loves in Bulacan. Tirad Pass and death In November 1899, Aguinaldo's party had reached the town of Concepción and climbed the peak of Mount Tirad. Del Pilar ordered three lines of trenches be dug up on the pass and had the "pick of all the men that can be spared" on orders from Aguinaldo. While Aguinaldo and the rest were in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, Del Pilar rode to the rearguard to ensure the safety of the retreat. Word had come that the Americans were advancing on Tirad Pass in an effort to cut off Aguinaldo from the Tinio Brigade situated on the Abra River. The U.S. Army 33rd Infantry Regiment, under Major Peyton C. March took Concepción on December 1 and began to scale Tirad Pass the next day. Although they had difficulty in attacking the Filipino position, they saw an opening with the aid of a Tingguian Igorot named Januario Galut. The Americans then devised a plan to flank the entrenched defenders from the village of Lingay at the foot of the pass, and from the peak. The combined attack surprised the defenders and the engagement barely lasted six hours. Del Pilar was killed in the skirmish from a shot in the neck, killing him instantly. Of the 60 defenders, only eight remained. After the battle, Del Pilar's belongings were taken by the Americans as war trophies, including a handkerchief embroidered with the name Dolores, a locket with a picture of a girl, and his diary. His last entry was: Reports of Del Pilar's death varied. Two newsmen, John McCutcheon and Richard Henry Little, and a local newspaper called The Manila Freedom reported accounts which captured the imaginations of American and Filipino readers. McCutcheon and Little both reported how del Pilar was the last to fall; how he continually urged his men during the battle to fight on, appealing to their sense of love for their native land; how he refused to turn away on his white horse until all the men had retreated; and his death when a sharpshooter got the better of him. The Manila Freedom wrote this of Del Pilar: Filipino accounts of Del Pilar's death corroborate each other and are less glamorous. Del Pilar's aide-de-camp, Vicente Enríquez, writes: Lieutenant Telesforo Carrasco also recounted: Del Pilar's body lay unburied for days, exposed to the elements. While retracing the trail, an American officer, Lt. Dennis P. Quinlan,