It was in Palanan that one of the final chapters of the Philippine-American War was written on March 23, 1901, when Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by American forces led by Gen. Frederick Funston, who had gained access to Aguinaldo's camp by pretending to surrender to the Filipinos.
The First Philippine Republic government under Emilio Aguinaldo has had four different temporary capitals throughout the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonization and subsequent American occupation: Malolos, Bacolor, Cabanatuan, and Palanan.
In 1901, American General Frederick Funston and his troops captured Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, with the help of some Kapampangans (called the Macabebe Scouts after their home locale) who had joined the Americans' side.
When Aguinaldo was captured by Gen. Frederick Funston on March 23, 1901 at Palanan, Isabela, the country was headed then by civil governors until the formal establishment of self-autonomous Commonwealth on November 15, 1935.