1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Egbert Cannon page 1

The original monument to
Harry C. Egbert.

Photo most likely taken at the dedication.

Cannon mounted in center, flanked by
large caliber artillery shells, all set on
a concrete base.

It is not known if the sculpted bust of Egbert
was part of the original monument, or if it was
added for photographic or ceremonial purposes.

If it was part of the original monument, it has
disappeared over time, as has the rest of
the monument.

Only the cannon has been found.

Photo from:

Corregidor - Then And Now website

The original date of the establishment of the monument to Colonel Egbert is unknown.
The following proclamation, designating a tract of land as the Egbert Monument Reserve,
is recorded in the Executive Issuances of the Philippine Government.

The proclamation designates an area of 10,000 square meters, or one hectare, which is approximately
two and one half acres in size, as a section of land to be used only for Egbert's monument.

The proclamation is dated January 12, 1906. From the wording of the document, it appears possible
that the monument was already in place, when the land around it was reserved and dedicated to it,
by this proclamation.

The proclamation is signed by Henry Clay Ide, as Acting Governor-General of the Philippines.
Ide was one of the Commissioners of the Taft Commission, appointed in 1900, to oversee
the establishment of the new government of the Philippines under US rule. Ide was Acting
Governor-General from November 1905 to March 1906, and was Governor-General
from March - September 1906.

Original members of the Philippine Commission (Taft Commission) - 1901
Left to right: General Luke E. Wright, William H. Taft, and Judge Henry C. Ide.
Nine years after this photo was taken, Taft would become the 27th President of the United States.

Henry C. Ide, who issued the Proclamation designating the land around Egbert's monument
as belonging to the monument.

Photo from The Old World and its Ways by William Jennings Bryan,
The Thompson Publishing Company, St. Louis 1907

Below are two photos of the monument erected in the Philippines for Brigadier General Henry W. Lawton.

The 22nd Infantry had served in Lawton's Brigade in Cuba, at Siboney, El Caney and Santiago. The Regiment
again served under him in the Philippines. Lawton was Egbert's immediate superior when Egbert was killed
while commanding the 22nd Infantry in the Philippines.

Lawton led from the front, and was killed by an enemy sniper at San Mateo on December 19, 1899,
some seven months after Egbert died.

Lawton was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to be killed in action in the Philippine Insurrection,
and the first serving U.S. general killed in action outside of North America.

He was a Brigadier General of Regulars and in the process of being promoted to
Major General the day of his death.

From the photo of Egbert's monument at the top of this page, it appears that both monuments
were of similar construction. The main differences were that Egbert's may have included a bust of him,
and the cannon for Lawton's monument had a brass plaque with an inscription, whereas the
cannon for Egbert's monument had the inscription engraved directly into the cannon itself.

A photo taken at the dedication of the monument to General Lawton, February 22, 1901.
The monument is on the precise spot where Lawton was killed.

Photo from Richard Rivera, a historian and native of San Mateo, Rizal Philippines

Photo from the early 1900's showing the monument erected for General Henry Lawton,
who was killed in action in the Philippines. The brass plaque affixed to the cannon near the top
had the inscription memorializing Gen. Lawton and can be seen in this view.

Photo from Richard Rivera, a historian and native of San Mateo, Rizal Philippines