urban legends ✓

pershing's pig solution against muslim rebels ☹

When the Americans fought and subsequently occupied the Philippines in the 1900s, they had an harder time in the Muslim South than the Christian north. Though poorly-armed, the Moros (ethnic Muslims) relied on their religious fanaticism to fight the better-equipped American soldiers. Berserker attacks by Moro juramentados (religious zealots) armed with just knives became so frequent that the military commander John "Black Jack" Pershing reportedly found an unusual way to end them.

According to the story, Pershing played on the belief that any Muslim who touched a pig could not enter heaven. Prior to a scheduled execution of 50 Moro insurgents, he ordered his men to dip their bullets in pig's blood before shooting. Afterward, he buried the executed men along with dead pigs. Pershing spared one of the insurgents so the man would spread the story to his peers. Sure enough, Pershing's actions single-handedly stopped further juramentado attacks for the rest of the American occupation.

Just how much of this legend is true has been debated by historians. Although Pershing had the reputation of a hard military man, he also actively sought out peaceful solutions. During his campaign in the south, Pershing and his officers learned the Qur'an and spent a good amount of time negotiating for peace with Moro leaders. In fact, the Moros even made him an honorary datu (local chief) as a token of goodwill.