Ernest Albert Garlington

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Brigadier General Ernest Albert Garlington (1911)

Ernest Albert Garlington (born February 20, 1853 in Newberry , South Carolina , † October 16, 1934 in San Diego , California ) was an American brigadier general in the US Army , who was recognized for his outstanding bravery in the Wounded Knee massacre on December 29th Was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars in 1890 , the highest military award of the US government . His last position was as Inspector General of the United States Army between 1906 and 1917 and played an inglorious role in the investigation into the so-called "Brownsville Affair" of August 1906.

Life

Officer training, Indian wars and wars in Cuba and the Philippines

For his outstanding valor at the Wounded Knee massacre on December 29, 1890 during the Indian Wars, Ernest Albert Garlington was awarded the Medal of Honor , the highest military honor of the US government .

Ernest Albert Garlington was the second of five children of the Brigadier General of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War Albert Creswell Garlington and his wife Sally Lark Moon Garlington. After attending school, he began in 1869 to study at the University of Georgia and on July 1, 1872 an officer training at the US Military Academy in West Point , which he completed in 1876. After that, he was as at June 15, 1876 lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry Regiment ( 7th Cavalry Regiment ) was added and already ten days later June 25, 1876 to lieutenant promoted to replace the officers of the regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in had fallen in the Battle of Little Bighorn . In the following years he took part in the Indian Wars himself and was regimental adjutant from June 6, 1877 to November 30, 1891. In 1883 he was the leader of one of the failed expeditions to supply Adolphus Greely on his polar expedition . When massacre of Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890 he was severely wounded and for his outstanding bravery with the Medal of Honor was awarded the highest military award of the United States Government . The Medal of Honor was issued on September 26, 1893.

On December 3, 1891 Garlington was promoted to captain and in 1894 a member of the committee for the development of training guidelines for the cavalry. After his promotion to major on January 2, 1895, he moved to the office of the General Inspector of the Army. During the Spanish-American War (April 23 to August 12, 1898) he was Inspector General of the Army in Cuba , where he took part in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba (June 22 to July 17, 1898). During this time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 7, 1898 . He then took part in the Philippine-American War as General Inspector of Army troops in the Philippines (February 4, 1899 to July 4, 1902) and was promoted to colonel on March 1, 1901 while he was there . After other assignments between May 2, 1905 and June 4, 1906, he was again Inspector General of Army troops in the Philippines.

Army Inspector General and Brownsville Affair

After returning to the United States, Garlington was promoted to Brigadier General on October 1, 1906 , and then took over from Brigadier General George H. Burton as Inspector General of the United States Army . He held this post until February 20, 1917, when Major General John Loomis Chamberlain succeeded him.

During his tenure he was 1908 chairman of a military commission to investigate the so-called "Brownsville Affair". In the infamous "Brownsville Incident" in August 1906, racist white Texans tried to arrest all the African American soldiers of the Brownsville garrison because they allegedly attacked white civilians at night. This actual "attack" in August 1906 was actually carried out by several white members of the population disguised as soldiers and resulted in several civilians being killed and wounded. General Garlington was one of two officers dispatched to investigate the incident. As a native of South Carolina, he had no affection for the African American soldiers and ignored any testimony that contradicted the white citizen's version and "evidence". In large part because of his biased investigation, all 167 African American soldiers in the garrison were unfairly dishonorably discharged . It was not until 1972 that these dismissals were changed to "honorable". In 1911 he took part as an observer in the maneuvers of the German army in the German Empire . On February 20, 1917, he formally retired from active military service, but was still after the United States entered the First World War on April 6, 1917, from April 30 to September 21, 1917 as an advisor to the General Staff in the US War Department (War Department General Staff) .

From his marriage to Anna Bowers Buford Garlington the two sons Creswell Garlington and Bufford Carlington and the daughter Sally Garlington Chamberlin emerged. Creswell Garlington was also Brigadier General in the US Army during World War II . After his death, Ernest Albert Garlington was buried in Arlington National Cemetery .

Publications

  • Historical Sketches of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. A Catechism on Cavalry Outposts
  • Reconnaissance, Patrols, Advance and Rear Guards

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry on the homepage of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society
  2. ↑ PRINCIPAL OFFICIALS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT AND DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, 1900-1963: The Inspector Generals
personal data
SURNAME Garlington, Ernest Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Brigadier General (US Army)
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH Newberry , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1934
Place of death San Diego , California