IN THE morning of May 4, 1900, Capt. Vicente Racines Roa and his men arrived in Agusan after doing patrol work along the eastern coast of the Misamis province. There, he joined his fellow officers in a gathering in the house of Juan Bautista. Most of them were in the prime of their life and were eager to have another encounter with the enemy. All of them agreed with the suggestion of Roa to send a courier and then dared them to fight in Agusan that day. The reply was swift and brief, "Go ahead, we are ready."
Immediately, the officers discussed their plan of defense. Captain Roa and his men of infantry were to occupy the first hill overlooking the main road of Agusan. The Cavalry under the command of Sgt. Uldarico Akut were assigned in the next hill. And the Macheteros would hide under the houses along the main road. When the Americans reached Agusan, Roa's group would fire at them three times and then retreat.
As the Americans attack the retreating force on the first hill, the Macheteros would come out from the hiding places and attack the Americans from behind. Then the infantry and the Cavalry could fight from the front.
It was supposed to be a perfect set up for an ambush. But on the last minute, Sgt. Akut and his men were told to move to another hill further from the site of the battle so they could guard the road leading to the Maitom Camp of Gen. Capistrano.
The two companies of American soldiers that arrived in Agusan were not only well-armed but had a battleship escort plying along Macajalar bay. As they entered the town, Roa's men fired thrice and the captain ordered his bugler to sound the retreat. As expected, the Americans chased them on top of the Hill. But the Macheteros failed to attack from behind as planned for lack of a leader and could only a few of them cooperated. Meanwhile, Akut's group could not desert their post. From the Bay, the battleship bombarded Agusan Hill.
Against all odds, Roa's group fought heroically. When told by his bugler that all of his men were killed, Capt. Roa kept on fighting even when he was severely wounded and was surrounded by the enemy. He refused to surrender. He fought using his revolver and when when he ran out of bullets, he used his sword till he died. An American soldier got one of his medals of honor and kept it as a memento of the brave officer.
On top of the hill in Agusan lay the dead soldiers of the first company of the Mindanao battalion with their gallant leader, Capt. Vicente Racines Roa. (Researched by the Cagayan de Oro Heritage Council. Our thanks to local historian A. Paulita Roa for this material.)