The Battle of Bayan was the first major engagement of the Moro Rebellion. It was a punitive expedition led by Colonel Frank D. Baldwin in retaliation for murders committed by Moros in Malabang and Parang on the island of Mindanao. Col. Baldwin led seven companies of the 27th Infantry and the 25th Battery Light Artillery against the Moros on the south shore of Lake Lanao, the village of Bayan in particular.