Jacob H. Smith

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Jacob Hurd Smith
General jacob smith2.jpg
Smith in Tacloban, Philippines, 1901
Nickname(s) "Howling Jake"
Born (1840-01-29)January 29, 1840
Died January 3, 1918(1918-01-03) (aged 77)
San Diego, California
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1861–1902
Rank US-O7 insignia.svg Brigadier General

American Civil War

Indian Wars
Spanish–American War
Philippine–American War

General Jacob Hurd Smith (January 29, 1840 – March 1, 1918) was a United States Army officer best known for ordering an indiscriminate retaliatory attack on a group of Filipinos during the Philippine–American War, in which American soldiers killed between 2,500 and 50,000 civilians.[1][2] His orders included, "kill everyone over the age of ten" and make the island "a howling wilderness."[3] Court-martialed for the incident,[1] he was dubbed "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith, "The Monster", and "Howling Jake" by the press as a result.[4]

Civil War and post-bellum[edit]

Smith enlisted early in the Civil War, but was disabled in the Battle of Shiloh. He tried to return to duty that summer, but the wound would not heal properly, so he became a member of the Invalid Corps, serving out the remainder of the Civil War as a mustering officer/recruiter in Louisville for three years. His service record states that he was good at recruiting "colored" troops.[citation needed]

While working in Louisville, he met and later married Emma L. Havrety in November 1864. After the war, he became a Veteran Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

In 1869, Smith's father-in-law, Daniel Havrety claimed bankruptcy. The lawyers for the bankruptcy court noticed a tremendous enlargement of Jacob Smith's assets while in Louisville, from $4,000 in 1862 to $40,000 in 1865. Smith admitted that he was involved in a brokerage scheme using bounty money for army recruits to finance a side business and speculations in whisky, gold, and diamonds. Smith said he receipted for a package sent via Express from New Orleans to Cleveland. The package came from his father-in-law and was addressed to Smith's mother-in-law. Smith later learned the package contained $13,000.[5]

Army judge advocate position[edit]

In 1869, Smith tried to get a temporary army judge advocate position converted into a permanent position. One of the parties in the bankruptcy case, John McClain, informed the Senate Committee on Military Affairs about Smith's bounty brokerage scheme.

Smith wrapped himself in the flag and argued to the committee that he had been in seven engagements and had been wounded in the Battle of Shiloh, and referring to himself said: "one who took upon himself all the odium that the rebels and conservatives of Louisville, Kentucky, heaped upon him, by being the first officer, to my knowledge, who commenced mustering into service the colored man in Kentucky during the year 1863."[citation needed] Smith said that he had scoured Kentucky's prison pens, jails, and workhouses to find these men and that his only aim was to serve his God and his country properly. Smith admitted to speculating, but justified it by saying that others had made three times as much money as he had in Louisville during the war, and he had not defrauded anyone.

His military superiors did not accept this excuse. So Smith wrote a more apologetic explanation, painting himself as a gullible dupe. Everyone who could substantiate his story had either died or left the country. Smith had also conveniently destroyed or lost all of his own bank account records for that period. Smith insisted he had not cheated any of the colored recruits out of their $300 bounty money/enlistment bonus.

Military officials did not believe Smith. Smith's temporary appointment as judge advocate was revoked by the President and it was recommended by Joseph Holt that the entire file of papers be sent to the Senate Committee. Holt mentioned by Smith's own testimony how Smith felt it was alright to mislead and deceive military auditors. "By his conflicting statements and his unfortunate explanation, he is placed in a dilemma full of embarrassment."[5]

Smith's further gaffes[edit]

In 1877, Smith responded to a written reprimand from his colonel with a disrespectful longhand response. Technically, the colonel could not censure Smith because he had been released from his command because of the incident that was being investigated. When Smith's company was marching away, the colonel indicated his displeasure. Smith's reply made fun of the colonel, saying he was like Prussian general von Moltke. Smith said the colonel's rebuke was like an "Irishman who was remonstrated for letting his wife whip him, and answered, 'It is fun for her, and don’t hurt me.'" The colonel notified Smith there would be a court-martial, and so Smith wrote the colonel a nasty letter. Smith was not court-martialed, and instead Major John Pope lectured Smith and recommended the whole affair be dropped since Smith had apologized.[6]

Legal problems[edit]

During the 1870s, Smith was called away from duty for several lawsuits for debt. One case dragged on in a Chicago court from 1869 to 1883.

Another creditor, named Henry, continued a claim against Smith for $7 for payment of a harness. The case dragged on from 1871 to 1901. Henry even sent a letter to President McKinley about Smith and his $7 debt.

On July 31, 1884, Smith was sued again in Chicago by the legal firm Pedrick and Dawson.

Smith was court martialed in 1885 in San Antonio for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman", for deeds in the "Mint Saloon" in Brackett, Texas. The opposing party claimed Smith had been playing a game of draw poker with M. S. Moore and C. H. Holzy a.k.a. Jiggerty, lost $135 to Moore, and refused to pay the debt. Smith was found guilty and was confined to Fort Clark for a year and forfeited half his pay for the same time period. The Reviewing Authority thought the court was too lenient on Smith. It also felt that Smith's courtroom tactics made a mockery of the legal procedure:

  • demanding witnesses from distant and impractical locations especially since he never actually used the witnesses in court,
  • local civilian witnesses for the plaintiff were intimidated so they refused to testify against Smith,
  • local civilian witnesses for the defense selectively decided which questions they would answer and which they would not.

While the draw poker case was still pending in 1885, Smith wrote a letter to the Adjutant General of the Army regarding the case, but many of the statements were lies. Because of this, Smith was tried again in 1886. He was found guilty, and would have been thrown out of the military. Smith was saved by the intercession of President Grover Cleveland, who allowed Smith to return to the military with merely a reprimand.

In 1891, Smith was charged with using enlisted men as his servants in his home.[6]

Philippine–American War[edit]

Smith with Major General Adna Chaffee in Tacoblan, Leyte, 1902

Smith was sent to the Philippines during the Philippine–American War.

Smith describes his tactics to the media[edit]

In December 1899, Jacob H. Smith (now a colonel) boastingly informed reporters in the Philippines that, because the natives were "worse than fighting Indians", he had already adopted appropriate tactics that he had learned fighting "savages" in the American West, without waiting for orders to do so from General Elwell S. Otis. This interview provoked a headline announcing that "Colonel Smith of 12th Orders All Insurgents Shot At Hand", and the New York Times endorsed Smith's tactics as "long overdue."[7]

Promotion by William Howard Taft[edit]

Because of Smith's bravery in Cuba during the Spanish–American War, William Howard Taft, who was the civilian governor of the Philippines, decided to promote Smith to Brigadier General with a caveat. Taft wrote, Smith "had reached a time when promotion to a Brigadier Generalship would worthily end his services, for I believe it is his intention to retire upon promotion." Smith was promoted, but he decided not to retire.

Starting in the late 1880s, the U.S. Army had adopted the system of filling each brigadier general position not by qualifications, but by mere seniority. The system usually gave elderly colonels a few more months, weeks or days of active duty with a new title, followed by nearly immediate retirement at a higher pay rate. Jacob Smith was slightly younger and his promotion to general was made earlier than typical; he had three years left until retirement became mandatory by law.[8]

Smith causes an uproar in Luzon[edit]

The violence of Spanish Dominican Friars of the Catholic Church were a principal cause of the Filipino revolution against Spain, and many friars were killed by the Filipino population.[9] American foreign policy was to stay strictly neutral in religious matters.

In September 1900, while Smith was the military governor of Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Zambales on Luzon, Smith intervened in a religious dispute in the village of Dagupan. Smith sided with a priest who was friendly with the friars. This caused an angry civilian uproar in central Luzon.[10]

Samar campaign[edit]

On September 28, 1901, fifty-one [2] American soldiers of Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment who had been stationed in the town of Balangiga, the third largest town on the southern coast of Samar Island were killed in a surprise guerrilla attack. They had been deployed to Balangiga to close its port and prevent supplies reaching Filipino forces in the interior,[11] which at that time were under the command of General Vicente Lukbán. Lukbán had been sent there in December 1898 to govern the island on behalf of the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo.[12]

The attack provoked shock in the U.S. public, with newspapers equating what they called a "massacre" to George Armstrong Custer's last stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Major General Adna R. Chaffee, military governor of the Philippines, received orders from President Theodore Roosevelt to pacify Samar. To this end, Chaffee appointed Smith to Samar to accomplish the task.

Smith's order "Kill Everyone Over Ten" became a caption in the New York Journal cartoon on May 5, 1902. The Old Glory draped an American shield on which a vulture replaced the bald eagle. The caption at the bottom proclaimed, "Criminals Because They Were Born Ten Years Before We Took the Philippines." Smith's conduct of this campaign eventually resulted in his court-martial.[1]

Smith instructed Major Littleton Waller, commanding officer of a battalion of 315 U.S. Marines assigned to bolster his forces in Samar, regarding the conduct of pacification:

Since it was a popular belief among the Americans serving in the Philippines that native males were born with bolos in their hands, Major Littleton "Tony" Waller asked, "I would like to know the limit of age to respect, sir."
"Ten years", Smith said.
"Yes." Smith confirmed his instructions a second time.[13][14][15]

A sustained and widespread massacre of Filipino civilians followed. Food and trade to Samar were cut off, intended to starve the revolutionaries into submission. Smith's strategy on Samar involved widespread destruction to force the inhabitants to stop supporting the guerrillas and turn to the Americans from fear and starvation. He used his troops in sweeps of the interior in search for guerrilla bands and in attempts to capture Philippine General Vicente Lukbán, but he did nothing to prevent contact between the guerrillas and the townspeople. American columns marched across the island, destroying homes and shooting people and draft animals.

The exact number of Filipino civilians killed by US troops will never be known. Littleton Waller, in a report, stated that over an eleven-day period his men burned 255 dwellings, shot 13 carabaos and killed 39 people.[16] An exhaustive research made by a British writer in the 1990s put the figure at about 2,500 dead; Filipino historians believe it to be around 50,000.[17]

The Judge Advocate General of the Army observed that only the good sense and restraint of the majority of Smith's subordinates prevented a complete reign of terror in Samar. However, the abuses were still sufficient to outrage anti-Imperialist groups in the United States when these became known in March 1902.

As a consequence of his order in Samar, Smith became known as "Howling Wilderness Smith."[18] However, it was known that Smith earned his sobriquet, "Hell-Roaring Jake" not due to his violence in war, but because of his penchant for making outrageous oaths and the extravagance of his language.

Waller's court-martial[edit]

A court martial began on March 17, 1902, of Major Littleton Waller, one of Smith's subordinates. Major Littleton Waller was being tried for ordering the execution of eleven mutinuous Filipino porters.[19]

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 Smith as a rebuttal witness. Smith was not above selling out Waller to save his career. On April 7, 1902, Smith perjured himself again by denying 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 10. This is how the infamous order became public.[20]

General Adna Chaffee, military governor of the Philippines, cabled the War Department requesting permission to keep Smith in the islands for a short time, since he feared that Smith, if given the opportunity to talk to reporters, could speak "absurdly unwise" and might say things contrary to the facts established in the case, "or act like an unbalanced lunatic."[10]

Smith's court-martial[edit]

In May 1902, Smith faced court-martial for his orders, being tried not for murder or other war crimes, but for "conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline". The court-martial found Smith guilty and sentenced him "to be admonished by the reviewing authority."

To ease the subsequent public outcry in America, Secretary of War Elihu Root recommended that Smith be retired. President Roosevelt accepted this recommendation, and ordered Smith's retirement from the Army, with no additional punishment.[5][21] General J. Franklin Bell was never investigated.[22]

Later life[edit]

Smith retired to Portsmouth, Ohio, doing some world traveling. He volunteered his military services by letter to the Adjutant General's Office on April 5, 1917, to fight in World War I, but was refused due to old age and because his atrocities in the Philippines had severely tarnished the image and reputation of the U.S. Military. He died the next year in San Diego on March 1, 1918,[8] and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Battle wounds[edit]

By his 1902 court-martial, Smith had been wounded in battle three times:

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c "Jacob F. Smith."(2010). Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  2. ^ a b Bradley, James (2009). The Imperial Cruise: a secret history of empire and war. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 122–127. ISBN 978-0-316-00895-2. 
  3. ^ Miller p. 220; PBS documentary "Crucible of Empire"; Philippine NewsLink interview with Bob Couttie author of "Hang the Dogs, The True and Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre" Ten days after President 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 (600 square miles) 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.
  4. ^ "The Bells of Balangiga Revisited" (Interview). www.philnews.com. 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2014. 
  5. ^ a b c d Fritz, p. 187
  6. ^ a b Fritz, p. 188-189
  7. ^ Miller p. 95; Death For Luzon Bandits; Guerrillas Caught by Col. Smith Will Be Shot or Hanged. Criminals Infest the Island Some American Officers Say the Campaign Is Worse Than Fighting Indians. New York Times, December 13, 15, 1899; San Francisco Call, August 28, 1899, January 11, 1900; Boston Evening Transcript, January 12, 1900
  8. ^ a b Fritz, p. 190
  9. ^ Wolff, Leon (1961). Little Brown Brother: How the United States purchased and pacified the Philippine Islands at the Century's Turn. Doubleday. ASIN: B0006AWZ6Q.  p. 25
  10. ^ a b Fritz, p. 189
  11. ^ "A Philippine Newslink Interview with Bob Couttie, Author of:Hang the Dogs, The True and Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre, page 1". Philippine Newslink. 2004-12-15. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
  12. ^ "A Philippine Newslink Interview with Bob Couttie, Author of:Hang the Dogs, The True and Tragic History of the Balangiga Massacre, page 2". Philippine Newslink. 2004-12-15. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
  13. ^ "President Retires Gen. Jacob H. Smith". The New York Times. 1902-07-17. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  14. ^ Melshen, Paul. "Littleton Waller Tazewell Waller". Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  15. ^ Miller, Stuart Creighton. Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899–1903. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  16. ^ Nebrida, Victor. "The Balangiga Massacre: Getting Even". Retrieved 2008-03-29. 
  17. ^ Dumindin, Arnaldo. "Philippine-American War, 1899–1902". Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
  18. ^ Karnow, Stanley. "Two Nations". Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
  19. ^ Miller, p. 226-8
  20. ^ Miller, p. 230-232; Fritz, p. 189
  21. ^ Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. (c) 2001, Random House: p. 127
  22. ^ Miller, p. 227 (See Littleton Waller)


  • Before the "Howling Wilderness": The Military Career of Jacob Hurd Smith, 1862–1902 David L. Fritz Military Affairs Vol. 43, No. 4 (December, 1979), pp. 187; "Most of the material for this article is derived from The Adjutant General's Office (AGO) 1890–1917, National Archives (NA), record group (RG) 94, File 309120 "Considerable older material is filed under the same numerical file number, but has the additional designation of S293CB1867."
  • Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899–1903, Stuart Creighton Miller, (Yale University Press, 1982).

Further reading[edit]

  • The Philippine "Lodge committee" hearings (A.K.A. Philippine Investigating Committee) and a great deal of documentation were published in three volumes (3000 pages) as S. Doc. 331, 57th Cong., 1st Session An abridged version of the oral testimony can be found in: American Imperialism and the Philippine Insurrection: Testimony Taken from Hearings on Affairs in the Philippine Islands before the Senate Committee on the Philippines—1902; edited by Henry F Graff; Publisher: Little, Brown; 1969. ASIN: B0006BYNI8