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West
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SOLDIERS OF THE NEW EMPIRE:
THE GAUJOT BROTHERS
OF MINGO COUNTY
by
Merle T. Cole
Merle Cole is a 1969 graduate of Marshall University and is employed as a research personnel specialist with the USDA Agricultural Service.
PART TWO
(Continued from April, 2002)
After being detailed as 3d Battalion ordnance officer, Julien Gaujot was promoted captain per telegraphic instructions from Washington and assigned to command Company I, 27th Infantry U.S.V. His date of rank was November 2, 1899, and he joined Company I on the 23d of that month.(52) Julien was appointed to the council of administration in May 1900, was on special duty August 2-5 as witness in a general court martial, and ended the year on detached service as a member of a military commission (December 20, 1900- January 16, 1901).(53)
Captain Gaujot was placed on detached service starting January 28, 1901, as commanding officer of the 2d Company of Ilocano Scouts, stationed at San Mateo. Ilacanos were "hereditary foes of the [majority] Talogs." Julien commanded the unit through June 1901. During this time, he was relieved from command of Company I, 27th Infantry U.S.V., on February 2, and accepted a commission as first lieutenant in the 10th U.S. Cavalry the same date. Julien thus opted to pursue a Regular Army career. He transferred to the newly activated 11th U.S. Cavalry on October 22, 1902.(54)
Julien is officially credited with participation in engagements with insurrectos at Algon, Novaliches, the expedition against Pinanran, and being "on scout" to San Jose and Bagbay.(55) In September 1900, he had been commended by the colonel commanding 27th Infantry U.S.V. for Company I's recent combat performance in defending Novaliches.
I desire to extend to you and the officers and men of your command my strongest congratulations upon your gallant and successful work in repelling, on the 18th instant, the night attack upon your camp, made by General Lacerio Geronimo and a force of insurgents outnumbering your command at least ten to one. Such work is a matter of pride to every officer and enlisted man in the regiment.(56)
But Captain Gaujot also got caught up in the more brutal aspects of the war. In November 1901, his company was transferred to the island of Samar where, two months earlier, Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry had been virtually annihilated at Balangiga in a sneak attack by insurrectos. This butchery prompted a savage American retaliation. In April 1902, General Chaffee cabled the Adjutant General of the Army the results of an investigation of alleged atrocities by American troops. Chaffee believed the investigation "shows necessity trial" of First Lieutenant Norman E. Cook, Philippine Scouts, "for murder [and First] Lieutenant Gaujot [10th U.S. Cavalry] for water cure of three padres. Probability both cases may involve [Major Edwin F.] Glenn to extent that officers acted according his instructions."(57)
Military historian Robert Leckie observed that, "The Filipinos were fighting the kind of war that is based on terror; the Americans fought back just as cruelly. They developed a 'water torture' that made even the Spanish cringe."
If a captured Filipino refused to divulge military information, four or five gallons of water were forced down his throat until his body became 'an object frightful to contemplate.' Then the water was forced out by kneeling on his stomach. The treatment was repeated until the prisoner talked or died. Almost all of them talked."(58)
In transmitting his report, General Chaffee expressed sympathy for the plight of American officers attempting to suppress the insurgency.
Sorely impossible convey in words correct idea difficulties been met with by officers in prosecution this war, nor can President fully comprehend that very much necessary success would have failed of accomplishment had not serious measures been used force disclosure information. Some officers have doubtless failed in exercise due discretion, blood grown hot in their dealings with deceit and lying, hence severity, some few occasions. This regretted.(59)
Julien pled guilty to all charges. In his defense, he cited the brutal circumstances of the war on Samar, and the fact that torture was often the only method for acquiring needed information quickly enough to save the lives of his soldiers. He was found guilty, sentenced to a three-month suspension from command and fined $150 (one month's pay). The court had been "lenient on account of the excellent character and valuable services rendered, as shown by testimonials attached to the record." Chaffee was informed July 28 that the "President [had] confirmed" Gaujot's sentence.(60)
The Philippine Insurrection officially ended on July 4, 1902. In reality, however, United States military forces were kept busy suppressing sporadic unrest in the islands, notably against the Moros on Mindanao and Jolo, until June 1913.(61)
Julien's ability to obtain a commission in the 11th U.S. Cavalry evidenced yet another phase in the development of the United States Army. There was no end in sight for occupation duties in the Philippines, and some action was obviously necessary when the temporary authorization for Volunteers and Regular Army increases expired on July 1, 1901. New legislation dated February 2, 1901, authorized the first permanent increase in the number of Regular infantry regiments (from 25 to 30) since 1866, and added five new cavalry regiments (11th-15th). The 1901 law formally divided artillery regiments into an artillery corps of 30 field artillery batteries and 126 coast artillery companies, and set the new Regular Army authorized strength at 3,820 officers and 84,799 enlisted men (excluding the new Philippine Scouts and Puerto Rico regiment). Many officer vacancies were created in this expansion, and most of the commissions went to outstanding volunteers.(62)
Professor Weigley neatly summarized the changes wrought by America's new world power status.
After the great Civil War, the mammoth armies of the Union dissolved, and the Regular Army reverted to little more than an Indian constabulary. The principal military reserve, the organized militia, was also neglected. Neither foreign nor domestic policy posed much need for anything else. After the lesser Spanish War, the Regular Army retained its augmented war strength and the National Guard received attention and improvement. The new role if the United States in international politic demanded a larger and better Army with a more ready reserve, and American government was adaptive enough to respond to the need.(63)
While serving with the 11th Cavalry, Lieutenant Gaujot participated in another imperial expedition, this time with the Army of Cuban Pacification. More than 5,500 soldiers and 2,000 marines were dispatched to Cuba between October 1906 and April 1909 to restore order following a rebellion against the newly-elected government.(64)
To the Mexican Border and Beyond
Tony Gaujot's Medal of Honor was not issued until February 15, 1911... over 11 years after he had been formally recommended. Ironically, Julien acted to merit his medal less than two months after his brother received the award.(65)
With the outbreak of revolution in Mexico in late 1910, 20,000 soldiers (about a quarter of the entire U.S. Army) were deployed along the border to prevent incursions and sale of contraband. Julien had been promoted captain on August 22, 1909, and transferred to command Company K, 1st U.S. Cavalry. As part of the continuing Mexican border deployment, the regiment moved to Douglas, Arizona, during March 1911. Just across from Douglas, separated only by the width of a street, Auga Prieta was held by a Mexican Federal garrison. An initial rebels attempt to seize the town failed on March 12, 1911.(66)
"On 13 April... [a] force of 300 rebels commanded by a former cattle rustler named 'Red' Lopez made a surprise attack on Auga Prieta, steaming into town aboard a captured train. They took the Federal garrison by surprise and blew up its headquarters before taking up positions along the American border. Hundreds of Americans swarmed to the border to watch the battle; three were killed and eleven wounded as the Federals fired into the rebels' positions."(67) Julien acted decisively at this point. The official recommendation for award of the Medal of Honor neatly summarizes Julien's action and its results.
The federals were defeated and most of them, including all their officers, were driven across the line into American territory. Captain Gaujot placed the troops under his command in a position parallel with and within a few feet of the international boundary line for the purpose of preventing violations of the neutrality law. Captain Vargus, the Mexican Federal commander, upon crossing the line with a large part of his force surrender to Captain Gaujot. A party of about 30 Mexican federal soldiers had been left behind and were surrounded by the insurgents. They were so entirely surrounded that their surrender or complete annihilation was inevitable. It appears that, in the absence of an officer to surrender the federals still in Agua Prieta - and no officer could cross for that purpose - their annihilation was certain. The Commanding Officer of the Mexican federal forces asked Captain Gaujot to save his men as they were completely surrounded by the enemy, and further struggle would end in their complete destruction. Captain Gaujot thereupon, in company with an American citizen, Mr. Charles J. McKean, crossed the field of fire, in which his life was constantly in danger, to the position of the two forces, where an intermittent fire as being kept up, two men being killed near Captain Gaujot in that position. Captain Gaujot obtained the permission of the Rebel commander to receive the surrender of the surrounded Federal forces, and escorted them to the American side of the line. By so doing, Captain Gaujot not only saved the lives of the Federal soldiers, but also the lives of five Americans who were held prisoners by the Federals.Several American citizens were killed in the City of Douglas by stray bullets during the engagement, and many more, doubtless, would have lost their lives had it not been for the timely action of Captain Gaujot.
In taking this action, Captain Gaujot was forced to pass through the zone of fire for a quarter of a mile or more with absolutely no protection. He first visited the Federals and then left cover and crossed to the rebel line to obtain permission to receive the surrender of the Federals. All this time he was under fire.(68)
The initial response to Julien's bravery was a memorandum from the Adjutant General of the Army dated May 16, 1911. The memorandum conveyed the Secretary of War's commendation, and informed Julien that "your superior officers and many citizens of Douglas have approved your tact and your action in accepting responsibility under most trying conditions."(69) Then, on April 4, 1912, former Company K second lieutenant Lawson Moore formally recommended that Julien be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery at Agua Prieta. This recommendation was reviewed by the Mobile Army Division of the General Staff and the Office of the Judge Advocate General. These bodies concluded "that Captain Gaujot's conduct and services were 'highly distinguished and meritorious,' meeting every requirement of the standard fixed governing the award of a medal of honor, except that the deed was not 'performed in action.'" The official interpretation was that "in action" would exclude engagements in which U.S. Army troops took no part. The Judge Advocate General "recommended that Captain Gaujot's case be brought to the attention of Congress with a request for suitable legislation, authorizing the presentation to him of a distinguished service medal."(70)
Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood disputed this narrow interpretation. He noted that, "Captain Gaujot was charged with enforcing neutrality; American lives and property were in danger; he and his men in the performance of their duty were in the midst of the conflict being waged between the two combatant forces; and though not allied to either side, he and his men and other Americans were under fire without authority to return the fire. He saw necessity for action and he acted with skill and daring, which reflected the highest credit upon himself and the service." Wood believed that "acts of this character" justified award of the Medal of Honor, and formally recommended such to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson on August 19, 1912.(71) Stimson concurred, and President Taft pinned the medal on Julien at a White House ceremony on November 23d of that year.(72)
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets historian Henry Downing Temple provides some interesting insights. He notes Julien had "succeeded in enraging the Mexican government," and that General Wood initially opined that Agua Prieta "'warranted either a court-martial or a Medal of Honor,' but qualified that judgment by stating that 'no American court-martial would ever convict him.'" Temple also reports that, after Tony received the medal, Julien "'vowed to get one for himself,'" saying of his brother's award, "'He wears it for a watch fob, the damned civilian. I've got to get one for my own self, if I bust.'"(73)
Counterrevolutions in Mexico prompted return of a large part of the Army to the border in 1913. "From then throughout World War I and many years afterward, except for the short time they were in Mexico as part of the Punitive Expedition, most U.S. cavalry regiments maintained border patrols from the Gulf of Mexico almost to California...." The patrols guarded against cross-border incursions, enforced neutrality laws, and blocked the flow of arms and munitions.(74) The Punitive Expedition immediately followed Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico (March 8, 1916). American troops remained in Mexico until early 1917, but, following a bloody clash between Mexican and American regulars at Carrizal on June 21, 1916, negotiations to terminate the intervention opened. General Pershing concentrated his forces at Colonia Dubl n and Casas Grandes, and most activity was restricted to patrolling to keep open the line of communication with the Columbus base camp.(75)
Punitive expedition soldiers were beset by boredom and inactivity. In the face of an absence of other diversions, and to prevent soldiers from wandering away from camp where they might provoke incidents or be injured, Pershing authorized establishment of a brothel at Colonia Dubl n. The facility was placed under the supervision of Captain Gaujot (now back with the 11th U.S. Cavalry), the expedition's provost marshal. Several prostitutes had followed the men from El Paso and other places.
So the camp followers were rounded up and placed under guard. A high, tightly constructed barbed-wire stockade was erected, with an adobe hut for each woman. There was but one gate, at which there was a guard and a prophylaxis station. A soldier desiring to enter had to show the guard that he had the necessary fee.... At the end of a half-hour, if the soldier had not come out, the guard went in and got him. Every man coming out was required to take a prophylactic. The result was that the venereal rate in the Punitive Expedition was one of the lowest the army has ever known. Possibly the high point in the history of the Punitive Expedition's stockade was Thanksgiving dinner, prepared by the girls themselves, and at which Captain Gaujot was the guest of honor.(76)
The Punitive Expedition was terminated and troops crossed the border at Columbus on January 30-February 5, 1917. With the American evacuation, "The ladies of the stockade were among the first to go. They rode gaily out on a train of freight cars, waving merrily to their acquaintances...."(77)
Another aspect of Mexican- American tension also brought Tony Gaujot to the border. Continued Mexican bellicosity over the Punitive Expedition led to fears about the security of the international border. This prompted President Wilson to call the National Guards of the border states (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) into federal service on May 9, 1916. Then, on June 18, he had mobilized nearly the entire National Guards of the remaining states. Some 112,000 officers and men arrived by the end of August. This mobilization proceeded more smoothly than those of the Spanish-American War, and the field experience proved invaluable for hardening and sharpening the military skills of troops soon to be fighting in France. It also revealed significant deficiencies, including the evident need for conscription rather than relying solely on undermanned National Guard units.(78)
West Virginia's 2d Infantry Regiment was mustered into federal service on July 17, 1916, remaining in a state mobilization camp at Kanawha City until the middle of October. The regiment was dispatched to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where it remained until returning to the state and mustering out at Huntington on March 24, 1917.(79) After working as a guard for the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency during the Cabin-Paint Creek strike of 1912, Tony had been commissioned captain of Williamson's Company F, 2d West Virginia Infantry, on either April 6 or June 26, 1916. He was mustered in July 22, and mustered out with the rest of the regiment. Company F reportedly "gained widespread recognition" during its border service.(80) (The author could not confirm the interesting prospect that Tony and Julien managed to together during the company's Texas sojourn.)
A primary reason for America's acquiescence in withdrawing from Mexico was the imminence of war with Germany. The 1st Infantry, West Virginia National Guard, was mustered into federal service on March 28, 1917, to protect vital properties within the state. Just over a week after returning from Texas, 2d Infantry was called back into federal service on April 2 for the same mission. The 2d mustered in April 10 at Kanawha City. Both regiments performed internal security duty until drafted in August. Second Infantry was redesignated 150th Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 38th Division on September 19.(81) When Company F was mustered, Tony retained his commission and, because of his fluency in French, was assigned to divisional headquarters served throughout World War I. He was overseas June 12, 1918- May 17, 1919, and was credited with participation in the Aisne-Marne, Meuse- Argonne and Defensive Sector campaigns. After the Armistice he served brief stints with the 162d and 327th Infantry in the occupation army before being discharged August 4, 1919.(82)
Julien Gaujot served in France from March 13 to August 21, 1918, also as a linguist, on General Pershing's staff. He was promoted major July 24 and lieutenant colonel (temporary) from August 5, 1917, through September 9, 1918. He returned to the United States that month and was promoted colonel of infantry (temporary) on September 10. He first commanded then served as chief of staff of the newly raised 95th Division at Fort Sherman, Ohio. The division was still organizing and training when the Armistice was signed. Julien reverted to his permanent rank (major of cavalry) on May 31, 1919. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1920, and to full colonel on February 14, 1928. He served as commanding officer of 1st U.S. Cavalry, then with the 2d Cavalry Brigade and 1st Cavalry Division. His last assignment was as chief of staff of the 66th Cavalry Division, an Organized Reserve unit in Omaha, Nebraska. Julien retired from the Army on September 30, 1934.(83)
National military policy indirectly affected Tony Gaujot's future. Section 111 of the National Defense Act of 1916 discharged all drafted National Guardsmen from their state militia obligation, both during and after the war. Thus, the August 1917 draft forced the states to completely reorganize and recruit their National Guards following World War I.(84) The absence of a state military forces capable of coping with postwar labor violence in the coal fields was the principal argument for creating the West Virginia Department of Public Safety (State Police) in 1919.(85)
Following his discharge, Tony returned to West Virginia. On January 8, 1924, he accepted appointment as captain of West Virginia State Police Company D. Company D was headquartered at Clothier, "on the Boone-Logan border," from where Company D troopers "police[d] the rough hilly country of the sparsely settled counties in addition to both banks of the Little Coal River Valley." Tony was discharged January 7, 1926, when his enlistment expired, the standard State Police term of enlistment being two years at that time. Several federal prohibition agents in Logan unsuccessfully urged Tony's reappointment. "He has at all times cooperated with us and we feel proud to work with one so highly honored by his country while in their service."(86)
Instead of renewing his career with the West Virginia National Guard when it finally began reorganizing in late August 1921, Tony accepted a commission as major in the Army' Organized Reserves on October 30, 1919, and was later promoted to lieutenant colonel.(87)
After leaving the State Police, Tony was employed as a deputy sheriff and civil and mining engineer.(88) Tragically, he was to die by the hand of Julien's 15-year old son, James Edmond Gaujot.(89) Father and son had come to Williamson in March 1935 from Kansas City, Missouri, where they had lived since Julien's retirement. They had taken up residence in the Mountaineer Hotel, the father in a "semi-invalid condition."
At about 4 p.m. on April 13, 1936, Tony went to the hotel to visit Julien. When he encountered James in the hall, they got into an argument about what the boy had done with a check his father had asked the boy to cash. James--reportedly "hot-tempered, high strung, and... laboring under the impression that he had been grossly maligned by his uncle"-- pulled a .25-caliber Spanish automatic pistol. He chased Tony into an empty room and shot him three times, then ran to his room to reload. A hotel porter encountered James in the hallway. He reported that the boy "looked over at him and smiled and started back toward his own room, gun in hand."
Tony had crossed the hall to his brother's room and called the desk for an ambulance. Julien was laying in bed reading. While Tony was still sitting at the telephone, Jimmy returned and fired three more shots, one of which struck Tony in the left side and knocked him to the floor. The desk clerk had also called city police. They arrived and arrested James, who was being held "against the wall near the elevator" by "two bell boys" who had taken the pistol.
Tony was rushed to Memorial Hospital, where x-ray revealed five wounds. Four bullets were still in his body, and one was pressing against the spine. Doctors G. T. Conley and G. B. Irvine though his condition "nearly hopeless," but performed surgery and two blood transfusions.
Tony Gaujot died at 12:20 a.m. on April 14. He had refused to make a statement to the prosecuting attorney, other than saying "that the 'shooting was unprovoked.'" Just before dying, Tony asked a close friend to "'see to it that Jimmy is not prosecuted.'" Tony's wish was not honored... Jimmy was tried and convicted of murder. He served only a few years before being paroled by the governor, only to die a few months later in a plane crash.(90) Tony Gaujot is buried in the Fairview Cemetery at Williamson.
Julien Gaujot lived almost exactly two years longer than his younger brother--on April 7, 1938. He died in a Radford, Virginia, sanitorium of pneumonia and a lung ailment, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.(91)
Fittingly, the Williamson armory is named in honor of the heroic Gaujot brothers. The armory serves as home station for Company D, 1st Battalion, 150th Armor, West Virginia Army National Guard.(92)
NOTES:
The author acknowledges the kind assistance provided by Lt. Col. John A. Coulter II; Laura Katz Smith, University Libraries, Virginia Tech; W. Graham Smith; Sgt. Ric Robinson, former Dir. of Media Relations, W. Va. State Police; Julie E. Davis; Gwen Sizemore; and John F. Walter, Institute for Civil War Research.
32. This information is summarized from David F. Trask, "The Spanish-American War and Its Aftermath," in John E. Jessup and Louise B. Ketz (eds.), Encyclopedia of the American Military, vol. 2 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994), 862-868.
33. Trask, page 863. Robert Leckie, The Wars of America, 2d rev. and updated ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 569, explains why campaigning ceased during the rainy season: "From May to October [1899] no less than 70 inches fell. Roads were washed out, bridges collapsed, low-lying lands and rice paddies became temporary lakes and where the ground was not under water, it was often an impassable paste of mud."
34. Trask, 863-864. For the March 1899 law and its impact, see Russell F. Weigley, History of the United States Army, Macmillan Wars of the United States (New York: Macmillan, 1976), 307-308; Col. William H. Powell (comp.), List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900, Embracing A Register of All Appointments by the President of the United States in the Volunteer Service During the Civil War, and of Volunteer Officers in the Service of the United States, June 1, 1900 (New York: L. R. Hamersly & Co., 1900), 699; Mahon and Danysh, 35-36; and Mary Lee Stubbs and Stanley Russell Connor, Armor-Cavalry, Part I: Regular Army and Army Reserve, Army Lineage Series (Washington: Ofc. of the Chief of Mil. Hist., U.S. Army, 1969), 29-30.
35. Trask, 864-865.
36. Ibid., 865-867.
37. "Named Campaigns - Philippine Insurrection," U.S. Army Center of Military History web site at www.army.mil, cited hereafter as "Named Campaigns - Philippine Insurrection."
38. RG 94, Philippine Insurrection Compiled Military Service Records (hereafter NARA-PICMSR), Company M Muster-out Roll, Presidio of San Francisco, 4/1/1901, and Company M Organization Roll; Description, Physical Record, and Enlistment, U.S. Volunteers, Act of March 2, 1899. (A.G.O. Form 8, Vols., amended June 26, 1899) and Consent in Case of Minor signed by E. Gaujot; Duplicate Descriptive and Assignment Card, U.S. Volunteers, Act of March 2, 1899; and Company M Muster Roll, ~ 1899 to Aug. 31, 1899. NARA-PICMSR, A.G.O. Form 8, shows Tony as 5'6" tall, with blue eyes and a heart tattoo the outside of his right arm.
39. Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain, 1073, 1089.
40. NARA-PICMSR, Report of Sick and Wounded of the 27 U.S.V.I., 9/21-30 and 10/1-19/1899.
41. Capt. Herbert H. Sargent, "The Action at San Mateo: The Death of Major General Lawton, U.S. Volunteers," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States 30 (1902), 42-61.
42. According to Sargent (60), 5.6 inches of rain fell in Manila during 12/17-19/1899. "On the nineteenth alone 3.898 inches were received in the gauges of the [Manila] Observatory." Excepting only 1889, the Dec. 1899 rainfall "exceeded that of any December in the past thirty-three years. Thus it appears that nearly six inches of water fell on those three days of December [the San Mateo campaign], and that nearly four inches fell on the nineteenth alone."
43. Sargent, 52-53. Lawton had made a very conspicuous target. He was a large man, and was walking up and down the firing line, wearing a white helmet and yellow rain slicker. Lawton had been awarded a Medal of Honor for bravery "in a skirmish before Atlanta" on 8/3/1864. "Henry Ware Lawton (1843-1899)," in Robert McHenry (ed.), Webster's American Military Biographies (Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1978), 228-229. See also Lang, Collins and White, 128.
44. Sargent, 52-53.
45. Ibid., 56-57.
46. Ibid., 58. The mounted cavalry did not participate in the San Mateo battle. Its delayed start necessitated a change in plans, i.e., crossing the Mariquina between Montalban and San Mateo. They encountered insurgents after crossing the river and attacked north, pursuing to Montalban and capturing the town before turning south to San Mateo, arriving at 4 p.m. Ibid., 58-59. Sargent states that American fire was so "hot" that "in several instances they succeeded in driving the insurgents entirely out of their entrenched positions, and in forcing them to flee back into the stone buildings of the town." Insurgent firing, by contrast, was heavy but poor, being too high and apparently not aimed--resulting in very few hits. Ibid., 52, 55.
47. Ibid., 60-61.
48. MOHR, 380. See also Lang, Collins and White, 357.
49. Sargent, 54.
50. Use of the word "attempted" suggests Tony's effort was unsuccessful. Williamson Daily News (4/14/1936) states that he succeeded and was wounded in the shoulder. Williamson Daily News (8/28/1998) states that Tony volunteered, swam most of the way under water, and when he "reached the opposite bank, put the rope of the canoe in his mouth and swam back to his shore with shots pouring at him from more than 80 guns." Sgt. Gibson is not mentioned in either article. Tony did not report being wounded in his 5/11/1933 affidavit before notary Lillian J. Tilley, but did claim, "Shortly after [swimming the river]... I became sick and the Doctor [sic] who examined me at the time said that I had over-exerted myself and caused an artery of my heart to become enlarged from which I am still suffering." See affidavit in VA File. For company commander's recommendation, see NARA-PICMSR, Company M Muster Roll, Jan.-Feb. 1900.
51. NARA-PICMSR, Company M Muster Roll, Jan.-Feb. 1901; Company M Return, Feb. 1901; and Company M Muster-out Roll, April 1901. Tony appears on the NARA-PICMSR, Report of Sick and Wounded of the 27 U.S. Volunteer Infantry for 3/2-4, 8/7-14, 9/19- 10/3/1900, cause of admission "malarial fever int. quot.," and on 8/27-29 for acute dysentery.
52. NARA-PICMSR, Company M Muster-out Roll, Presidio of San Francisco, 4/1/1901; Company M Organization Roll; Company M Muster Roll, Sep-Oct., 1899; Company M Return, Nov. 1899; Company I Return, Nov. 1899; Company I Muster Roll, Nov.-Dec. 1899.
53. NARA-PICMSR, Company I Returns, Aug. 1900, Dec. 1900, Jan. 1901; Company I Muster Rolls, May-June 1900, July-Aug. 1900, Nov.-Dec. 1900 and Jan.-Feb. 1901.
54. NARA-PICMSR, Company I Returns, Jan. 1901 and Feb. 1901; Company I Muster Roll, Jan.-Feb. 1901; letter, JEG to Adj. Gen. of the Army, 7/25/1901. Information about 10th and 11th U.S. Cavalry is from Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army from Its Organization, September 20, 1789, to March 3, 1903 (Washington: USGPO, 1903; rptd. U. of Ill. Press: Urbanna, 1965), vol. 1, 450. Apparently Julien was not officially mustered out of the U.S. Volunteers until 6/30/1901. See NARA-PICMSR, R and P 683,303. Ilacanos as Tagol foes is from Col. James W. Powell, "Utilization of Native Troops in Our Foreign Possessions," Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States 30 (Jan. 1902), 35. Williamson Daily News (4/14/1936 and 8/28/1998) state that both brothers "remained and organized a company of Ilocana scouts" after their regiment returned to the U.S. "These scouts penetrated the jungles as the army moved into the interior in pursuit of the insurrectos. They were constantly under fire." For a summary of conventional and guerrilla war in Northern Luzon, see Alfonso S. Quilala, Jr., "Revolutionary War in the Ilocos," in Hector Santon, ed., Philippine Centennial Series, at www.bibingka.com. Use of natives in scout units is described in Frank Hindman Golay, Face of Empire: U.S.-Philippine Relations, 1898-1946 (Monograph No. 14, U. Wisconsin-Madison Center for Southeast Asian Studies: 1998), 93.
55. NARA-PICMSR, Company I Muster-out Roll, Presidio of San Francisco, 4/1/1901.
56. NARA-PICMSR, Letter, Col. Albert S. Cummins to JEG, 9/28/1900.
57. Chaffee to AG, 3/14/1902, Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain, 1329. Williamson Daily News (8/28/1998) relates that Julien was "in the doghouse for having dealt harshly with 11 Samarese outlaws"--possibly the same or related incidents.
58. Leckie, 570.
59. Chaffee to AG, 3/14/1902, Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain, 1329. Weigley observed (317), that, "Nothing in the experience of American officers prepared them for the frustrations they met in the [Philippines]; even the Plains Indians had waged what seemed by contrast a textbook kind of war. Alternating displays of heavy force and ostentatious generosity both failed to break the Filipino insurrection. When perplexed officers invoked harsh policing of disaffected areas and harsh methods of prying information from guerrilla prisoners, the anti- imperialists attacked the Army in full cry.... In the end, conquest of the insurrectionists required not only hundreds of outposts but also such devices as infiltrating the enemy forces and kidnaping their leaders."
60. U.S., Cong., Sen., 57th Cong., 2d Sess., Sen. Doc. No. 213, Trials or Courts-Martial in the Philippine Islands in Consequence of Certain Instructions, 3/3/1903, 18-19, 29. The testimonial letters were from Capt. George L. Byrum, 6th US Cavalry, Maj. Gen. Loyd Wheaton, and Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith. See also Lt. Col. John A. Coulter II, Ut Prosim: "Above and Beyond": The Story of Virginia Tech's Medal of Honor Recipients (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Development Council, 2001), 1,18, and Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain, Chaffee to Corbin, 6/10/1902, 1343, and Lt. Col. William H. Carter, Asst. Adj. Gen., to Chaffee, 7/28/1902, 1357.
61. "Named Campaigns - Philippine Insurrection."
62. Mahon and Danysh, 36; Stubbs and Connor, 30; Weigley, 318.
63. Weigley, 313.
64. Philip K. Robles, United States Military Medals and Ribbons (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1971), 143; Julien E. Gaujot Papers, 1911-1912, Ms92-046, Special Collections Department, University Libraries, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (cited hereafter as Gaujot Papers). Hugh Thomas, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom (New York: Harper & Row, 1971), states (490) that the soldiers "were stationed at 27 points" and "mostly occupied with revising the map of Cuba, while the Medical Corps did much work." See also John Edwin Fagg, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965), 57-60.
65. Lang, Collins and White (357) state that Tony's medal was presented by Pres. Taft at the White House on 2/15/1911. J. R. Powell, states that it was mailed to him. MOHR, 7-8, notes that there was initially no prescribed means of presentation. Some medals had been presented by "the President or other high official." Some medals sent by registered mail were returned as undeliverable "because the recipients... had been discharged and there whereabouts were unknown." Pres. Roosevelt signed an executive order on 9/20/1905, establishing preferred practice--the award should be made in Washington by the president or his designee if at all possible; if not, the Army Chief of Staff would "prescribe the time and place of the ceremony." Roosevelt made the first White House presentation on 1/10/1906. Tony was Virginia Tech's first Medal of Honor Winner. Henry Downing Temple, The Bugle's Echo: A Chronology of Cadet Life at the Military College at Blacksburg, Virginia, the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Volume 1, 1872-1900 (Blacksburg, VA: VA Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc., 1996), 636.
66. Ronald Atkin, Revolution! Mexico, 1910-1920 (New York: John Day, 1970), 59-60. For promotion date, see U.S., War Dept., Adj. Gen. Ofc., Official Army Register, January 1, 1937 (Washington: USGPO, 1937), 883.
67. Atkin, 63-64. Lopez' triumph proved short- lived; the Federals recaptured Agua Prieta on April 17.
68. Memorandum for Sec. of War, from Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, Army Chief of Staff, subj: Award of Medal of Honor to Captain J. E. Gaujot, First Cavalry, 8/19/1912 (cited hereafter as CoS to SW), Gaujot Papers. Copies of testimonial affidavits from former 2d Lt. Lawson Moore, Sgt. Hugh B. McManus, and Charles M. McKean are also in this file. Williamson Daily News (4/14/1936) incorrectly names Pancho Villa as the attacker of Agua Prieta in 1911, and states that Julien "chased the Villistas several miles into the interior of Mexico."
69. Memorandum from AG of the Army to JEG, 5/16/1911 in Gaujot Papers.
70. CoS to SW, in Gaujot Papers.
71. Ibid.
72. Lang, Collins and White, 391.
73. Handwritten notes in Gaujot Papers. Temple cites no authority for these statements. Virtually identical phraseology appears in The Bugle's Echo... Volume 2, 1900-1912 (Blacksburg, VA: VA Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc., 1997), 1464-1465.
74. Stubbs and Connor, 33-34.
75. Clarence C. Clendenen, Blood on the Border: The United States Army and the Mexican Irregulars (New York: Macmillan, 1969), 306, 311-313, 328.
76. Ibid., 334-345. Clendenen states (fn. 17, 342), that "Information about this unpublicized feature of the camp at Colonia Dubl n was given by several people, including (many years ago) the late Col. Julien E. Gaujot, who was the Provost Marshal." See also John S. D. Eisenhower, Intervention! The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917 (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1993), 305-306. Paul J. Vanderwood and Frank N. Samponaro, Border Fury: A Picture Postcard Record of Mexico's Revolution and U.S. War Preparedness, 1910-1917 (Albuquerque: U. Of New Mexico Press, 1988), 209, state that the brothel was referred to as the "remount station." "The girls, inspected and certified 'safe' by military doctors, were Mexicans from Ciudad Juarez, the madam a Mexican- American from El Paso. Criticism from U.S. moralists went unanswered." Prostitution was "neither licensed, protected or encouraged by military authorities" in the Philippines. Maj. Gen. Arthur MacArthur to Corbin, 1/17/1901, Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain (1247).
77. Clendenen, 338, 339.
78. Charles E. Kirkpatrick, "The Mexican Border Campaign," in Jessup and Ketz, 888-889, 892.
79. W. Va., Legis., Sen., West Virginia Legislative Handbook and Manual and Official Register, 1919 , comp. John T. Harris (Charleston: Tribune Print. Co., 1919), 491, cited hereafter as Blue Book by year; Army Lineage Book, 438. 1st W. Va. Infantry was not called. Blue Book, 1919, 491.
80. Blue Book, 1916, 509, shows Tony commanding Company A, 2d Infantry. Form 076-A, 3/31/28, VA File, shows commissioned 6/26/1916; Ltr, 10/17/29, Comm., Bureau of Pensions, DoI, to Dir., Veterans' Bureau, and Ltr, Comm. of Pensions, DoI to WDAGO, 3/28/1928, VA File, show as captain from 4/6/1916. Quote is from Williamson Daily News (4/14/1936). For Tony's coal strike duty, see Howard B. Lee, Bloodletting in Appalachia: The Story of West Virginia's Four Major Mine Wars and Other Thrilling Incidents of Its Coal Fields (Parsons: McClain Printing Co., 1969), 21, 23. Lee inaccurately labels Tony "a tough old ex-sergeant of the regular army."
81. Blue Book, 1919, 491; Army Lineage Book, 438. 1st W. Va. Infantry was broken up 9/15/1917, to provide personnel for various 38th Division units. Sawicki, 381.
82. Form 076-A, 3/31/28, VA File. See also A.G.O. Form 84b-1, Application for Victory Medal (Officer- NG), AAG, 12/3/1920, copy supplied by W. Va. Adjutant General's Office (WVAGO); Coulter, 1.26.
83. A.G.O. Form 81b-1, Application for Victory Medal (Officer-RA), JEG, date ?, copy supplied by WVAGO; Coulter, 1.26-1.29; Official Army Register, January 1, 1937, 883.
84. U.S., Cong., Sen., 67th Cong., 2d Sess., Sen. Doc. No. 263, Federal Aid in Domestic Disturbances, 1903-1922 (Washington: USGPO, 1922), 317-318. The National Defense Act was amended 6/4/1920 to allow National Guardsmen to resume state status upon discharge from federal service.
85. For internal security measures in the absence of the W. Va. National Guard, see the author's articles in West Virginia History: "Birth of the West Virginia State Police, 1919-1921," 43 (Fall 1981), 1-20; "Martial Law in West Virginia and Major Davis as 'Emperor of Tug River,'" 43 (Winter 1982), 118-144; and "The Department of Special Deputy Police, 1917-1919," 44 (Summer 1983), 321-333.
86. Quote is from W. Va., Dept. of Public Safety (DPS), Biennial Report to the Governor... for the Two Years Ending June 30, 1924, 3. The state legislature had authorized two additional State Police companies during its 1921 Regular Session. These units were organized in July 1921 as Companies C (Beckley) and D (Clothier). W. Va., DPS, Report to the Governor, June 30, 1922, 3-8. Documents provided to author by Sgt. Ric Robinson, Dir. of Media Rels., W. Va. State Police (WVSP), Oct. 5, 1998: W. Va. Dept. of Public Safety Enlistment Paper (Form No. 5, DPS), 1/8/24; SO No. 2, DPS. 1/7/1926; Western Union telegram, 1/7/1926, to Gov. Howard M. Gore from Logan by John P. Hallman, Homer H. Joy and Mack B. Lilly, Federal Prohibition Agents; and letter, AAGM to Col. Robert E. O'Connor, Supt., WVSP, 1/14/1926.
87. Form No. 076-A A.G.O., WDAGO to Comm. of Pensions, Dept. of the Interior, 3/31/1928, VA File. Tony's active service in the Reserves was reported as 7/15-30/1922; 8/1-31/1922; 7/8-22/1923; 7/20-8/3/1924; 8/30-9/13/1925; 8/15-29/1926; 8/21-9/3/1927. Declaration for Increase of Pension, 3/24/1930, VA File, notes that Tony has not been in military or naval service since 6/26-7/14/1930--perhaps a reference to his last Reserve active duty. Tony is not among the numerous officers in W. Va., Adj. Gen. Ofc., Report of the Adjutant General of West Virginia, 1920-1921 (Charleston: Adj. Gen. Ofc., 1922), 9-12. Tony probably participated in the "Battle of Blair Mountain" in September 1921. One of the civilian volunteers defending Logan County against Bill Blizzard's invading union miners described encountering a "gaunt oldtimer" called "Colonel Gaujot" on the crest of Crooked Creek Mountain. This man was in command locally and operated "a machine gun, partially camouflaged behind a giant oak." The man was probably Tony Gaujot, who was living in Southern West Virginia at the time and did attain the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Organized Reserve Corps. Julien was also a lieutenant colonel by that date, but was serving in the Southwest. He may possibly have been home on leave, but this would have been a remarkable coincidence. Joe W. Savage, "The Armed March in West Virginia: Battling at Blair and Crooked Creek," Goldenseal 20 (Winter 1994): 58-59.
88. Declaration for Pension (Supplemental), 7/25/1929, VA File.
89. Death Certificate, VA File; Williamson Daily News (4/14/1936). Julien's wife had died within a few days of childbirth. Coulter, 1.28.
90. Williamson Daily News (8/28/1998); Lee, 21 (fn. 9).
91. Lang, Collins and White, 391.
92. In the numerous National Guard realignments since World War II, the 150th was converted to armored cavalry in 1955, reduced to squadron strength and subordinated to the 107th Armored Cavalry in 1968, redesignated 150th Armored Cavalry in 1974, and converted to armor in 1993. Lineage and Honors Certificate, 150th Armor (Second West Virginia), U.S. Army Center of Military History. An unofficial version of the certificate is available online at Globalsecurity.org or the 150th Armor's homepage at www.likeme.com.
ERRATA - In Part One, end note 3, replace reference to Coulter galley proof with citation: Lt. Col. John A. Coulter, Ut Prosim: "Above and Beyond": The Story of Virginia Tech's Medal of Honor Recipients (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia TechCorps of Cadets Development Council, 2001), 1.1. In end note 5, replace Coulter with Coulter 1.1-1.4.