In August 1896, the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish began. Although those fighting under Andrés Bonifacio in Manila did not fare well, Filipinos to the south did better. Emilio Aguinaldo’s soldiers had seized the town of Kawit, in Cavite Province, south of Manila, as well as the town of Noveleta. 

Meanwhile, Ramón Blanco, then the Spanish governor of the Philippines, was busy organizing the thousands of Spanish soldiers sent to reinforce his ranks, which had numbered fewer than seven thousand men. On November 7, 1896, the Spanish launched a twin attack, known as the Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican, against both Cavite el Viejo and Noveleta. 

This map, a sketch of the defensive tactics devised by Aguinaldo, shows the river in Cavite Nuevo and Dalahican. Aguinaldo’s forces won the first significant victory against 22,000 Spanish soldiers led by Blanco. The Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican established Aguinaldo as the leader of the rebellion.