Capt. Cheatham
21-07-07, 18:47
Everyone should have a hero of some kind. And Captain Cheatham is my personal hero. He was my great-great uncle. I have been researching him and his military background, and though I have known who he was since I was a teenager, it wasn't until I really started digging into his military background that I discovered what an extraordinary person he must have been. The background photo on my my page, is a photograph from 1910 of him and his company that he commanded in the Philippine Scouts. It is the 17th Company and he was the commanding officer of this unit. It was made up of United States Army officer's and the men of the unit were all Filippino native troops, much the same as the Ghurka's were to the British Colonial Army of the late 19th Century. These same Filippino troops were the very same that fought alongside of & with the regular U.S. Army troops in Bataan & Corrigedor during the early stages of World War II. Their legacy began with these first units that were formed immediately after the Spanish-American War. Their purpose was to help the U.S. Army put down the Philippine Insurrection that lasted until 1914. Lindzy's company was based at Augur Barracks, Jolo-Jolo, Philippine Islands. The Philippine Insurrection, for those who are not aware of this early history, is very much like the situation in Iraq today. It was a war fought primarily with the Moros, the Muslim sect of the Philippine population. It was a brutal, fierce, no holds barred conflict - with no quarter asked, and none given. Many times, the fights were hand-to-hand and fought to the death. The Filippino soldier's primary weapons were the model 1899 Krag-Jorgenson Carbine rifle and the bolo knife. It was the job of the Philippine Scouts, to go into the jungles and the Moro strongholds, track down the insurrengents, and defeat or kill these terrorist forces. The fighting was incredibly ferocious, and the Moros were capable of the most horrible of atrocities. The Scouts set a high mark for all those that followed in later years, high standards of bravery & loyalty, as was exhibited during World War II. It was the surviving Scouts that formed the guerilla units that fought the Japanese after the fall of the Philippines in 1942, and beside the American forces when they returned to liberate the islands in Ocotber, 1944.
Lindzy was born in 1866. In 1892, at the age of 26, he joined the United States Army, enlisting at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was assigned to the 7th Cavalry, Troop B, as a Private. This was George A. Custer's old cavalry outfit. Lindzy's father, Fletcher Cheatham had also been a cavalryman during the Civil War. His father was in the 6th Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, commanded by General Jospeh "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler, and later served under Gen. N. B. Forrest. I have no doubt, that as a child, Lindzy had heard many stories from his Dad about his life & experience in the cavalry, and that this was what motivated him later on to also join the U.S. Cavalry. He stayed with the 7th Cavalry until 1897, when his enlistment was up and he was discharged at Fort Grant, Arizona Territory, the last of the really tough frontier towns left in the old west.
He re-enlisted in the United States Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in that same year, and was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Artillery. The following year, 1898, this unit was shipped overseas to see action in the Philippines during the Spanish American War, and Lindzy was now a 1st Sergeant in Battery K of the 3rd Artillery. His unit particpated in the Battle of Manila, where these men fought on foot, alongside the other American infantry units. For his bravery and leadership during his serivce in the war, he was awarded the Army's "Certificate of Merit", an award that at that time, was just below the Congressional Medal of Honor. It also earned him a commission as a 1st Lieutenant, and he was transferred in 1899, while still in the Philippines, to the 11th Cavalry, U.S.V. He stayed with the 11th Cavalry until 1901, when he received a Presidential Appointment as a 1st Lieutenant in the newly organized Philippine Scouts, the very first special forces unit to serve the United States.
While still a lieutenant with the Scouts in 1904, he and his men tracked down an insurrgent leader, by the name of Roldan, and his band in the Camarines-Tayabas border area. In a fierce fire fight, with hand-to-hand fighting, he and his men killed Roldan and several of his lieutenants. He filed an action report via telegram to his superiors, reporting the success of his mission, and is reprinted in the U.S. Government Report of the 1904 Philippine Commission, on page 64, and reads as follows:
"Returned from mountains at 1.30 this morning with the dead bodies of Roldan and 3 others of his men; also, 21 prisoners, 7 guns and 2 revolvers, a few bolos and a small amount of ammunition. This was all he had, except one revolver. Roldan positively identified."
The above is the actual text of the action report telegram as I found it in the above government document. He must have been one tough hombre, to be sure. No doubt, his time with the 7th Cavalry in the old west, fighting in the last of the Indian Wars, was excellent training for the career he had chosen.
In 1906, Lt. Cheatham returned to the Presidio in San Francisco, and was there on April 18, 1906, during the Great San Francisco Earthquake. While he was unhurt during the earthquake, many others lost their lives during the earthquake and subsequent fires, and many times more were left destitute and homeless. The United States Army was given the task of coordinating all rescue and relief operations within the San Francisco area. The Presidio Military Post furnished all of the troops and officers to not just maintain order, but to help those that were in dire need. As one of these officers, Lindzy was given command of the "Oakland Mole", which was at that time, the main wharf and rail facility in Oakland. It was his job to see to the efficient and timely distribution of food, medicine and supplies to the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. His appointment to this post is referenced in the publication of "The Special Report of Major General Adolphus W. Greeley, U.S.A., Commanding the Pacific Division of the Relief Operations by the Military Authorites at San Francisco & Other Points", page 118, chapter 'Earthquake In California'.
I found this picture of Captain Cheatham in the University of California Bancroft Library on the Berkley Campus. The library references the date as 1910-1912, and has the image stored as a glass negative in their archives of old California. The original photo was taken by a photographer for the 'San Francisco Call Newspaper', probably for an article about Lindzy's return from service in the Philippines and his subsequent retirement. Judging from the background scenery in the photo, I highly suspect that it was taken at the Presidio army base in San Francisco.
I was able to also find out thru an article in the 'Washington Post Newspaper', dated July 20, 1917, that Lindzy had been recalled to active duty after war was declared on Germany that April, 1917. He was ordered to report to Camp Kearny in San Diego. This was a training facility for troops after basic training, where they were trained in the use of machine gun and artillery. Lindzy had served in the U.S. 3rd Artillery, Battery K, during the Spanish American War and in the assault and capture of Manila of 1899. No doubt, he was one of only a few soldiers who had actual combat experience and used his knowledge of the artillery to train those who would be going on to France.
Lindzy was born in 1866. In 1892, at the age of 26, he joined the United States Army, enlisting at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was assigned to the 7th Cavalry, Troop B, as a Private. This was George A. Custer's old cavalry outfit. Lindzy's father, Fletcher Cheatham had also been a cavalryman during the Civil War. His father was in the 6th Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, commanded by General Jospeh "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler, and later served under Gen. N. B. Forrest. I have no doubt, that as a child, Lindzy had heard many stories from his Dad about his life & experience in the cavalry, and that this was what motivated him later on to also join the U.S. Cavalry. He stayed with the 7th Cavalry until 1897, when his enlistment was up and he was discharged at Fort Grant, Arizona Territory, the last of the really tough frontier towns left in the old west.
He re-enlisted in the United States Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in that same year, and was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Artillery. The following year, 1898, this unit was shipped overseas to see action in the Philippines during the Spanish American War, and Lindzy was now a 1st Sergeant in Battery K of the 3rd Artillery. His unit particpated in the Battle of Manila, where these men fought on foot, alongside the other American infantry units. For his bravery and leadership during his serivce in the war, he was awarded the Army's "Certificate of Merit", an award that at that time, was just below the Congressional Medal of Honor. It also earned him a commission as a 1st Lieutenant, and he was transferred in 1899, while still in the Philippines, to the 11th Cavalry, U.S.V. He stayed with the 11th Cavalry until 1901, when he received a Presidential Appointment as a 1st Lieutenant in the newly organized Philippine Scouts, the very first special forces unit to serve the United States.
While still a lieutenant with the Scouts in 1904, he and his men tracked down an insurrgent leader, by the name of Roldan, and his band in the Camarines-Tayabas border area. In a fierce fire fight, with hand-to-hand fighting, he and his men killed Roldan and several of his lieutenants. He filed an action report via telegram to his superiors, reporting the success of his mission, and is reprinted in the U.S. Government Report of the 1904 Philippine Commission, on page 64, and reads as follows:
"Returned from mountains at 1.30 this morning with the dead bodies of Roldan and 3 others of his men; also, 21 prisoners, 7 guns and 2 revolvers, a few bolos and a small amount of ammunition. This was all he had, except one revolver. Roldan positively identified."
The above is the actual text of the action report telegram as I found it in the above government document. He must have been one tough hombre, to be sure. No doubt, his time with the 7th Cavalry in the old west, fighting in the last of the Indian Wars, was excellent training for the career he had chosen.
In 1906, Lt. Cheatham returned to the Presidio in San Francisco, and was there on April 18, 1906, during the Great San Francisco Earthquake. While he was unhurt during the earthquake, many others lost their lives during the earthquake and subsequent fires, and many times more were left destitute and homeless. The United States Army was given the task of coordinating all rescue and relief operations within the San Francisco area. The Presidio Military Post furnished all of the troops and officers to not just maintain order, but to help those that were in dire need. As one of these officers, Lindzy was given command of the "Oakland Mole", which was at that time, the main wharf and rail facility in Oakland. It was his job to see to the efficient and timely distribution of food, medicine and supplies to the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. His appointment to this post is referenced in the publication of "The Special Report of Major General Adolphus W. Greeley, U.S.A., Commanding the Pacific Division of the Relief Operations by the Military Authorites at San Francisco & Other Points", page 118, chapter 'Earthquake In California'.
I found this picture of Captain Cheatham in the University of California Bancroft Library on the Berkley Campus. The library references the date as 1910-1912, and has the image stored as a glass negative in their archives of old California. The original photo was taken by a photographer for the 'San Francisco Call Newspaper', probably for an article about Lindzy's return from service in the Philippines and his subsequent retirement. Judging from the background scenery in the photo, I highly suspect that it was taken at the Presidio army base in San Francisco.
I was able to also find out thru an article in the 'Washington Post Newspaper', dated July 20, 1917, that Lindzy had been recalled to active duty after war was declared on Germany that April, 1917. He was ordered to report to Camp Kearny in San Diego. This was a training facility for troops after basic training, where they were trained in the use of machine gun and artillery. Lindzy had served in the U.S. 3rd Artillery, Battery K, during the Spanish American War and in the assault and capture of Manila of 1899. No doubt, he was one of only a few soldiers who had actual combat experience and used his knowledge of the artillery to train those who would be going on to France.