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Whitside, Samuel M., BGEN USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Bethesda, Maryland
Last Address http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Whitside
Date of Passing Dec 14, 1904
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
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.
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
Description Peninsula, 17 March-3 August 1862. The Army of the Potomac began sailing from Alexandria to Fort Monroe on 17 March 1862. This marked the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign in which perhaps as many as 155,000 Federals and 95,500 Confederates eventually became involved, although not that many were present at any one time.
McClellan began advancing from Fort Monroe early in April, but stopped for a month to besiege a much inferior Confederate force under Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder at Yorktown. During the siege Johnston had time to join Magruder with his entire force. McClellan planned a major assault on 5 May, but on 3 May Johnston began withdrawing up the peninsula. McClellan pursued, and the Confederate rear guard under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet fought a successful delaying action at Williamsburg on 5 May which developed into a major engagement, resulting in 1,866 Federal and 1,570 Confederate casualties. McClellan continued his pursuit in leisurely fashion, established his main base at White House, and toward the end of the month pushed two corps southwest across the Chickahominy River toward Richmond. His remaining three corps stayed north of the river. McClellan expected help from the force under McDowell which had metafile moved to Fredericksburg, but Jackson's valley campaign drained away half of McDowell's troops, and McClellan received only two divisions of reinforcements from this source during the campaign.
A heavy rain on 30 May flooded the Chickahominy, washing out bridges and rendering the stream unfordable. Recognizing this as an opportunity to defeat the Union force in detail, Johnston attacked the isolated Federals south of the stream near Fair Oaks on 31 May 1862. The Federals, after suffering initial reverses, were finally able to repel the attack. Each side committed some 41,000 men during the two-day engagement, the Federals losing 790 killed and 4,384 wounded, the Confederates 980 killed and 5,729 wounded.
Johnston was wounded at Fair Oaks and was replaced by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Jackson now moved quickly and with complete secrecy to Richmond, while Lee pulled back closer to Richmond and built fortifications. Late in June Lee struck hard on McClellan's right (north) flank and succeeded in cutting the Federal line of communications to the main base at White House. McClellan therefore shifted his base to Harrison's Landing on the south side of the peninsula, fighting all the way, and on 1 July was finally able to mass his forces, establish a strong defensive position, and repel Lee's attacks. It was a hard fought, complex operation known as the Seven Days' Battles and included major engagements in Mechanicsville. (26 June), Gaines' Mill or First Cold Harbor (27 June), Savage Station (29 June), Frayser's Farm or Glendale (30 June), and Malvern Hill (1 July). On 3 July Lee broke contact and returned his troops to the lines at Richmond. There was no more fighting. Casualties had been heavy on the peninsula. Federal losses in killed, wounded, and missing totaled 15,849; Confederate losses were 20,614.
In June 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign, Lincoln consolidated the Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley and other parts of western Virginia-some 45,000 men-as the Army of Virginia, assigning the commend to Pope. After Jackson moved to Richmond, Pope was given the mission of marching down the Shenandoah Valley and then east against Richmond to relieve McClellan. On 11 July 1862, Lincoln appointed Halleck as General in Chief. By that time Pope's army was in western Virginia, and McClellan's Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong, was at Harrison's Landing, with Lee in between. Neither Halleck nor Lincoln liked the disposition of the forces, and on 3 August McClellan was ordered to Join Pope by way of Aquia Creek on the Potomac, a move that got under way about two seeks later.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
March / 1862
To Month/Year
August / 1862
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember 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, 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. (New York Times, 9 Aug 1862)
Memories Siege of Yorktown: 5 Apr--4 May Slatersville: 9 May New Bridge: 20 May Ellison's Mills: 23 June Hanover Court House: 27--29 May Black Creek: 26 June Malvern Hill: 5 August