Samuel Whitside
Encyclopedia
Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside was a United States Cavalry
officer who served from 1858 to 1902. He commanded at every level from platoon to department for 32 of his 43 years in service, including Army posts such a Camp Huachuca
, Jefferson Barracks
, and Fort Sam Houston
, the Departments of Eastern Cuba and Santiago and Puerto Principe, Cuba
, commanded a provisional cavalry brigade (consisting of the 10th and 5th Cavalry Regiments), a squadron in the 7th Cavalry Regiment
, and a troop and platoon in the 6th Cavalry Regiment. The pinnacle of his career was serving as the Commanding General of the Department of Eastern Cuba before retiring in June 1902 as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army.
Most history books record two events during his career: the founding of Fort Huachuca
, Arizona, and his role as a battalion commander at the Wounded Knee Massacre
. These two events are arguably the most noteworthy in Whitside's four decades in the U.S. cavalry.
He enlisted into the General Mounted Service in 1858 and served for three years at Carlisle Barracks
, PA where he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. Corporal Whitside was assigned on July 27, 1861 to the 3rd Cavalry to fill a vacant noncommissioned officer position, and on August 1, he was promoted to sergeant major of the regiment. On August 3, Congress redesignated the 3d Cavalry as the 6th Cavalry Regiment.
On November 1, three sergeants were offered commissions; among these was Sergeant Major Samuel M. Whitside. He accepted his appointment as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Cavalry on November 4, 1861 and assumed the duties of a junior officer in Company K. His commander was Captain Charles R. Lowell
.
Lieutenant Whitside served with his company in the 6th Cav during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 where he participated in the following battles: Williamsburg
- May 5, Slatersville - May 7, New Bridge - May 20, Ellison's Mills - May 23, Hanover Court House - 27 to May 29, Black Creek - June 26, and Malvern Hill
- August 5,.
Whitside next served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of BG Nathaniel P. Banks, and participated in the Siege of Port Hudson
in Louisiana in 1863. However, Whitside suffered from a number of ailments—including small pox—and was severely injured at the Battle of Culpeper Court House
. After briefly serving as an aide to Gen. Martindale
and Gen. Pleasonton
, he spent the remainder of the Civil War on recruiting duty in Rhode Island and mustering duty in West Virginia. He later received brevet promotions
to captain and major for faithful and meritorious service.
After eighteen years as a captain and almost twenty-four years with the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Whitside was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Regiment in 1885 and promoted to Major. The 7th was then serving in the Dakota Territory
at various posts including Fort Meade
. In 1887 the Regiment moved to Fort Riley
, Kansas and a more settled lifestyle. During the previous twenty-two years of service on the frontier, Whitside married and had seven children, four of which died in childhood, and served at over twenty posts spending an average of ten months at anyone location.
in the Army before dying of pneumonia at the end of World War I
. Another son, Warren Whitside
, became a Colonel
in the Army Quartermaster Corps and his son, Warren, Jr.; served in the U.S. Navy as a Captain. Samuel and Caroline's daughter, Madeleine, married Medal of Honor
recipient Archie Miller
. Their daughter, Caroline, would marry Lieutenant General Robert Whitney Burns
.
United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, is the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The role of the U.S. Cavalry is reconnaissance, security and mounted assault. Cavalry has served as a part of the Army forces in every war in which the United States has participated...
officer who served from 1858 to 1902. He commanded at every level from platoon to department for 32 of his 43 years in service, including Army posts such a Camp Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, Jefferson Barracks
Jefferson Barracks Military Post
The Jefferson Barracks Military Post, located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, which is just south of St. Louis, Missouri,was, at first owned land by the DeGamache's then borrowed by military leaders, but after war, the land was not returned. It was an important and highly active U.S....
, and Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
, the Departments of Eastern Cuba and Santiago and Puerto Principe, Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, commanded a provisional cavalry brigade (consisting of the 10th and 5th Cavalry Regiments), a squadron in the 7th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is "Garryowen," in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune....
, and a troop and platoon in the 6th Cavalry Regiment. The pinnacle of his career was serving as the Commanding General of the Department of Eastern Cuba before retiring in June 1902 as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army.
Most history books record two events during his career: the founding of Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, Arizona, and his role as a battalion commander at the Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...
. These two events are arguably the most noteworthy in Whitside's four decades in the U.S. cavalry.
Joining the U.S. Army and Service in the American Civil War
S. M. Whitside was born on January 9, 1839 in Toronto, Canada. He grew up in that area attending Normal School, and later moved to New York where he attended Careyville Academy.He enlisted into the General Mounted Service in 1858 and served for three years at Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is part of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and is the site of the U.S. Army War College...
, PA where he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. Corporal Whitside was assigned on July 27, 1861 to the 3rd Cavalry to fill a vacant noncommissioned officer position, and on August 1, he was promoted to sergeant major of the regiment. On August 3, Congress redesignated the 3d Cavalry as the 6th Cavalry Regiment.
On November 1, three sergeants were offered commissions; among these was Sergeant Major Samuel M. Whitside. He accepted his appointment as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Cavalry on November 4, 1861 and assumed the duties of a junior officer in Company K. His commander was Captain Charles R. Lowell
Charles Russell Lowell
Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. was a railroad executive, foundryman, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek and was mourned by a number of leading generals...
.
Lieutenant Whitside served with his company in the 6th Cav during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 where he participated in the following battles: Williamsburg
Battle of Williamsburg
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...
- May 5, Slatersville - May 7, New Bridge - May 20, Ellison's Mills - May 23, Hanover Court House - 27 to May 29, Black Creek - June 26, and Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill
The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...
- August 5,.
Whitside next served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of BG Nathaniel P. Banks, and participated in the Siege of Port Hudson
Siege of Port Hudson
The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....
in Louisiana in 1863. However, Whitside suffered from a number of ailments—including small pox—and was severely injured at the Battle of Culpeper Court House
Battle of Culpeper Court House
The Battle of Culpeper Court House was an American Civil War skirmish fought September 13, 1863, near Culpeper, Virginia, between the cavalry of the Union Army of the Potomac and that of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia...
. After briefly serving as an aide to Gen. Martindale
John H. Martindale
John Henry Martindale was an American lawyer, Union Army general, and politician.-Early life:Martindale was born in Sandy Hill, Washington County, New York, the son of Congressman Henry C. Martindale and Minerva Hitchcock Martindale. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in...
and Gen. Pleasonton
Alfred Pleasonton
Alfred Pleasonton was a United States Army officer and General of Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He commanded the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war, Brandy Station...
, he spent the remainder of the Civil War on recruiting duty in Rhode Island and mustering duty in West Virginia. He later received brevet promotions
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
to captain and major for faithful and meritorious service.
Service on the Frontier
Whitside served for the next 20 years with the 6th Cav commanding B Company at various posts throughout the West.Texas 1865-1870
- AustinAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
- LockhartLockhart, Texas-External links:* *...
- ShermanSherman, TexasSherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
- JacksboroJacksboro, TexasJacksboro is a city in Jack County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,533 at the 2000 census. Jacksboro is located at the junction of U.S...
- LivingstonLivingston, TexasLivingston is a town in Polk County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,433 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Polk County. Livingston was settled in 1835 as Springfield. Its name was changed to Livingston and became the county seat of Polk County in 1846.The Alabama-Coushatta...
- Post Commander - Fort GriffinFort GriffinFort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in the northern part of West Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids...
Missouri and Kansas 1871-1874
- St. Louis, MO - Recruiting Duty
- Fort RileyFort RileyFort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, KS - Fort HaysFort HaysFort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in Hays, Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were...
, KS - Kansas City, MO
- Newport BarracksNewport BarracksNewport Barracks was a military barracks on the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati, Ohio in Newport, Kentucky. It was operational from 1803 until 1894.-History:In 1803, James Taylor Jr. solicited the help of his cousin, James Madison, who was then U.S...
, KY
Arizona Territory, Colorado and Dakota Territory 1875 - 1887
- Camp McDowell, A.T.
- Fort Lowell, A.T.Fort LowellFort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Fort Lowell was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation. The Army chose a location just south of the confluence of the Tanque Verde and Pantano creeks, at the point where they...
- Camp Hauchuca, A.T.Fort HuachucaFort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
- Founded Post in Mar 1877 and served as first Post Commander until Mar 1881. - Fort Thomas, A.T.Fort Thomas, ArizonaFort Thomas is a small unincorporated community in Graham County, Arizona, United States. The community has an elementary school and a high school. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area...
- Washington, D.C., Rochester, NY, and Chicago, IL - recruiting service from 1882 to 1883
- Fort Apache, A.T.Fort Apache Indian ReservationThe Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, a Western Apache tribe. It has a land area of 2,627.608...
- Fort Lewis, COFort Lewis CollegeFort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado.-History:Military FortThe original site of Fort Lewis College began southwest of its present location back in 1880. Set up originally as a Military Fort for the 22nd Regimental Infantry which occupied the land from...
After eighteen years as a captain and almost twenty-four years with the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Whitside was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Regiment in 1885 and promoted to Major. The 7th was then serving in the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
at various posts including Fort Meade
Sturgis, South Dakota
Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,627 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Meade County. Sturgis is famous for being the location of one of the largest annual motorcycle events in the world, which is held annually on the first full week...
. In 1887 the Regiment moved to Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, Kansas and a more settled lifestyle. During the previous twenty-two years of service on the frontier, Whitside married and had seven children, four of which died in childhood, and served at over twenty posts spending an average of ten months at anyone location.
Personal life
Whitside married Caroline P. McGavock. Their son, Victor, became a MajorMajor (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in the Army before dying of pneumonia at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Another son, Warren Whitside
Warren Whitside
Warren Webster Whitside was a career U.S. Army Colonel who served as a Cavalry and Quartermaster officer.- Early life :Colonel Whitside was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 2, 1875, the son of a career cavalry officer, Brig. Gen Samuel M. Whitside. He spent the first fifteen years of...
, became a Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
in the Army Quartermaster Corps and his son, Warren, Jr.; served in the U.S. Navy as a Captain. Samuel and Caroline's daughter, Madeleine, married Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient Archie Miller
Archie Miller
Archie Miller was a United States Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Philippine–American War July 2, 1909. Lieutenant Miller defended a machine gun from capture by the enemy. He later rose to Lieutenant Colonel....
. Their daughter, Caroline, would marry Lieutenant General Robert Whitney Burns
Robert Whitney Burns
Robert Whitney Burns was a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force.-Biography:Burns was born on September 15, 1908 in Stanley, Wisconsin. He would attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Burns died on September 5, 1964 in San Antonio, Texas. He is buried with his wife, Caroline, at...
.
See also
Selfless Service: The Cavalry Career of Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside from 1858 to 1902Other References
- Carter, Lieutenant-Colonel W. W. From Yorktown to Santiago with the Sixth U.S. Cavalry, Baltimore, the Lord Baltimore Press, 1900.
- Coffman, Edward M. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784—1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
- DeMontravel, Peter R. The Career of Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles from the Civil War through the Indian Wars. PhD diss, St. John’s University. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1983.
- Erlandson, Marcus R. “Guy V. Henry:A Study in Leadership.” MMAS thesis, Fort Leavenworth: Command and General Staff College, 1985.
- Garlington, Ernest A. “The Seventh Regiment of Cavalry,” Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. Volume XVI(1895).
- Godfrey,Edward S. “CavalryFire Discipline,” Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. Volume XIX(1896).
- Jensen, Richard E., R. Eli Paul, and John E. Carter. Eyewitness at Wounded Knee. Lincoln & London: Universityof Nebraska Press, 1991.
- Mooney, James. “The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890,” of the Fourteenth Annual Report (Part 2) of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Smithsonian Institution, 1892–93,by J. W. Powell, Director. Washington,DC: Government Printing Office, 1896.Republication, The Ghost-Dance Religion and Wounded Knee. New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 1973.
- Scott, Brigadier General E. D. “Wounded Knee: A Look at the Record.” Cavalry Journal, 48 (January—February 1939).
- Shaw, Dennis Edward. “The Battle of Wounded Knee: Myth Versus Reality.” PhD diss, Universityof Miami, Ann Arbor: University Microfilm International, 1981.
- Smith, Rex Alan. Moon ofPopping Trees. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1975.
- United States Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary.Wounded Knee Massacre: Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session, on S. 1147 and S. 2900 to Liquidate the Liability of the United States for the Massacre of Sioux Indian Men, Women, and Children at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890, February 5 and 6, 1976. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1976.
- Utley, Robert M. Frontier Regulars—The United States Army and the Indian, 1866—1891. Lincoln: Universityof Nebraska Press, 1973.
- Utley, Robert M. The Last Days of the Sioux Nation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1963.
- War Department, The Adjutant General’s Office. “Official Statement of Service of Samuel Marmaduke Whitside.” Washington DC, March 8, 1939.
- Wooster, Robert. Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight of the Frontier Army. Universityof Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 1993.