TAGUMPAY SA BUNDOK PURAY(VICTORY AT MT. PURAY)

Bumagsak ang Cavite sa kamay ng mga Kastila, ang itinuturing na pinakamalakas na moog ng rebolusyon. Napilitan ang nooy tinutugis ng mga Kastila na si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo na lisanin ang Cavite at lumipat sa bulubundukin ng Bulakan para ipagpatuloy ang kanyang laban. Ganito ang naitala ng mananalaysay na si G. Carlos Quirino tungkol sa pagpapatuloy ng labanan.

Hen. Licerio Geronimo(44 anyos)

 "The back of the rebel army in Cavite, true enough, had been broken, but the revolution itself, which manifested its resurgence in a dozen uprising all over Central Luzon during the rest of the month of May, continued unabated. Bloody skirmishes took place in Zambales, Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tayabas."---Filipinos at War by: Carlos Quirino

Pansamantalang nanatili sa Mt. Puray si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Ang PURAY ay isang bundok sa pagitan ng Bulakan at Montalban na nooy naging moog ng tropa ni Hen. Licerio Geronimo. Dito nagpatawag si Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo ng isang asembleya ng mga lider ng rebolusyon upang magtatag ng isang PAMAHALAANG DEPARTAMENTAL NG GITNANG LUZON. Sa asembleyang ito maghahalal ng mga bagong heneral para sa itatatag na mga dibisyon militar(military division)kung saan hahatiin ang Pilipinas. Isa si Hen. Licerio Geronimo sa mga napiling maging bagong Tenyente Heneral ng Hukbong panghimagsikan na mamumuno sa dibisyon ng Rizal.

Hen. Licerio Geronimo(50 anyos)

Matapos ang asembleya sa Bundok Puray ay nilusob sila ng isang malakas na pwersa ng mga Kastila na nasa ilalim ng pamumuno ni Col. Dujiol ng Hukbong Sandatahan ng Espana.(Spanish Army)Nilampaso ni Hen. Cerio ang pwersang ito at pinauwing talunan. Narito ang mga tala ni Hen. Santiago Alvares at G. Carlos Quirino tungkol sa nasabing labanan.

"Let us now turn the attention to the march of the army of the President of the Philippine Republic, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, over the mountains of Rizal and Bulakan. After they left Mount Kabangan, they crossed Pasig river at the sight called Malapad-na-bato and proceeded in Montalban. At the invitation of Gen. Licerio Geronimo, they encamped at Mount Puray. There they rested several days to allow Gen. Aguinaldo to recover from an illness he had contracted during the march. They were attacked by the Spaniards as soon as their whereabouts where discovered. The peoples troops fearlessly fought against the enemy and resolutely defended the motherland even at the cost of their own lives. After about five hours of fierce shooting, stabbing and shouting, the Spaniards were forced to retreat, scampering over the many dead bodies of their fallen men. This battle was a signal victory for Gen. Licerio Geronimo, brigadier general in the army of Supremo Andres Bonifacio. General Geronimo was then and there promoted to lieutenant general in the army of the Philippine Republic by Pres. Emilio Aguinaldo. --- The Katipunan and the Revolution by: Santiago "Apoy" Alvares

Sa higit pang detalye sa nasabing labanan, narito ang mga tala ni G. Carlos Quirino sa kanyang aklat na "Filipinos at War".

Monumento ni Hen. Licerio Geronimo sa Brgy. Silangan Quezon City

 "Col. Dujiols column forged confidently ahead until it met with moderate resistance on the mountain trail from snipers hidden in the brushes. He then decided to move up his troops by following the river bed of Puray until he came to a slight plateau at the base of the mountain. Here his advance ground to at halt as the insurgent fire increased; they could not shoot back effectively at the rebels who were hidden behind the rocks and brushes. The stalemate was broken three hours later when a large group of natives, dressed in loyalist uniforms(Cazadores)made their appearance at one side of the plateau, shouting in spanish, 'Dont fire, we are Cazadores!' Then bugles blew the clear notes of 'cease firing'. Dujiol's troops, believing that the column led by Major Primo de Rivera had arrived, rose to greet them. Instead of camaraderie, however, they were met with murderous close-range rifle fire. The enemy taskforce returned to Montalban and San Mateo by midnight, thoroughly whipped. The Marquess vehemently denied that this encounter was a humiliating defeat, but a contemporary Spanish chronicler described it as a 'glorious calamity'. 'The insurgents suffered many losses,' admitted the chronicler, 'but ours was much more.'" --- Filipinos at War by: Carlos Quirino

 Lalo pang nakilala sa hanay ng mga rebolusyonaryo ang pangalan ni Hen. Cerio ng atakihin at mahuli niya ang 50 karwahe(carts)ng suplay at bala ng mga Kastila.

ANG MGA TROPANG NAKA-BUKAWE(BAMBOO SPEAR)NI HEN. LICERIO GERONIMO

Ang mga tropang ito na tinukoy sa ating kasaysayan na armado ng "Bukawe" ay tumutukoy sa natatanging tropa ni Hen. Licerio Geronimo na nagmula sa Montalban, San Mateo at Marikina.

Talamak sa mga bundok ng Montalban, San Mateo, Marikina at Antipolo ang mga "buhong kawayan". Sa mga buhong kawayan nagmumula ang armas na Bukawe,(Bamboo Spear) na pinatatalas at isinasalang sa apoy upang tumulis at tumibay.

Ang tropang ito na naka "Bukawe" ay kasamang lumusob ni Hen. Licerio Geronimo sa Polvorin(gunpowder depot)at El Deposito(water reservoir)ng mga Kastila sa San Juan Del Monte noong Agosto 30, 1896 sa utos na rin ni Supremo Andres Bonifacio. Narito ang pahayag ng butihing heneral sa wikang Ingles ng kapanayamin ito ni Dr. Antonio Isidro noong umaga ng Nobyembre 1925 sa bayan ng Montalban.

"On the eve of the revolution of 1896 Licerio Geronimo received a note from Andres Boifacio ordering him to proceed directly and immediately to Balintawak and to receive, for distribution among his followers, the guns that had just arrived from Japan. A few days later the CRY OF BALINTAWAK was proclaimed and the machinery of the KATIPUNAN was set in motion. He went to the Polvorista accompanied by a few of his followers  and shot a lieutenant of the "Casadores"; two days later, under cover of night, they attacked with their "BUKAWE," the Spanish soldiers in the street of San Juan Del Monte. After this petty attacks, he returned to his locality to organize more companions. He was able to recruit under his banner a number of  followers from the towns of Montalban, San Mateo and Marikina in an amazing short time. This host of men who were ready to die for their country's sake greatly admired this brilliant organizer and elected him as their own leader. With indomitable courage and fervent patriotism the soldiers equipped with nothing but spears(BUKAWE)and a handful of guns, left their families in defense of their brothers in the neighboring provinces. They encountered strong opposition in Novaliches and San Miguel, where they lost hundreds of their comrades. In other battles, needless to say, they won, not because of fortifications and equipment, but by dint of bravery and strategy."--- Gen. Liceri Geronimo, an Obscure Hero of the Past Revolution by: Dr. Antonio Isidro