FREDERICK FUNSTON-MOH AWARDEE

[BEAST]

I purchased a Spanish-American War document grouping from the family of Edgar Tucker who was one of the Principle Muscians in the 20th Kansas. Among the documents was this one appointing Tucker as Principle Musician. While this is a nice document from a Hoosier who served, an additional bonus is the signature of the Commander of the 20th Kansas, Frederick Funston.

 

Funston led an interesting militay career, being awarded the Medal of Honor for "most distinguished gallantry in action at Rio Grande de la Pampanga, April 27, 1899, when Colonel, 20th Kansas Infantry, in crossing the river on a raft and by his skill and daring enabling the General Commanding to carry the enemy’s entrenched position on the north bank of the river and drive him with great loss from the important strategic position of Calumpit."

 

To say that he was colorful is an understatement. He began his military service by joining the Cuban Revolutionary Army that was fighting for independence from Spain in 1896 after having been inspired to join following a rousing speech given by Gen. Daniel E. Sickles at Madison Square Garden in New York.

 

Contracting malaria, Funston's weight dropped to a 95 pounds and he was given a leave of absence by the Cubans. When Funston returned to the United States, he was commissioned as a colonel of the 20th Kansas Infantry in the United States Army on May 13, 1898, in the early days of the Spanish-American War. That same year, he landed in the Philippines as part of the U.S. forces in the Philippine-American War.

 

In 1902, Funston toured the United States to increase public support of the Philippine-American War and became the focus of controversy by stating,

 

"I personally strung up thirty-five Filipinos without trial, so what was all the fuss over Waller's 'dispatching' a few 'treacherous savages'? If there had been more Smiths and Wallers, the war would have been over long ago. Impromptu domestic hanging might also hasten the end of the war. For starters, all Americans who had recently petitioned Congress to sue for peace in the Philippines should be dragged out of their homes and lynched." [1],[1]

Mark Twain, a strong opponent of US imperialism, published a sarcasm-filled denunciation of Funston's mission and methods under the title "A Defence of General Funston" in the North American Review.

 

Funston was considered a useful advocate for US expansionism, but when he publicly made insulting remarks about anti-imperialist Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts, mocking his "overheated conscience" in Denver, just before a planned trip to Boston, President Theodore Roosevelt denied his furlough request, and ordered him silenced and officially reprimanded.

 

Later in his career, Funston was active in the conflict with Mexico in 1914-1916. He occupied the city of Veracruz, and later took part in the hunt for Pancho Villa, becoming a Major General in November 1914.

 

Before the US entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson favored Funston to head any American Expeditionary Force (AEF). His intense focus on work would lead to health problems, first with a case of indigestion in January 1917, followed by a fatal heart attack at the age of 51 years in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Fort Funston, located near San Francisco, California and Camp Funston located at Fort Riley, Kansas are named in his honor.

 

For further reading see:

 

http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/funston.html

 

http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/history/bios/funston.htm

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Funston

 

Sorry about the quality, but the original document is rather yellowed and didn't scan well.

[Mr-X]

Beast,

this is a very nice piece not to mention the MoH signature.