The Battle of Tirad Pass, sometimes referred to as the "Philippine

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 Thermopylae

Battle of Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August...

", was a battle in the Philippine-American War

Philippine-American War

The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...

 fought on December 2, 1899, in northern Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 in the Philippines, in which a 60-man Filipino rearguard commanded by Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar

Gregorio del Pilar

Gregorio del Pilar y Sempio was one of the youngest generals in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is most known for his role and death at the Battle of Tirad Pass...

 succumbed to 500 Americans of the 33rd Infantry Regiment

33rd Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 33rd Infantry Regiment was an American unit stationed in the Panama Canal Zone and Caribbean from 1916-1956. Though providing troops for various other American military formations, the Regiment had no battle honours of its own.-History:...

 under Major Peyton C. March

Peyton C. March

Peyton Conway March was an American soldier and Army Chief of Staff.March was the son of Francis Andrew March, considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Anglo-Saxon and one of the first professors to advocate and teach English in colleges and universities...

, while delaying the American advance to ensure Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...

's escape.
The retreat of Aguinaldo through the mountainous terrain of which the pass provided a strategic bottleneck was protected by a rear guard under Gen.