Louis Joseph Van Schaick (July 1, 1875February 14, 1945) was an officer 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 ...

and a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient for his actions in the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

Biography

Van Schaick was born on July 1, 1875, in Cobleskill,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, to John Van Schaick and the former Frances Elizabeth Shaver. Among his siblings was John van Schaick Jr., who later married Julia Asenath Romaine (a daughter of Benjamin F. Romaine of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

). Van Schaick attended

West Point 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 ...

as a member of the 1900 class but left one year before graduating to join the army. While serving in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, he held the governorships of

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

(1905–1907) and

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

(1908–1912). In 1906, he assisted Colonel Harry Hill Bandholtz in carrying out the capture of the notorious Filipino bandit leader,

Macario Sakay Macario Sakay y de León (March 1, 1870 – September 13, 1907) was a Filipino general who took part in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire and in the Philippine–American War. After the war was declared over by the Un ...

. He later went on to fight with General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary For ...

in pursuit of Pancho Villa and (as a lieutenant colonel) was part of the 1st expeditionary force sent to France, again with General Pershing. He was retired for disability in August 1934 with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He was later imprisoned during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

and died shortly after his release on February 14, 1945.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 4th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: Near

Nasugbu, Batangas Nasugbu, officially the Municipality of Nasugbu (), is a municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 136,524 people. Several bus services provide transportation to and from Na ...

, Philippine Islands, November 23, 1901. Entered service at: Cobleskill, N.Y. Birth: Cobleskill, N.Y. G.O. No.: 33, 1913. Date of issue: Unknown.

Citation

While in pursuit of a band of insurgents was the first of his detachment to emerge from a canyon, and seeing a column of insurgents and fearing they might turn and dispatch his men as they emerged one by one from the canyon, galloped forward and closed with the insurgents, thereby throwing them into confusion until the arrival of others of the detachment.

References

External links

* 1875 births 1945 deaths American people of Dutch descent United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army colonels People from Cobleskill, New York American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Military Academy alumni Philippine–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at the Manila American Cemetery 19th-century United States Army personnel {{US-army-bio-stub

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

Citation

See also

References

External links