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Major General United States Army
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient - Geronimo Campaign
Colonel 1st Volunteer Cavalry - The Rough Riders
While Roosevelt and the Rough Riders returned home and Roosevelt was soon
to become governor of New York, Vice President, and President in short order, Wood remained behind in Cuba. He
received a proper promotion to brigadier general and served first as military governor of Santiago and then all of Cuba. As
governor, Wood earned a notable reputation as being a strong and effective administrator. In 1903, Wood was promoted to major general and was assigned to the Philippines where he served as provincial governor of the restless Moro Province and commander of the
Philippine Division in 1906-1908. At the time the U.S. was attempting to put an end to the rebellion by the Moros who began armed resistance when the U.S. moved to curtail Moro autonomy following victory in the northern provinces of the Philippines. It was during his service in the Philippines when this revolver was shipped to Wood, and its double action,
96 powerful caliber, easy to reload design made the S&W .44 DA Revolver an
appealing sidearm to use in a bloody
insurgency in the Philippines. This well-cared
for and well-used revolver
certainly has the look of being carried through the
jungle. As governor, Wood moved aggressively to curtail the power
of the Sultan of Sulu, officially abolished slavery and offered U.S. military protection to former slaves, reformed
the legal system, instituted a poll tax, and attempted to modernize the region’s economy to bring peace and stability but Moro resistance continued.
Towards the end of his term as governor, in early March of 1906, — less than a year after the revolver was shipped
to Wood — he ordered U.S. forces against Moros at the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo on Jolo Island in the First Battle of Bud
Dajo, the bloodiest engagement of the Moro Rebellion. After requesting for the Moros to disband and then to send the women and children to safety were rebuffed, the U.S. force opened fire with their mountain guns. Wood himself arrived on the scene on March 6. Negotiations were again attempted, but the Moros refused. U.S. forces advanced on the crater from three directions. The Moros were primarily armed with traditional edged weapons such as their distinct barung and kris swords along with spears and rocks while the U.S. military was armed with modern bolt action rifles, grenades, artillery, and machine guns. Despite being outnumbered and heavily out-gunned, the Moros bravely put up a stiff resistance. The U.S. forces captured the trenches and then placed their mountain guns and machine guns in positions around the crater. The Moros still refused to surrender and were cut down, some in hand-to-hand combat fighting to the death while charging the American lines rather than surrendering.
By the time the battle was over, there were only 6 survivors out of up
to 1,000 Moros. The U.S. forces lost 21 killed and 75 wounded. It was an overwhelming victory for U.S. forces, and Wood was congratulated by his friend President Roosevelt. However, the battle became a public relations
First Lieutenant Leonard Wood During the Geronimo Campaign 1886
disaster when reports of women and children being killed by U.S. soldiers quickly emerged. The incident occurred in the final days of General Wood’s term as governor of Moro Province and became publicized as the Moro Crater Massacre leading to public criticism of Wood’s leadership. Though he had not led the assault, he accepted full-responsibility as the senior officer, and the controversy blew over fairly quickly. However, Mark Twain’s scathing critique for his handling of the event is credited with later hampering Wood’s presidential ambitions. When his term as governor ended, he took command of the Philippine Division.
When Wood returned stateside, he was placed in command of the Eastern Department. Under President Taft, Roosevelt’s handpicked successor, Wood served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1910-1914 and thus prepared the U.S. military for World War I. It was also in 1910 that Wood became one of the first patients to undergo successful brain surgery to remove a tumor.