Background
Frederick Funston was born at New Carlisle, Ohio, United States on November 9, 1865 to Edward H. Funston and Anne Eliza Mitchell Funston.
( Though America did not join rebellious Cuban forces aga...)
Though America did not join rebellious Cuban forces against the Spanish empire until 1898, Frederick Funston (1865â1917) was so moved by a speech by Gen. Daniel Sickles in 1896 that he went to Cuba as a filibuster in the battle for Cuban independence. When the United States finally went to war against Spain, he took command of a regiment, was sent to the Philippine-American War, and received the Medal of Honor for his daring and skill in crossing a river to turn the flank of the Philippine army at the Battle of Calumpit. Two years later, in 1901, he became a national hero for capturing Philippine president and lead insurgent Emilio Aguinaldo. In such roles, Funston was integral to the successful implementation of U.S. policy.  Memories of Two Wars is Funston's firsthand account of his adventures in the Cuban Revolution and the Philippine-American war. Conversational yet informative, Funstonâs memoir relates his experience with the vigor and joviality of a friend sharing war stories over a drink and a cigar. He describes the guerrilla-style combat necessitated by the lack of weapons, the exotic scenery and vegetation of the islands, and the myriad charactersâCuban, American, Spanish, and Philippineâwith whom he worked and fought.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803222890/?tag=2022091-20
Frederick Funston was born at New Carlisle, Ohio, United States on November 9, 1865 to Edward H. Funston and Anne Eliza Mitchell Funston.
Funston attended the University of Kansas from 1885 to 1888, but did not graduate.
Funston was appointed one of the commissioners of the Department of Agriculture in the exploration of Alaska in 1893 and 1894. On the outbreak of the Cuban rebellion he joined the insurgents and served with them as lieutenant colonel from 1896 to 1897, being captured by the Spaniards in the latter year and sentenced to death. He was released in 1898, and on the outbreak of the Spanish-American War was commissioned as colonel of the Twentieth Kansas Volunteers, being sent to the Philippines, where, in 1899, he became a brigadier general.
He was in command of the expedition which captured the insurgent leader Emilio Aguinaldo by treachery in March 1901, and his commission as brigadier general in the United States Army was confirmed. He was given command of the Department of California in 1905, and following the fire and earthquake of April 1906 he put the city of San Francisco under martial rule and was largely responsible for the restoration of order.
Following this he was in command of troops at the Goldfield mining center during the strike of 1908. He commanded the force which seized Vera Cruz in 1914 and did much to lessen disease in that city. Later in the year he was promoted to major general and was commander in chief of the army which was mobilized to pursue the bandit Pancho Villa in 1916.
( Though America did not join rebellious Cuban forces aga...)
In the fall of 1898, he met Eda Blankart at a patriotic gathering, after a brief courtship they married on October 25, 1898.
