Friday, December 29, 2017

Royal Emerson Whitman



This  1913 relief portrait of Royal Emerson Whitman by Gutzon Borglum decorates Whitman's  tombstone in Arlington National Cemetery. Borglum is said to have been a close friend of Whitman.
Colonel Royal Emerson Whitman (May 11, 1833 – February 12, 1913), was an American army officer who served in the Civil War, Reconstruction and the Indian wars, best known for his association with the 1871 Camp Grant massacre. He was the father of noted orthopedic surgeon Royal Whitman.  -- Wikipedia

Gutzon Borglum

Royal Emerson Whitman
Col. 30th Maine Inf.
Capt. U. S. Cav.
1833 - 1913

Whitman rose to the rank of Colonel during the Civil War as commander of the 30th Maine Volunteer Infantry. After being mustered out in 1865, he joined the U. S. Cavalry and was a brevetted first lieutenant for his gallantry at the battle of Sabine Cross Roads in April of 1864.

The Camp Grant Massacre occurred on April 30, 1871 when a mob of citizens from Tucson Arizona murdered Pinal and Aravaipa Apaches who were under the protection of the U.S. Army at Camp Grant. Lieutenant Royal Emerson Whitman was in command at Camp Grant at the time.



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