b'US Soldier Turned Rebel LeaderNote: There were four US regiments of BlackD avid Fagan (born 1875, date of death unknown),believedthathisdefectioncameinlightofcon-soldiers in the Philippines during the Philippine- was one of the Black soldiers in the Philippines,flicts with his White or Black superiors. For a year American War from February 4, 1899, until July 2,who deserted from the US ranks to fight alongsideandahalf,FagenledtroopsunderGeneralJos 1902. Many were outraged at the abuses and atti- Filipinos and "for two years wreaked havoc upon theAlejandrino. tude of the white soldiers toward the Filipinos. Americanforces"(Zinn).FagenHe eventually gained the rank of captain, and his remainsthemostfollowers called him "General Fagen." The New York By Heather Gray famousoftheTimes printed a front-page story on "General Fagen" Blacksol- after he captured a military steam launch near Araya diers to fightand escaped into the jungle with his men. American withthepropaganda attempted to picture Fagen as a mur-Filipinos.derer, stating that he routinely captured and killed He was fromAmericansoldiers.Twoformerprisonersfromthe T a m p a ,24th Infantry discounted these rumors. Florida.F a g e nTrooperGeorgeJacksonandWhiteLieutenant h a dFrederickAlstaetterbothstatedthattheywere g a i n e dtreated humanely, although Fagen stole Alstaetter\'s therankWestPointring.Shockingly,20Americansoldiers ofcorporaldefectedtohisside,BlackandWhite(Veterans inCompanyMilitary Research - New York). Iinthe24thFilipinoscholarDr.E.SanJuanwritesabout Infantry,andFagen and other Black soldiers:on November 17, 1899,defect- We know the names of seven of about twenty-nine ed.ItisAfrican Americans who deserted - their names have been expurgated from ordinary historical accounts. Deserters from the military are never mentioned in officialhistories,muchlessinapprovedtext-booksandgovernmentdocumentaries.Only FagenofCompanyIofthe24thInfantry seemstohavesurvivedincivicmemory because he joined the revolutionary army of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the beleaguered president of the first Philippine Republic. Fagen\'s courage and skill as a guerilla leaderearnedhimthetrustofhis Continued on Page 72 MARCH 2023 BOCNEWS.com'