Herbert Jermain Slocum

Herbert Jermain Slocum (April 25, 1855 - March 29, 1928) was in charge of the 13th Cavalry Regiment during the Battle of Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 where Pancho Villa burned several buildings in Columbus, New Mexico, stole weapons and horses and killed 18 Americans. Biography Colonel Herbert J. Slocum was born on April 25, 1855, in Cincinnati, Ohio to Colonel Joseph Jermain Slocum (1833-?) and Sallie Hommedieu. He was an eighth generation descendant of Plymouth Colony militia commander Captain Myles Standish. Slocum was appointed to the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1872, but left the academy shortly after failing to graduate in 1876. Nevertheless, he received a commission in the US Army shortly afterwards. Solcum was assigned to the 7th Cavalry Regiment where he rose to the rank of captain in 1896. He spent most of his early career posted in the Dakota Territory. He graduated from the Infantry and Cavalry School in 1883. During the Spanish–American War, Slocum was commissioned as major in the Inspector General branch in May 1898 and reverted to his permanent rank of captain a year later. He served in the occupation of Cuba from 1901 to 1902 and the Philippine Insurrection from 1905 to 1906. He was stationed in the Mid-West (mostly at Fort Riley in Kansas) from 1906 to 1910. He returned to the Philippines in 1911.