Henry Nash
Henry Nash | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Harry Nash |
Born | September 9, 1869 Mount Sterling, Indiana, US |
Died | July 5, 1902 (age 32) Manila, Luzon, the Philippines |
Buried | Globe Cemetery, Globe, Arizona |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1898 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment |
Battles/wars | Spanish–American War |
Henry W. Nash, (September 9, 1869 – July 5, 1902) was an Arizona pioneer who served as a Sergeant in Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War. Later, he was one of the first Thomasites sent by the U.S. government to establish an English language-based public education system in the Philippines in the early 1900s.
Early life
Henry W. Nash was born in Mount Sterling, Indiana, the son of Louise Walden Nash and disgraced Civil War veteran George W. Nash.
Harry Nash grew up in Mount Sterling and attended school a few miles south in Vevay, Indiana. He went on to college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.[4]
Arizona Territory
After finishing his education at DePauw, Nash headed to the
In Arizona, Nash taught at many schools in
Political career
Both Buckey O'Neill and Nash were active leaders of Arizona's
In 1896, the National Direct Legislation League ("N.D.L.L.") was founded, and both Nash and O'Neill became active in local efforts to reduce public corruption by establishing an initiative and referendum system that allowed direct legislation by the territory's citizens. In 1897, Nash was appointed the N.D.L.L. Vice-president and Organizer for the Arizona Territory, and wrote a weekly column in the Prescott Pick and Drill promoting the cause.[19] With the aid of O'Neill, Nash secured the passage of several minor direct legislation laws in the territorial legislature.[4]
The Rough Riders
In 1898, war broke out between the United States and Spain. On May 2, Nash enlisted as a Corporal to serve in Troop A of the
The 1st Volunteer Cavalry would soon be widely known as the "Rough Riders" under the command of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had previously pushed for American support of Cuban independence in his role as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt's Rough Riders included many college athletes, cowboys, and ranchers. In April, Buckey O'Neill had also joined the Regiment as Captain of Troop A, and thus was Nash's Troop commander. O'Neill tried to establish an entire Cavalry Regiment made up of Arizona cowboys, but only Troop A and Troop B, with 107 men each, eventually fought in Cuba.[21]
Nash and the other men mustered in at Fort Whipple Barracks near Prescott, Arizona. On May 4, Arizona's Troops marched down to the Prescott town plaza for a grand send-off before they boarded a train headed to San Antonio for difficult and intensive training with "half broken range horses". Nash apparently did well, as he was promoted to Sergeant on May 14.[22] At the end of May, they traveled from San Antonio to Tampa, Florida, their embarkation point. On June 13, eight Troops, including A and B, boarded the transport Yucatan No. 8 for Cuba. Four Troops from the Regiment and almost all the men's horses were left behind.[21]
The Rough Riders landed at
The camps of the Rough Riders were infested with malaria, and the men were more affected by the mosquito-borne disease than they had been by Spanish bullets. On August 8, the weary Regiment shipped out of Santiago, headed for
Nash and the rest of the Regiment mustered out of the service on September 15, 1898, and he arrived back home in Globe on October 7 as a war hero.[21] Upon his return, Nash gave "a very interesting account of the Santiago campaign" and paid "a high tribute to the bravery and soldierly bearing of the late Capt. Bucky O'Neil who commanded A Troop."[24] He soon resumed teaching, but headed to the mountains in search of gold, silver and copper after his school sessions were over.[12][25][26] The Arizona Silver Belt descriptively noted his departure from Globe in May 1900 as he headed out in search of that summer's fortune: "Harry Nash, the straight up and all around hustler, soldier and miner, left Friday for the South."[27]
Service as a Thomasite in the Philippines
In the fall of 1900, Nash received an appointment from the U.S. government to teach in the Philippines with an annual salary of $1,200. He became one of the Thomasites, whose government mission was to send 500 teachers to the Philippines to establish a new public school system, train Filipino teachers, and teach basic education with English as the medium of instruction. The name "Thomasite" became the designation of all pioneer American teachers in the Philippines, because the United States Army Transport Thomas, which arrived in Manila in August 1901, carried the largest contingent of teachers. Nash, however, had arrived in Manila, Luzon in December 1900 in advance of the Thomas. He taught in Macabebe, and by the summer of 1902, he was superintendent of schools in his district.[28][29][30][31] While in the Philippines, Nash wrote at least two letters to his old Rough Riders Commander, President Theodore Roosevelt, and the President wrote short letters back to him.[32][33]
Death
Henry W. Nash took ill after school on July 3, 1902, and checked himself in to a Manila hospital. Two days later, he was dead of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 32. Nash had been a charter member of the
References
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- ^ Plymouth Colony, Its History & People, 1620–1691 by Eugene Aubrey Stratton
- ^ "Hill". www.2mass.reunioncivilwar.com.
- ^ a b "Direct Legislation Record". J.W. Sullivan. February 17, 1894 – via Google Books.
- ^ Sheriff Thompson's Day. Turbulence in the Arizona Territory. By Jess G. Hayes. Published by the University Of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1968.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (March 8, 1890). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 187819??, March 08, 1890, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (March 25, 1897). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, March 25, 1897, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (April 1, 1897). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, April 01, 1897, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (June 17, 1897). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, June 17, 1897, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (June 21, 1890). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, June 21, 1890, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ "Strawberry Schoolhouse. The Oldest Standing Schoolhouse in Arizona". www.pinestrawhs.org.
- ^ a b Humanities, National Endowment for the (June 7, 1900). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, June 07, 1900, Image 8". p. 8 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (February 23, 1896). "Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890–1930, February 23, 1896, Image 1" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (February 15, 1896). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, February 15, 1896, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Arizona Weekly Journal-Miner. (Prescott, Ariz.), 10 June 1896. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.]
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (August 13, 1896). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, August 13, 1896, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (October 22, 1896). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, October 22, 1896, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (December 3, 1896). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, December 03, 1896, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ISBN 9780826261328– via Google Books.
- ^ "Compiled military service record of Henry W. Nash, documenting service in the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) during the Spanish–American War, 05/01/1898 – 09/30/1898". Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
- ^ a b c d "Arizona in the Spanish-American War | Access Genealogy". May 23, 2012.
- ^ "Compiled military service record of Henry W. Nash, documenting service in the 1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) during the Spanish–American Warship., 05/01/1898 – 09/30/1898". Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
- ^ "Compiled military service record of Henry W. Nash, documenting service in the 1st U. S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) during the Spanish–American War., 05/01/1898 – 09/30/1898". Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (October 13, 1898). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, October 13, 1898, Image 3" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (March 15, 1900). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, March 15, 1900, Image 5". p. 5 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (May 31, 1900). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, May 31, 1900, Image 8". p. 8 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (May 31, 1900). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, May 31, 1900, Image 5". p. 5 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (August 22, 1901). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, August 22, 1901, Image 8". p. 8 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (July 17, 1902). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, July 17, 1902, Image 1" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ a b c Humanities, National Endowment for the (August 21, 1902). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, August 21, 1902, Image 1" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Bios of Notable Thomasites
- ^ "TR Center – Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry W. Nash". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org.
- ^ "TR Center – Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry W. Nash". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (August 28, 1902). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, August 28, 1902, Image 1" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ a b Humanities, National Endowment for the (September 11, 1902). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, September 11, 1902, Image 6". p. 6 – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ Humanities, National Endowment for the (September 25, 1902). "Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878–19??, September 25, 1902, Image 1" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
- ^ "FamilySearch: Sign In". FamilySearch.
- ^ "TR Center – Letter from Albert P. Wright to Theodore Roosevelt". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org.
- ^ "TR Center – Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert P. Wright". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org.