifles, from the effects of which they then and there died.
This at Basey, Island of Samar, Philippine Islands, on or about the 20th day of January, 1902.

Waller's attorney, Commander Adolph Marix, USN, first argued, unsuccessfully, that the Army had no jurisdiction over him, as he was still under Marine Corps command. From the court martial transcript:

"The specification does not allege that Major Waller is now detached for service with the United States Army, nor does it allege that due process against him for the offence was instituted before he was detached from the Army. The charge does not, therefore, represent a case within the jurisdiction of the Army court martial." In other words, Marix said, the Army did not charge Waller when he was assigned to them, and he is not assigned to them any longer.

"The charges brought against Major Waller were handed to him on March 4th, and constitute the first process against him. This was several days after he was detached from the Army ... the jurisdiction was therefore voluntarily surrendered."

"The plea is that the defendant is not subject to the jurisdiction of this court", General Bisbee noted.

"We want to know whether there is any possible written or other evidence from the President of the United States placing him on detached duty with the Army, and thereby placing him within the province of this court."

"I can have them here tomorrow morning", the prosecutor responded, and next day he submitted in evidence a series of telegrams between Admiral Rogers and General Chaffee in which the offer of three hundred Marines for service with the Sixth Brigade is made and accepted. "The Marines were serving in Samar by order of the President. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy knew they were there." Besides, Major R. N. Getty had been assigned to investigate the shootings at Basey, and had so advised Waller before the Marine battalion was detached from Sixth Brigade on 19 February."

Not sufficient, Marix responded. "Legal proceedings are defined clearly ... the accused has a right to be present, the witnesses sworn, and be represented by counsel. Nothing of the kind happened in this case. An inspector is not a judicial officer."

General Bisbee decided that the court was without jurisdiction in the case, but left open the possibility of reversing himself if instructions were received from the office of the Adjutant General of the Army.

On 21 March, the instructions arrived. The Assistant Adjutant General noted that the Commanding General of the Philippine Department (General Arthur MacArthur) had ordered a preliminary examination of the case, with a view to legal action, before Waller was relieved of duty with the Army. Waller assisted in Major Getty’s investigation, and was questioned by him, so he had to know that he was a party to the proceedings. Besides, a “brief lapse of jurisdiction” cannot mitigate a murder charge.

General Bisbee “now decides that (the court) has jurisdiction and directs that the case proceed to trial.” Waller enters his plea:

To the specification - Guilty, except to the words “willfully and feloniously and with malice aforethought, murder and” - to those words, not guilty. To the charge - Not Guilty

Waller did not use Smith's orders "I want all persons killed" to justify his deed, instead relying on the rules of war and provisions of a Civil War General Order Number 100 that authorized "exceeding force", much as J. Franklin Bell had successfully done months before. Waller's counsel had rested his defense.

The prosecution then decided to call General Smith as a rebuttal witness. On April 7, 1902, in sworn testimony, Smith denied that he had given any special verbal orders to Waller. Waller then produced three officers, who corroborated Waller's version of the Smith-Waller conversation, and copies of every written order he had received from Smith, Waller informed the court he had been directed to take no prisoners and to kill every male Filipino over age 10.

During the trial, American newspapers, including his hometown newspaper in Philadelphia, nicknamed Waller the "Butcher of Samar".

The court martial board voted 11-2 for acquittal of Waller. Later, the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General dismissed the entire case, agreeing that a Marine Corps officer was not subject to an Army court.

As as result of evidence introduced at the Waller trial, General Smith was then court martialed, convicted, and admonished; President Roosevelt personally ordered his dismissal from the army.

Read more about this topic:  Littleton Waller

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