The Spanish American War caused a broad spectrum of the American public to join the military. Many of these people, of course, went on to gain success in other fields. Below is a listing of people who were known, or became known, for activities other than their service in or actions during the Spanish American War.
The List:
Clem was famous for his claims as the Civil War "Drummer Boy of Shiloh." Clem had smade a career in the military, graduating from the School of Artillery in 1875. By the time of the Spanish American War, he was held the rank of Major and was srving as a quartermaster. Clem retired as a major general in 1916. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Feeney, Francis ("Frank Ford")
Feeney, who went on to become famous in films as "Frank Ford" both as an actor and director, served as a field musician in Company L of the 1st Maine Volunteer Infantry. Feeney was the older brother of director John Ford (John Martin Feeney). Among his films is the Quiet Man where he starred with John Wayne.
Knox, William Franklin ("Frank") (1874 - 1944)
Knox served as a private in the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry ("Rough Riders") Troop D, under Theodore Roosevelt. After serving in World War One, and being a vice-presidential candidate for Alf Landon in 1936, he was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Franklin Roosevelt. He held the position during World War Two. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
LaGuardia, Fiorello (1882 -1947)
Laguardia was a the son of a regular army bandmaster, and was a 16 year old newspaper correspondent at Tampa while the Vth Corps was bing concentrated at that locatiom. he wanted to accompany the Vth Corps to Cuba but was unable to do so because of the illness of his father. he later became famous as a congressman and as the mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945.
Lewis was an actor. He had attended Annapolis and Syracuse University, and began his acting career in 1902. In 1914 he made his silent film debut in "The Million Dollar Mystery." His most famous role, however was that of "Captain of the Winkie Guard" in the 1939 classic film "The Wizard of Oz." This green character made the famous exclamation of "You've killed her! She's dead! Long live Dorothy!" He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale, California.
Mitchell, William "Billy" (1879 - 1936)
"Billy" Mitchell served as a private in the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and became a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Volunteer Signal Corps. Mitchell stayed in the army, and became famous and (reviled) for his efforts that proved the value of airpower in the mid-1920's. Later he worked to warn the country about the upcoming crisis in the Pacific with Japan, which came to pass a decade and a half later as World War Two (he had even predicted the attack on Pearl Harbor). His efforts did not, however, meet favor in the military. Mitchell, a brigadier general, was courtmartialed, and he resigned from the service. Later he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Film star Tom Mix claimed to have seen action in Cuba and have been wounded. In fact, he served with Battery M of the 4th U.S. Artillery. He served in the U.S., in Delaware and Virginia. Reportedly, his military career ended with his desertion in 1901. During his film career, he made 93 feature films, begining in 1914 and ending with his death in a car accident on October 12, 1940. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.
Mott, Charles Stewart (1875-1973)
Mott became the vice-president of General Motors, as well as banker and philanthropist. He founded the Mott Foundation in 1926 "to support efforts that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society." Mott served as a Gunners Mate, 1st Class from April 28 to September 2, 1898 aboard the U.S.S. YANKEE. Mott is buried atGlenwood Cemetery, Flint, Michigan.
Runyon served in Company L of th 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, seeing action in the Philippines. Runyon became a newspaper columnist and feature writer. The collection of literature he wrote about broadway charactors became the title and story for the famous American musical entitled "Guys and Dolls". Runyon died of cancer in 1946, and had his ashes strewn over Broadway.
The writer and poet served with Company C of the 6th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the war, seeing service in Puerto Rico. he went on to become a reknowned writer, winning Pulitzer prizes in history and poetry. Among his famous works are his biographies of Abraham Lincoln. Sandburg is buried at his birthplace in Galesburg, Illinois.
Taylor, Charles Isham (January 20, 1875 - February 23, 1922)
Taylor was a member of the 10th U.S. Calvary, Troop H. In Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor became the manager of the first African American professional baseball team, the "Negro League Birmingham Giants," in 1904. Relocating the team to Indiana and renaming it, he eventually, in 1914, he became part-owner of the successful team, then called the"Indianapolis ABCs." Taylor became a co-founder and vice-president of the Negro National League. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Find-a-grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2284
Secretary of War, Official Army Register
for 1898. (Washington DC: Adjutant General's Office, December 1, 1897)
13.
Francis Feeney (Frank Ford):
A Roster of the 1st Maine Volunteer Infantry
http://www.spanamwar.com/1stmaineroster.html
LaCombe, Margaret, Correspondence, February
23, 2007
Platinum Celebs http://www.platinum-celebs.com/actors/francis-ford/filmography_bio.php
Knox, Frank
Nofi, Albert A., The Spanish American War, 1898 (Conshohocken, PA:
Combined Books, Inc. 1996) 307.
Find-a-grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2464
Laguardia, Fiorello:
Find-a-Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=596
Nofi, Albert A., The
Spanish-American War, 1898 . (Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books,
1996) 107.
Lewis, Mitchell:
Find-a-Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9101
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507568/
New York Times: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=42241
Mitchell, William:
Find-a-Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=720
Nofi, Albert A., The
Spanish-American War, 1898 . (Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books,
1996) 308.
Mix, Tom:
Cohen, Stan. Images
of Spanish American War, April-August,1998. (Missoula:Pictorial
Histories Publishing Co., Inc., 1997). 93
Find-a-grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=721
Mott, Charles Stewart:
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, "About Mott"
http://www.mott.org/about.aspx
Dotter, Sharon R., from The USS YANKEE
on the Cuban Blockade, 1898.
Find-a-Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7367959
Lebarre, John The New York Volunteer Naval
Militia http://www.spanamwar.com/NYnavalmiltia.html
Runyon, Damon:
Find-a-Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6372079
Ward, Kyle Roy, In the Shadow of Glory. (St. Cloud: North
Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.2000) 71-72.
Sandburg, Carl:
Barnes, Mark R., The American Army Moves on
Puerto-Rico, Part 2 http://spanamwar.com/puertoland2.htm
Find-A-Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=925
The Carl Sandburg Historic Site http://www.sandburg.org/sandbio.html
Taylor, Charles Isham
France, Rick
Find-A-Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7872248
|
||||||
