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<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-19/william-walter-grayson.webp" alt="Private William Walter Grayson" loading="lazy" />
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(Private William Walter Grayson)
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Very few Filipinos remember his name and in most Philippine history books, his name is a footnote or is not even mentioned. For a man responsible for a war that killed between 14,200 to 24,200 soldiers with a 200,000-250,000 civilian casualties, Private Grayson remains one of history's least-remembered personalities.
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He was born on April 9, 1876 in England to William L. Grayson and Sarah A. Grayson. He was only four years old when he left England aboard the ship SS Helvetia. He, his mother, and a brother, John, arrived in New York on April 6, 1880, his father arrived earlier. They settled in Nebraska and before enlisting in the army, William Junior worked as a hostler, taking care of horses at inns and stables. He enlisted on May 10, 1898, when war broke out between Spain and the United States. Within two months, he was in the Philippines.
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Grayson's unit, the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry under Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, had been encamped in Santa Mesa, Manila, since December 5, 1898.
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On the morning of February 4, 1899, Stotsenburg said:
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"Your orders are to hold the village. If any armed men come into our lines order them out. If they persist in coming, summon enough men to arrest them. In case an advance in force is made, fall back to the pipeline outpost and resist the occupation of the village by all means in your power, calling on these headquarters for assistance."
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On the evening of February 4, Grayson and another Nebraskan private, Orville Miller, were on duty on Sociega Street in Santa Mesa, Manila, when they heard a whistling. Tensions were high between the Americans and locals then, and the two privates thought the whistling was a signal by insurgents. Grayson claimed that they saw a Filipino soldier appear and he told him to halt. When the Filipino did not stop advancing, Grayson decided to shoot. Upon seeing another Filipino, Grayson once more fired a shot. Both Filipinos were killed, with Grayson reporting later that "he got his second Filipino that time". 
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Private William Walter Grayson - The man responsible for starting the Philippine-American War