Corregidor

Corregidor Island (Tagalog: Pulo ng Corregidor [kɔˈɾɛhidɔr]) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically been fortified with coastal artillery to defend the entrance of Manila Bay and Manila from attacks by enemy warships. Located 48 kilometres (30 mi) inland, Manila has been the largest city and the most important seaport in the Philippines for centuries, from the colonial rule of Spain, Japan and the United States, to the establishment of the Philippines in 1946.

For other uses, see Corregidor (disambiguation).
Corregidor
Corregidor
Location within the Philippines
Geography
LocationManila Bay
Coordinates14°23′8″N 120°34′23″E
ArchipelagoPhilippine Islands
Area5.49 km2 (2.12 sq mi)
Length6.5 km (4.04 mi)
Width2.0 km (1.24 mi)
Highest elevation589 ft (179.5 m)
Highest point(Topside), a plateau
Administration
ProvinceCavite[1]
CityCavite City[1]
Demographics
Ethnic groupsTagalog

Corregidor (Fort Mills) is the largest of the islands that formed the harbor defenses of Manila Bay, together with El Fraile Island (Fort Drum), Caballo Island (Fort Hughes) and Carabao Island (Fort Frank), which were all fortified during the American colonial period. The island was also the site of a small military airfield, as part of the defense.

During World War II, Corregidor played an important role during the invasion and liberation of the Philippines from Japanese forces. The island was heavily bombarded during the latter part of the war, and the ruins serve as a military memorial to American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers who served or lost their lives on the battlefield. Corregidor is one of the important historic and tourist sites in the country.

Geography
Corregidor Island and the entrance to Manila Bay.

Despite being located nearer to the southern coast of Bataan, Corregidor and the other fortified islands of Manila Bay fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Cavite, Cavite province.[1][2][3] Corregidor, also known as "The Rock" for its rocky landscape and the heavy fortifications, along with Caballo Island, about 1.7 km (1.1 mi) south, divide the entrance of Manila Bay into the North and South Channel.

The tadpole-shaped island, with its tail running eastward, is about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long, about 2.0 km (1.2 mi) wide at its widest with a total land area of about 900 hectares (2,200 acres). The highest elevation is at 180 m (590 ft) on the Topside.[4] The island is divided into four sections:

Topside

The island's biggest area, which points towards the West Philippine Sea, rises prominently to a large flat area that is called "Topside". Beneath this was the fortified communications center of the island, as well as the location for the Army headquarters, barracks for enlisted men, a branch of the Philippine Trust Co. bank, the Cine Corregidor movie theater, officers' quarters, underground ordnance shops, the parade ground, an Officers' Club with a 9-hole Golf Course, tennis courts, and swimming pool, and the bulk of the artillery batteries that constituted the strength of Corregidor.

Middleside

Middleside is a small plateau that interrupts the upward slope from Bottomside to Topside, and was the location of 2-story officers' quarters, barracks for the enlisted men, a hospital, quarters for non-commissioned officers, a service club, PX, and two schoolhouses—one for the children of Filipino soldiers and the other for American children.

Bottomside
Bottomside in 1982

Bottomside is the lower part of the island and is the neck that connects the tail and head of the island. South of Bottomside was Barangay or Barrio San José (near what was Navy Beach); on the north is what was Army Dock, with its three large piers, and, east of Bottomside, is the Malinta Tunnel. The Malinta Hill separates Bottomside from the Tail End.[5]

Tailside

The Tailside or Tail End is not a given name, but it is the remaining portion of the island where different memorials, shrines and the island's airstrip are located. Kindley Field was constructed in the early 1920s and named in honor of an early hero of the U.S. Army Air Corps. The airfield was operated then by the army, and the navy had a seaplane base. The short runway, cramped and hilly terrain had limited its use.[6] [7][8]

Geology

Corregidor and Caballo islands are remnants of a volcanic crater, the Corregidor Caldera, which was last active about one million years ago. However, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) still classifies Corregidor as a potentially active volcano.[9]

History

Spanish colonial era

The island came under Spanish sovereignty on May 19, 1570, when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and his forces arrived in Manila Bay. Legazpi was authorized by the Spanish Crown to establish the capital of the Philippines in Manila, and convert the Muslims in Luzon and Mindanao to Christianity. Corregidor was used as a support site for the nine Spanish galleons used during the campaign.

Under Spanish rule, Corregidor served not only as a fortress of defense, a penal institution, and a station for Customs inspection, but also as a signal outpost to warn Manila of the approach of hostile ships. Corregidor comes from the Spanish word corregir, meaning "to correct." One story states that the island was called Isla del Corregidor (literally, Island of the Corrector) due to the Spanish customs system, wherein all ships entering Manila Bay were required to stop and have their documents checked and "corrected". Another version claims that the island was used as a penitentiary or correctional institution by the Spanish government, and thus came to be called El Corregidor.[10] Corregidor is also a specific position of authority within the former Spanish administrative structure, who is the head of the territorial unit known as Corregimiento. The institution of administrative districts called Corregimientos (with the chief, "El Corregidor") was in use throughout Spanish America and the Philippines. Just as an example, in the Philippines had "corregidores" in charge of Bataan and Zambales, among others.[11] "Isla del Corregidor", the old name of the place, literally means "Corregidor's island".

On November 23, 1574, the Chinese pirate Limahong and his 65 vessel fleet with 3,000 men anchored between Corregidor and Mariveles. From that site he launched two successive attacks against Manila, commanded either by Limahong himself or the Japanese Sioco. Both of them failed their purpose before a fierce battle defense led by the governor Juan de Salcedo.

In November and December 1600, the surroundings of Corregidor Island were used as an anchorage by the Dutchman Olivier van Noort. His ships Mauritius and Eendracht were engaged in piratical activities on the sailing route to and from Manila. This situation was dealt with after the naval combat of Fortune Island on December 14, 1600. As a result, Spain lost its ship San Diego but captured the Dutch sailing boat Eendracht and Oliver van Noort retreated from the Philippines.

As a consequence of these events, and also to prevent sudden attack by the Muslims from Mindanao, a watch vessel was posted at Corregidor to control the entrance to the bay. According to data from 1637, this vessel had a crew of twenty men, who were paid 540 pesos a year for this task.

Corregidor Island was taken over by the Dutch in June 1647 and from there they launched an offensive against Cavite which was repelled by the Spanish garrison, under the command of Andre Lopez de Azalduigui. However, the Dutchmen would remain in the island for seven more months as it served them well as an operations base from which to intercept Chinese merchant traffic in the vicinity of Luzon and Cebu. Finally they withdrew with little of their expectations fulfilled.

During the invasion of Manila and Cavite in October 1762 by the Royal Navy and the British Army under Admiral Cornish and General Draper, Corregidor was used as an anchorage for warships, particularly HMS Panther and the captured warship, the Spanish galleon Santisima Trinidad, during November 1762.

The arrival of the Spanish fleet, led by General Ignacio Mario de Alava, with the mission to place the Philippine Islands on alert, did not affect the fortunes of Corregidor Island. He limited his activity to the setting up of a naval station at Cavite.

On January 18, 1853, the Corregidor Island Lighthouse was first lit on the highest part of the island to mark the entrance of Manila Bay to vessels coming in from the South China Sea. The Spanish government built the Second-Order light, which is situated 639 feet (195 m) above sea level and visible for 20 miles (32 km).[12]

Spanish–American War

Corregidor Island was included in the Philippines defense plan prepared in 1885 by General Cerero, but no action was taken to implement it. When the U.S. Navy's attack was thought to be imminent, a 12 cm gun of the "Hontoria System", which came from the Spanish Navy's cruiser Antonio de Ulloa, and two shorter 12 cm guns of the same caliber from the Spanish gunboat General Lezo, were installed on the rocky island of El Fraile. On Caballo Island, south of Corregidor, the Spanish army installed three 15 cm naval guns from the Spanish navy cruiser Velasco, which was undergoing repairs.[13]

At midnight on the night of 30 April to 1 May 1898, U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey led his naval squadron, with his flag hoisted on board the protected cruiser USS Olympia, eastward along the southern coast of Corregidor Island, beyond the reach of Spanish batteries and with no navigational lights on, preparing to fight the Battle of Manila Bay.

At a distance about one mile off El Fraile, Dewey's fleet changed course to the northeast, steaming towards Manila. When they were discovered, the Spaniards fired from El Fraile's artillery. An American response followed immediately, first by USS McCulloch and then by USS Boston, USS Raleigh and USS Concord. Since the flotilla's speed was ten knots, they were soon far away from the Spanish batteries. Dewey sailed for Cavite where he destroyed the naval forces of Admiral Montojo.

Once the Cavite shipyard was subdued by means of a stipulated pact, two American ships went ashore at Corregidor Island on the 3rd of May forcing the Spaniards on the island to surrender. Colonel Garces, chief of the coast batteries at the entrance of Manila Bay, and the island's governor, First Class Naval Lieutenant Augusto Miranda, were urged to come to terms with the Americans, and so they did. Therefore, Miranda remained on the island with only 100 soldiers under the Spanish flag; Garces and officers under his command, as well as 292 men with their weapons and ammunition, were transferred to Mariveles port. From there they moved through the provinces of Bataan and Pampanga until they reached Manila on 5 May. There they joined the Spanish navy battalion which was already quartered in Sampaloc.

On 4 May, the American ships opened fire against the 100 men who, according to the pact, had been left on Corregidor and demanded the garrison forces be reduced to 25 men. The Spanish governor consulted Manila authorities, and they ordered the evacuation of the island. The troops were sent to Naic, Cavite on boats while the island's governor was transferred to the American cruiser USS Baltimore and became a prisoner with his family. The Americans offered to free him but the governor rejected this. Shortly afterwards, he was disembarked in Balanga, Bataan. In this way the Spanish presence on Corregidor Island, which had lasted 328 years, came to an end.

A cannon that had guarded the residence of the Spanish colonial governor on Corregidor, the Dewey Cannon, was taken as a prize of war to the United States. It was later awarded to the rural town of Three Oaks, Michigan, where it was remounted as a historical display.[14]

American colonial period
The entrance to Malinta Tunnel

In 1902, the island was organized as an American military reservation. In 1903, a convalescent hospital was established by the United States Army.

The Board of Fortifications chaired by William H. Taft recommended that key harbors of territories acquired after the Spanish–American War be fortified.[15] Consequently, Corregidor was fortified and incorporated into the harbor defenses Manila and Subic Bays. In 1908, a Regular Army post was established on the island, designated as Fort Mills, in honor of Brigadier General Samuel Meyers Mills, Jr., Chief of Artillery of the U.S. Army from 1905 to 1906. By early 1909, H Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Corps of Engineers was assigned to Corregidor and started on the construction of concrete emplacements, bomb-proof shelters, and trails at various parts of the island. This pioneer engineer company left Fort Mills on March 15, 1912. All or part of 35 different numbered Coast Artillery Corps companies served tours at Fort Mills between 1909 and 1923.

The defense of Corregidor was the immediate responsibility of the Philippine Coast Artillery Command, commanded by Major General George F. Moore at the start of World War II. Stationed on the island after the return to the regimental system in 1924 were the following regular units:

In addition to Fort Mills; the army post on Caballo Island was named Fort Hughes; on El Fraile, Fort Drum; and on Carabao Island, Fort Frank. According to the war plan, these forts could withstand a six-month-long siege, after which the United States would provide aid. The fortifications on Corregidor were designed solely to withstand seaborne attack. Though American military planners realized that airplanes would render Fort Mills obsolete, the United States was restricted from improving the fortifications by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. In 1932–1934, the U.S. Army constructed the Malinta Tunnel, with its series of related laterals, to protect its military stores and vital installations in the event of war.

Fort Mills's defense installations had cost the U.S. government more than $150 million, which did not include the expense of fortifying the neighboring islands of Caballo, Carabao, and El Fraile.

Infrastructure

There were 65 miles (105 km) of paved roads and trails on the island and 19.5 miles (31.4 km) of electric railroad track. The latter were used largely to haul heavy equipment and ammunition from Bottomside to the different Batteries. The Corregidor High School was where children of both Filipino and American servicemen assigned on the island studied. The island also had an electric trolley system as public transport, a movie house (Cine Corregidor), a baseball field and a swimming pool. The business and social center of this community was found on Topside.

Water supply

Before the war and during the siege, Corregidor depended on Bataan for most of its potable water. For this purpose, barges were used to haul water either from Mariveles or Cabcaben, Bataan.

World War II

During World War II, Corregidor was the site of two costly sieges and pitched battles—the first during the first months of 1942, and the second in January 1945—between the Imperial Japanese Army and the U.S. Army, along with its smaller subsidiary force, the Philippine Army.

Surrender of U.S. forces at the Malinta Tunnel May 6, 1942

During the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42), the Japanese Army invaded Luzon from the north (at Lingayen Gulf) in early 1942 and attacked Manila from its landward side. The American and Filipino troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, retreated into the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila Bay. The fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) to the invading Japanese forces on Luzon in the northern Philippines. They were forced to surrender due to the lack of food and ammunition, leaving only Corregidor and its adjacent islets at Manila Bay as the only areas in the region under U.S. control.

Between December 24, 1941 and February 19, 1942, Corregidor was the temporary location for the Government of the Philippines. On December 30, 1941, outside the Malinta Tunnel, Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña were inaugurated respectively as President and Vice-President of the Philippines Commonwealth for a second term. General Douglas MacArthur also used Corregidor as Allied headquarters until March 11, 1942. The Voice of Freedom, the radio station of USAFFE broadcast from Corregidor, including the famous announcement of the fall of Bataan. In April 1942, one battalion of the Fourth Marines was sent to reinforce the island's beach defenses.

The Battle of Corregidor was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. The fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay were the remaining obstacle to the 14th Japanese Imperial Army of Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma. The American and Filipino soldiers on Corregidor and the neighboring islets held out against the Japanese to deny the use of Manila Bay, but the Japanese Army brought heavy artillery to the southern end of Bataan, and proceeded to blockade Corregidor. Japanese troops forced the surrender of the remaining American and Filipino forces on May 6, 1942, under the command of Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright.

The battle for the recapture of Corregidor occurred between 16 and 26 February 1945, in which American and Filipino forces recaptured the island fortress from Japanese soldiers. Col. Leroy M. Edwards burned $20,000,000 in currency on Corregidor in 1942 and hid other millions in silver from the Japanese so thoroughly it still hasn't been found. The silver was hidden deep in a tunnel, which then was mined. Since the war, several Filipinos have lost their lives trying to find it. [16]

Fortifications
The fortifications on Corregidor

There were 23 batteries installed on Corregidor, consisting of 56 coastal defense guns and mortars. In addition, Corregidor had 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns (28 3-inch and 48 .50-caliber) and 10 60-inch Sperry searchlights.

The longest-range coastal pieces were the two 12-inch (305 mm) guns of Batteries Hearn and Smith, with a horizontal range of 29,000 yards (27,000 m). Although capable of an all around traverse, these guns, due to their flat trajectories, were not effective for use against targets on Bataan, as their maximum elevation was 35 degrees.

During the siege, the island had ample armor-piercing ammunition but very little of the anti-personnel type, which then was of greatest demand for use against land targets on Bataan. In fact, most of the anti-personnel shells were only for the 12-inch mortars of Batteries Way and Geary.

Battery Monja

Battery Monja is located on Wheeler Point. It was operated by Battery G of the 92nd Coast Artillery Regiment, Philippine Scouts. The battery had two French 155mm GPF cannon, both of which were hidden in the sides of the island's bluffs. One gun was commanded by 2LT Robert L. Obourn, who claimed that, towards the end of the battle, "You could see the shells wobble towards the [enemy] ships. Our guns were reduced to nothing more than muskets." Obourn's gun was struck and destroyed on 28 April 1942, killing 2 of his gunners. The remaining crew of Battery Monja continued to fight against the Japanese as guerrillas until 18 July 1942. Only 6 men, including Lt. Obourn, survived their capture. The 5 enlisted men that were serving as gunners for the battery attempted to escape from their temporary prison camp two days after capture; they all were killed during their attempted escape.

Battery Way
Main article: Battery Way

Battery Way, named for Lt. Henry N Way, which along with Battery Geary, was the mainstay of the Corregidor Garrison during the Japanese invasion. Its four 12-inch (305 mm) mortars, capable of a 360-degree traverse, could fire on land targets at Bataan. They brought the most destruction on Japanese positions during the attempted landings on the southwest coast of Bataan late in January to the middle of February 1942. These mortars were silenced by enemy shelling in May 1942.

Battery Geary

Battery Geary was a battery of eight 13-ton, 12-inch (305 mm) mortars. Defiladed in a hollow on Corregidor's Southern coast it was fairly well protected from Japanese shelling. However, on January 6, 1942, under the command of Capt. Ben Ewing King, a Japanese bomb landed in a makeshift temporary bunker killing 31 of Battery Geary's NCOs and canoneers. Early in the morning of January 26 Battery Geary opened fire on a unit of Japanese soldiers near Longaskawayan Point on the west side of the Bataan Peninsula. This was the first time fixed coastal artillery had fired at an enemy since the close of the Civil War. Although the fire was considered accurate and effective Col. Bunker decided to replace Capt. King and he was sent to perform the duties of fort XO and to command HQ Battery on Ft. Drum. He was replaced at Battery Geary by Capt. Thomas W. Davis. Later, this battery was pinpointed by the Japanese artillery and was subjected to heavy shelling. One direct hit by a 240-mm shell, which detonated the magazines of this battery in May 2, 1942, proved to be the most crippling shot during the entire siege of Corregidor. This explosion tossed the fifty ton barrel of the mortar around, one to a distance of 150 yards (140 m), another was blown through three feet of reinforced concrete wall into the adjoining powder magazine of Battery Crockett. Large chunks of steel were blown as far as the Malinta Tunnel, killing 27 of the battery crew instantly. Also, one mortar still had a live round in its breech, and it was in the process of firing the shell when the magazine was hit. That live round, of anti-personnel type, still lies within the breach of the mortar.

Aerial view of the ruins

Corregidor today
Eternal Flame of Freedom

After the War, many people, most of them veterans, visited the island because of its history. Today, Corregidor is a historic monument as well as a tourist destination. Many travel companies offer day tours on the island featuring military installations used during World War II. Most of the war-ravaged buildings have not been restored, and left as they were after the war in reverence to the Filipino and American soldiers who died there.

Pacific War Memorial
Marker of the Pacific War Memorial

Standing on the highest part of Corregidor's Topside is the Pacific War Memorial, which was built by the United States Government to honor the Filipino and American soldiers who participated in World War II. It was completed in 1968 at the cost of three million dollars. The major memorial structure is a rotunda with a circular altar directly under the dome's oculus through which light falls on the altar during daylight hours. Light lands directly on the altar on May 5 at exactly 12 noon, in commemoration of the surrender of the troops stationed there and the courage they exhibited over 72 days of bombing. Located behind the Memorial is the Eternal Flame of Freedom, a 40 feet (12 m) Corten steel structure commissioned to Aristides Demetrios symbolizing freedom.[17]

Malinta Tunnel

The Malinta Tunnel, which is the last stronghold of the joint Philippine and American military prior to the Japanese takeover during the World War II, is now home to an audio-visual presentation by National Artist Lamberto V. Avellana of the events that took place on the island, including the reluctant departure of General Douglas MacArthur and the evacuation of the Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon and his family to unoccupied areas of the Philippines and eventually in exile in the United States.[5]

Filipino Heroes Memorial

One of the most recent additions to Corregidor is the Filipino Heroes Memorial located in the Tail End. This 6,000-square meter complex has 14 murals depicting heroic battles fought by Filipinos from the 15th century up to the present day. It was designed by Francisco Mañosa, while the murals and a statue of a Filipino guerrilla were sculpted by Manuel Casas. The complex was inaugurated by President Fidel V. Ramos on August 28, 1992.[6]

Japanese Garden of Peace

This garden was built as a memorial to the Japanese soldiers who served and died on the island during World War II. The park includes a praying area, shrines, markers and a small pavilion that houses photographs and memorabilia.[6]

Corregidor lighthouse
The Corregidor lighthouse

The lighthouse on Topside is one of the oldest landmarks in Corregidor, first lit in 1853. In 1897, the defective lighting apparatus was changed, extending the range to 33 miles (53 km). The grounds and keeper's dwellings were further improved during the American occupation. During World War II, the lighthouse was damaged during the siege of Corregidor. The lighthouse was totally reconstructed in the 1950s with a different design and stands on the same spot where the first lighthouse once stood. The whole lantern of the lighthouse was recently replaced by the Philippine Coast Guard to run on solar power.

Notable residents
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See also

References
Notes
  1. Layug, Benjamin (10 May 2015). "Ten things you may not know about Corregidor". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. "About Cavite City". Cavite City Library. Retrieved on 2012-06-07.
  3. Office of the Judge Advocate General, United States Army (1916). "United States Military Reservations, National Cemeteries and Military Parks", pp. 343-344. Government Printing Office, Washington.
  4. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1919). "United States Coast Pilot, Part 1", pg. 72. Government Printing Office, Washington.
  5. "Malinta Tunnel". Corregidor Island Web Site. Retrieved on 2011-03-09.
  6. "Corregidor Island's Geographic Sectors-Part 2". Corregidor Island Web Site. Retrieved on 2011-03-11.
  7. Hubbard, Charles M. and Davis Jr., Collis H.. "Corregidor in Peace and War", p.82. University of Missouri Press, Columbia and London, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8262-1712-7.
  8. Linn, Brian McAllister. "Guardians of Empire: The U.S. Army and the Pacific, 1902–1940", p.203. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1997. ISBN 0-8078-2321-X.
  9. "Corregidor". Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Retrieved on 2013-04-08.
  10. History, Corregidor Island.com.
  11. Felipe M. de Govantes. Compendio de la Historia de Filipinas. Manila, 1877, p.294 (in Spanish).
  12. "El Archipielago Filipino", pp.525-527. Washington: Impriento del Gobierno, 1900.
  13. Philippine forts at American Forts Network
  14. Miller, Randy (June 18, 1999). "Three Oaks' Dewey Cannon notes a blast from the past". The Herald-Palladium. St. Joseph, Michigan. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  15. McGovern, pp. 8
  16. Article found in old newspaper about Col. Leroy M. Edwards funeral services on March 21st..no year given.
  17. "Corregidor Island's Geographic Sectors-Part 1". Corregidor Island Web Site. Retrieved on 2011-03-11.
  18. "Calmes 2 - Corregidor Pre War". corregidor.org. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
Sources
  • Berhow, Mark A.; Terrance C. McGovern (2003). American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898–1945 (Fortress). Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-427-2.
  • Gerez, M. B. The Story of Corregidor.

Further reading
  • Graves, William (July 1986). "Corregidor Revisited". National Geographic. Vol. 170 no. 1. pp. 118–131. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
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