Liwasang Bonifacio, photo by Ramon F Velasques

Places of Interest: Philippines

Plaza Lawton

Remember what was once Plaza Lawton? It was named in honor of an American army captain named Henry Lawton who took part in the capture of Apache warrior Geronimo. But that was not the reason the Manila plaza was named after him.

The reason was that during the Philippine American War, Lawton, now a major general, was the highest American officer casualty when he was shot dead by one of Filipino general Licerio Geronimo’s soldiers.

A century and twenty-five years ago, on September 6, 1886, the American Indian Geronimo surrendered to Lawton’s men in 1886. Thirteen years later, in 1899, another Indian, this time a Filipino soldier under the command of another Geronimo, shot and killed Lawton.

This is your history trivia for today.

Fred Natividad
Livonia, Michigan