Jacob H. Smith Buried at Arlington National Cemetery-- Part 2

Continuing with posts and positions held by him.

Assigned to 19th U.S. Infantry 15 December 1870
Major, 2nd U.S. Infantry, 26 November 1894
Lieutenant Colonel, 17th U.S. Infantry 20 June 1898

Colonel 17th U.S. Infantry   20 October 1899
Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers, 1 June 1900
Brigadier General , U.S. Army, 30 March 1901

Breveted Major , 7 March 1867, for gallant conduct in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, 6 April 1862

Retired 16 July 1902

Quite a Career for a Questionable Guy.  --Cooter

Jacob H. Smith Buried at Arlington National Cemetery-- Part 1

Jacob Hurd Smith, who I have been writing about this past week for what he did on the island of Samar in the Philippines.   is buried at Arlington National Cemetery which has a lots of military positions in which he served.  It is quite expansive.

JACOB HURD SMITH  of Ohio.

Appointed from Illinois, 1st lieutenant , 2nd Kentucky Infantry, 5 June 1861
Captain 28 January 1862
Honorably mustered out 29 June 1863

Captain, Volunteer Reserve Corps, 25 June 1863
Honorably mustered out 21 October 1865
Captain, 13th U.S. Infantry  7 March 1867

Unassigned 25 May 1869
Major, Judge Advocate, 25 May 1869
Appointment of Major Judge Advocate Revoked 10 December 1869

But Wait!!  There's More!!  --DaCoot

Jacob Smith's Wounds

By the 1902 court martial, Jacob Smith had received three wounds during his war service:

**  Scar from a saber cut on the head which he received  in July 1861 in Barboursville, Virginia.

**  April 7, 1862, wounded by Minie ball in hip.  It was still in his hip in 1902.

**  Still had a bullet in his body  from a wound at El Caney in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

A Walking Bullet.  --Cooter

Jacob Smith in Later Life

He retired to Portsmouth, Ohio, and also did some world traveling.  With the coming of World War I, he volunteered his service,  but was turned down due to his old age (and likely what happened in the Philippines).

He died in San Diego on March 1, 1918, and in interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

I had never heard of him before, but he is definitely an interesting character.  I will write about his Civil War service in my Saw the Elephant blog.

--DaCoot

The Court Martial of Jacob Smith

In May 1902, Jacob Smith faced his own court martial.  He was , however, not tried for murder or war crimes, but for "conduct to the prejudice and good order and military discipline."

He was found guilty and sentenced "to be admonished by the reviewing authority."  Now, what exactly did that mean?

In the meantime, word of the atrocities committed under Smith's orders spread in the United States, causing a huge outcry.    Secretary of War Elihu Root recommended that Smith be retired and President Theodore Roosevelt accepted it and ordered Smith's retirement from the Army.

There was no additional punishment.

Surprising.  --Cooter

The Court Martial of Major Littleton Waller, USMC for Actions in the Philippines

Major Littleton Waller acted as a major subordinate in carrying out Jacob Smith's orders on Samar and was afterwards court martialed for the executions of  eleven mutinous Filipino porters.

Waller's defense did not mention Smith's orders directly, but used  provisions of the Civil War's  General Order  Number 100 (also called the Lieber Code).  This order dictated how Union soldiers were expected to conduct themselves in relation to enemy military and is considered a precursor to the Geneva Conventions.

The General Order permitted the killing of POWs in reprisal for  violations of the rules of war by the enemy and also provided for the summary execution of spies, saboteurs and guerrilla fighters.

Jacob Smith was called to testify about his orders but perjured himself and denied that he had given any special orders to Waller.  In response, Waller  revealed Smith's order and produced three officers to corroborate it.  Waller said he had been ordered to take no prisoners and to kill every Filipino over the age of ten.

The court martial board voted 11-2 to acquit Waller.  It was later stated that an Army court had no jurisdiction over a Marine officer.

But, this case led to the court martial of Jacob Smith.

--Cooter

Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 6: A Reign of Terror

The exact number of Filipino civilians killed by U.S. troops will never be known.  Littleton  Waller, the head of the Marines on Samar, in a report said  that over an eleven-day period, he and his men had burned 255 dwellings, shot 13 carabaos (water buffalo) and killed 39 people.

A British researcher in the 1990s made an exhaustive research and put the figure on Samar about 2,500.    Filipino historians put the number around 50,000.

The American abuses on Samar outraged people in the U.S., especially anti-imperialists.  The judge advocate of the Army said that only the good sense of Smith's subordinates kept things from being much worse during the reign of terror.

Because of  this reign of terror, Jacob Smith became known as  Howling Wilderness" Smith.  He also had another nickname, "Hell-Roaring" Smith because of his use of swear words.

Smith would be court-martailed for this.

Don't Mess With Jake.  --Cooter

Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 5: "I Want No Prisoners"

With orders to suppress the uprising, Smith had carte blanche to do as he pleased, and he intended to make the Filipinos on Samar live in a "howling wilderness."  they were to be hurt in excess.

He gave orders to Major Littleton Walker of the USMC, who commanded a battalion of Marines sent to help Smith these orders:  "I want no prisoners.  I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me.  I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States."

When asked  at what age did Filipinos pose a threat, Smith replied:  "Ten years.  Persons of ten years  and older are those designated as being capable of bearing arms."

A sustained and widespread massacre of Filipino civilians followed.  Food and trade to Samar were cut off.  Widespread destruction was used to try to turn the civilian population away from supporting the guerrillas..  Troops were used in sweeps across the interior of the island.  Americans columns marched inland destroying homes and shooting people and draft animals.

--Cooter

Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 4: The Belangiga Massacre

Because of his bravery in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, Smith was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by Philippine's  governor William Howard Taft. It was with the thought that Smith would then retire, but that didn't happen.  Smith remained in the Army.

In 1899, Smith boasted to reporters that  he was going to use Indian tactics against the Filipino insurgents and would be really harsh with them.  Then, there was a situation in Luzon where Smith's actions angered the locals.

But, by far the worse thing that happened was the Belangiga Massacre where 51 American soldiers of Company  C of the 9th U.S. Infantry were killed.  This provoked shock and anger in the United States and newspapers called for reprisal.  Military governor of the Philippines, Major General Adna R. Chafee, received orders from President Teddy Roosevelt to pacify the island of Samar where it happened.

He appointed Jacob Smith to do this.  This proved to be a mistake.

And Then It All Happened.  --DaCoot

Gen. Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 3: A Checkered Past

And, there were other questionable aspects to Jacob Smith's affairs.  there were other military problems as well.  (Read the Wikipedia article for more information on these.)

Then, there were lawsuits for debt against him.  Then, there was a $7 harness case against Smith that dragged on from  1871 to 1901.  In 1885 he was  court martialled for  for "conduct unbecoming and officer and a gentleman."  In 1891 he was charged with using enlisted men as servants in his home.

It was just one thing after another with Jacob Smith.

Then came the Philippine-American War in which Smith was posted to the Philippines.

--CootSue

Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 2: Questionable Business Ethics

CIVIL WAR SERVICE

Jacob Smith enlisted in the early days of the Civil War but was disabled at the Battle of Shiloh.  He tried to return to duty that summer but the wound did not heal properly so he became a member of the invalid corps where he served out the remainder of the war in Louisville as a mustering officer/recruiter for three years.  His  service record says he was particularly good at recruiting "colored" troops.

After the war he was active in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

MISCONDUCT?

After the war, he married  Emma L. Havrety.  Her father, Daniel,  was accused of fraud by bankruptcy and the investigation believed Daniel had transferred large amounts of money to others.  Then they noticed that Jacob Smith's assets had grown, during the war, from $4,000 in 1862 to $40,000 in 1865.

Smith claimed ignorance in the transference of money, but said he had made his money during the war by a bounty brokerage scheme.  Eastern states were offering recruits as much as $700.  Smith and a group of eastern recruiters made plans to use Midwest recruits (who were paid $300) to fill the eastern quotas and pocket the rest of the money.

Smith claimed he didn't know this was illegal.  He had also taken $92,000 the eastern recruiters had deposited with him  and made speculative investments in whiskey, gold and diamonds and turned a huge profit.

--CootIDidn'tKnow

General Jacob "Howling Wilderness" Smith-- Part 1

Back on May 1st, I wrote about the American reprisal following the Belangiga Massacre, which definitely was not one of our prouder moments, thanks in large measure to the actions of this general.  I had never heard of him before, but his is quite a story.

From Wikipedia.

GENERAL JACOB H. SMITH  (January 29, 1840 to March 1, 1918)

United States Army officer notorious  for ordering an indiscriminate attack on Filipinos in the Philippine-American War  (Philippines Insurrection) following the Spanish-American War.  American soldiers killed anywhere between 2,500 and 50,000 civilians.

His orders included:

"Kill everyone over the age of ten."

"Make the island a howling wilderness."

He was court-martialed for this, but nothing happened.  However, the press took to calling him:  "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith,  "The Monster", "Howling Wilderness Jake"  and "Howling Jake."

--CootHowl

The Belangiga Bells-- Part 2: Reprisal, "Howling Wilderness"

The first bell was cast around 1853, the second around 1889 and the third, and smallest, was acquired in 1895.

On 28 September 1901 a group of Filipino villagers from Belangiga ambushed Company C of the 9th U.S. Infantry while they were at breakfast, killing 48 and wounding 22 of the 78 men.  Supposedly, one of the bells had been used as the signal bell to launch the attack.

In reprisal, General Jacob H. Smith ordered Samar to be turned into "a howling wilderness."  Any Filipino above the age of ten was to be shot and this resulted in the most widespread slaying of Filipinos during the entire war.  There was also massive destruction on the island.

The Americans seized all three of the bells as war trophies.

General Smith and Marine Corps Major Littleton Waller  were both court-martialled for the severity of the reprisals.  Both were acquitted.

I'll be writing some more about the general who was quite an interesting character.

--DaCoot

The Belangiga Massacre-- Part 5: Deaths and Afterwards

The exact number of Filipinos killed is not known and likely never to be.    In the 1990s,  a ten-year study was made on the Belangiga Massacre by British writer  Bob Couttie who put the figure at 2,500.  yet, there are some historians who put the figures closer to 50,000.

When events in Samar became known, there were prompt investigations.  Secretary of War Elihu  Root sent orders to relieve American commanders and to court martial Gen. Jacob Smith.  Jacob Smith and Littleton Waller faced courts martial.  Waller was found not guilty and Smith was found guilty, admonished for his tactics and forced to retire.

What About the Bells?

The Belangiga Massacre-- Part 4: Excessive Retaliation on U.S. Part

Gen. Jacob Smith further ordered that Major Littleton Waller kill all persons who were capable of carrying arms.  When asked about an age limit, Smith replied anyone over the age of ten.

Food and trade to Samar to starve the revolutionaries into submission.  The hope was that the villagers would stop supporting the guerrillas and turn to the Americans for help.  His soldiers began sweeps in the interior looking for guerrillas.

American columns marched across the island destroying homes and shooting people.  At one point Waller wrote that over an 11 day period his men had burned 255 homes, shot 13 carabaos (domestic water buffalo) and killed 39 people.

It was noted later by the Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army that the reason this did not get worse was that junior officers often didn't follow orders fully.  When this destruction was learned in March 1902 back in the United States, this greatly agitated anti-imperialist groups.

I found an article about General Jacob Smith in Wikipedia.  His was quite a story.  I'll be wrting about it in the future.

Not An Honorable Part of American History.

The Belangiga Massacre-- Part 3: Massacre and U.S. Retaliation "I Want No Prisoners"

Continued from  April 12.

On the morning of September  28, 1901, the villagers made their move.  Filipino prisoners on communal duty overpowered their American guards.  They then attacked other Americans having  breakfast.  Of the 74 men of Company C, 36 were killed including all its commissioned officers.  Twenty-two were wounded and four MIA.

Eight later died of wounds and only four escaped unscathed.  The villagers lost  28 dead and 22 wounded.

American retaliation was swift.  Company G of the 9th U.S. Infantry sailed to the Belangiga, found it abandoned, burned the American dead and then burned the town.

American reaction to the news was horrified, comparing it to Custer's massacre at the Little Bighorn in 1876.  Major General  Adna R. Chaffee, military governor of the Philippines, received a message from  President Theodore Roosevelt to pacify Samar.

General Jacob G. Smith instructed Major Littleton Waller, USMC, :: "I want no prisoners.  I wish you to kill and burn, and the more you kill and burn, the better it will please me....  The interior of Samar must be made a howling wilderness."

As a result of this order, General Smith became known as "Howling Wilderness Smith."

--Cooter