Combat· Philippine-American War
Sohoton River and Sohoton Cliffs engagements
The decisive operation of the Samar campaign, the storming of the insurgents' mountain stronghold.
On 5 November 1901 Waller's Marines engaged the enemy at the Sohoton River, driving them from their trenches at a cost of two Marines killed. Twelve days later, on 17 November, Marine companies under Captains David Porter and Hiram Bearss assaulted the Sohoton Cliffs, the great natural fortress in the island's interior where Lukban's forces held positions on the heights above the river, defended by stone barricades and suspended boulders meant to be loosed on attackers below. Porter and Bearss led their men up the cliffs against the fortified positions and carried the stronghold, breaking the back of the insurgent resistance on Samar. Both officers received the Medal of Honor. The capture of the Sohoton cliffs was the climax of the campaign, the destruction of the central insurgent base in the island's rugged interior.
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Record no. 489