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Duane Kimbrow-Historian
to remember
Moore, Albert (MOH-Boxer Rebellion), 1st Sgt.
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Contact Info
Home Town Merced
Last Address San Francisco
Date of Passing Sep 14, 1916
Location of Interment San Francisco National Cemetery (VA) - San Francisco, California
Sergeant Moore served many years in the Army prior to 1900 with a career spanning from 1883 until 1908. He enlisted for one hitch in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1898-1903. In all of his service, the character of his service was rated as "Good" to "Excellent".
He first enlisted at the age of 22 on 8 November 1883 at the Benecia Barracks, and was discharged 8 November 1888. Served with D Company, 1st Artillery at the Presidio of San Francisco.
He re-enlisted on 17 November 1888, and was discharged 16 November 1893 at the Presidio of San Francisco as a Sergeant, D Company, 5th Artillery. He again reenlisted on 28 December 1894 at the Benecia Barracks, California, and served with A Company, 1st Infantry. He was discharged 27 December 1897 at the Presidio of San Francisco, as a Private.
On 18 January 1898, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at Mare island, California. He served in the Marines until 17 January 1903. It was during this period that he served in combat during the Spanish-American War at the Battle of Santiago, Cuba aboard the USS Oregon BB-3 in 1898.
This same cruiser, the USS Oregon, transported the Marine contingent to China where he was part of the 1st Marine Regiment that protected the legations there. He fought against the Boxers in what was known as the China Relief Expedition/Boxer Rebellion.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor on 19 July 1901.
His Citation reads:
Medal of Honor Awarded for actions during the China Relief
For The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Albert Moore, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in action in the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 21 July to 17 August 1900. Although under a heavy fire from the enemy, Private Moore assisted in the erection of barricades.
General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 55 (July 19, 1901)
Action Date: July 21 - August 17, 1900
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Private
In the last part of his career, he reenlisted in the Army on 14 February 1906 in New York and retired there on 27 August 1908, having served as a 1st Sergeant with A Company, 23d Infantry.
He continued to live in San Francisco after his retirement from the service according to the Census records. No other information of his private life. He passed away in 1916, cause unknown. At the time of the 1910 Census, he was living as a lodger in a hotel in San Francisco, still single, listing his occupation as "Soldier, retired."
1st Sgt. Albert Moore was interred in San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio, San Francisco, in Section: West , Site: 1032-A.
Other Comments:
see Notes for details
Spanish-American War
From Month/Year
April / 1898
To Month/Year
August / 1898
Description The Spanish–American War (Spanish: Guerra hispano-estadounidense or Guerra hispano-americana; Filipino: Digmaang Espanyol-Amerikano) was a conflict fought between Spain and the United States in 1898. Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in Cuba leading to United States intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. American acquisition of Spain's Pacific possessions led to its involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately in the Philippine–American War.
Revolts had been occurring for some years in Cuba against Spanish rule. The U.S. later backed these revolts upon entering the Spanish–American War. There had been war scares before, as in the Virginius Affair in 1873. In the late 1890s, US public opinion was agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda led by newspaper publishers such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst which used yellow journalism to call for war. The business community across the United States had just recovered from a deep depression, and feared that a war would reverse the gains. They lobbied vigorously against going to war.
The US Navy battleship Maine was mysteriously sunk in Havana harbor; political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war that he had wished to avoid.[9] Spain promised time and time again that it would reform, but never delivered. The United States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba. First Madrid declared war, and Washington then followed suit.
The main issue was Cuban independence; the ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. US naval power proved decisive, allowing expeditionary forces to disembark in Cuba against a Spanish garrison already facing nationwide Cuban insurgent attacks and further wasted by yellow fever. Numerically superior Cuban, Philippine, and US forces obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba and Manila despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry units and fierce fighting for positions such as San Juan Hill. Madrid sued for peace with two obsolete Spanish squadrons sunk in Santiago de Cuba and Manila Bay and a third, more modern fleet recalled home to protect the Spanish coasts.
The result was the 1898 Treaty of Paris, negotiated on terms favorable to the US which allowed it temporary control of Cuba and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine islands. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($575,760,000 today) to Spain by the US to cover infrastructure owned by Spain.
The defeat and collapse of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock to Spain's national psyche, and provoked a thorough philosophical and artistic revaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98.[ The United States gained several island possessions spanning the globe and a rancorous new debate over the wisdom of expansionism. It was one of only five US wars (against a total of eleven sovereign states) to have been formally declared by Congress.
