On March 25, the American offensive resumed under MacArthur, which attempted in vain to encircle the Filipinos retreating to Malolos.

Due to increasing pressure from the American offensive and the Republican Army officers, Aguinaldo had reinstated Antonio Luna as Chief of War Operations in Central Luzon on March 28.

According to Colonel (later General) Funston's account, he was the first to enter Malolos and his unit was "fired upon by about a dozen men behind a street barricade of stones".

It was at that point that Funston and his men saw that Emilio Aguinaldo's Presidencia (headquarters) and the Hall of Congress had caught fire.

It also noted that Funston's account of the event was oversimplified, stating that Filipino resistance, which had lasted almost two hours, had been "stubborn".

[3] It was also stated that Filipino garrisons in the north could not be pulled out for the defense of the capital because an American landing was suspected in Pangasinan and Tayabas.