General Lacson's Army
During the final year of the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, when the country was in transition to American rule, the Filipino forces in Negros Occidental saw the opportunity to wrest control of the province from the Spanish.
General Aniceto Lacson and General Juan Araneta's forces had surrounded the city of Bacolod. General Lacson approached the Spanish Governor-General and asked him to surrender the province peacefully as his heavily armed men had the Spanish garrison surrounded.
For maximum effect, the two generals massed their troops in such a way that they were visible from the city's bell tower. The Spanish Governor-General peered through his binoculars and was surprised to see the extent to which the Filipino troops were armed. His intelligence sources had told him that the Filipino troops were poorly armed yet all the troops he saw carried rifles and there were quite a number of cannons aimed in his general direction. General Lacson intimated that the Americans were now supplying his troops with weapons.
The Spanish commander decided to surrender the province peacefully. Click here to see a copy of the Document of Surrender
After the surrender formalities, the Filipno troops approached the city. The Spanish official was surprised at what he saw. It turned out that the "rifles" were bamboo poles and the "cannons" were banana trees that were mounted on wheels.
Soon after, Gen. Lacson proclaimed that Negros Occidental was to be an independent state. The Americans, who had by now assumed control of the entire country from the Spanish, weren't too pleased. They sent a naval force to Negros to engage the Filipinos. An American naval ship filled with soldiers soon appeared along the Negros coastline and upon seeing that they had REAL rifles and REAL artillery, General Lacson opted not to fight.
General Lacson, along with a few of his unarmed men, greeted the Americans as they landed on the beach. The Americans were apparently lost as they asked him if he knew the location of the rebels. He proceeded to tell them that the rebels were further south. Just then, one of the American sailors recognized him and he was placed under arrest.