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William Owen O'Neill | |
|---|---|
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| Nickname | Buckey |
| Born | (1860-02-02)February 2, 1860 |
| Died | July 1, 1898(1898-07-01) (aged 38) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1898 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment |
| Conflicts | |
| Signature |  |
William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill (February 2, 1860 – July 1, 1898) was asheriff,newspaper editor, miner, politician,Georgist,gambler and lawyer, mainly inArizona. His nickname came from his tendency to "buck the tiger" (play contrary to the odds) atfaro or other card games.[1] He later became a captain inTheodore Roosevelt'sRough Riders, and died in battle.[2]
O'Neill was born the first of four children on February 2, 1860, to John Owen and Mary (McMenimin) O'Neill inSt. Louis, Missouri.[A][4] His father was an Irish immigrant who had most likely arrived in the United States during the 1850s. By Spring 1862, the family had moved toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.[5]When theAmerican Civil War began the elder O'Neill joined the 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. On December 13, 1862, during theBattle of Fredericksburg, the senior O'Neill was wounded and served the rest of the war as a member of theInvalid Corps.[6] The younger O'Neill was educated atGonzaga College High School andGeorgetown Law School.[7]
During the first part of 1879, O'Neill responded to an item in theWashington Star calling for men to migrate toArizona Territory.[8] He arrived inPhoenix, riding a burro, in September the same year.[9] Upon his arrival in town he was hired as a printer by thePhoenix Herald.[10] By late 1880, O'Neill had become bored with position and sought to experience the "Real West" in theboomtown ofTombstone.[11]
In Tombstone, O'Neill took the opportunity to experience the local saloons before taking a job withThe Tombstone Epitaph.[12] By mid-1881 he again felt a wanderlust and left town. Where he went to next is unknown, one story has O'Neill journeying toHawaii (unlikely due to the travel time) and then traveling throughCalifornia.[13] He is known to have visitedSanta Fe before going toAlbuquerque, New Mexico and working briefly as acourt reporter. In early 1882, he was back in Phoenix working as a deputy to Marshal Henry Garfias. Several weeks later O'Neill moved toPrescott, his home for the next fifteen years.[14]
O'Neill arrived in Prescott in the spring of 1882. There he rapidly progressed in his journalistic career. Starting as acourt reporter, he soon founded his own newspaper,Hoof and Horn, a paper for the livestock industry. He became the editor of theArizona Miner weekly newspaper in 1884 to February 1885.[15]
He became captain of the Prescott Grays in 1886, the local unit of the Arizona Militia.[16] On February 5, 1886, Dennis Dilda, a convicted murderer, was hanged. O'Neill and the Prescott Grays stood honor guard for the event. When the trap dropped, O'Neill fainted, which caused him severe embarrassment. He later wrote a story called "The Horse of the Hash-Knife Brand." In it, a member of aposse admits to nearly fainting at the hanging of a horse thief.
On April 27, 1886, he marriedPauline Schindler.[17] They had a son, but he died shortly after being born premature.
In 1888, while serving asYavapai County, Arizona judge, he was elected county sheriff, running on theRepublican ticket.
On March 20, 1889, four masked men robbed theAtlantic and Pacific Railroad passenger train inDiablo Canyon. A four-man posse, made up of O'Neill, Jim Black, Carl Holton, and Ed St. Clair, was soon formed and they took off after robbers. On April 1, O'Neill and his posse caught up with the robbers. After exchanging rifle shots, the posse captured the four men. During the fight, no men were injured, but one of the robber's horses was killed.[18]
The four men were William Sterin, John Halford, Daniel Harvick, and J. J. Smith. All four were sent to theYuma Territorial Prison, but were pardoned eight years later. There is unfounded speculation that, in 1898, William Sterin enlisted under a false name in theRough Riders, and was killed in action on San Juan Hill. The character ofHenry Nash is incorrectly portrayed as Sterin in the TNT made-for-TV movie "Rough Riders". The realHenry Nash was an Arizona school teacher who also served in Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and was a friend of O'Neill up until his death.
After his term was up, O'Neill was elected unanimously mayor of Prescott.
In 1894 and 1896 he ran for Delegate to theUnited States House of Representatives fromArizona Territory, running on thePopulist Party ticket.
One of his best friends wasTom Horn.
In 1897, after years of speculating on mines, he sold a group of claims near the Grand Canyon to Chicago backers, who also proposed building a railroad from Williams to the mines and the South rim. He became a director of the development companies, and soon began railroad surveys, mine developments, and building a smelter. He also used profits to begin building rental buildings—he was headed for financial independence.[19]
O'Neill also helped introduce a bill allowing women to vote in municipal elections in 1897. Although O'Neill convinced his Populist friends to sign the bill into law, the high court dismissed the bill in 1899.[20]
In 1898, war broke out between the United States andSpain. O'Neill joined the Rough Riders and became Captain of Troop A. First LieutenantFrank Frantz served as O'Neil's Deputy Commander. Along withAlexander Brodie and James McClintock, he tried to make an entire regiment made up of Arizona Cowboys. Eventually though, only three troops were authorized.
The Rough Riders landed atDaiquirí on June 22, 1898. TwoBuffalo Soldiers, of the10th Cavalry fell overboard. Upon seeing this, O'Neill jumped into the water in full uniform andsabre. He searched for the men for two minutes, before having to come up for breath.
On June 25, 1898, the Rough Riders saw their first action. O'Neill led his men at the front of the line in theBattle of Las Guasimas, capturing the Spanish flank. During the action he saw several men, who he believed were Spaniards, across the road from him, and shouted "Hostiles on our right, fire at will!" He learned after the firing ceased that the men he exchanged shots with wereCuban rebels.
On July 1, 1898, at about 10am, the Rough Riders and the 10th Cavalry were stationed belowKettle Hill. The Spaniards, who were on top of the hill, pouredMauser rifle fire down on the Americans. Buckey O'Neill was killed in action.
Theodore Roosevelt, commander of the Rough Riders, wrote about the death of O'Neill:
The most serious loss that I and the regiment could have suffered befell just before we charged. O'Neill was strolling up and down in front of his men, smoking his cigarette, for he was inveterately addicted to the habit. He had a theory that an officer ought never to take cover—a theory which was, of course, wrong, though in a volunteer organization the officers should certainly expose themselves very fully, simply for the effect on the men; our regimental toast on the transport running, "The officers; may the war last until each is killed, wounded, or promoted." As O'Neill moved to and fro, his men begged him to lie down, and one of the sergeants said, "Captain, a bullet is sure to hit you." O'Neill took his cigarette out of his mouth, and blowing out a cloud of smoke laughed and said, "Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn't made that will kill me." A little later he discussed for a moment with one of the regular officers the direction from which the Spanish fire was coming. As he turned on his heel a bullet struck him in the mouth and came out at the back of his head; so that even before he fell his wild and gallant soul had gone out into the darkness.[21]
Before the fighting was over, O'Neill's men had buried him on the slope of San Juan Hill. After the war, his family and friends enlisted help from theWar Department to find and recover his body. After six men failed to find the site, the War Department sent Henry Alfred Brown, the Rough Riders'Chaplain, to find him. Despite it being eight months since O'Neill's death, Chaplain Brown located the site within two hours after arriving inSantiago. The well preserved body was exhumed, placed in a coffin, and returned to the United States on the Army transportCrook.[22] He was buried atArlington National Cemetery, inArlington, Virginia.[23] The epitaph on his gravestone reads, "Who would not die for a new star on the flag?"[20]
On July 3, 1907, a monument by sculptorSolon Borglum was dedicated to O'Neill and the other Rough Riders in their memory inPrescott, Arizona.[20] Seven thousand people gathered to witness the unveiling.
O'Neill Spring, in the Pumphouse Wash wetlands south of Flagstaff, was named after Buckey O'Neill, as isO'Neill Butte in the Grand Canyon and Bucky O’Neill Hill in Bisbee.
Bucky (sic) O'Neill is a main character in the TNT movieRough Riders, portrayed bySam Elliott.
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| Police appointments | ||
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| Preceded by | Sheriff ofYavapai County,Arizona Territory 1889–1890 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor ofPrescott, Arizona 1897–1898 | Succeeded by |
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| Enlisted men | ||
| Engagements | ||
| Memorials | ||
| Film | ||
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| Other | |
