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Service Details |
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Personal Details
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Home Country
Canada | |
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Year of Birth
1839 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
COL Samuel Russell
to remember
Whitside, Samuel M., BGEN USA(Ret).
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Contact Info
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Home Town
Bethesda, Maryland |
Last Address
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Whitside
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Date of Passing
Dec 14, 1904 |
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Location of Interment
Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia |
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Last Known Activity:
DEATH OF GEN. WHITSIDE
Expires of Acute indigestion After a Brief Illness.
Had Just Returned from Trip to Panama with Canal Commission
His Long Army Career.
   Gen. S. M. Whitside, U.S.A., died suddenly at the Ebbitt House of acute indigestion yesterday morning. He had returned from Panama, where he had made a tour of the canal zone with the members of the commission. He reached the hotel Wednesday night at 9 o'clock, and at 4:30 yesterday morning Dr. Burch was called in to relieve his intense suffering in the abdomen. A half hour later he was dead.
   Word was sent to the War Department, and Capt. Hutchinson, U.S.A., took charge of the remains. Coroner Nevitt was notified and gave a certificate of natural death. The funeral arrangements will be made later by the family, who reside at Bethesda, Md.
   Born in Canada, Gen. Whitside began his career in the United States army in 1858, when he enlisted as a private in the general mounted service, shortly after being promoted to sergeant major. At the outbreak of the civil war he was appointed second lieutenant of the Sixth Cavalry, three years later being promoted to first lieutenant. He was brevetted captain and major in March, 1865. During the war Gen. Whitside was aid-de-camp to Gen. McClellan, and while in that capacity took part in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac. Afterward as aid to Gen. Banks he took part in the operations before Port Hudson. He was aid under Gen. Martindale, commanding the District of Washington, and was also aid to Gen. Pleasanton, commanding the Army of the Potomac. At Culpeper Court House he was severely wounded.
   He had been mustering and disbursing officer in Rhode Island during a part of 1864, and when the war ended he mustered out some 30,000 troops of the Army of the Shenandoah. He afterward saw considerable service in the far West, serving with his regiment in Texas and Arizona. In 1871 he was on recruiting service in Philadelphia, and in 1882 was detailed to Washington.
   Gen. Whitside was brigadier general of volunteers during the operations in Cuba in the Spanish-American war. He commanded the department of Santiago, in October, 1898, he was made colonel of the Tenth Cavalry, and served in that capacity until May, 1902, when at his own request, he was placed on the retired list under the forty years' service clause.
   Since that time he has lived at his home in Maryland. He is survived by his widow and a son, First Lieut. Warren W. Whitside, of the Fifteenth Cavalry, recently stationed at Fort Myer, and now with his regiment at Fort Ethan Allen, Vt. (The Washington Post, 1904)Â
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TRIBUTE TO GEN. WHITSIDE.
Members of Congress Express Regret for His Death--Funeral Arrangements.
   At the meeting yesterday of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce resolutions were adopted expressive of the grief of the members of the committee for the sudden death of Brig. Gen. S. M. Whitside, which occurred on Thursday morning, and of their appreciation for his qualities as a soldier and a man. A subcommittee composed of Representative Thomas B. Kyle, of Ohio, and Irving Wanger, of Pennsylvania, was appointed to attend the funeral to-morrow morning, and to place a floral tribute from the committee upon the casket.
   Representative Hepburn, chairman of the committee, presided, and voiced the sentiments of the members in a eulogy, in which he expressed his admiration for the dead soldier. Gen. Whitside accompanied the committee on their recent visit to Panama, and endeared himself to them for his lovable qualities.
   The remains of Gen. Whitside will be buried at Arlington Cemetery. Funeral services will be held in St. John's Episcopal Church, Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Rev. Dr. Roland Cotton Smith, rector, will officiate, assisted by Rev. Dr. Duncan, of Bethesda, Md., and Capt. Pierce, of Fort Myer.
   The body will be escorted to the grave by a squadron of the Seventh Cavalry, commanded by Maj. Nicholson, who served with the deceased during the Indian wars of 1889 and 1890.
   The honorary pallbearers will be Lieut. Gen. A. R. Chaffee, Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke, Commissary General G. F. Weston, Q. M. Gen. Charles F. Humphries, Brig. Gen. R. F. Frank, Brig. Gen. R. H. Hall, and Maj. J. B. Aleshire.
   The residence of the late Gen. Whitside was at Bethesda, Md., but since his demise, Mrs. Whitside and family have taken up temporary quarters at the Gordon Hotel. (The Washington Post, 1904)Â
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BURIED AT ARLINGTON.
Remains of Gen. Whitside Laid to Rest with Military Honors.
   The remains of Brig. Gen. S. M. Whitside were interred at Arlington with military honors yesterday. Escorted by a squadron of Seventh Cavalry, in command of Maj. Nichollson, who fought with Gen. Whitside in the frontier skirmishes of the early '90's, and by a band, the remains were taken to St. John's Church, where the services were held. From there the procession moved up Connecticut avenue and out through Georgetown to Arlington. The coffin, heaped with flowers, was mounted on a caisson, following the cavalry and preceding the long line of carriages.
   At the church the services were simple, and were attended only by the immediate friends and relatives. Rev. Roland Cotton-Smith, rector of St. John's Church, officiated, assisted by Chaplain Pierce of Fort Myer, and by Dr. Duncan, of Bethesda. The honorary pallbearers were Lieut. Gen. Adna R. Chaffee, Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke, Commissary Gen. G. F. Weston, Quartermaster Gen. Charles F. Humphries, Brig. Gen. R. F. Frank, Brig. Gen. R. H. Hall, and Maj. J. B. Aleshire.
   Representatives Thomas B. Kyle, of Ohio, and Irving P. Wanger, of Pennsylvania, were in attendance on the part of the Committee on Military Affairs of the House.
   The troops of the squadron of cavalry, under Maj. Nichollson, were in command of Capts. Averill and Roberts, and Lieuts. West and Montgomery. At the grave a brief service was held by Chaplain Pierce, after which the usual salute was fired. (The Washington Post, 1904)Â
Works Cited:
The Washington Post. (1904, December 19). Buried at Arlington. The Washington Post , p. 4.
The Washington Post. (1904, December 16). Death of Gen. Whitside. The Washington Post, p. 13.
The Washington Post. (1904, December 17). Tribute to Gen. Whitside. The Washington Post , p. 4.
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Other Comments:
6TH U.S. CAVALRY IN CAMP AT SNICKERS GAP, VA.--1862
The group of 6th Cavalry officers on page 53 [of the Mar-Apr 1934 issue of The Quartermaster Review] was taken in camp at Snickers Gap, Va., in 1862, and has been identified by Colonel Warren Whitside, Q.M.C., whose father is in the group, as follows: standing, left to right, 2nd Lt. Thos. W. Simson, 1st Lt. Albert Coats. Sitting, left to right, 2nd Lt. Samuel Whitside, Captain (Brevet Colonel) August Kautz.
   
WITH BRIG. GEN. LEONARD WOOD AT SANTIAGO, CUBA, 1899
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Reflections on BGEN Whitside's
US Army Service
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TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, WHAT INFLUENCED HIS/HER DECISION TO JOIN THE ARMY?
 | | Joining the Military |
On the eve of the Civil War the regular Army was small and spread throughout the United States and its expanding territories. The Army consisted of 1,100 officers and slightly more than 15,000 enlisted men that were divided among nineteen regiments: ten of infantry, four of artillery, two each of dragoons and cavalry, and one of mounted riflemen. These regiments were comprised of 197 companies, 179 of which were spread out over seventy-nine isolated posts in the western territories. The other eighteen companies were manning ten garrisons in the east, primarily along the Atlantic coast and the Canadian border. It was into this Army that Samuel Marmaduke Whitside, a nineteen-year-old bookkeeper from New York, enlisted in the General Mounted Service on 10 November 1858 at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
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TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OR PATH HE/SHE TOOK IN HIS/HER MILITARY SERVICE. WHERE DID THEY GO FOR BASIC TRAINING AND WHAT UNITS, BASES OR SQUADRONS WERE THEY ASSIGNED TO? WHAT WAS HIS/HER REASON FOR LEAVING?
The careers of the senior Army officers at the end of the nineteenth century were highlighted by extreme self-sacrifice and devotion to duty and country, but history has largely forgotten these patriots. One of these officers was Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside, a distinguished cavalry officer who faithfully served his nation from 1858 to 1902. He commanded at every level from platoon to department for thirty-two of his forty-four years in service, including Army posts such as Camp Huachuca, Jefferson Barracks, and Fort Sam Houston, the Departments of Eastern Cuba and Santiago and Puerto Principe, Cuba, a provisional cavalry brigade, the 10th and 5th Cavalry Regiments, a squadron in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and a troop 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.
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IF HE/SHE PARTICIPATED IN ANY MILITARY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING COMBAT, HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE DESCRIBE THOSE YOU FEEL WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO HIM/HER AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY.
New York Times - August 9, 1862 ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Thursday, Aug. 7, 1862. Yesterday, six companies of cavalry, under command of Capt. GREGG, were sent out to reconnoiter the country north of Malvern Hill. One company of the Sixth United States Cavalry, led by Lieut. S.M. WHITESIDE, formed the advance,  | | Different |
and took the New-Market road. The remainder of the cavalry took the same road, but when about two miles from the Hill deployed through the woods on the left until they reached James River. Lieut. WHITESIDE threw out skirmishers on each side of the road, with directions to proceed carefully, and halt for the main body to arrive before entering upon any open field. When two and a half miles from Malvern Hill, the main portion of the company and the skirmishers came simultaneously to the edge of an open field. The rebel videttes were discovered one and a half miles to the front. They were dismounted, and appeared to be free and careless as to anything that might be transpiring in the woods before them. Lieut. WHITESIDE reported the fact to Capt. GREGG, and offered to attempt to cage the videttes. While the Orderly was on his way with the message to Capt. GREGG, Lieut. WHITESIDE discovered an earthwork half a mile in the rear of the rebel videttes. The earthwork was partially concealed by woods. Capt. GREGG observed a continuation of the same work when he had arrived at the bank of the James River. The earthwork commences at James River, and, crossing the old turnpike and New-Market roads, extends in a northeast direction for a distance of one and one-fourth miles. A large encampment is believed to be behind the work. This new discovery caused Lieut. WHITESIDE to abandon his plan of surrounding the videttes. Upon the return of the cavalry, they were met by a contraband, who mistook them for "secesh," and readily replied to their inquiries. He said that Gen. ANDERSON had sent him to procure milk from a neighboring farm-house; and further stated that Gens. ANDERSON, LONGSTREET, TOOMBS, and a large force of rebels were behind the earthwork. He also said that the rebels were making preparations to attack us. The contraband was taken to headquarters. Lieut. WHITESIDE left a sick bed for the sake of accompanying the expedition. Toward night, however, he became so exhausted as to render his return to camp near Westover a matter of necessity.
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OF ALL THEIR DUTY STATIONS OR ASSIGNMENTS, ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY HE/SHE HAD FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY? WHICH WAS THEIR LEAST FAVORITE?
Major Whitside moved his family to their next post, Fort Myer, Virginia, arriving in May 1894. Duty at an eastern post, particularly Fort Myer, was viewed throughout the Army as an assignment in reward for faithful and gallant service. The troops at Fort Myer served as a showcase for the Army and performed at ceremonies in the nation's capitol, much as the 3rd Infantry Regiment--the Old Guard--does today. Major Guy V. Henry, a Medal of Honor recipient and arguably the most renowned Indian fighter since General Custer, had lobbied for the position of commander of Fort Myer in January 1891 while on the Sioux campaign following his famous 100-mile ride that culminated in the fight on White Clay Creek near the Drexel Catholic Mission. Henry's bid for the position was successful, and more significantly, he was able to get one of his troops from the 9th Cavalry assigned to the installation, the first time buffalo soldiers took up station at the eastern post. Ironically, while commanding Fort Myer, Henry was transferred to the 7th Cavalry Regiment upon promotion to lieutenant colonel in January 1892.
In the summer of 1894, it appears that the Army intended to swap the two field grade officers, sending Whitside to command Fort Myer and Henry to fill the lieutenant colonel billet at Fort Riley. However, preferring a drier climate, Henry requested assignment to Fort Sam Houston as the lieutenant colonel of the 5th Cavalry Regiment instead. During the summer, Henry commanded his troops one final time in the field while Whitside commanded the post, and in August Henry headed to Texas. Shortly after Henry's departure and after only four months since arriving in the nation's capitol, Major Whitside received orders to Fort Stanton, New Mexico. The major was obviously dismayed as he wrote to the Adjutant General on 20 September:
"Early in May last, without any solicitation on my part, I was relieved from duty at Fort Riley, Kansas and assigned to Fort Meyer [sic], Virginia, and given to understand, that this selection was made in consideration of my long and active service, with troops in the Western Country, and as a recognition of my services, in the Sioux War, in South Dakota. . . . I am now in receipt of an order, coming within a period of five (5) month[s], to be executed by the first of the coming month, sending me to a one Company Post, at Fort Stanton, New Mexico with no Railroad connection, nearer than one hundred (100) miles. While I have always endeavored to obey all orders without a question, demurer or hesitation, as a soldier, and without regard to convenience or privation, and hold myself ever ready to do so, I must frankly confess to a great disappointment, and chagrin, on receipt of this order, and do most earnestly, but respectfully, pray that the Honorable Secretary of War will, with his characteristic, justness and consideration, reconsider and revoke this order, sending me to Fort Stanton.
"My assignment to Fort Meyer, is the first recognition of my services rendered on that occasion [referring to the Battle of Wounded Knee], and if after a review of facts herewith submitted, I may be permitted to remain at Fort Meyer, at least a year or two, I would be most grateful - or if I must be assigned elsewhere, may I ask to be sent to Fort Sheridan, Illinois, where there is a squadron of my regiment, who served under my immediate command, at Wounded Knee, and during the campaign of 1890 & 1891, and who were put on duty there, as a reward for their services.
"I have the honor to be, Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant, S. M. Whitside
Major, 7th Cavalry."
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FROM THEIR ENTIRE MILITARY SERVICE, DESCRIBE ANY PERSONAL MEMORIES, YOU MAY BE AWARE OF, WHICH IMPACTED HIM/HER THE MOST.
The Founding of Camp Huachuca: Captain William A. Rafferty, commanding M Company, and his second lieutenant, Louis A. Craig, left Fort Grant on 18 February and arrived at Old Camp Wallen on the 21st [March, 1877], where Lieutenant Hanna and B Company were already bivouacked. They remained there a week setting  | | Different |
up camp when Captain Whitside arrived on 1 March. Whitside, who had been promoted to captain a year earlier than Rafferty, assumed command of the operation. Captain Whitside was familiar with the area, having scouted for Indians there the previous spring. He probably knew that Camp Wallen had been abandoned in 1869 because of an excessive rate of malaria among the troops stationed there. The soldiers, in their haste to abandon Wallen that October, left the area in a state of disarray. More than seven years later the old camp was still littered with battered boxes, worn out equipment, broken bottles, pieces of crockery, cans, and kitchenware. There were Mexican sheepherders and employees of the San Ignacio del Babocomari Ranch living in the adobe ruins whose walls were crumbling. Dissatisfied with the condition of Camp Wallen, on 3 March Whitside led the two companies, consisting of four officers and 127 troopers, approximately nine miles up into the Huachuca Mountains where they encamped near a spring in a heavily wooded area that offered excellent observation over the valleys below. Whitside realized this was the perfect location for the new camp. On 4 March, he ordered initial entries in a journal, identifying their location as "Camp Huachuca, Huachuca Mountains, Arizona Territory, Captain S. M. Whitside Commanding Officer."
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WHAT PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS DO YOU BELIEVE HE/SHE WAS MOST PROUD OF FROM HIS/HER MILITARY SERVICE?
Following the December 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee, [Brevet Brig. Gen. James W.] Forsyth recommended, "Major S. M. Whitside, 7th Cavalry, be given a brevet of Lieutenant Colonel for the admirable and efficient manner in which he accomplished the capture of Big Foot's Band of Hostile Indians near the Porcupine  | | Different |
Butte, South Dakota, December 28th 1890, and his dispositions for the secure retention of the band while returning to his camp on Wounded Knee Creek, and until joined by the second Battalion of this regiment at about 8-30, P. M. on the same day; and that he be given a brevet of Colonel, for conspicuous gallantry displayed in the Battle of Wounded Knee, December 29th 1890." Unfortunately, the recommendations required the endorsement of the Department Commander, Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, who in October, rather forcefully replied, "The recommendations for brevets or for honorable mention for such field officers is, in the opinion of the department commander, an insult to the memory of the dead, as well as the brave men living." In almost contradictory fashion, Miles did recommend approval of Forsyth's recommendations for Medals of Honor for a number of his troopers. Fourteen 7th Cavalry soldiers received the nation's highest award for their actions at Wounded Knee, three for their actions at Drexel Mission on the White Clay Creek, one for actions in both battles and two for their conduct during the entire campaign. Additionally, two artillery soldiers who manned the Hotchkiss steel mountain rifles at Wounded Knee received the Medal. Of these twenty-two soldiers, four were officers.
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OF ALL THE MEDALS, AWARDS, FORMAL PRESENTATIONS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES HE/SHE RECEIVED, WHICH WERE THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO HIM/HER AND WHY?
After briefly conducting some official business in Tucson, the Whitsides began their much-deserved leave on 26 March, but a potential Apache uprising later that summer brought Whitside back six months earlier than expected. In August the White Mountain Indians from the San Carlos Indian Reservation began to show signs of  | | Different |
disaffection. They were stirred up by Noch-ay-del-Klinne, a medicine man who promised to raise up dead warriors and eliminate white men from their country. In late August, Major General Orlando B. Wilcox, commanding the Department of Arizona, ordered all available troops to stand in readiness at putting down any uprising that might occur. The agent at the reservation demanded that the medicine man be brought before him "dead or alive." General Wilcox ordered Colonel Eugene A. Carr, the commander of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, to comply with the agent's request. Carr led seventy-nine troopers and twenty-three Indian scouts on the trail to Cibecue Creek where they were able to arrest Noch-ay-det-Klinne without incident on 30 August. However, that evening while setting up camp, the Indian scouts treacherously attacked their own regiment in an attempt to free the medicine man. During the fight, the 6th Cavalry lost seven men including Capt. Edmund Hentig. Carr had the medicine man executed rather than allow him to escape. For several days rumors filtered in that Carr and his command had been massacred. By the time they returned to Fort Apache, General Wilcox had the entire regiment scouting in the field. The troopers, coming from Forts Lowell, Grant, Apache, McDonald, and Bowie, and Camps Thomas, Huachuca, and Hualpai, scoured the southern Arizona Mountains. Whitside was recalled from leave and on 29 September joined his troop, which was scouting along the San Carlos River. The regiment remained in the field through the end of October until all the Indians returned to the reservation. Whitside then led B Troop back to Camp Thomas. Captain Whitside was later called to serve on the General Court Martial of three of the Indian Scouts implicated in the murder of Captain Hentig. The three scouts were eventually found guilty and hung.
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IF KNOWN, PLEASE LIST ANY INDIVIDUAL(S) FROM HIS/HER TIME IN THE MILITARY WHO STOOD OUT AS HAVING THE MOST POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEM AND WHY?
His wife, Carrie McGavock Whitside. To honor the sacrifices of Army families, a statue was unveiled at the [Huachuca] cemetery in November 1996 called Mourning Hearts: A Soldier's Family. Sculpted by Jessica McCain and funded by the Huachuca Museum Society, it is the first monumental tribute on a U.S. Army installation  | | Different |
to a soldier's family. This statue depicts the wife of a frontier Soldier standing over the grave of one of her children, a baby on her hip and a toddler hugging her leg. It is easy to envision Carrie Whitside, wife of Capt. S. M. Whitside, standing in 1876 over the grave of her two-year-old daughter, Effie, her four-year-old son, Samuel, Jr., hugging her leg while she cradles her ten-month-old baby, Warren, in her arms. No doubt she is mourning the love lost; likely she is also recalling the child she buried six years earlier at Camp Griffin, Texas. The scene is full of tragedy while at the same moment depicting the inner strength and intestinal fortitude of this heart broken yet brave woman. The greater tragedy is in knowing that in less than four months she would stand over the grave of her eldest son, Samuel, at Yuma, California, while traveling across the frontier to Fort Lowell in the Arizona Territory, and further that she would bury another child, Dallas--yet to be born--at Camp Huachuca four years later. By coincidence--or perhaps not by coincidence at all--this statue "Mourning Hearts: A Soldier's Family" stands in the Fort Huachuca Cemetery, final resting place of Carrie's son, Dallas. Carrie Whitside would later bury her husband, Brig. Gen. S. M. Whitside, in 1904, another son, at the end of World War I in 1919, and a son-in-law, Lt. Col. Archie Miller, in 1921 after a tragic military aircraft accident. Finally she would be laid to rest alongside her husband and son at Arlington National Cemetery in 1936.
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ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM HIS/HER SERVICE, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY AT THE TIME, BUT STILL MADE THEM LAUGH LATER ON?
New York Times - May 20, 1862 THE ADVANCE.; A RECONNAISSANCE AND A SKIRMISH AN AGREEABLE MISTAKE. WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF RICHMOND, Friday, May 16. Yesterday three companies of the Sixth United States Cavalry, under command of Capt. LOWELL, reconnoitered the country for a distance of three miles beyond Macon's farm -- at  | | My Funniest Military Memory |
present their camp-ground. The rebel pickets were driven in, and the position of the enemy was discovered. Towards evening a slight skirmish occurred, during which the rebels brought to the front two pieces of artillery. They fired six rounds of shell, but without doing any injury to our men. A portion of the Second Rhode Island Regiment was then ordered up to act in conjunction with the cavalry, when the rebels withdrew to join their main force. Lieut. WHITSIDE, of Company I, Sixth Cavalry, dashed into the woods with sixteen men, and put to flight a whole squadron of the enemy's cavalry. They scampered off in the most hasty manner, yelling at the top of their voices "The Yankees," "The Yankees." Lieut. WHITSIDE returned with one prisoner and two horses. On the way home a messenger was intercepted, who stated that he had been sent by Capt. ORE, of the Third Virginia Cavalry, who were located on our right, to inform Gen. STUART that our force was advancing, and ask for permission to retire to a safer position. Gen. STUART's headquarters were at St. Peter's Church, two and a half miles in a Southwest direction from Macon's Hill. When Lieut. WHITSIDE was approaching a house, which a few minutes previous had been occupied by rebel troops, he was met by a contraband carrying a large basket, who anxiously inquired for some officer in the Fourth Virginia Cavalry. The contraband was promptly informed that the parties he sought were some distance ahead, but the basket (which contained a profuse supply of delicate viands) would be properly disposed of if left in the keeping of a Union officer. The contraband manifested great surprise at this sudden turn of affairs, and, pointing to the house, said in substance that his mistress had carefully prepared the contents of the basket for Confederate soldiers, but, for his own part, he would much rather give them to Union officers. It is needless to add that the Lieutenant and his command did not want for edibles that night.
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IF HE/SHE SURVIVED MILITARY SERVICE, WHAT PROFESSION(S) DID HE/SHE FOLLOW AFTER DISCHARGE?
[Following retirement from the Army,] S. M. Whitside moved to Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Carrie, and their fifteen-year-old son, Victor. However, the retired general likely found his new life rather sedentary after forty-three years in the cavalry, and within two years, Whitside again answered the call to serve his  | | Different |
country. In 1904 he traveled to the Isthmus of Panama with the House Committee for Interstate and Foreign Commerce, chaired by the Honorable William P. Hepburn. The committee sailed out of New York on the U.S. Army Transport Sumner traveling first to Santiago de Cuba where they were royally received. Whitside no doubt reveled in his return to the island nation where he had commanded at the zenith of his military career, and was certainly well received by the Cuban citizenry. They continued on to Panama where President Amador and his cabinet cordially received the committee members. After inspecting the proposed route for the new canal, the congressional delegation met with Secretary of War William H. Taft in Colon before returning to the United States. Later the Congressmen would agree that Samuel Whitside had endeared himself to them through his "sociability and kindness."
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IF KNOWN, WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS WAS HE OR SHE A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY SPECIFIC BENEFITS THEY DERIVED FROM THEIR MEMBERSHIPS?
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General Whiside was a loyal companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, elected through the Commandery of the District of Columbia, December 6, 1882. "Original" Insignia 2516.
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IF THEY WERE HERE TODAY, WHAT ADVICE DO YOU THINK HE OR SHE WOULD GIVE TO THOSE WHO FOLLOWED IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS AND RECENTLY ENTERED MILITARY SERVICE?
Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside was not one of the great generals of his time. He was not a brilliant strategist nor noted author of doctrine. Although a combat veteran, he was not hailed as a courageous fighter nor formally recognized with medals of valor or brevets for gallantry.  | | My Advice on Military Service |
General Whitside was a consummate professional soldier who proudly served his nation selflessly for more than four decades, in war and peace. He rose through the ranks from private to brigadier general, enduring a stagnant promotion system based primarily on seniority, ultimately being appointed a flag officer at the twilight of his career in recognition of his many years of honorable service. In today's parlance, he could be called a successful due-course-officer who continued to serve his nation for as long as his nation would have him. General Whitside's career may, at first glance, seem of little historical significance. But in light of the increased attrition rate among officers within today's armed forces, his lifetime of dedication to duty and country can serve as an example of selfless service to the officer corps of the objective force. Some of the best and brightest officers of today's Army are leaving the military at alarming rates. Among the reasons for resigning their commissions or retiring from active duty, many officers site frequent deployments, extended family separations, substandard military living conditions, and lower wages compared to the private sector. During General Whitside's career he experienced one of the largest post-war drawdowns, which was highlighted by pay cuts and a stagnant promotion system. Whitside spent the majority of his career at remote locations in Texas such as Camps Austin, Sherman, Jacksboro, and Livingston, and Forts Richardson, Belknap, Griffin, and Clark, and in the Arizona Territory such as Camps Lowell, Huachuca, Thomas, and Fort Apache. His wife, Carrie, always by his side even at these remote frontier outposts, bore him seven children, four of whom they mournfully buried at various locations across the continent. He was injured or ill numerous times. Yet, in the face of all these hardships during the rigors of command in the frontier Army, he continued to serve his nation selflessly.
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HOW EFFECTIVE HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM BEEN IN HELPING YOU RECORD YOUR REMEMBERED PERSONS MILITARY SERVICE? DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE?
General Whitside's career was typical of a professional cavalry officer in the frontier Army. The cavalrymen and their families of that time period endured life at isolated outposts, often living under canvas until they were able to build their own quarters, usually with their own money. Their income was  | | Different |
under constant scrutiny by Congress and occasionally reduced or even withheld. The lack of an early retirement plan coupled with a seniority based promotion system kept officers from advancing to positions of increased responsibility except in time of war, forcing many to spend decades in a single rank. Most officers detested the duties of reconstruction and Indian pacification, not all that different from the feelings of today's officers toward peacekeeping missions and stability and support operations. And yet, through all these tribulations, the professional, career oriented officer corps continued to serve their nation and their fellow countrymen. A century after his retirement from the Army, Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside's lifetime in uniform is still representative of such professionalism and stands as a hallmark of selfless service to not only his descendants, but more importantly, to all military officers serving and yet to serve. *Note: source of answers to questions is: Russell, Samuel L., "Selfless Service: The Cavalry Career of Brigadier General Samuel M. Whitside from 1858 to 1902," MMAS Thesis (Fort Leavenworth: U.S. Command and General Staff College, 2002). ** $$
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