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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] William Rufus Shafter Biography SHAFTER,
William Rufus (1835-1906). An American soldier. He was born at Galesburg,
Mich., and was at first a farmer. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War he
enlisted. He was made colonel of volunteers in April, 1864, and in 1865 was
brevetted brigadier general. In 1866 he entered the regular service. In 1897 he
was promoted brigadier general and commanded the Department of California until
the beginning of the Spanish-American War, when, as major general of volunteers,
he was put in command of the first expedition to Cuba. At the head of about
16,000 men he landed at Daiquiri, Cuba, June 21, 1898, and advanced towards
Santiago. On July 1 his forces carried the heights of El Caney and San Juan and
before the end of the month had possession of Santiago and the entire eastern
end of the island. After the war Shafter commanded the Department of the East
until 1899, when he resumed his old post as commanding general of the
departments of California and Columbia. In 1901 he was retired with the rank of
major general in the regular army. The authorized biography of Shafter was
written by Charles A. Weissert in 1916. |