Editing Loyd Wheaton

{{short description|United States Army general}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Loyd Wheaton
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1838|7|15}}
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1918|9|17|1838|7|15}}
| birth_place   = [[Pennfield, Michigan]], U.S.
| death_place   = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| placeofburial = Greenwood Cemetery,<br />[[Rockford, Illinois]]
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| image         = US Army MG Loyd Wheaton.jpg
| caption       = Major General Loyd Wheaton, {{circa}} 1902
| allegiance    = {{flagicon|USA|1861}} [[United States|United States of America]]<br />[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
| branch        = {{flagicon|USA|army}} [[Union Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1861–1902
| rank          = [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|35px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]]
| commands      = [[20th Infantry Regiment (United States)|20th Infantry Regiment]]
| unit          = {{Flagicon|Illinois}} [[8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Years)|8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry]]
| battles       = 
{{Tree list}}
*[[American Civil War]]
**[[Battle of Fort Blakeley]]
*[[Fenian Raids]]
*[[American Indian Wars]]
**[[Black Hills Expedition]]
*[[Spanish–American War]]
*[[Philippine–American War]]
**Pasig River Expedition
**[[Capture of Malolos]]
**[[Battle of Zapote River]]
**[[Battle of San Jacinto (1899)|Battle of San Jacinto]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Medal of Honor]]
| laterwork     = 
| signature     = Signature of Loyd Wheaton (1838–1918).png
}}
'''Loyd Wheaton''' (July 15, 1838 – September 17, 1918) was a [[United States]] general who fought in the [[Philippine–American War]] and in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]].

==Early life==
Wheaton was born in [[Pennfield, Michigan]], on July 15, 1838.<ref name=Twentieth>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ou4UAAAAYAAJ/page/n388/mode/1up |title=The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans |volume=X |editor1-first=Rossiter |editor1-last=Johnson |editor2-first=John Howard |editor2-last=Brown |publisher=The Biographical Society |location=Boston |page=<!-- no page numbers --> |year=1904 |access-date=2022-06-01 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

==American Civil War==
At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in April 1861, Wheaton joined the 8th Illinois Infantry as a [[first sergeant]]. He was commissioned as a [[first lieutenant]] in July 1861, and was promoted to captain in March 1862, major in August 1863, and reached the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] in November 1864.

Wheaton received a brevet (honorary promotion) to colonel on March 26, 1865, for his service in the campaign against [[Mobile, Alabama]].

Wheaton received the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions at the [[Battle of Fort Blakeley]] on April 9, 1865; however, the medal was not presented until January 16, 1894. After mustering out of the volunteers in 1866, he became a captain in the regular army.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/historicalregist01heitrich#page/1022/mode/2up Historical Register and Dictionary of the US Army]</ref>

He was discharged from the volunteer Army on May 4, 1866.<ref name=Twentieth/>

After the war, he became a member of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]]—a military society of officers of the Union armed forces and their descendants.

==Regular Army career==
Shortly after his discharge from the volunteer Army, Wheaton was commissioned as a captain in the 34th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army on July 28, 1866. He transferred to the 20th Infantry on September 1, 1869. In 1870, he commanded soldiers which captured a number of [[Fenian raids|Fenian raiders]], who were heading to [[Manitoba]]. He was promoted to major of the 20th Infantry on October 14, 1891.<ref name=Twentieth/>

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 22nd Infantry on May 31, 1895, and transferred back to his old regiment, the 20th, on September 11 of the same year.

==Spanish–American War==
Wheaton was appointed [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers at the outbreak of the [[Spanish–American War]] on May 27, 1898, and was placed in command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, [[Seventh Army Corps (Spanish–American War)|Seventh Army Corps]] stationed in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]]. Seventh Corps served in [[Cuba]] but only after the fighting was over; his brigade was part of the occupation force.

He fulfilled a long-held ambition when, on February 6, 1899, he became colonel of the 20th Infantry—the regiment with which he had spent the bulk of his long career.

==Philippine–American War==
Wheaton was then sent to the [[Philippines]], where he was placed in command of a Provisional Brigade in the [[Eighth Army Corps (Spanish–American War)|Eighth Army Corps]] during the [[Philippine–American War]]. He led his brigade during the Pasig River expedition, [[Capture of Malolos|Malolos campaign]], and at the [[Battle of Zapote River]]. He then assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Eighth Corps during the Northern offensive where his troops defeated a Filipino force at the [[Battle of San Jacinto (1899)|Battle of San Jacinto]] and linked with the corps' 1st Division under [[Arthur MacArthur, Jr.|Arthur MacArthur]] at [[Dagupan]]. He commanded the 1st Brigade of 1st Division, Eighth Corps during the second Cavite expedition.

He was breveted to major general of volunteers on June 19, 1899, for gallantry in action against insurgent forces in Imus, Philippines. Wheaton commanded the Department of Northern Luzon during the second phase of the war. He was Brigadier General [[Frederick Funston]]'s immediate superior and authorized Funston's expedition to capture [[Emilio Aguinaldo]]. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on June 18, 1900.<ref name=Twentieth/>

During the war, Wheaton and troops under his command perpetrated a massacre of Filipino civilians in the town of Titatia. A. A. Barnes, a soldier in the G Battery of the [[3rd Field Artillery Regiment (United States)|3rd Artillery Regiment]], wrote a letter to his brother describing the massacre:

<blockquote> The town of Titatia was surrendered to us a few days ago, and two companies occupy the same. Last night one of our boys was found shot and his stomach cut open. Immediately orders were received from General Wheaton to burn the town and kill every native in sight; which was done to a finish. About 1,000 men, women and children were reported killed. I am probably growing hard-hearted, for I am in my glory when I can sight my gun on some dark skin and pull the trigger.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Stuart Creighton|title=Benevolent assimilation: the American conquest of the Philippines, 1899—1903|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, Connecticut|year=1982|isbn=0-300-03081-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zj6g2ag47TwC}}</ref></blockquote>

==Late career==
He was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Regular Army to rank from February 2, 1901, and was discharged from the Volunteer Army on February 28, 1901. He was promoted to major general in the Regular Army on March 30, 1901.

Having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64, General Wheaton retired from the Army, after 41 years of service, on July 15, 1902.  He was a companion of Kansas Commandery of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]].

He died in Chicago on September 17, 1918.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102997686/gen-wheaton-giant-war-hero-taken-by/ |title=Gen. Wheaton, Giant War hero, Taken By Death |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=15 |date=1918-09-18 |access-date=2022-06-01 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Medal of Honor citation==
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 8th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Fort Blakeley, Ala., April 9, 1865. Entered service at: Illinois. Born: July 15, 1838, Calhoun County, Mich. Date of issue: January 16, 1894.

'''Citation:'''

<blockquote>Led the right wing of his regiment, and, springing through an embrasure, was the first to enter the enemy's works, against a strong fire of artillery and infantry.<ref name=ACMH>{{cite web|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |title=Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (M-Z) |work=Medal of Honor citations |date=August 3, 2009 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |accessdate=July 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223063700/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html |archivedate=February 23, 2009 }}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
* [[List of Medal of Honor recipients]]
* [[List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: T–Z#W|List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: T–Z]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1036215|Loyd Wheaton}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Wheaton, Loyd|year=1920|short=x}}
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Wheaton, Lloyd|year=1921|short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton, Loyd}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:American mass murderers]]
[[Category:American murderers of children]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Philippine–American War]]
[[Category:American war criminals]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:Union army soldiers]]
[[Category:People of Michigan in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Philippine–American War crimes]]