William P. Upshur

[Vulture6]

WILLIAM P UPSHUR
MAJOR GENERAL, USMC


Marine Major General William P. Upshur, recipient of the nation's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor during the Haitian Campaign in 1915, was born on 28 October 1881 in Richmond, Virginia. General Upshur was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1902. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the 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 19 June to 8 August 1908. Arriving at Olongapo, Philippine Islands in January 1912, he joined the First Brigade 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, Second Regiment, Port au Prince, Haiti, where he participated in engagements against hostile Cacos bandits. It was during this action that he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Other decorations for service in Haiti include the Haitian Campaign Medal and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal.

Upon this country's entry into World War I, General Upshur was again detailed for foreign shore duty, this time with the 13th Regiment of Marines 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, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in July and August, 1921. He also served in Haiti for a period of two years with the First 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 and Navy War Colleges.

The General's 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.

The General died in an airplane crash near Sitka, Alaska, on 18 August 1943, 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 U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

General Upshur's wife, Mrs. Lucy M. Upshur, died in April 1952, and was buried at Annapolis, Maryland.

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 form 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.