The Battle of Manila, the first and largest battle fought during the Philippine-American War, was fought on February 4-5 1899 between 19,000 Americans and 15,000 Filipinos. Armed conflict broke out when American troops, under orders to turn away insurgents from their encampment, fired upon an encroaching group of Filipinos. Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo attempted to broker a ceasefire, but American General Elwell Stephen Otis rejected it and fighting escalated the next day. It ended in American victory, although minor skirmishes continued on for several days afterward. The Philippine-American War (1899-1902) was an armed conflict between the United States and Philippine revolutionaries. The conflict arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to secure independence from the United States following the latter's acquisition of the Philippines from Spain after the Spanish-American War. The war was a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution. Fighting erupted between United States and Philippine revolutionary forces on February 4, 1899, and quickly escalated into the 1899 Second Battle of Manila. On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. The war officially ended on July 4, 1902. Kurz & Allison chromolithograph, 1899.