# Samuel Whitside

Samuel M. Whitside was a United States Cavalry officer who served from 1858 to 1902. He commanded at every level from company to department for 32 of his 43 years in service, including Army posts such a Camp Huachuca, Jefferson Barracks, and Fort Sam Houston, the Departments of Eastern Cuba and Santiago and Puerto Principe, Cuba, commanded a provisional cavalry brigade (consisting of the 10th and 5th Cavalry Regiments), a squadron in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and a troop and platoon 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.
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.
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.
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.
Lieutenant Whitside served with his company in the 6th Cavalry during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 where he participated in the following battles: Williamsburg – May 5, Slatersville – May 7, New Bridge – May 20, Ellison's Mills – May 23, Hanover Court House – 27 to May 29, Black Creek – June 26, and Malvern Hill – August 5,.
Whitside next served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Major General Nathaniel Banks, and participated in the Siege of Port Hudson in Louisiana in 1863. However, Whitside suffered from a number of ailments—including smallpox—and was severely injured at the Battle of Culpeper Court House. After briefly serving as an aide to generals John H. Martindale and Alfred Pleasonton, he spent the remainder of the Civil War on recruiting duty in Rhode Island and mustering duty in West Virginia. He later received brevet promotions to captain and major for faithful and meritorious service.
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
* 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.
* 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 7th Cavalry Regiment in 1885 and promoted to major. The 7th was then serving in the Dakota Territory at various posts, including Fort Meade. In 1887 the regiment moved to Fort Riley, Kansas, and a more settled lifestyle. During the previous twenty-two years of service on the frontier, Whitside married and had seven children, four of which died in childhood, and served at over twenty posts, spending an average of ten months at any one location.

### Wounded Knee Massacre

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 Spanish–American War as the lieutenant colonel of the 5th Cavalry.

## 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. Of their seven children, three survived to adulthood. Their eldest surviving son, Warren Whitside, became a colonel in the Army Quartermaster Corps and his son, Warren Jr.; served in the U.S. Navy as a captain. Samuel and Caroline's daughter, Madeline, married 1st Lt. Archie Miller, a cavalry officer and eventual Medal of Honor recipient. Their daughter, Caroline, would marry Robert Whitney Burns, a future army lieutenant general. Their youngest child, Victor, became a Major in the Army and commanded an infantry battalion during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive before dying in Germany of pneumonia at the end of World War I.
Whitside, wife Caroline, and their son Victor are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.