Allyn Capron (August 27, 1846 – September 18, 1898), was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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–American War. Upon reaching age, Allyn was nominated by a

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to enroll, like his father before him, into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was sworn in as a cadet on September 1, 1863 and graduated June 17, 1867. Upon graduating from the Academy, Capron was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant of the

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. He held a variety of assignments on the east coast until he was promoted to 1st lieutenant on August 19, 1873. He was promoted to captain on December 4, 1888 and was assigned as commander of Battery E, 1st Artillery Regiment. He served at the Presidio of San Francisco until May 1890 when Battery E was reassigned to Fort Douglas near Salt Lake City, Utah. He served in the Sioux Wars from November 1890 to January 1891, for which he received official commendation in 1891 and in times of peace in California, Utah, Illinois, Virginia, and Florida, until the U.S. went to war with Spain in 1898. Capron commanded Battery E at the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota on December 29, 1890. The battery's four Hotchkiss breech-loading rifles (Model 1875) are frequently cited as major factor in the high casualties among the Lakotas. (Native-American casualties in the battle are generally estimated to have been about 90 men and 210 women and children killed and 50 others wounded out of an estimated 350 present at the battle.) Capron was on sick leave from May to July 1891 and rejoined his battery at Fort Riley, Kansas where he served until the battery was reassigned to Fort Sheridan, Illinois in September where it assisted in quelling the railroad strike riots. Capron remained at Fort Sheridan until October 1896. In 1892 the battery participated in the dedicatory ceremonies of the Chicago World's Fair. In October 1896 the battery was reassigned to Washington Barracks (later renamed

Fort McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Chan ...

in Washington, D.C. In April 1898, following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the battery was sent to Tampa, Florida where it prepared for the upcoming invasion of Cuba. Capron and Battery E accompanied Major General William R. Shafter's V Corps when it landed in Cuba in June. Capron's battery supported the Major General Lawton's division's attack on the Spanish at El Caney the morning of 1 July 1898 which was launched as a supporting attack to pin Spanish forces at El Caney and to keep them from coming to the aid of the Spanish under fire of the main attack on San Juan Heights. Capron's son, Captain Allyn Kissam Capron, was a troop commander of the Rough Riders. During an early battle, the younger Capron was killed. Capron's battery arrived at the front soon and the captain commanded his artillerymen throughout the Siege of Santiago. However, Capron contracted typhoid fever during the campaign and obtained leave of absence which started on August 26, 1898. He died of his ailment near his home at Fort Myer, Virginia on September 17, 1898. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.Burial Detail: Capron, Allyn K
– ANC Explorer

Memberships and awards

Capron was a hereditary member of the

Aztec Club of 1847 The Aztec Club of 1847 is a military society founded in 1847 by United States Army officers of the Mexican–American War. It exists as a hereditary organization including members who can trace a direct lineal connection to those originally eligib ...

by right of his father's service in the Mexican War. Capron received two Silver Citation Stars of gallantry in action (one for the Sioux Campaign of 1890 to 1891 and the other for service in Cuba. In 1932, Silver Citation Stars was converted to the

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 ...

decoration. He was posthumously eligible for the Civil War Campaign Medal,

Indian Campaign Medal The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.

and Spanish Campaign Medal.

References

Sources * ''The Spanish American War'' by Colonel Red Reeder {{DEFAULTSORT:Capron, Allyn 1846 births 1898 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni Deaths from typhoid fever