George W.Simpson was a police officer who seemed to be hiding his past.
No one knew George had been in the military
This was a puzzle. George Simpson was definitely the traffic officer who worked exactly that corner. But to our knowledge George Simpson had never served in the military. We had searched repeatedly all military source records for any record of his enlistment – thinking that he might have served before arriving in San Antonio. We also knew that he had worked, from time to time, at military bases in San Antonio, but always as a civilian contractor. So, how could it be that George Simpson, local traffic cop, had been in the 9th Infantry at Fort Sam Houston?
A quick search of the enlistment records online revealed another surprise, and some new mysteries. First, we were able to locate George W. Simpson and his buddy Hamilton, at Fort Sam Houston, in Company K of the 9th Infantry – just as the article indicated! Further research indicated that George W. Simpson enlisted in the Infantry in March, 1908 and was discharged in December 1908. The record said that the discharge was “dishonorable”, and that it was the sentence of a General Court Martial in December 1908. This was bad news (for George), of course, but from a research perspective it indicated what might be a whole new area for documentation. George’s enlistment itself was a surprise, but the idea of a General Court Martial resulting in dishonorable discharge was extraordinary. There had to be a story, and there had to be a written record.
We wrote to the National Archives for George W. Simpson’s service records, and we were able to retrieve a few previously unknown items. For one thing, there were references in the enlistment records to identifying tattoos that matched family recollections, so we were pretty sure this was the same George W. Simpson. But this George Simpson said that he was from Kansas City, Mo, previously a plumber. And that (in 1908) he had a mother still living in Kansas City! We quickly searched the census and other records for possible matches, and while there were a few possible leads nothing seemed to add up.
The second avenue of military record research was the record of the Court Martial itself. While records of a Special Court martial might sometimes be scarce, the rules calling for a General Court Martial seemed to clearly require an actual court record, with evidence, possibly witness testimony, and a court transcript. We wrote to the National Archives for these records, and were told (twice) that no such records could be found.
The breakthrough came in 2014, when a third request for the Court Martial records took another unexpected turn – there was no record of any trial of George W. Simpson, but the there was a trial record under the number we had requested. It was the trial of “George H. Smith, aka George R. Simpson.”
Following up on the clue “George H. Smith, aka George R. Simpson,” we researched the military record of George H. Smith. George Smith enlisted in the service on July 9, 1904, in Huntsville, Alabama. He was about 21 years old, and claimed to be a farmer from Normand, Tennessee. Service records obtained from the national archives showed that he listed his nearest relative as his father, G. W. Smith, a farmer residing in Estill Springs, Tennessee. He was assigned to the 4th Coastal Artillery. That company was stationed at Jackson Barracks (New Orleans) Louisiana.
The enlistment record showed that George H. Smith deserted June 12, 1905, was apprehended October 18, 1908, charges dropped April 17, 1909. It further relates that he was dishonorably discharged Dec. 1908 “from Co. K 9th Infantry under the name George R. Simpson.” Here was the missing piece that fit the others together.
Uncovering the facts of the Court Martial required a visit to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. With some effort, the actual transcript was located. The testimony and documents contained in the transcript provide the rest of the story.
Similar to George’s tattoo
“Roy [George’s youngest son] never knew anything about George being in the service and always said that he wasn’t (“as far as we know, but we never knew much about him”) and one day a few years before he died Roy & Doris [his wife] were driving out Military Hwy in Castle Hills, San Antonio, and he saw the highway marker dedicating the highway to some military outfit or another, and it showed their “patch” on the sign, and it’s an arrowhead outlining a Indian head profile with headdress). Roy told Doris “There it is! That’s the tattoo Dad had on his arm. I think he must have known people in that unit and admired them and got it in honor of them” Well - I Googled up the Spanish American War, 9th US Infantry company B & K” and got this unit patch BAM! There’s the old Indian head. I figure Roy just didn’t remember what outline was around the head /Arrow or Star - either way it’s the head he remembered.”
George W. Simpson 1908 enlistment description, from National Archives
We grew up thinking that George might have done something bad. Maybe he killed someone in Tennessee. Maybe he had another family. Maybe he was our pirate, outlaw, or runaway felon. Turns out, he wasn’t a bad guy after all.
In December 1908, George Simpson was tried before a General Court Martial consisting of 13 officers of the 9th and 2nd Infantries at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. The charges against him were for desertion, as George H. Smith, from his post at Jackson Barracks, Louisiana. At the trial, George and his attorney did not deny the charges or that George had deserted his post. They argued only that the circumstances demanded leniency on his behalf.
George testified on his own behalf, and his words provide the best version of the story. In short, George was a soldier at Jackson Barracks. One Saturday night, he and another soldier were out on leave, making their way back to base. They saw a boat, and thought they might use it to get back to base. They asked a young man if they could take it, and thought they had his permission. They took the boat out on the river, the boat capsized, and they swam back to shore leaving the boat to sink.
The next day, the local sheriff came to the base inquiring about two soldiers and a complaint about a stolen boat. George said that he was terrified, because just a few weeks before some other soldiers had been arrested by the local police and the commanding officer had told the men that civilian arrest brought great dishonor on the entire company. Rather than face conviction and the dishonor of the company, George decided to run. He knew it was desertion, but thought that personal dishonor was better than dishonoring the entire company.
A few years later, George was told by some friends that there was a way to repair a desertion charge without conviction. He was told that if he enlisted again (under a different name), and then served out his full service commitment, he would then be able to confess his true identity and the desertion charge would be dropped because he would have actually served out his commitment. Whether this scheme actually was ever successful for any deserter is unknown, but George not only believed it to be true, he claimed to have known several men who were pursuing the same scheme in his company.
George re-enlisted at Ft. Sam Houston in March 1908, beginning his new life as George Simpson. He claimed that he enjoyed Army life, and would stay in the Army his entire career if he could. A few men in his company knew about his past and his true identity.
One day in September 1908, George was off base in San Antonio with another soldier named Long. As they were returning to base, they stopped in at the downtown post office. Private Long asked the clerk if there was any mail for Private O’Neill. George was confused, but played along. The clerk brought out a letter for Private O’Neill, which contained cash. Long pocketed the cash and returned the letter. George could see that his colleague was stealing from a fellow soldier, and in this case stealing from private O’Neill who George knew well. George protested, and the thief told him that he could join in the spoils, or he could risk exposure to his superiors as a deserter.
George agonized over his choices, but in the end he decided that he could not be witness to theft from his fellow soldiers. He reported the theft, knowing that he would be exposed as a deserter. His attorney prevailed upon the court to recognize that, while George did not deny the charge of desertion, he was perhaps the most honest man in the company. He was willing to sacrifice his personal freedom for the integrity and well-being of his unit.
The officers of the court found George guilty of desertion. There really was no way to avoid such a conclusion. But they also – every one of them – signed a petition to their superior office requesting that George be given the most lenient sentence possible. George was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison. But as the case progressed through the review/appeal process, the more senior officers recognized certain deficiencies in the pleadings and also the call for leniency. In March 1909, George was released for time served. And in April 1909, the charges were dropped completely.
By 1910, George Simpson was working as a policeman with the San Antonio Police Department. The man who could not tolerate being a witness to a crime against his fellow soldiers would spend the rest of his life serving in law enforcement – albeit under an alias adopted to circumvent the law!