It is stated that General Leonard Wood never kept quiet in any job that he ever held during his thirty-five years of active federal service in the United States Army. “When there was work to do, he has done it, from chasing Indians all over our great Southwest back in the ‘eighties’ and over a good slice of Mexico’s northwest, to teaching Cuba how to rule herself.” (Sears, 1919) He was not known for sitting back and just ‘earning his paycheck’. Instead, he chose the more challenging jobs like building new training camps for officers and teaching preparedness to the soldiers of the late war. Through his work ethics, candid leadership, and attitude for the betterment of mankind, he greatly impacted the lives of millions of men throughout the …show more content…
“It was as Chief of Staff that General Wood made his greatest contributions to the Army and the Nation. He strengthened the General Staff and firmly established the Chief of Staff as the senior officer of the Army. He also reduced the influence of the old bureau system which had hindered military reforms. He was instrumental in developing the Maneuver Division and the Mobile Army concept. As a result, the Army formed its first truly combined arms divisions. This allowed the American Army to fight as a force in the battles and campaigns of the Great War, WWI.” (Homle, 1920) Following the war, General Wood was chosen to be a candidate for the Republican Party for President. Although he was not chosen, he did not get discouraged. He would retire from the Army in 1921 and receive the position of Governor General of the Philippines. Leonard would hold that position until his death on August 7th, 1927 of an unsuccessful brain tumor surgery. Valor “His gallantry and service as a medical and line officer at the Battle of Geronimo was recognized by a Medal of Honor in 1898. Voluntarily carried dispatches through a region infested with hostile Indians, making a journey of 70 miles in one night and walking 30 miles the next day. Also for several weeks, while in close pursuit of Geronimo 's band and
“He was silent and reserved and seemed gloomy and despondent. He had grown prematurely old since I saw him last, and showed much nervousness. His relations with his next in command (General Polk) and with some others of his
10.What was life like for Geronimo during the four years he spent at the San Carlos reservation?
COL Paul Freeman had a long history of military experience in Asia, to which many attribute much of his success during this battle. As the son of a military doctor, he grew up in
During the Great Depression, he used force against World War 1 veterans and was highly criticized for his action (Simkin). In 1937, he retired from US Army and took up the position as the field marshal and director of national defense in Philippines offered to him by the Philippine government.
Displayed extreme heroism in assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, in July 1863
Then one warm May evening in 1862, a Union troop gathered in my local hotel. I hid upstairs, eavesdropping through a hole on the floorboards. It was exciting to hear secrets poured out, and the adrenaline pumped through my blood. I rode out acting and bluffing my way past the Union sentries and conveyed my information, which allowed Jackson?s army to win a battle. I braved enemy fire that put holes in my skirt. For my contributions, I was awarded the position of captain, a true honor. I continued to carry more messages after that.
George Armstrong Custer was a United States cavalry officer who served with distinction in the American Civil War and was the youngest ever brevet brigadier general at age twenty-three (History.com Staff, 2009). Custer had various disciplinary issues throughout his career ranging from abandoning his post for romantic reasons to leaving the field without searching for a slain reconnaissance unit (History.com Staff, 2009). His expedition in 1874 that led to the discovery of gold, was in violation of the treaty of 1868 wherein the Black Hills were recognized to belong to the Sioux Nation. Custer was known to have a reckless temperament and was often at odds with superior officers. Nevertheless, as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the Seventh Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Riley, Kansas, Custer was tasked to lead the force against Sitting Bull’s alliance (History.com Staff, 2009).
In 1896 Lt. Pershing was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry which was an all-black regiment. During the Spanish-American War, he led his men in the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Pershing was remembered saying, “White regiments, black regiments, regulars and Rough Riders, representing the young manhood of the North and the South, fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether commanded by ex-Confederate or not, and mindful of only their common duty as Americans" (5). The courage and patriotism shown by the men of the tenth Cavalry in this battle earned them Pershing’s highest admiration. He was known to often praise the bravery of black Soldiers all through his career, which was not typical of the time (3).
Nominated for the Medal of Honor immediately after the conflict his commanding officer stated that Cafferata had probably killed more than 100 enemy soldiers that night, but he didn’t think anyone would believe him, so he quoted the official number at 36. Hector Cafferata would receive the Medal of Honor at the cost of right hand that was hit by a sniper’s bullet. He would never use that hand again, but learned how to shoot with his left hand.
Corporal Angelo Crapsey of Roulette, Pennsylvania, a young man who decided to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War was considered to be a "lively and cheerful” (Bateson 1) young man by his friends, but the war changed him and he home a much darker man. He wanted to fight for his country and keep the country together when the south decided to fire on Fort Sumter he decided to enlist. He fought and survived the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg and even survived dysentery which is a dieses that is common when proper toilets are not available. Corporal Crapsey and his unit arrived too late to fight in the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia, so he was assigned to clean up duty, to help burry the bodies of the fallen in battle that day.
He then returned to the US and was given command of a force of "Immunes", African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. For all his effort, great dedication and initiative, Captain Rowan received the Distinguished Service Cross.
In the summer of 1858, when he was near the age of 30 he accompanied his tribe to trade. They made camp a short distance from a town. When most of the men rode into town to barter with the citizens, they left only a small guard over their possessions, wives, and children. On their way back they encountered fugitive women from their tribe who told them Mexicans raided the camp. The Mexicans stole their ponies and valuables and killed most of the women and children. The tribe separated and approached the camp from different directions. The information was true. Geronimo found his wife, three children and mother killed.
Ulysses S. Grant was a quiet and reserved man however he was able to inspire a sense of bravery among his soldiers who fought on American battlefields (“American President”). He once said “In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins (“Ulysses S. Grant Quotes” brainyquote). The man we know as Grant was an honorable man who entrusted others and did not see dishonor in them. This man lead the country through troubled times from the Mexican-American War as well as the American Civil War. His leadership prowess was sure something else that most generals of the time could not match. Grant had much respect for his enemies, he believed in destroying the army of his enemy rather than just taking over their lands. Ulysses S. Grant is deserving of a lifetime achievement award because of his military skills in the Mexican-American War, Civil War and his abilities to pass the fifteenth amendment to the constitution during his presidency which positively affected the United States.
During the times of Civil War, there were many Commanding Generals that came along. But two stand out amongst all, Ulysses S. Grant of United States of America and Robert E. Lee of Confederate States of America. Both men had formally fought, not along side of each other, in the Mexican-American War. At one point Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant worked together in the Mexican-American War. They both gained a war time experience, Grant as a quartermaster and Lee as an engineer who positioned troops and artillery during their participation in the Scott’s march from the coastal town of Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Both men were vastly different with different styles and background who not only won the affection of their men but respect of
During that summer he took many different back strengthening exercises, and in September he was accepted by the Navy. In March 1943, as a lieutenant he took command of a PT (torpedo) boat in the Solomon Islands. On the night of August 2, his boat was cruising west of New Georgia it was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer. He rallied the survivors and managed to get them to an island after being thrown across the deck onto his back. He then towed a wounded man three miles through a rough journey through different seas. He was a very brave man, for several days he risked his life repeatedly, swimming into dangerous waters hoping to find a rescue ship. He finally met up with two friendly islanders and sent them for aid with a message that he carved on a coconut. Back home he received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and the Purple Heart, but his earlier back injury had been aggravated, and unfortunately he contracted malaria. After an operation on his back, he was discharged early in 1945.