William P. Upshur

Infobox Military Person
name= William Peterkin Upshur
born= birth date|1881|10|28
died= Death date and age|1943|8|18|1881|10|28
placeofbirth= Richmond, Virginia
placeofdeath= near Sitka, Alaska
placeofburial=


caption= Major General William P. Upshur, Medal of Honor recipient
nickname=
allegiance=flag|United States of America
branch=
serviceyears= 1904-1943
rank= Major General
commands=Marine Corps Schools Marine Corps Reserve Marine Corps Base San Diego Department of the Pacific
unit=
battles= Haitan Campaign World War I
awards= Medal of Honor Purple Heart
laterwork=Major General William Peterkin Upshur (October 28, 1881–August 18, 1943) was the recipient of his nation's highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in 1915 during the Haitan Campaign.

Biography

William Upshur was born on 28 October 1881 in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1902.cite web|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=3947
title=William P. Upshur collection. (MS #082) in "Letters, Diaries, Manuscripts. Military History"
work=VMI Archives
publisher=Virginia Military Institute] He was appointed a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on 1 February 1904 and subsequently served on the high seas aboard vessels of the Navy, at foreign stations throughout the world, and at various posts and stations in the United States.

His foreign shore duty included service with an expeditionary force to Havana, Cuba, in October 1906, and duty at Camp Evans, Deer Point, Guantanamo, Cuba, from 9 January to 8 February 1907. He again was detailed to expeditionary duty with a force of Marines on the Isthmus of Panama from June 19 to 8 August 1908. Arriving at Olongapo, Philippine Islands, in January 1912, he joined the 1st Brigade of Marines and was again detached in February 1914, this time to the Marine Detachment, American Legation, Peking, China, where he served until 16 October 1914.

On 4 August 1915, he assumed command of the 15th Company, 2nd Regiment, Port-au-Prince, Haiti,cite news|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0DE4DF1138E633A25752C3A9619C946496D6CF
title=Haitians kill two of our men; Regiment going
work=New York Times
date=July 31, 1915
page=1
format=PDF] where he participated in engagements against Haïtian rebels known as cacos. Decorations earned during this deployment included the Haitian Campaign Medal and the Marine Expeditionary Medal. For his bravery during six day mission against the cacos, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was one of six men, including Smedley Butler to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the occupation fo Haiti.cite news|accessdate=2007-12-12
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9401EED8123AE433A25755C2A9639C946696D6CF
title=Honor for Six Marines: Medals for Conspicuous Bravery in Attacks on Forts in Haitl.
work=New York Times
date=May 26, 1917
page=13
format=PDF]

Upon this country's entry into World War I, he was again detailed for foreign shore duty, this time with the 13th Regiment in France from September 1918 to August 1919, during which time he was in command of the American Military Prison, Casino des Lilas, Bordeaux and the American Guard Camp.

He was on temporary duty at the Naval Station, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in July and August 1921. He also served in Haiti for a period of two years with the 1st Brigade of Marines, from 1922-24. In January and March 1929, he was on temporary duty as Chief Umpire, Fleet Training Exercise No. 5, Culebra, Puerto Rico, and again in January, February, and March 1940. In September 1939 he was assigned to the Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. In addition to his foreign shore stations he served aboard the USS Maine, USS Kearsarge, USS "Rainbow", USS Buffalo, and the USS "California".

Other duties consisted of Commandant of the Marine Corps Schools at the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia; Director of the Marine Corps Reserve; on duty with the War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department; and as Commanding General of the Marine Corps Base in San Diego.

He was a graduate of the Marine Corps School of Application, the Army Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and of the Army War College and the Naval War College.

His last station of duty was that of the Department of the Pacific, where he served as Commanding General with headquarters in San Francisco, California, from 1 January 1942 until the time of his death.

Major General Upshur died from injuries suffered in a 21 July 1943 airplane crash near Sitka, Alaska, while on an inspection tour of his command which included Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands. In September 1948, his remains were removed from his Alaskan burial plot and reinterred at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Medal of Honor citation

MEDAL OF HONOR UPSHUR, William Peterkin Captain, U.S. Marine Corps G.O. Navy Department, No. August 25 1917

Citation:

:In company with members of the Fifteenth Company of Marines all mounted, Captain Upshur left Fort Liberte, Haiti, for a 6-day reconnaissance. After dark on the evening of 24 October 1915, while crossing the river in a deep ravine, the detachments was suddenly fired upon form three sides by about 400 Cacos concealed in bushes about 100 yards from the fort. The Marine detachment fought its way forward to a good position, which it maintained during the night, although subjected to a continuous fire from the Cacos. At daybreak, Captain Upshur, in command of the three squads which advanced in three different directions, led his men forward, surprising and scattering the Cacos, and aiding the capture of Fort Dipitie.

Honors

Camp Upshur, dedicated to Medal of Honor recipient Captain William P. Upshur, was a training area in Virginia for the Basic School/ROC during World War II. It became the official location of the Basic School in 1947 and remained in that capacity until 1958.cite book|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=https://www.tbs.usmc.mil/Pages/Officer_Courses/Check_In/WELCOME_ABOARD%20.doc
title=Welcome Aboard
chapter=TBS Building Heritage
location=Quantico, Virginia
publisher=The Basic School, Training & Education Command, Marine Corps Combat Development Command
format=MS Word]

The USS "Upshur" (T-AP-198), a troop and dependent transport which was placed into service with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) during the Korean War, cite web
accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://www.historycentral.com/Navy/ap/upshurII.html
title=USS Upshur II
publisher=Navy History] was named in his honor.cite web |accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/u1/upshur-i.htm
title=Upshur
work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
publisher=Department of the Navy]

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients

Notes

References

:Marine Corps
*cite web|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/Upshur_WP.htm
title=Major General William P. Upshur, USMC
work=Who's Who in Marine Corps History
publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps

*cite web|accessdate=
url=http://www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/0000033ba9f47a7385255fa60052870f?OpenDocument |title=Medal of Honor — Captain William P. Upshear
work=Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor
publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070305080043/http://www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/0000033ba9f47a7385255fa60052870f?OpenDocument
archivedate=2007-03-05

*cite news|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0DE4DF1138E633A25752C3A9619C946496D6CF
title=Haitians kill two of our men; Regiment going
work=New York Times
date=July 31, 1915
page=1

Further reading

*cite book|accessdate=2007-12-14
url=http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/legmar.html
title=Legendary Marines of the Old Corps
author=Clark, George B.
location=Pike, New Hampshire: The Brass Hat, 2002.
publisher=The Brass Hat
year=2002 Includes a biography for William P. Upshur.

Persondata
NAME= Upshur, William P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=