Edward Sinnott "Tex" O'Reilly (15 August 1880 – 8 December 1946) was an American soldier of fortune,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is said to have fought in ten wars under many flags. Initially serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

in 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

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 ...

, and the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, he would claim to fight in several conflicts in Central America and to have fought with

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and claimed to have fought in the

Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

with the

Spanish Foreign Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. He worked as a reporter for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He wrote an autobiography, ''Roving and Fighting'', and

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

wrote ''Born to Raise Hell'' about him. The latter book has been reprinted and is distributed by The Long Riders' Guild Press. He was the author of ''

Pecos Bill Pecos Bill ( ) is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book by Tex O ...

''.

Early life

Edward O'Reilly was born in Denton,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in 1880. His father worked as a construction worker and the family would frequently move around looking for work. When there was no work, they would settle down in a ranch they live in near San Saba. Growing up in the 'Wild West' had a profound effect on him, and he grew up learning how to ride, shoot, and survive in the wilderness. He was once sent into town by his mother when he witnessed a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

in which seven people were shot. His family eventually decided to move to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

due to the violence. While living in here, O'Reilly first heard news about the

USS Maine Four ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS ''Maine'', named for the 23rd state: * , was a battleship whose 1898 sinking precipitated the Spanish–American War. * , launched in 1901, was the lead ship of her class of battleship ...

sinking in the port of Havana in February 1898. This event motivated him to join the Army, having to lie about his age to join without his parents permission since he was only 17 at the time. He was enrolled Company B of the 4th Infantry Regiment and sent to

Tampa 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 ...

, Florida after training before being deployed to Cuba.

Spanish-American War

After arriving in Cuba, the extreme heat and constant mosquitos were a major problem. O'Reilly also claimed the extremely poor quality rations were "a slimy, ill-smelling mess, disgusting in appearance and fatal in effect." He first witnessed action in The Battle of El Caney. The battle was a failure for the American side and O'Reilly described the chaos the battle degenerated into. Shelling from Spanish artillery's had disoriented him, and how the heat and lack of water lead to some of his comrades fighting each other over canteens in the middle of the battle. He jumped into a trench where a Spanish soldier raised his gun on him, only to be saved at the last second when a Black American soldier killed him at the last second. After this, O'Reilly claimed to have never seen a Spanish soldier again, but that he and his fellow soldiers were under constant fire from them from the surrounding jungle. After the

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill (), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Span ...

and the decisive American victory at the

Battle of Santiago de Cuba The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a decisive naval engagement that occurred on July 3, 1898 between an United States, American fleet, led by William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley, against a Restoration (Spain), Spanish fleet led by Pascu ...

, the Spanish surrendered soon after. O'Reilly's company was stationed in Cuba for another month after the Spanish surrender where he noted that lack of supplies led to soldiers fighting over the few food rations left.

Film career

Tex O'Reilly wrote and acted in western silent films. He wrote '' I Am the Woman'' (1921), and wrote and acted in '' Honeymoon Ranch'' (1920), ''

West of the Rio Grande ''West of the Rio Grande'' is a 1944 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer. This is the tenth film in the "Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie" series, and stars Johnny Mack Brown as Jack McKenzie and Raymond Hatton as his ...

'' (1921), and '' On the High Card'' (1921).

Bibliography

* O'Reilly, Edward S.; ''Roving and Fighting: Adventures Under Four Flags''; The Century Co., New York (1918), republished Kessinger Publishing (2012) * O'Reilly, Edward S. and Thomas, Lowell; ''Born to Raise Hell; The Unbelievable but True Life Story of an Infamous Soldier of Fortune''; The Long Riders' Guild Press (2001) * Edward Sinnott O'Reilly, ''

'' (New York: Ridgway, 1935).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Tex American mercenaries 1880 births 1946 deaths Associated Press reporters American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion American writers American short story writers Cowboys Pecos Bill People of the Rif War Western (genre) heroes and heroines People of the American Old West