| Revision as of 22:31, 28 July 2011 editLosAngeles08 (talk | contribs)13 edits Expands and renders more accurate the account of Cremony's "Life Among the Apaches".← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:33, 28 July 2011 edit undoMike Searson (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers28,704 edits Undid revision 441948542 by LosAngeles08 (talk)Next edit → | ||
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| He served as a ] interpreter for the U.S. Boundary Commission which laid out the ] and United States Border between 1849-1852. He went on to serve as Captain in Company B, ] a unit of California Volunteers, with the ] in ]. He eventually achieved the rank of ] in 1864 and commanded the ] until 1866.<ref name="CLHF">Varner, K.(2007)''John Cremony''.''''. '''5'''(3)p.6</ref> He was the first editor of San Francisco's ''Weekly Sunday Times'' newspaper. | He served as a ] interpreter for the U.S. Boundary Commission which laid out the ] and United States Border between 1849-1852. He went on to serve as Captain in Company B, ] a unit of California Volunteers, with the ] in ]. He eventually achieved the rank of ] in 1864 and commanded the ] until 1866.<ref name="CLHF">Varner, K.(2007)''John Cremony''.''''. '''5'''(3)p.6</ref> He was the first editor of San Francisco's ''Weekly Sunday Times'' newspaper. | ||
| Despite being an Indian fighter, Cremony was an admirer of the ] people and authored ''Life Among the Apaches'', published in 1869.<ref name="CLHF"/> A first-hand balanced perspective on the Native American tribe. He was the first white man to become fluent in the Apache language, learning it in his role as an interpreter, and publishing the first written compilation of their language as a glossary for the army.<ref>] (edited by Barrett) ''Geronimo, His Own Story'' New York: Ballantine Books 1971. ISBN 0345280369.</ref> As a result, Cremony was often able to resolve numerous issues between the military, reservation authorities and the Apaches.<ref name="Nevin"/> | |||
| Cremony authored ''Life Among the Apaches'', published in 1868.<ref name="CLHF"/> In this book he consistently portrays the Apache tribe as "the most treacherous, bloodthirsty, villainous and unmitigated rascal upon the earth.... incapable of improvement" and governable only by massive white terrorism and fraud. The Apaches, he said, must be conquered by overwhelming force and then ethnically cleansed from their country, Ironically, he unwittingly provides ample evidence of endless white atrocities, oppressions and arrogance, which allows the careful reader to appreciate Apache points of view. Indeed, although Cremony is an unabashed white supremacist almost of the genocidal variety, he at times evinces almost equal contempt and scorn for many whites, without in any way recognizing how his animadversions affect his case against the Indians. According to his own account, he was the first white man to become fluent in the Apache language, learning it in his role as an interpreter and compiling the first written compilation of their language as a glossary for the army. However, he says that the US government neither published his glossary nor gave him credit for it. He also bitterly realizes that in over 250 years of contact the US government had learned virtually nothing about the peoples it was bent on conquering. His book, he hoped, would further the genocidal project by allowing the US to understand its enemy. However, the authorities almost totally ignored Cremony, and the Apaches fled from the "reservation" on which he had confined them almost immediately after he and his troops departed. This revealed, in his view, their incorrigible ingratitude, although even Cremony's most careless reader can ascertain at least some of the reasons for their massive dissatisfaction.<ref>] (edited by Barrett) ''Geronimo, His Own Story'' New York: Ballantine Books 1971. ISBN 0345280369.</ref> | |||
| Not all of Cremony's discourses with the Apache were peaceful, however. He killed one warrior in a grueling knife fight and chronicled a non-stop 21-hour chase when he was pursued by a band of ] (White Mountain Apache) of some {{convert|125|mi}} through the desert of ] while on horseback; {{convert|70|mi}} of which were at a full gallop.<ref name="Nevin">{{cite book | last =Nevin | first =David| authorlink = | coauthors = | title =The Old West: The Soldiers | publisher = Time Life| year = 1973| location = New York| page = 238| isbn = 9781416124481}}</ref> | Not all of Cremony's discourses with the Apache were peaceful, however. He killed one warrior in a grueling knife fight and chronicled a non-stop 21-hour chase when he was pursued by a band of ] (White Mountain Apache) of some {{convert|125|mi}} through the desert of ] while on horseback; {{convert|70|mi}} of which were at a full gallop.<ref name="Nevin">{{cite book | last =Nevin | first =David| authorlink = | coauthors = | title =The Old West: The Soldiers | publisher = Time Life| year = 1973| location = New York| page = 238| isbn = 9781416124481}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 22:33, 28 July 2011
| John Carey Cremony | |
|---|---|
 Cremony in 1873 | |
| Born | 1815 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 24, 1879 San Francisco, California |
| Years of service | 1861-1872 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | 1st Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry |
| Commands | 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers |
| Battles / wars | Mexican American War, American Civil War, Apache Wars |
| Other work | author |
Major John C. Cremony was a Boston newspaperman who enrolled in the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1846, serving as a lieutenant.
He served as a Spanish language interpreter for the U.S. Boundary Commission which laid out the Mexican and United States Border between 1849-1852. He went on to serve as Captain in Company B, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry a unit of California Volunteers, with the California Column in New Mexico Territory. He eventually achieved the rank of Major in 1864 and commanded the 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers until 1866. He was the first editor of San Francisco's Weekly Sunday Times newspaper.
Despite being an Indian fighter, Cremony was an admirer of the Apache people and authored Life Among the Apaches, published in 1869. A first-hand balanced perspective on the Native American tribe. He was the first white man to become fluent in the Apache language, learning it in his role as an interpreter, and publishing the first written compilation of their language as a glossary for the army. As a result, Cremony was often able to resolve numerous issues between the military, reservation authorities and the Apaches.
Not all of Cremony's discourses with the Apache were peaceful, however. He killed one warrior in a grueling knife fight and chronicled a non-stop 21-hour chase when he was pursued by a band of Sierra Blanca Apache (White Mountain Apache) of some 125 miles (201 km) through the desert of New Mexico while on horseback; 70 miles (110 km) of which were at a full gallop.
Cremony served most of his military career in the Southwest and personally knew Apache Chiefs Mangas Coloradas and Cochise. After retiring from the army, Cremony settled in San Francisco, becoming a founding member of the Bohemian Club and establishing the club's membership guidelines in 1872. A "Bohemian" meaning to Cremony:“a man of genius who refuses to cramp his life in the Chinese shoe of conventionality, whose purse is ever at the disposal of his friends, and who lives generously, gaily, carefree, and as far from the sordid, scheming world of respectability as the south pole is from the north". These standards are known as the Cremony Standards and are still in use by the club today. Cremony is buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park on the Laurel Hill Mound in San Francisco, California.
Bibliography
References
- Soldier in the California Column, The Diary of John W. Teal, Arizona and the West, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Spring, 1971), pp. 33-82
- ^ Varner, K.(2007)John Cremony.Cypress Lawn Heritage Newsletter. 5(3)p.6
- Geronimo (edited by Barrett) Geronimo, His Own Story New York: Ballantine Books 1971. ISBN 0345280369.
- ^ Nevin, David (1973). The Old West: The Soldiers. New York: Time Life. p. 238. ISBN 9781416124481.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Reinhardt, Richard(1980)The Bohemian Club.American Heritage Magazine 41980
External links
Categories:- 1815 births
- 1879 deaths
- American folklore
- Apache people
- People from Boston, Massachusetts
- American memoirists
- People from San Francisco, California
- People of the wars between the United States and Native Americans
- American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
- California military personnel
- People of California in the American Civil War