Who was the first U.S. military governor of the Philippines after the war?

Wesley Merritt was the first U.S. military governor of the Philippines.

A major general and veteran of the Civil War and American Indian Wars, Merritt commanded the first American Philippine expedition during the Spanish-American War. His forces joined Commodore George Dewey’s naval victory at Manila Bay, where Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet on May 1, 1898.

American troops captured Manila on August 13, 1898, and Merritt issued a proclamation establishing U.S. military rule. His tenure as military governor began on August 14 and lasted only until August 30, when Major General Elwell Otis succeeded him. Merritt then helped advise the American delegation during the negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris.

William Howard Taft later became the first civilian governor of the Philippines, not the first military governor. Arthur MacArthur succeeded Otis and later served as military governor, while Emilio Aguinaldo led a rival Filipino revolutionary government. The brief length of Merritt’s term is the main reason his role is sometimes overlooked.