The Battle of Tirad Pass, sometimes referred to as the "Philippine Thermopylae", was a battle in the Philippine-American War fought on December 2, 1899, in northern Luzon in the Philippines, in which a 60-man Filipino rear guard commanded by Brigadier General Gregorio del Pilar succumbed to around 300 Americans of the 33rd Infantry Regiment under Major Peyton C. March, while delaying the American advance to ensure Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.