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Major General
Henry Ware Lawton
born: Manhattan, Ohio, March 17, 1843
died: San Mateo, Luzon, Philippine Islands, December 19, 1899
"Uncle Henry" to the
Two
Little Knights of Kentucky
 Henry
Lawton enlisted in the Union forces at the outbreak of the Civil War. He
received the Medal of Honor for heroism at Atlanta. He was discharged
November 25, 1865 with the brevet rank of colonel.
Lawton rejoined the army in 1867 and served
throughout the Indian Wars. In the spring of 1886, he was selected by
General Nelson A. Miles to lead a select group of troops into Mexico in
pursuit of the Apache Chief, Geronimo, who he captured after three months
(September 1886). (see link below for more details)
At the beginning of the Spanish American War
in the spring of 1898, Lawton was sent to Cuba as a brigadier general, and was
made a major general of volunteers on July 8, 1898. He was in
command of the 2nd division of the 5th Army Corps before Santiago,
distinguishing himself by the capture of El Caney and providing backup support
for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders in their charge on San Juan Hill.
At the close of the war, he was sent to the
Philippines, arriving in Manila in March, 1899. There, Lawton took
command of the 1st division of the 8th Army Corps and began active operations
against the insurgents. He captured Santa Cruz, a Filippino stronghold,
and San Isidro during his first three months. On June 10, he began his
Cavite campaign which pushed the insurgent line far back from Manila on the
south. A successful campaign against the main force of the insurgent
leader Emilio Aguinaldo began in October.
Lawton was killed, however, at the Battle of
San Mateo by the forces of Licerio Geronimo on December 19.
Lawton, Oklahoma, incorporated 1901, was named
for General Lawton. The city is near Fort Sill, US Army Field Artillery
Center, where Apache Chief Geronimo is buried and where he spent his last
years as a prisoner.
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"Major-General
Henry W. Lawton's body being brought in from the Battlefield, P.I." |
"Major-General
Henry W. Lawton's body in the chapel at Paco Cemetary, Manila, P.I." |
General Lawton's
likeness on a Philippine 50 peso note, 1923
Pictures and
items from the Samuel Culbertson Mansion Collection
Lawton Links on our sites
Topics on General Lawton
The General Lawton
Photo & Sketch Album:
General
Lawton, "Uncle Henry" to the Two Little Knights of Kentucky
General
Lawton's Family
Lawton's Reception in Louisville, 1898
Death of General Lawton Dec 19, 1899 -
Newspaper reports
(includes a longer biography)
Other
Links:
Henry
W. Lawton, Forgotten Warrior
The site above promises to soon be the most comprehensive site on General
Lawton on the net
Geronimo's
Surrender - Skeleton Canyon, 1886
Chronology of
the Spanish American War
Assault
on San Juan Hill
The
Battles of San Juan Hill and El Caney
Named
Campaigns - Philippine Insurrection
An
American POW in the Philippines
Stereoview,
General Lawton's Casket.
Arlington
Cemetary web site, more biography and grave site photo
Biography
of Licerio Geronimo
www.archive.org (if links are dead, you may
find them archived here)
General Lawton's Monument in Ft. Wayne, Indiana
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