David Fagen (born 1875, date of death unknown) was an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
soldier who defected during the
Philippine–American War. He acquired the rank of
captain in the
Philippine Revolutionary Army
The Philippine Revolutionary Army, later renamed Philippine Republican Army (Philippine Spanish, Spanish: ''Ejército Revolucionario Filipino''; Tagalog language, Tagalog: ''Panghimagsikang Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''), was the official arme ...
.
Service
A native of
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, Fagen served in the
24th Regiment of the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
, but on November 17, 1899, he defected to the Filipino army. He became a guerrilla leader.
His defection was likely a reaction to
racist treatment of African-American soldiers within the United States armed forces at the time, as well as racist sentiments expressed towards the Filipino resistance, who were frequently referred to by American soldiers as "niggers" and "gugus".
After two other black deserters were captured and executed, President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
announced he would stop executing captured deserters.
Supposed death
As the war ended, the US gave amnesties to most of their opponents. A substantial reward was offered for Fagen, who was considered a traitor. There are two conflicting versions of his fate: one is that his was the partially decomposed head for which the reward was claimed, and the other is that he married a local woman and lived peacefully in the mountains.
The Saga of David Fagen
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Media portrayals
* Portrayed by Quester Hannah, an American theater actor, in the 2013 indie film, ''David F''.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagen, David
People of the Philippine–American War
American military personnel of the Philippine–American War
American defectors
United States Army soldiers
Buffalo Soldiers
American rebels
American expatriates in the Philippines
Year of death unknown
1875 births