Ernest Albert Garlington

Ernest Albert Garlington (February 20, 1853 – October 16, 1934) was a United States Army general who received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the Wounded Knee Massacre during the Indian Wars.

Ernest Albert Garlington
Born(1853-02-20)February 20, 1853
Newberry, South Carolina, US
DiedOctober 16, 1934(1934-10-16) (aged 81)
San Diego, California, US
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1876–1917
Rank Brigadier General
Service number0-13110
Unit7th Cavalry Regiment
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Wounded Knee Massacre
Spanish–American War
Philippine–American War
AwardsMedal of Honor
Other workInspector General of the Army; member, General Staff of the Army (1906-17)

Early life and education

Garlington was born in Newberry, South Carolina to Albert Creswell Garlington, a general in the South Carolina militia during the American Civil War. He entered the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens in 1869; however, he left UGA before graduating to accept an appointment to the United States Military Academy. He graduated from the academy in 1876 and was commissioned on June 15 of that year as a second lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of the United States Cavalry, but he did not physically join the unit until after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, which occurred several weeks after his appointment.[1]

Early military career

Due to his regiment's heavy losses, Garlington was quickly promoted to first lieutenant on June 25, 1876 and then to Regimental Adjutant June 6, 1877, and served in that post until 1881. He commanded one of the failed Adolphus Greely Relief Expeditions in 1883.

On December 29, 1890, Garlington was injured while at Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, and received the Medal of Honor on September 23, 1893, for distinguished gallantry.

Garlington's next promotions were to captain on December 3, 1891, and major, inspector general, on January 2, 1895. In 1898, Garlington served as inspector general in Cuba during the Spanish–American War and participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. In that same year (July 7, 1898), he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He again served as inspector general from 1899 through 1901 in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War. On March 1, 1901, Garlington was promoted to colonel. He served in the inspector general position again in the Philippines from 1905 to 1906.

The ultimate promotion for Garlington was to brigadier general, Inspector General of the Army, on October 1, 1906,[1] after which he served on the General Staff of the Army. In 1908, he conducted the army investigation into the Brownsville Affair.

In 1911, he was an observer of the German Army Maneuvers.[1]

World War I

He retired due to age on February 20, 1917. However, he served in the office of the chief of staff from April 30 to September 21, 1917.[1]

Death and legacy

Garlington died on October 16, 1934[1] and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.[2] His first wife, Anna Buford Garlington (1864–1954) and his daughter, Sally Garlington Chamberlin (1890–1949), are buried with him. His son, Cresswell Garlington, (1887–1945) was also a brigadier general in the United States Army and is buried in a separate plot at Arlington.

Books written by Garlington include: Historical Sketches of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment and A Catechism on Cavalry Outposts, Reconnaissance, Patrols, and Advance and Rear Guards.

Awards

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: first lieutenant, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Wounded Knee Creek, S. Dak., December 29, 1890. Entered service at: Athens, Ga. Born: February 20, 1853, Newberry, S.C. Date of issue: September 26, 1893.

Citation:

Distinguished gallantry.

Controversy
Mass Grave for the Dead Lakota After the Engagement at Wounded Knee

There have been several attempts by various parties to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the Battle of Wounded Knee.[3][4][5] Proponents claim that the engagement was in-fact a massacre and not a battle, due to the high number of killed and wounded Lakota women and children and the very one-sided casualty counts. Estimates of the Lakota losses indicate 150–300 killed, of which up to 200 were women and children. Additionally, as many as 51 were wounded. In contrast, the 7th Cavalry suffered 25 killed and 39 wounded, many being the result of friendly fire.[6][7][8]

Calvin Spotted Elk, direct descendant of Chief Spotted Elk killed at Wounded Knee, launched a petition to rescind medals from the soldiers who participated in the battle.[9]

The Army has also been criticized more generally for the seemingly disproportionate number of Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the battle.[10] For comparison, 20 Medals were awarded at Wounded Knee, 21 at the Battle of Cedar Creek, and 20 at the Battle of Antietam.[10][11] Respectively, Cedar Creek and Antietam involved 52,712 and 113,000 troops, suffering 8,674 and 22,717 casualties.[12][13][14][15][16] Wounded Knee, however, involved 610 combatants and resulted in as many as 705 casualties (including non-combatants).[17][6]

See also

References
  1. Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Pentland Press, Inc. pp. 137–8. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 40298151.
  2. Burial Detail: Garlington, Ernest A (Section 3, Grave 1735-B) – ANC Explorer
  3. Dana Lone Hill (February 18, 2013). "The Wounded Knee medals of honor should be rescinded". the Guardian. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  4. "No Medals for Massacre: Close the Open Wound of Wounded Knee". The Huffington Post. February 12, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  5. "Lakota~WOUNDED KNEE: A Campaign to Rescind Medals: story, pictures and information". Footnote.com. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  6. "Plains Humanities: Wounded Knee Massacre". Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  7. "The 110th Anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre". perspicuity.net. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  8. "Wagner...Part Two". dickshovel.com. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  9. Joseph Huff-Hannon (February 12, 2013). "No Medals for massacre: Close the Open Wound of Wounded Knee". Huffington Post.
  10. Green, Jerry (1994). "The Medals of Wounded Knee". Nebraska State Historical Society, also available in Nebraska History #75, pp. 200–208. Nebraska State Historical Society History.
  11. Owens, Ronald J. (2004) Medal of Honor: Historical facts and figures. Turner Publishing Company
  12. Whitehorne, p. 15. The NPS battle summary lists Union strength of 31,945. Cullen, p. 111, states 35,000 Union effectives, including 10,000 cavalry. Salmon, p. 368, and Kennedy, p. 319, state 32,000 Union.
  13. Whitehorne, p. 17. The NPS battle summary and Kennedy, p. 319, list Confederate strength of 21,000. Cullen, p. 112, states 18,000 Confederate effectives, including 4,000 cavalry.
  14. Wert, p. 246, Eicher, p. 752. Lewis, p. 288, reports Union totals as 5,764 (569 killed, 3,425 wounded, 1,770 missing), Confederates 3,060 (1,860 killed and wounded, 1,200 prisoners). Kennedy, p. 323, reports 5,672 Union, 2,910 Confederate. The NPS battle summary reports 5,665 Union, 2,910 Confederate. Salmon, p. 372, reports Union "almost 5,700", Confederate "almost 3,000."
  15. Eicher, p. 363. Sears, p. 173, cites 75,000 Union troops, with an effective strength of 71,500, with 300 guns; on p. 296, he states that the 12,401 Union casualties were 25% of those who went into action and that McClellan committed "barely 50,000 infantry and artillerymen to the contest"; p. 389, he cites Confederate effective strength of "just over 38,000," including A.P. Hill's division, which arrived in the afternoon. Priest, p. 343, cites 87,164 men present in the Army of the Potomac, with 53,632 engaged, and 30,646 engaged in the Army of Northern Virginia. Luvaas and Nelson, p. 302, cite 87,100 Union engaged, 51,800 Confederate. Harsh, Sounding the Shallows, pp. 201–202, analyzes the historiography of the figures, and shows that Ezra A. Carman (a battlefield historian who influenced some of these sources) used "engaged" figures; the 38,000 excludes Pender's and Field's brigades, roughly half the artillery, and forces used to secure objectives behind the line.
  16. Sears, pp. 294–96; Cannan, p. 201. Confederate casualties are estimates because reported figures include undifferentiated casualties at South Mountain and Shepherdstown; Sears remarks that "there is no doubt that a good many of the 1,771 men listed as missing were in fact dead, buried uncounted in unmarked graves where they fell." McPherson, p. 129, gives ranges for the Confederate losses: 1,546–2,700 dead, 7,752–9,024 wounded. He states that more than 2,000 of the wounded on both sides died from their wounds. Priest, p. 343, reports 12,882 Union casualties (2,157 killed, 9,716 wounded, 1,009 missing or captured) and 11,530 Confederate (1,754 killed, 8,649 wounded, 1,127 missing or captured). Luvaas and Nelson, p. 302, cite Union casualties of 12,469 (2,010 killed, 9,416 wounded, 1,043 missing or captured) and 10,292 Confederate (1,567 killed, 8,725 wounded for September 14–20, plus approximately 2,000 missing or captured).
  17. Brown, p. 178, Brown states that at the army camp, "the Indians were carefully counted." Utley, p. 204, gives 120 men, 230 women and children; there is no indication how many were warriors, old men, or incapacitated sick like Big Foot.
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