Samuel Whitside

Samuel Marmaduke Whitside
Canada West
Died	December 15, 1904(1904-12-15) (aged 65) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1858–1902
Rank	5th Cav Regt and 10th Cav Regt 10th Cav Regt Depts of Eastern Cuba and Santiago & Puerto Prinicipe Cuba Dist of Santiago
Battles/wars	American Civil War Peninsular Campaign Battle of Williamsburg Battle of Hanover Court House Battle of Malvern Hill Red River Campaign Siege of Port Hudson Battle of Culpeper Court House (wounded) Indian Wars Comanche Wars Apache Wars Sioux Wars Ghost Dance War Wounded Knee Massacre White Clay Creek Cuban Occupation
Awards	Brevet Captain Brevet Major
Spouse(s)	Carrie P. McGavock
Relations	Col. Warren Whitside (son) Lt. Col. Archie Miller (son-in-law)
Signature

Samuel M. Whitside was a

Most history books record three events during his career: the founding of Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the massacre at Wounded Knee, and his continued role as a battalion commander during the Pine Ridge Campaign of 1890–91. These events are arguably the most noteworthy in Whitside's four decades in the U.S. cavalry.

Joining the U.S. Army and service in the American Civil War

S. M. Whitside was born on January 9, 1839, in Toronto, Canada. He grew up in that area attending Normal School, and later moved to New York where he attended Careyville Academy.^[2]

He enlisted into the General Mounted Service in 1858 and served for three years at Carlisle Barracks, PA where he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. Corporal Whitside was assigned on July 27, 1861, to the 3rd Cavalry to fill a vacant noncommissioned officer position, and on August 1, he was promoted to sergeant major of the regiment. On August 3, Congress redesignated the 3d Cavalry as the 6th Cavalry Regiment.^[2]

On November 1, three sergeants were offered commissions; among these was Sergeant Major Samuel M. Whitside. He accepted his appointment as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Cavalry on November 4, 1861, and assumed the duties of a junior officer in Company K. His commander was Captain Charles R. Lowell.^[2]

Lieutenant Whitside served with his company in the 6th Cavalry during the

After the war, Whitside became a First Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States—a military society of Union officers and their descendants.

Service on the frontier

Whitside served for the next 20 years with the 6th Cavalry commanding B Company at various posts throughout the West.

Texas, 1865–70

• Austin
• Lockhart
• Sherman
• Jacksboro
• Livingston – Post Commander^[6]
• Fort Griffin

Missouri and Kansas, 1871–74

• St. Louis, MO
  – Recruiting Duty
• Fort Riley, KS
• Fort Hays, KS
• Kansas City, MO
• Newport Barracks, KY

Arizona Territory, Colorado and Dakota Territory 1875–87

• Camp McDowell, A.T.
• Fort Lowell, A.T.
• Camp Huachuca, A.T. – Founded post in March 1877 and served as first post commander until March 1881.^[7]
• Fort Thomas, A.T.
• Washington, D.C., Rochester, NY, and Chicago, IL – recruiting service from 1882 to 1883
• Fort Apache, A.T.
• Fort Lewis, CO

After eighteen years as a captain and almost twenty-four years with the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Whitside was transferred to the

Whitside was the major of the 7th Cavalry at the time of the Wounded Knee Massacre in December 1890.

Spanish–American War service

Whitside served during the

Dates of rank

Rank	Date	Unit	Component
Second Lieutenant	1 Nov 1861	K Co., 6th Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
First Lieutenant	25 Jan 1864	A Co., 6th Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
Captain	20 Oct 1866	B Co., 6th Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
Major	20 Mar 1885	7th Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
Lieutenant Colonel	17 Jul 1895	3rd Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
Colonel	16 Oct 1898	10th Cavalry Regiment	Regular Army
Brigadier General	3 Jan 1901	Volunteers
Brigadier General	29 May 1902	Regular Army

Personal life

Whitside was married to Caroline P. McGavock of Nashville, Tennessee, for thirty-six years.

External links

• Army at Wounded Knee

Other references

• Carter, Lieutenant-Colonel W. W. From Yorktown to Santiago with the Sixth U.S. Cavalry', Baltimore, the Lord Baltimore Press, 1900.
• Coffman, Edward M. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784–1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
• DeMontravel, Peter R. The Career of Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles from the Civil War through the Indian Wars. PhD diss, St. John's University. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1983.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Erlandson, Marcus R. "Guy V. Henry: A Study in Leadership." MMAS thesis, Fort Leavenworth: Command and General Staff College, 1985.
• Garlington, Ernest A. "The Seventh Regiment of Cavalry," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. Volume XVI (1895).
• Godfrey, Edward S. "Cavalry Fire Discipline," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. Volume XIX (1896).
• Jensen, Richard E., R. Eli Paul, and John E. Carter. Eyewitness at Wounded Knee. Lincoln & London: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
• Mooney, James. "The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890," of the Fourteenth Annual Report (Part 2) of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Smithsonian Institution, 1892–93, by J. W. Powell, Director. Washington,DC: Government Printing Office, 1896. Republication, The Ghost-Dance Religion and Wounded Knee. New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 1973.
• Scott, Brigadier General E. D. "Wounded Knee: A Look at the Record." Cavalry Journal, 48 (January–February 1939).
• Shaw, Dennis Edward. "The Battle of Wounded Knee: Myth Versus Reality." PhD diss, University of Miami, Ann Arbor: University Microfilm International, 1981.
• Smith, Rex Alan. Moon of Popping Trees. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1975.
• United States Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary. Wounded Knee Massacre: Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session, on S. 1147 and S. 2900 to Liquidate the Liability of the United States for the Massacre of Sioux Indian Men, Women, and Children at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890, February 5 and 6, 1976. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1976.
• Utley, Robert M. Frontier Regulars – The United States Army and the Indian, 1866–1891. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973.
• Utley, Robert M. The Last Days of the Sioux Nation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1963.
• War Department, The Adjutant General's Office. "Official Statement of Service of Samuel Marmaduke Whitside." Washington, DC, March 8, 1939.
• Wooster, Robert. Nelson A. Miles and the Twilight of the Frontier Army. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 1993.

External links

• 19th Century Naturalists Drawn to Early Fort Huachuca
• Genealogy of Samuel Marmaduke Whitside Archived 2010-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
• "Samuel Marmaduke Whitside". at ArlingtonCemetery.net. 12 August 2023. (Unofficial website).
• Fort Huachuca Heroes
• The Founding of Fort Huachuca
• Brigadier General Samuel Marmaduke Whitside Ancestry.com Military Pages