Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 6: A Reign of Terror

The exact number of Filipino civilians killed by U.S. troops will never be known.  Littleton  Waller, the head of the Marines on Samar, in a report said  that over an eleven-day period, he and his men had burned 255 dwellings, shot 13 carabaos (water buffalo) and killed 39 people.

A British researcher in the 1990s made an exhaustive research and put the figure on Samar about 2,500.    Filipino historians put the number around 50,000.

The American abuses on Samar outraged people in the U.S., especially anti-imperialists.  The judge advocate of the Army said that only the good sense of Smith's subordinates kept things from being much worse during the reign of terror.

Because of  this reign of terror, Jacob Smith became known as  Howling Wilderness" Smith.  He also had another nickname, "Hell-Roaring" Smith because of his use of swear words.

Smith would be court-martailed for this.

Don't Mess With Jake.  --Cooter