Category Archives: Military History

LEYTE GULF – DIRECT FROM THE NORTHWEST TO SAMAR

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The CVE-66 USS White Plains in for repairs after the Battle off Samar.
The CVE-66 USS White Plains in for repairs after the Battle off Samar.

A recent trip to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery inspired this post. Coming from Portland, Oregon, I knew of the massive efforts provided by the Kaiser Shipyards on behalf of the American war effort in World War II. My grandfather served as a foreman in the Portland – Swan Island -yard. I also knew of the old slips which can still be seen on the north – Vancouver – shore of the Columbia River nearly opposite Portland’s international airport. I knew of the battle of Leyte Gulf and the sacrifice of two escort carriers and three ships from their destroyer screen but did not realize the escort carriers came from the Vancouver shipyard. In fact, some fifty carriers were built there between 1943 and 1946. All of the escort carriers off the island of Samar fighting totally outclassed on 25 October 1944 came out of those same shipyards.

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MEDAL OF HONOR OF FORT ROSECRANS HISTORY REVISITED

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Russell Iams in action at the left with Samuel Gross (middle) and Samuel Gross.
Russell Iams in action at the left with Samuel Gross (middle) and Samuel Gross.

Now we deal with some of the men who came through World War Two and beyond. Again, my visit to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was brief. Through many sections, I never had a chance to visit or walk through. My time focused upon the older sections and my eyes diverted to the more unique headstones allowed in the cemetery before 1947. I managed to see the graves of five of the twenty-two Medal of Honor holders buried here at Fort Rosecrans. And while I did not get the chance to visit all of the twenty-two, here are their stories. I present them as they appeared in history. Note one medal holder gained an introduction in my post on the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, William S. Cronan. I reposted his story here for the sake of completion.

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FORT ROSECRANS – HEROES’ VALHALLA IN THE MODERN DAY

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Monument to the men who lost their lives in the 1905 boiler explosion. Her crew men lie with the low granite enclosure.
Monument to the men who lost their lives in the 1905 boiler explosion. Her crew men lie with the low granite enclosure.

Stories abound in cemeteries with military cemeteries no exception partly because of all the documentation available. Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery became one of seven national cemeteries established -1934-1939 – between the two World Wars. An aging population of veterans added to the need in light of available grave space in existing national cemeteries. Veterans’ benefits included burial space. On the Pacific Coast, at the time of establishment of the cemetery here, only one national cemetery existed in San Francisco. Army and Navy officials tried earlier to change the post cemetery at Fort Rosecrans as a national cemetery only to have the Department of War turn them down. The massive expansion of the military during World War I changed the situation dramatically.

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OREGON GENERALS AND THE GREAT WAR

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Oregon WW1 generals - Charles Martin as Oregon Governor left and Ulysses S. McAlexander as a brigadier general.
Oregon WW1 generals – Charles Martin as Oregon Governor left and Ulysses S. McAlexander as a brigadier general.

Two of the men who made the rank of major general in the U.S. Army during the period of World War One had strong Oregon ties. After the war, both would retire to Oregon and eventually die there. They were very similar in many ways, though history remembers each a bit differently. Here are the Oregon generals.

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FIGHTING MCCOOKS – TWO TRIBES OF OHIO IN THE CIVIL WAR

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McCook family temple at Spring Grove.
McCook family temple at Spring Grove – here is the Tribe of Dan.

The Fighting McCooks account for three more actual generals and one brevet general. The McCooks hailed from eastern Ohio – Daniel raising his family in Carrollton while John grew his in Steubenville. Buried here Spring Grove is Daniel’s family – John’s family lies, for the most part, at Union Cemetery in Steubenville.

John, as a physician, volunteered his services to the Union army. He was joined by another brother George, a surgeon – joined also by his son. Daniel volunteered to serve as a paymaster. Nine of his sons joined the cause – the “Tribe of Dan”. Three would die in combat. John and his five sons – the “Tribe of John” – all survived.

The Fighting McCooks put more men from the McCook family into the Federal armed servics during the Civil War than any other family in the nation.

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SECRET AGENTS TO THE OREGON TERRITORY – TOO LATE IN THE GREAT GAME

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Canoe voyageurs passing a waterfall - painting by Frances Ann Hopkins 1869.
Canoe voyageurs passing a waterfall – painting by Frances Ann Hopkins 1869.

The United States and United Kingdom came to an agreement in 1818 in which they would share sovereign rule over the Oregon Country.  Oregon’s borders came into reasonable shape in the next couple of years with an agreement between Russia and the US followed by one between Russia and England demarcating the northern border to be at the point of 54°40’ latitude.

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CHARLES WILKES – AMERICA TAKES AN INTEREST IN THE OREGON COUNTRY

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Tomb of Clatsop Chief Concomoly known to Lewis & Clark - drawn by Alfred T. Agate.
Tomb of Clatsop Chief Concomoly known to Lewis & Clark – drawn by Alfred T. Agate.

A long time in planning, preparing and recruiting, the United States Exploratory Expedition finally sailed out from Hampton Roads, Virginia, 18 August 1838, under the command of Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes en route for Madeira.  The six-ship squadron would spend the next four years at sea moving around the world, exploring, charting and discovering.  During their voyages which took them to six of the seven continents – they only missed Europe.  In 1841, the ships visited the Oregon Country.  An adjunct to their scientific missions was to visit Oregon to report on specific conditions there as American interest in those lands were on the upswing. Only one official American probe ventured into the Oregon Country previously.

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SAINTE-AGNÈS – MAGIC ON THE RIVIERA

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Magnificent view to the north from the castle ruins atop Sainte-Agnes.
Magnificent view to the north from the castle ruins atop Sainte-Agnès.

Hilltop villages, while picturesque in the extreme, offer up a window into a very uncertain past.  One such village is Sainte-Agnès sitting high above the cities of Menton and Roquebrune-Cap Martin in the far southeastern corner of France. Proclaimed as the highest lying coastal village in France, the village also belongs to the unique group “Plus Beaux Villages de France” – the Most beautiful Villages of France. Set 760 meters above the Mediterranean, the view over the towns of Menton and Cap-Martin-Roquebrune are magnificent. Walking through the narrow medieval alleys is a treat onto itself.

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CORINTH – STRATEGIC HUB OF THE CIVIL WAR’S WESTERN THEATER

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The view from Battery Robinett back into the town of Corinth. The Tshomingo Hotel and the train station are to the right.
The view from Battery Robinett back into the town of Corinth. The Tishomingo Hotel and the train station are to the right.

Corinth, Mississippi is all about railroads. Transportation – just like with its illustrious namesake in Greece – constitutes Corinth’s raison d’être. Two main rail lines intersected here.  One set of rails went east and west – Memphis & Charleston, while the other line oriented itself in a north and south direction – Mobile & Ohio. The two lines made up very important transportation routes linking major parts of the Confederate South together. These railroads, because of the paucity of such roads available to the Confederacy, took on an even greater importance during the American Civil War.

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L’AUTHION – STUDY OF DEFENSE FROM ONE CENTURY INTO THE NEXT

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Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.
Looking back on GR 52 coming out from Pas du Diable contouring the northern part of the Ortigue Ridge with the Fort of Point des Trois Communes above.

The massif of L’Authion separates three valleys from each other in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the southeastern corner of France. Located at a strategic location, the peaks of L’Authion figure in history over the centuries as armies have clashed here high in the mountains.

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