Frederick Funston stood only five feet, four inches tall. However, his small stature did not get in the way of his adventuresome drive. Despite his failure to pass the entrance exam or meet the minimum height requirement in order to gain admission into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Funston did manage to gain military experience fighting as an expedicionario alongside Cuban insurgents. In such, Funston's famed career with the military commenced.

Born in Ohio, Funston grew up in the southeastern Kansas town of Iola. After two semesters at Kansas State University, Funston began a series of odd jobs for newspapers and the railroads. Funston grew frustrated by the lack of sufficient action and "all of the reading and listening you have to do." By the late 1880s, he worked as a botanist in the Dakota Badlands for the U.S. Department of Agriculture - the first of such expeditions that led to similar assignments in Death Valley, Yosemite and Alaska. The adventure he had been seeking finally began.

In 1896, Funston joined with the Cuban rebels and participated in 22 battles. Funston was then appointed colonel of the volunteer 20th Kansas Infantry Regiment. They were sent to the Philippines to fight the Filipino nationalists who were conducting an "insurrection" against the U.S. after gaining control of the Philippines following the Spanish American War.

The 20th Kansas regiment trained at the Presidio. Their tent camp was located in the Camp Miller area (now called Tennessee Hollow because the 1st Tennessee volunteers also occupied the same area ). Funston described camp life at the Presidio: "Everywhere was sand, sand, sand, deep and fine, blowing into tents, getting into food." Funston called the 20th Kansas Infantry Regiment "Kansas scarecrows" because they lacked uniforms and sophistication which made them a local joke. The press reported that San Franciscans would visit the camp to ask the soldiers, "Who is your tailor?" to enjoy the reply "We don't have none of them things in Kansas."

Funston met his wife, Eda Blankart while his unit was training at the Presidio. He proposed and they were married two days later. Two weeks after their wedding, Funston and the Kansas 20th sailed to Manila.

Military Notoriety

The 20th gained distinction under Funston's leadership after engaging in 19 battles in less than a year earning the title "Fighting Twentieth." During the battle of Calumpit, Funston directed his men across the 400 foot-wide Rio Grande de Pampanga River by establishing a rope ferry and towing rafts on the tied ropes. Funston was on the first raft to cross the river through heavy gunfire to confront the revolutionaries on the other side. He and two privates earned Medals of Honor. The newly promoted Brigadier General Funston and his 20th Kansas volunteers returned home as national heroes.

Funston (seated) with American Officers who captured Aquinaldo. Credit: Kansas State Historical Society

But Funston soon returned to Philippines and led a controversial, covert operation that would further increase his fame. He and a small team of soldiers posed as prisoners with 90 Filipinos disguised as rebels and marched to the headquarters of rebel leader and elected President Emilio Aquinaldo. They then entered and fired upon the guards. As Aquinaldo was captured, he said, "Is this not some joke?" The publicity of these actions caused Mark Twain to write his sarcastic "In Defense of General Funston." Twain opposed occupation in the Philippines and found Funston's tactics particularly deceitful. Nonetheless, Funston became a hero and a proponent of American influence in the Philippines. He began a speaking tour that chastised the anti-imperialists. Funston's speeches caused President Teddy Roosevelt to write an April 1902 letter to the Secretary of War, "I think that General Funston will have to be requested not to make any more public speeches…he expresses himself at times in a way that is very unfortunate."

1906 Earthquake

Funston returned to the Presidio as commander of the Department of California, under division command of Maj.Gen. Adolphus W. Greely. On April 18, 1906, the day of the infamous San Francisco earthquake, Greely was attending his daughter's wedding in Chicago and Brigadier General Frederick Funston was in command of the Presidio.

Brigadier General Frederick Funston (third from front left) with staff at the Presidio following the earthquake. Credit: National Archives and records Center, General Greely Album

The severity of the earthquake destroyed the center of the city, and over 300,000 people were left homeless. Funston immediately ordered the mobilization of troops surrounding military installations. He took command of local relief and law enforcement. Funston also directed the dynamiting of buildings to create firebreaks. Acting without state or national authority, Funston was later criticized for many of his actions: Colonel Morris, Post Commander of the Presidio, said of Funston's actions, "He'd better look up his Army Regulations…nobody but the President of the United States in person can order regular troops into any city." He was, however, instrumental in the establishment of communications, sanitation, medical facilities, housing and reestablishing general order to a destroyed city. Again, he was regarded as a national hero, and the media of the time called him "The man who saved San Francisco."

Later Years

Funston's military career continued to progress. From 1908-1910, he was commandant of the Army Service School, and then commander of the Department of Luzon in the Philippines. In 1914, Funston led 5,000 troops into Vera Cruz, Mexico during the Mexican border conflict, was appointed military governor of that city, and promoted to Major General. Funston also supervised Brig. General John J. Pershing's 1916 "Punitive Expedition" of Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

Funston died of a heart attack in a San Antonio hotel near his headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, Texas at the age 51. He lay in state at the Alamo and under the San Francisco City Hall rotunda. (He was the first person to lay in state in the San Francisco City Hall.) Presidio cannons fired thirteen times and city activity stopped for two respectful minutes. He was buried in full dress uniform at the Presidio cemetery.

Resources

"At 5ft 4 - the Tallest Man in San Francisco." The Fort Point Salvo (Newsletter of the Fort Point and Army Museum Association), May 1976.

Bain, David Haward. "Sitting in Darkness: Americans in the Philippines," (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984).

Crouch, Thomas W. A Yankee Guerrillero: Frederick Funston and The Cuban Insurrection, 1896-1897 (Memphis State University Press, 1975).

"Museum of the City of San Francisco." http://www.sfmusuem.org/1906/funston.html (25 March 2001).

Thomas, Gordon and Max Morgan Witts. The San Francisco Earthquake. (New York: Stein and Day, 1971).

Thompson, Erwin N. Defender of the Gate: The Presidio of San Francisco, A History from 1846 to 1995, (Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California, National Park Service, 1995).

Twain, Mark. "In Defense of General Funston" May 1901, North American Review. http://www.boondocksnet.com/twain/defunst.html (25 March 2001).

Young, Lt. Dave. "Mg. Frederick Funston," Museum of the Kansas National Guard, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/museum/kng/mohfunston.html (20 March 2001).