Description

General Charles King was born in Albany, New York on October 12, 1844/ died March 17, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a United States Army officer, historian, and author.

King was descended from a distinguished family which included his great grandfather Rufus King, a signer of the United States Constitution, grandfather Charles King, president of Columbia College (now university), and father Rufus King, a graduate of the United States Military Academy and a Union Army major general during the Civil War. Charles King himself graduated from the Military Academy in 1866. He served as a Lieutenant in the 5th United States Cavalry and while serving in Arizona in 1874 he was wounded in the arm during a fight with Apache Indians.

On November 1, 1874, after a group of renegade Tonto warriors stole some livestock from a settler in the Tonto Basin, approximately forty men of the 5th Cavalry (including Apache scouts), left Camp Verde to pursue the hostiles. The patrol reached Sunset Pass (near the Little Colorado River) that same day and First Lieutenant King decided that the spot would be a good place to make camp for the night. However, shortly after the Americans stopped, King took a few men with him on a hike up a nearby mesa in order to have a better view of the surrounding terrain. Unbeknown to King, the Tontos he was looking for were waiting to ambush the party while they climbed up the mesa. King and his men were about a half a mile away from camp when a volley or arrows and bullets was fired from the Tontos hiding behind rocks and boulders. King was badly wounded within the first few minutes of the fight, having been hit in the head twice by arrows and one by a bullet to his right arm.This battle became known as the Battle of Sunset Pass.

The wound eventually forced his retirement from the Regular Army in 1879 with the rank of Captain. Before his retirement he saw service in Arizona and on the northern plains. He became active in the Wisconsin National Guard, being commissioned Colonel in 1882, Brigadier General in 1904 and Major General in 1929. In 1898 during the Spanish American War he was commissioned a Brigadier General of Volunteers and saw service in the Philippines against the Spanish and during the Philippine Insurrection. He was credited with nearly seventy years of active service with the military. He was a prolific author and editor of over sixty-two books, including the classic "Campaigning With Crook".

Printing on negative reads: "General Charles King in his dress uniform of the Spanish War period. This picture appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sunday, October 7, 1928, and was loaned by The Journal for use in 'ARKANSAS' through permission given by Captain Rufus King , son of General Charles King."

Burial: Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Sources: Findagrave.com, Los Angeles Herald Volume 25, Number 250, June 1898 "King Coming West," Charles King Collection at the Autry Museum of the American West