Captain O'Neill |
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| In 1886 the
Prescott Grays, a local militia unit commanded by Captain O'Neill, stood
honor guard at a hanging. When the trap fell, Buckey collapsed in a
faint-which must have been embarrassing for a Victorian gentleman. It
probably motivated him to write "A Horse of the Hash-Knife Brand,"
published in the San Francisco Examiner, February 15, 1891, in which
a cowboy nearly faints at the lynching of a horse thief.
Captain O'Neill of the Prescott Grays, about 1886. He was also a volunteer fireman on the "Toughs" hosecart team.
Kepi worn by Captain Buckey O'Neill. Milligan Guards, about 1886.
Sleeve trim from the coat of O'Neill's Milligan Guards uniform.
Waltham railroad watch carried by Buckey O'Neill in Cuba. It was probably not buried with him, and stories about its having stopped at the time of his death are doubtful.
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Carved on the stone: William Owen O'Neill Mayor of Prescott, ArizonaCapt. 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."
Buckey O'Neill as adjutant general of Arizona Territory, about 1891. In this position he helped to found and organize the territory's national guard.
Aiguillette, shoulder knots, buttons, saber knot and belt from Arizona Territorial Adjutant General Buckey O'Neill's uniform, about 1890. "The Spanish bullet is not molded that will kill me." Legend says that these were Captain O'Neill's last words, uttered seconds before a Spanish bullet hit him. Although several Rough Riders remembered Buckey often saying this in the days before the battle, none heard him repeat it just before his death. 49 "...Other officers would see their men under cover, and then take cover themselves, while Buckey would light a cigarette and walk around in a hail of bullets. It was inevitable." Joshua D. Carter, 2nd Lieutenant, Troop A, July 7, 1898, describing the death of Buckey O'Neill. |
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