Description

Rubbing of William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill's tombtone at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The headstone reads: "William Owen O’Neill Mayor of Prescott, Arizona Capt. Troop A First U.S. Vol. Cav. Rough Riders Brevet Major Born Feb. 2, 1860 Killed July 1, 1898 at San Juan Hill, Cuba 'Who Would Not Die For A New Star In The Flag.' "

William Owen “Buckey” O’Neill (b. 1860 - d. 1898) was born, possibly in Ireland but more likely in St. Louis, Missouri or Washington, D.C., to Captain John O’Neill (b. 1836 - d. 1897), Union soldier of the Civil War, “Buckey” studied law at the National University and then moved to the Arizona Territory in 1879, eventually settling in Prescott in 1882 or 1883. Over the years he worked as a newspaper editor/writer, a court reporter and judge, a miner, and as Yavapai County sheriff from 1890 to 1894. On April 27, 1886, he married Pauline Schindler (b. 1865 -d. 1961).

In 1898 he was mayor of Prescott, Arizona, but resigned to become a Captain of Troop A of the Rough Riders and embarked for Cuba. He fought in the Battle of Las Guasimas on June 24, 1898. On July 1st, he was killed at the base of Kettle Hill, next to San Juan Hill, by a Spanish sniper. He was buried in Cuba, but on May 1, 1899, his remains were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.