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Sgt. Clarence L. Proctor

        Little is known about Clarence L. Proctor's life except for what appears in the public record.  According to his 1899 application for an invalid pension, he was born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia. His mother's name was Margaret Smith, and he had six sisters (one was named Texanna) and three brothers [1].

       Proctor was 21 years old and working as a waiter when he enlisted in the United States military in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 10 December 1886 [2].  Only a few weeks before his enlistment, he had married a Miss Viola Jones, but she died less than a year later [1]. 

       At the time of Proctor's enlistment, he was described as being of mulatto complexion and 5 feet 6 inches tall. After a period of basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, Proctor was assigned to the 10th Regular U. S. Cavalry, a Colored regiment stationed out West. By this time, the Indian wars were pretty much over. The 10th Cavalry's mission was to maintain order on the Indian reservations and assist the designated agents of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in carrying out their tasks. During the next twelve years, Proctor saw duty at Fort Thomas, Fort Grant and San Carlos in the Arizona Territory, and Fort Custer and Fort Assinniboine in Montana. He served in the 10th Cavalry's F Troop, G Troop and finally L Troop, attaining the rank of sergeant in December of 1895 [2]. 

       According to his medical record, Proctor contracted measles during basic training, dysentery in 1887 and influenza in 1890 while on duty at Fort Grant, and bronchial pneumonia while serving at Fort Assinniboine early in 1898.  In addition to these ailments, he suffered the occasional sprains and discomforts of a life lived out of doors and in the saddle [2].

       In 24 September 1897, Sgt. Clarence Proctor was reduced to the rank of private.  His military record does not say why.  He regained his stripes less than a year later, however, on 1 June 1898 [2].

       When the Spanish-American War broke out early in 1898, the 10th U. S. Cavalry was one of the Colored regiments called up for duty in Cuba [3]. The 10th was composed of seasoned cavalrymen who needed no additional training and, it was thought, Colored troops would be immune to the malaria and yellow fever endemic in the Caribbean.  Unfortunately, this proved not to be the case. 

        The regiment was assembled at Fort Assinniboine, Montana, and shipped by rail to Wisconsin, where it was greeted by cheering throngs, and then on to Lakeland, Florida, where it was to be equipped. The men of the 10th Cavalry found Florida's Jim Crow restrictions particularly onerous, as they were not accustomed to the laws and mores of the segregated South [3]. 

        On 14 June and 15 June 1898, the bulk of the 10th Cavalry sailed from the port of Tampa, Florida, for Cuba [3].   Whether Proctor was actually with the soldiers sent to Cuba or the smaller contingent which remained behind in Lakeland cannot be ascertained from the his military record.  It is known, however, that the 10th Cavalry took part in the battles of Las Guasimas on 24 June, the Battle of San Juan Hill on 1 July, and siege of Santiago which followed. The men advanced through swamps and sugarcane fields afoot, their horses having been left behind [3]. Tropical diseases took a far greater toll than bullets; by the time the Spanish surrendered on 17 July, 80% of the American forces had contracted some form of fever [3]. 

        Because so many of the troops serving in Cuba were ill, Roosevelt urgently requested that these regiments be withdrawn at once and sent to Camp Wikoff, New York, for convalescence [3]. Sergeant Proctor spent three months in the hospital there, after which he was directed to report to Camp Forse, Alabama, for discharge [2]. En route, he stopped in Washington, D. C. to visit his mother and sisters [1]. Following his discharge on 20 December 1898 [2], Clarence Proctor made his way back to Phoenix, Arizona Territory.

       Unfortunately, not even the dry desert air could cure his chronic throat and lung problems. Unable to work, Proctor travelled to Los Angeles, California, where he filed for an invalid pension on 3 April 1899.  While in Los Angeles, he also made the acquaintance of  Miss Nannie Goodwin, whom he married on 16 October 1899, Rev. George Byer officiating [2].

        Proctor probably intended to support himself and his new wife on the $72-a-month pension for which he had applied.  However, issuance of the pension was delayed for many months due to bureaucratic red tape.  In December, 1899, Dr. William Duffield examined Proctor and found him to be emaciated and suffering from an active case of pulmonary tuberculosis [1].

       Over the ensuing months, Proctor's health and spirits declined.  Discouraged and possibly delirious, he hanged himself from the rafter of his house at 429 East Adams in Phoenix on 27 March 1900 [4].  At the coroner's inquest, Dr. Duffield testified that his patient had been in a despondent frame of mind and had only a few more weeks to live at best.  Proctor's death was ruled a suicide [5].

       In an ironic twist of fate, the federal government had issued Proctor a pension check for $794.40 on 27 March 1900, the very day of his death [1].  He never received the news.

        Proctor's funeral was held at the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church located at South Second and Jefferson streets at 2 P.M. on 30 March 1900 [6]. Local military commanders James H. McClintock and J. W. Crenshaw published a notice requesting all former members of the First U. S. Volunteer Cavalry (the "Rough Riders") and First Territorial Volunteer Infantry to appear in uniform to escort Proctor's remains [6] through downtown Phoenix to his final resting place in the G.A.R. (Porter) Cemetery. 

Sources Cited:

[1] Pension records of Clarence L. Proctor.  U. S. National Archives & Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D. C.

[2] Military service record of Sgt. Clarence L. Proctor, 10th U. S. Cavalry, United States Army.  U. S. National Archives & Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D. C.

[3] History of the 10th U. S. Cavalry ("Buffalo Soldiers") in the Spanish American War, http://www.spanamwar.com/10thcavhist.htm, accessed 30 October 2004.

[4] Death certificate issued for Clarence L. Proctor, online at http://genealogy.az.gov/azdeath/006/10060149.pdf, accessed 30 October 2004.  Note that on the death certificate, the word 'Color' has been stricken and replaced with 'Amer'.

[5] Report of the coroner's inquest held 28 March 1900 and filed 6 July 1900. Written by Gilbert D. Gray, JP and ex-officio coroner; signed by F. A. Ames, A. D. Hinton, J. A. R. Irvin, Samuel Cook, A. F. Clark, James T. Gibson, Gilbert D. Gray.

[6] "Clarence Proctor's Funeral", Arizona Daily Gazette, Friday Morning, March 30, 1900. Page 8:2.

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