Matthew Westfall's Blog

An extremely rare and wonderful photograph of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, (1863-1936), which I recently discovered in France, apparently from an old German collection. Inscribed in the photograph’s border: “Der Sultan von Sulu und sein (Oncle) State-Secretair”, which translates to “The Sultan of Sulu and his (Uncle) State Secretary”. Date of the photograph is a guess — Kiram was born around 1863, and proclaimed the Sultan of Sulu by his followers in 1884 (at age 21), a designation that was eventually formalized by Spanish decree ten years later, in 1894. This young man looks to be in his early twenties, and 1884 would be just about the right time to sit for his first formal royal portrait.

New research underpinning a recently published book, The Devil’s Causeway by Matthew Westfall, now dramatically expands our understanding of this tale of heroism and heart, placing Baler and its historic siege as the backdrop to a long-forgotten United States Navy debacle that altered the course of the Philippine-American War.

http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/2013/01/19/898468/devils-causeway-tale-heroism-and-siege-baler-1898

A group of liberated prisoners of war, comprised of US Army soldiers and American, British and Canadian civilians, on their arrival at Manila in early January, 1900. Note the soldier on the far right, Private Elmer Honnyman of the 1st Nevada Cavalry, is handcuffed and chained, presumably with his guard standing just outside the frame of the photograph. Several of the returning US Army PoWs, like Honnyman, were charged with desertion and later cleared.

Signed copies of The Devil’s Causeway can be found at this terrific, award-winning neighborhood bookstore, Trident Booksellers & Cafe, on Newbury Street in Boston.

A heartbreaking letter written by 1st Lieutenant Charles F. Leonard, commander of Company E, 7th Infantry, notifying George Tummet of Menasha, Wisconsin of his son’s tragic death. Private John Tummet, a 22-year-old former wood worker, was killed during the violent jail break by Novicio and his men at Malahi Island Prison on November 25, 1904.