 On November 16, 1899, Midel flew the white flag over Fort Pilar to signal the occupying American forces to enter the fort which led to the overthrow of Álvarez's government.Álvarez and his allies were forced to flee to the nearby town of Mercedes then to the island of Basilan and went into hiding.In December 1899, Captain Pratt of the 23rd U.S. Infantry arrived at Zamboanga and took control of Fort Pilar.