Jacob H. Smith

Who was Jacob H. Smith?

General Jacob Hurd Smith was a United States Army officer best known for ordering an indiscriminate retaliatory attack on a group of Filipinos during the Philippine–American War after fifty-one American soldiers were killed in a surprise attack on the Island of Samar. His orders included, "kill everyone over the age of ten" and make the island "a howling wilderness." Court-martialed for the incident, he was dubbed "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith, "The Monster", and "Howling Jake" by the press as a result.