32. THE JULIUS ARNOLD CASE

A Buffalo Soldier circa 1890

When the Americans successfully captured Magalang in November 5, 1899, there are different military units of United States Army stationed in Magalang. Their headquarters was located in the convent of San Bartolome Church. In 1900, the 25th Infantry composed of Black American units of US Army replaced the 17th Infantry. These units garnered their nickname as the Buffalo Soldiers. However, when they arrived in Magalang, they inflicted abuses on the natives, and one of these incidents caught the attention of the United States Senate is the Julius Arnold case. Julius Arnold is a military musician of Company M, 25th Infantry. He was assigned in Magalang in 1900. According to the book, Affairs in the Philippine Islands, on January 15, 1900, Arnold forced a married woman, Leonora Salas of Magalang to have sexual intercourse with him. Salas resisted Arnold on his rape attempt, and she was shot by Arnold using his service pistol. Salas died on the same day due to gunshot wound. Arnold was eventually arrested and he was "dishonorably discharged from the service of the United States, forfeiting all pay allowances due him, and to be confined at hard labor, at such penitentiary as the reviewing authority may direct, for the remainder of his natural life" by the court martial. When the hearing of his case was ongoing, he was temporarily jailed in the old Bilibid Prisons. On April 25, 1900, a final verdict of the case was promulgated, the court martial sentenced him to death, "and the court manifested undeserved leniency". He served his remaining jail terms in the old Bilibid prisons and later, he was executed. 

Photo Credits:

Buffalo soldier in the 9th Cavalry, 1890, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_soldier: Retrieved: April 18, 2017

Source:

Affairs in the Philippine Islands, Hearings Before the Committee on the Philippines of the United States Senate, 1902, Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. pages 2113-2114.