Michael James O’Brien – First Lieutenant, United States Army

Michael James O’Brien born in Massachusetts in 1863
Appointed from Massachusetts, Cadet, United States Military Academy, 1 July 1881 (3)
Second Lieutenant, 13th U. S. Infantry, 14 June 1885
First Lieutenant, 2nd U. S. Infantry, 2 January 1892
Transferred to the 5th U. S. Infantry, 9 February 1892
Died 16 September 1898 In Cuba

BURIAL OF THE SOLDIER DEAD

Interment of 252 Bodied Brought by the Steamer Crook

WASHINGTON, May 2, 1899 – The bodies of 252 of the soldier dead brought from the battlefields of Cuba and Puerto Rico by the steamer Crook were interred at Arlington Cemetery today with military honors.

Colonel Guenther of the Fourth Artillery, with two companied of the Fourth and Fifth Artillery from the Washington Barracks and the Fourth Artillery Band, had charge of the funeral.  The religious services were conducted by Chaplain Freeland of Fort Monroe and Father Magee of this city, who performer the burial rites of their respective churches.

The caskets containing the bodies of the six officers, Lieutenant Arthur K. Barnett, Twenty-Third Kansas Volunteer Infantry; Lieutenant Michael J. O’Brien, Fifth United States Infantry; Lieutenant William C. Neary, Fourth United States Infantry; Lieutenant Richard J. Harden, First District of Columbia Infantry, and Captain Gregory Barrett, Tenth United States Infantry, were later removed to the officer’s section of the cemetery and interred there. Among the bodies buried today was that of William J. McLeod, formerly a well-known newspaper man of this city, who was Sergeant Major in the Fifth “Immunes.”

The War Department found it necessary to order that none of the bodied from Cuba buried today should be sent to the soldiers’ homes for interment.  The bodies are thoroughly disinfected and are in metal caskets and may be removed next Winter by relatives.

OBRIEN, MICHAEL J
LT CO A 5TH U S INF
DATE OF DEATH: 09/16/1898
BURIED AT: SECTION 1  SITE 753
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard