Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-19

were attempting " lduo eAOVpS a.
Fort Gains. The admirals son of the same
name as himself continues the family In
the navy.
The Greenes of Rhode Island have been
represented In the army and navy almost
continuously ever since Gen. Nathaniel
Greene and his COUSIN, Col. .lristopher,
who was killed in battle, entered the service
of the colonies at the outbreak of the rev.
dictionary war. During the civil war thir-
teen kinsman of the name were serving at
the same time as officers either of the navy.
the regular army or the volunteer forces.
George Sears Greene, a major general OF
volunteers, though only lieutenant In the
regular establishment, commanded CUPS
Hill at the battle of Gettysburg, and with
a brigade of 1 400 men withstood for three
hours the assault of Rodes'. division of
5000, thus preventing the turning of
Meade's right flank and the almost certain
ruin of the Union army. He also fought
calamity at Chattanooga, where he was
wounded in the face and jaw. and saw
much other strenuous field duty. His son,
Dana Greene, was second in command of
the Monitor in her great fight. He took
finished the battle. Gen. Francis Vinton
Greene of New York, West Point, 1870, is
another son of Gen. George Sears Greene.
A Creditable Nine.
Since the revolutionary war the family
has furnished nine officers of the name to
the regular army and seven to the navy,
besides many others descended in the fe-
male line. The family name is perpetuated
in the army now however, by only one
officer and he Is on the retired list. But
through the female line, the GreeneS are
still well represented in the military serv-
Ice. In the navy they represented by
the Winslows, Admiral John Winslow of
kearsarge fame having married daugh-
ter of the family.
to Brigadier General Hugh Mercer of the
Continental army. Hugh Mercer was an
officer in the army of Prince Charlie. After
the disaster of Culloden he fled to Ameri-
ca, and was next heard of as an officer of
the provincial forces in the French and In
dian wars. His services officer of
the Continental army until his death at
the battle of Princeton are well known.
Bancroft says, He stood next to Greene
among revolutionary commanders"
Another member of the family, john F.
Mercer, was serving as an officer of the
Continental army at the same time as Gen.
Hugh, and John Mercer entered the serv-
Ice in 1875. Then there We're William, who
came In in 1873: Hugh W.. 1928: John T..
1854; all direct or collateral descendants of
old Gen. Hugh. the companion of Prince
Charles Stuart Two officers of the name
and lineage now bear commissions in the
army.
The Virginia Lees.
The Lees of Virginia have been an army
family since the days of Light Horse
Harry. and. barring their record when
the family went SOUTH have in each
generation distinguished themselves in the
service.
Light Horse Harry's son, Robert e. Lee
was educated at West Point and served
with distinction In the Mexican war. He
was present at nearly all the important
battles, was wounded and received brevets
for gallantry. Gen. Scott called him 1.-The
best soldier 1 ever in the field His
son, George Washington Gusts Lee, was
also an army officer as was his nephew,
f1tzhugh Lee, who after doffing the blue
for the gray at the outbreak of the civil
war, put on the blue again in 1898, and is
still major general in the regular establish
ment. Fftzhugh. jr., is also an officer of
regulars, representing the fourth genera
ton of his family in the army.
The first Capron on the record of army
officers was Seth NJ. Capron of Rhode Is
land, who entered the army as second lieu
tenant in 1921. Then came Erastus A. Cap
ron. who fell, sword in hand, at the bat
tie OF Cherubusco, In the Mexican war. His
son, Allyn Capron, naturally followed the
profession of his father, served with credit
through the civil war, and when the
with Spain came on was captain of artil-
lery. He had son. also, in the service,
Allyn, jr.
A Deed of Glory.
Allyn, jr., was a lieutenant in the regu-
lars. but was made a captain in the Rough
Riders His men worshiped him, and in
army circles young Capron was looked
upon officer of the greatest promise.
In the skirmish at Las GuasimaS. before
the assault on San Juan, young Capron fell
mortally wounded, and one of his troop
ers raised him up. he said: well, you
have given them a good fight 1 am indeed
proud of you. No troops could have done
better"
Word was carried to his father at Ell
! 1, 4I,o
old captain, answering never word. open
ed with his guns upon Ell Caney fort and
battered It into ruins.
Capt Capron died of the hardships and
exposures of the Santiago campaign, as his
son had died from a Spanish bullet, thus
making three genera tons of Caprons who
had in succession given up their lives for
their country. Now another Allyn Capron,
son of the man who fell at Las Guasimas.
has been appointed to the Military Acad-
envy to continue the family in the service.
The Muhlenbergs. still represented in the
army, came in with Gen. Peter Muhlenberg
of the revolution. Lieut.. Commander Will
lam Truxton of the navy represents a long
line of TruXtOns who have served with dis
tinction since the first Thomas Truxton. the
famous revolutionary commander, who re-
fused a commission in the British navy to
take up the cause of the colonists.
Rodgers and Perry Blood.
Another well-known service family dating
from the early days of the republic is that
of Rodgers not unknown in the army but
strongest in the navy. and still represented
In both services. One branch of 1t contin-
ues the Perry blood in the service.
Then there are the Bainbridge-Hoff rep
resenting old Commodore cambridge, the
famous fighter of the war of 1912 and Of
the war with the Barbary states; the
Meades, Biddles and Caseys. in both army
and navy; the Ords of the army, and the
| Pattersons, first in the British army then
| In the American navy and now in the Amer
| lean army.
| These are only a few families, selected by
way of illustration. The Srmy and navy
| are principally Differed from such families
| and probably always will be. Probobly in
! the service of no country in the world, not
| even the British, can there be found such
| proportionately large number of lighting
| families" as in that of the United States.
Some of these fighting families bear
| names of renown. while others are scarcely
| known outside the service. Though the lat
| ter have produced no one man who has
| made the name famous yet they stand, In
| the service. on as solid a foundation and
occupy as proud a position the former,
| for they are "of the blood and can point
| to ancestors who have fought on fields from
| Bunker Hill to San Juan, or served under
| American adniraIS from Holm Paul Ione9