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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources/del-pilar_and_troops-around-1898.webp"  alt="General Gregorio Del Pilar" />
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(Gregorio del Pilar and his troops, around 1898)
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General Del Pilar, confidante and right-hand man of General Emilio Aguinaldo, was ordered to block the Yankees' advance into Tirad Pass, a mountain gap in the Cordillera Mountains of Northern Luzon.
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He followed the order of General Aguinaldo to defend the pass to stop the Americans so the revolutionary leader could build a guerrilla force in Isabela beyond the Cordilleras
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Del Pilar asked his 60 men to position themselves on top of the mountain where, from their vantage point, they could see a whole battalion of 300 American soldiers advancing.
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Hence, Aguinaldo and his men were able to retreat safely to the north.
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Del Pilar gave encouragement to his men while watching the Americans coming within the range:
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 “This is the most glorious moment in our lives,” he said. “We are fighting for our motherland.”
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After sometime, the enemy stopped firing. The Filipino forces halted their fire too, thus the whole valley fell silent.
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However, unknown to Del Pilar and his men, a Filipino was leading a group of American soldiers to their rear. As he heard a volley of fire coming from the back, Del Pilar saw many of his soldiers fall one by one.
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Standing alone, he took out his diary from his breast pocket and wrote the following words:
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 ”What I am doing now is for my beloved land.”
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 After returning his diary to his pocket, he mounted his horse once more with saber in hand, but a single shot claimed the life of the young, brave general.
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December 2, 1899: the Battle of Tirad Pass took place