Jacob H. Smith

Jacob H. Smith
Jacob H. Smith
Birth name	Jacob Hurd Smith
Nickname(s)	"Howling Jake"
Born	January 29, 1840; Jackson County, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 1, 1918 (aged 78); San Diego, California, U.S.
Allegiance	United States; Union
Service/branch	United States Army; Union Army
Years of service	1861–1902
Rank	Brigadier General
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Shiloh (WIA); ; American Indian Wars; Spanish–American War; Philippine–American War;
Awards	Brevet promotion: Major (1867); Brevet promotion: Colonel (1898); Civil War Campaign Medal; Indian Campaign Medal ; Spanish Campaign Medal; Army of Cuban Occupation Medal; Philippine Campaign Medal

General Jacob Hurd Smith (January 29, 1840 – March 1, 1918) was a U.S. Army officer notorious for ordering indiscriminate retaliation on the island of Samar in response to what is called the Balangiga massacre during the Philippine–American War.^[1]^[2]

Smith's plan involved stopping the flow of food and causing extensive destruction in order to make the people of Samar abandon their support for the rebels out of fear and malnutrition and turn to the Americans instead.^[3] He ordered, "kill everyone over the age of ten [and make the island] a howling wilderness."^[4]^[5] Court-martialed for his conduct of operations on Samar,^[1] he was dubbed "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith, "The Monster", and "Howling Jake" by the press as a result.^[6] Most estimates are that American soldiers killed between 2,000 and 2,500 civilians. Some Filipino historians put the number as high as 5,000 civilians.^[7] Some sources place the death toll as high as 50,000,^[8]^[9] but these are now believed to have resulted from typographical errors and misreading of documents.^[10]

During the massacre, American soldiers killed military-age males, but simply ignored most of the women and children. At times, they ignored Smith's orders outright and took male prisoners. This was due to Smith's subordinate, Littleton Waller, partly revoking the order and telling the troops to show restraint.^[11]

^ ^a ^b "Jacob F. Smith."(2010). Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
^ Cite error: The named reference bradley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference nebrida was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Miller 1984, p. 220
^ PBS documentary "Crucible of Empire"; Ten days after President William McKinley's death, the residents of Balangiga, a tiny village 400 miles southeast of Manila, attacked the local U.S. garrison. While U.S. soldiers ate breakfast, the church bells rang a signal. Filipinos brandishing machetes emerged from their hiding places. Forty-eight Americans, two-thirds of the garrison, were butchered, in what is called the Balangiga massacre. On the orders of General Jacob H. Smith, U.S. troops retaliated against the entire island of Samar where Balangiga is located. The exchange is known because of two courts-martial: one of Waller, who was later court-martialed for ordering or allowing the execution of a dozen Filipino bearers, and the other of Gen. Jacob H. Smith, who was actually court-martialed for giving that order. The jury is out to the extent that order was carried out, because Littleton Waller actually countermanded it to his own men and said "Captain David Porter, I've had instructions to kill everyone over ten years old. But we are not making war on women and children, only on men capable of bearing arms. Keep that in mind no matter what other orders you receive." Undoubtedly, some men did commit atrocities regardless of Waller's commands.
^ "The Bells of Balangiga Revisited" (Interview). www.philnews.com. 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
^ Fritz 1979, p. 186
^ Duka, C.D. (2008). Struggle for Freedom' 2008 Ed. Rex Book Store. p. 198. ISBN 978-971-23-5045-0.
^ Gaido, D. (2006). The Formative Period of American Capitalism: A Materialist Interpretation. Routledge International Studies in Business History. Taylor & Francis. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-134-22200-1.
^ Bartrop, P.R.; Jacobs, S.L. (2014). Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection [4 volumes]: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO. p. 1983. ISBN 978-1-61069-364-6.
^ Miller 1984, p. 220.

[Britannica_Smith-1] "Jacob F. Smith."(2010). Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2010-09-30.

[bradley-2] Cite error: The named reference bradley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[nebrida-3] Cite error: The named reference nebrida was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Miller 1984, p. 220

[5] PBS documentary "Crucible of Empire"; Ten days after President William McKinley's death, the residents of Balangiga, a tiny village 400 miles southeast of Manila, attacked the local U.S. garrison. While U.S. soldiers ate breakfast, the church bells rang a signal. Filipinos brandishing machetes emerged from their hiding places. Forty-eight Americans, two-thirds of the garrison, were butchered, in what is called the Balangiga massacre. On the orders of General Jacob H. Smith, U.S. troops retaliated against the entire island of Samar where Balangiga is located. The exchange is known because of two courts-martial: one of Waller, who was later court-martialed for ordering or allowing the execution of a dozen Filipino bearers, and the other of Gen. Jacob H. Smith, who was actually court-martialed for giving that order. The jury is out to the extent that order was carried out, because Littleton Waller actually countermanded it to his own men and said "Captain David Porter, I've had instructions to kill everyone over ten years old. But we are not making war on women and children, only on men capable of bearing arms. Keep that in mind no matter what other orders you receive." Undoubtedly, some men did commit atrocities regardless of Waller's commands.

[6] "The Bells of Balangiga Revisited" (Interview). www.philnews.com. 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2014.

[young-7] Fritz 1979, p. 186

[8] Duka, C.D. (2008). Struggle for Freedom' 2008 Ed. Rex Book Store. p. 198. ISBN 978-971-23-5045-0.

[9] Gaido, D. (2006). The Formative Period of American Capitalism: A Materialist Interpretation. Routledge International Studies in Business History. Taylor & Francis. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-134-22200-1.

[10] Bartrop, P.R.; Jacobs, S.L. (2014). Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection [4 volumes]: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection. ABC-CLIO. p. 1983. ISBN 978-1-61069-364-6.

[FOOTNOTEMiller1984220-11] Miller 1984, p. 220.

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Jacob H. Smith

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