Quoted:
I think the Morros and the adoption of the 45 started with a grain of truth, but has grown to the ranks of urban legend. The first problem with the story was that it is acknowledge that the Morros were high on a narcotic substance, something that would render the effects of hits with any weapon that didn't break bone or take out the CNS less than debiletating. The second was the Morrow uprising lasting a very short period of time, with the state of transport back than, I would doubt that the message to break out old 45s, get them out of a depot and send them to the PI could have occurred in the length of time the conflict lasted.
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Well, they did really send SAA's to the Philippines. Also, a batch of M1878 DA Colts in .45. But .45 ACP wasnt the only extant cartridge built as a result of combat experience here. .38 Special was developed here and used in the M1905 USMC revolver, the first military K-frame Smith & Wesson, in a effort to prove the .38 still viable. The fighting lasted from Jan 1. 1899 to June 15, 1913, pleanty of time to ship things even then.
Remember, Many of the State regiments that were sent early in our involvement there were still carring Trapdoors and Single Action Armies as their issue weapons. A lot of the guns just simply never went back home. They were left behind to potentially arm the Philippine Scouts. They were also available to the Regulars in a Emergency.
Handguns were used a lot more in the Philippines than in later wars. We still had cavalry then, armed with Krag carbines that did not have bayonets and had to be loaded with single cartridges. Artillery, engineers, and signaleers weren't issued with anything but handguns. Handguns were often the only option to the 49in long Krag infantry rifle with its 17in long bayonet for house, cave, and trench cleaning. Have you tried to house clean with a 5foot 5in pike? Its true that the US Military developed its affinity to the shotgun in this war, but there was never enough of them and shotguns back then were even more limited in their reach than today, lots of soldiers were reluctant to give up the reach of their rifles and carbines, but still needed something for what we would now call "CQB"
There were also a terrable number of terrorist attacks on US personal who went off base for R and R- much like the early days in Vietnam. Like in the later war handguns- often carried concealed in violation of orders- were the only things the soldiers had to protect themselves.
The combination of these factors ment that there were FAR more instances of soldiers using handguns in a offensive, tactical manner, much like sub-machine guns in WWII but with obvioulsy greater limitations. They were not just personal defense/survival items like they became in WWII and since.
The same is also true of WWI. We brought shotguns- but there were never enough of them and once it came time to consolidate for the inevitable German counter-attack they were a liability. Bombing and raiding parties frequently prefered to use handguns which were small enough and light enough to carry alongside their rifle and cargo of grenades- which could not be said about shotguns and their ammunition.