The Philippine–American War (1899–1902) was a war for the Philippine Republic to gain independence from the colonial power, the United States. The American War Department said that blacks”if brought face to face with their colored Filipino cousins could be made to fire on them.” But 7,000 “black” soldiers were sent anyway to the Philippines to secure the Asian islands for the United States. Many Black soldiers increasingly felt they were being used in an unjust racial war. One Black private wrote that “the white mans prejudice followed the Negro to the Philippines, ten thousand miles from where it originated.” Posters and leaflets from the Filipino people addressed to “The Colored American Soldier” described the lynching and discrimination against Blacks in the United States and discouraged them from being the instrument of their white masters’ ambitions to oppress another “people of color.” Blacks who deserted to the Filipino nationalist cause would be welcomed. A Black man named David Fagen took up that offer. During the course of this battle, two factors would change Fagen’s perspective of this war. First, his constant quarrel with his superiors. Second, the “racist” manner in which the Americans conducted the war, often times calling Filipino soldiers and civilians racial slurs like “niggers,” “black devils” and “gugus.” Tired and frustrated from the continuous racism David Fagen defected to the Filipino army. Fagen was promoted from first lieutenant to captain by his commanding officer. His exploits earned him front page coverage in the New York Times which described him as a “cunning and highly skilled guerilla officer who harassed and evaded large conventional American units.” Fagen’s most famous action was the daring capture of a steam launch on the Pampanga River. Along with his men, he seized its cargo of guns and swiftly disappeared into the forests before the American cavalry could arrive. U.S. officers were frustrated at their inability to capture Fagen whose exploits by now had begun to take on legendary proportions both among the Filipinos and in the U.S. press. Fagen’s success also triggered the fear of other black defections. 20 more black soldiers would defect to the Filipino army. Posters of him appeared in every town, but he continued to elude capture….. TO FIND OUT MORE… LOOK HIM UP.