William Owen O'Neill (1866 - 1898)

Born 2 Feb 1866 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Died 1 Jul 1898 at age 32 in Kettle Hill Cuba

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Biography

Death

Buckey O'Neill monument, by Solon Borglum. On July 1, 1898, at about 10am, the Rough Riders and the 10th Cavalry were stationed below Kettle Hill. The Spaniards, who were on top of the hill, [Mauser] rifle fire down on the Americans. Buckey O'Neill was killed in action.

Theodore Roosevelt, commander of the Rough Riders, wrote about the death of O'Neill: The most serious loss that I and the regiment could have suffered befell just before we charged. O'Neill was strolling up and down in front of his men, smoking his cigarette, for he was inveterately addicted to the habit. He had a theory that an officer ought never to take cover—a theory which was, of course, wrong, though in a volunteer organization the officers should certainly expose themselves very fully, simply for the effect on the men; our regimental toast on the transport running, "The officers; may the war last until each is killed, wounded, or promoted." As O'Neill moved to and fro, his men begged him to lie down, and one of the sergeants said, "Captain, a bullet is sure to hit you." O'Neill took his cigarette out of his mouth, and blowing out a cloud of smoke laughed and said, "Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn't made that will kill me." A little later he discussed for a moment with one of the regular officers the direction from which the Spanish fire was coming. As he turned on his heel a bullet struck him in the mouth and came out at the back of his head; so that even before he fell his wild and gallant soul had gone out into the darkness.[20]

Before the fighting was over, O'Neill's men had buried him on the slope of San Juan Hill. After the war, his family and friends enlisted help from the War Department to find and recover his body. After six men failed to find the site, the War Department sent Henry Alfred Brown, the Rough Riders' Chaplain, to find him. Despite it being eight months since O'Neill's death, Chaplain Brown located the site within two hours after arriving in Santiago. The well preserved body was exhumed, placed in a coffin, and returned to the United States on the Army transport Crook.[21] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.[22] The epitaph on his gravestone reads,"Who would not die for a new star on the flag?"[19]

On July 3, 1907, a monument by sculptor Solon Borglum was dedicated to O'Neill and the other Rough Riders in their memory in Prescott, Arizona.[19] Seven thousand people gathered to witness the unveiling.

O'Neill Spring, in the Pumphouse Wash wetlands south of Flagstaff, was named after Buckey O'Neill, as is O'Neill Butte in the Grand Canyon.

Movies Bucky (sic) O'Neill is a main character in the TNT movie Rough Riders, portrayed by Sam Elliott.[23]

See also flag Arizona portal Biography portal Buckey O'Neill Cabin in Grand Canyon National Park, built by O'Neill in 1890 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places Notes O'Neill's place of birth is subject to debate. During his life he claimed to have been born in Missouri and his widow listed "Saint Louis, Mo." as his place of birth when applying for a widow's pension. This is contradicted by his military muster-in roll which listed his place of birth as Ireland and the October 14, 1884 edition of "The Great Register of Yavapai County, Arizona Territory" which listed O'Neill as Native of Ireland and Naturalized by father's naturalization.[3]

Sources

• "Buckey O'Neill: A Rough Rider Cut Down In His Prime". NPR.org. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckey_O%27Neill