Allyn Capron (August 27, 1846 – September 18, 1898), was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He commanded an artillery battery during the

Wounded Knee Massacre The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...

Life before the Spanish–American War

Capron was born on August 27, 1846, at

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

, Florida to Harriet Read Fanning Barnard and Erastus Allyn Capron, an 1833 graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point. 1847 brought the death of Erastus in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Upon reaching age, Allyn was nominated by a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from North Carolina to enroll, like his father before him, into the U.S. Military Academy. He was sworn in as a cadet on September 1, 1863, and graduated June 17, 1867. Upon graduating from the Academy, Capron was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant of the 1st Artillery Regiment. He held a variety of assignments on the east coast until he was promoted to 1st lieutenant on August 19, 1873. He was promoted to captain on December 4, 1888, and was assigned as commander of Battery E, 1st Artillery Regiment. He served at the Presidio of San Francisco until May 1890 when Battery E was reassigned to

Fort Douglas Fort Douglas (initially called Camp Douglas) was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. Its purpose was to protect the overland mail route and te ...

near

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. He served in the

Sioux Wars The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wy ...

from November 1890 to January 1891, for which he received official commendation in 1891 and in times of peace in California, Utah, Illinois, Virginia, and Florida, until the U.S. went to war with Spain in 1898. Capron commanded Battery E at the

in South Dakota on December 29, 1890. The battery's four Hotchkiss breech-loading rifles (Model 1875) are frequently cited as major factor in the high casualties among the

Lakotas The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in N ...

. (Native-American casualties in the battle are generally estimated to have been about 90 men and 210 women and children killed and 50 others wounded out of an estimated 350 present at the battle.) Capron was on sick leave from May to July 1891 and rejoined his battery at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

, Kansas where he served until the battery was reassigned to Fort Sheridan, Illinois in September where it assisted in quelling the railroad strike riots. Capron remained at Fort Sheridan until October 1896. In 1892 the battery participated in the dedicatory ceremonies of the Chicago World's Fair. In October 1896 the battery was reassigned to

Washington Barracks Fort Lesley J. McNair, also historically known as the Washington Arsenal, is a United States Army post located on the tip of Buzzard Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C ...

(later renamed

Fort McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair, also historically known as the Washington Arsenal, is a United States Army post located on the tip of Buzzard Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D ...

in Washington, D.C. In April 1898, following the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, the battery was sent to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, where it prepared for the upcoming invasion of Cuba. Capron and Battery E accompanied Major General William R. Shafter's V Corps when it landed in Cuba in June. Capron's battery supported the Major General Lawton's division's attack on the Spanish at El Caney the morning of 1 July 1898 which was launched as a supporting attack to pin Spanish forces at El Caney and to keep them from coming to the aid of the Spanish under fire of the main attack on San Juan Heights. Capron's son, Captain Allyn Kissam Capron, was a troop commander of the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

. During an early battle, the younger Capron was killed. Capron's battery arrived at the front soon and the captain commanded his artillerymen throughout the Siege of Santiago. However, Capron contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

during the campaign and obtained leave of absence which started on August 26, 1898. He died of his ailment near his home at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army Military base, post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and ...

, Virginia on September 18, 1898. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

.Burial Detail: Capron, Allyn
– ANC Explorer. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

Memberships and awards

Capron was a hereditary member of the

Aztec Club of 1847 The Aztec Club of 1847 is a military society founded in 1847 by United States Army officers of the Mexican–American War. It is a male-only hereditary organization with membership of those who can trace a direct ancestral connection "based on ma ...

by right of his father's service in the Mexican War. Capron received two Silver Citation Stars of gallantry in action (one for the Sioux Campaign of 1890 to 1891 and the other for service in Cuba). In 1932, Silver Citation Stars was converted to the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

decoration. He was posthumously eligible for the

Civil War Campaign Medal The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States Armed Forces. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. ...

Indian Campaign Medal The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.

and

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish ...

References

Sources * ''The Spanish American War'' by Colonel Red Reeder {{DEFAULTSORT:Capron, Allyn 1846 births 1898 deaths Military personnel from Tampa, Florida United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from North Carolina United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Military personnel from Arlington County, Virginia Deaths from typhoid fever in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery