Captain Allyn K. Capron (24 June 1871 – 24 June 1898) was the first United States Army officer to die in the Spanish–American War.

Before Cuba

Allyn Kissam Capron was the first son of Agnes Kissam and

Allyn Capron Allyn Capron (August 27, 1846 – September 18, 1898), was a captain in the United States Army. Life before the Spanish–American War Capron was born in 1846 to Harriet and Erastus A. Capron. 1847 brought the death of Erastus in the Mexican� ...

, an 1867 graduate of the United States Military Academy. The younger Capron was born on 24 June 1871 in Brooklyn, New York City, where his father was serving as an Army officer at Fort Hamilton. He was unsuccessful in obtaining an appointment to the Military Academy for himself, so he enlisted as private in 1890 and rose rapidly through the ranks as: * Private, Corporal and Sergeant,

4th U.S. Cavalry The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exi ...

, 20 Oct 1890–1893 * Second Lieutenant,

5th U.S. Infantry The 5th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the "Bobcats") is an infantry regiment of the United States Army that traces its origins to 1808. Origins: War of 1812 The 5th Infantry Regiment was created by an Act of Congress of 3 March 1815,

, 7 Oct 1893 * Transferred to 7th Cavalry, 30 Nov 1894, became Lieutenant * Captain. 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, 10 May 1898 Capron married Lillian Morris on 12 August 1896. When the Spanish–American War broke out, Capron raised a troop of Rough Riders from the Old West (now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) to serve as volunteer cavalry in Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt later wrote of Capron:

Battle and death

General William R. Shafter's corps of American soldiers arrived in Cuba after the declarations of war in 1898. Capron's regiment was commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel (later President) Theodore Roosevelt. Colonel Wood granted Capron's request to lead the vanguard, ordering Capron to take his advance guard up a hill at Las Guasimas. The forward unit of Capron's troop, commanded by Sergeant Hamilton Fish II, ran into Spanish gunfire on the hill. Capron rode up and found a dead Cuban scout and Sergeant Fish lying in the middle of the road. Bringing up his troops and leading them in action, Capron lay down to fire at the Spanish soldiers and was shot through the space between the left shoulder and neck with the bullet passing through the lungs and exiting out the right area in the waist. Brought to the rear by a Rough Rider, Capron died on 24 June 1898. He was highly praised by his commanders, including Roosevelt and was awarded a posthumous

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 an e ...

in 1925. His widow Lillian received the decoration. After his body was returned to the United States, Capron was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on 27 July 1898. His wife was interred beside him after her death in 1937.Burial Detail: Capron, Lillian (Section 1, Grave 289)
– ANC Explorer

References

External links

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Capron, Allyn Kissam 1871 births 1898 deaths Military personnel from Brooklyn United States Army soldiers Military personnel from New York (state) United States Army officers Rough Riders American military personnel killed in the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Silver Star