Thomas Childs Woodbury


Colonel Thomas Woodbury of the 3rd Infantry A,B, and C Companies was born on this day December 2, 1850 in Henderson, Kentucky. Woodbury joined the military in 1899 in Cebu, Phillipine Islands during the conflict. He commanded battalions and won medals for bravery there and in the Spanish American War. His father and grandfather were both Generals in the military.
The Third Infantry came to Skagway in July of 1904 replacing the 8th Infantry.
Col. Woodbury then went to Fort Seward in Haines in November 1904. See the soldiers on parade on the grounds of the fort above.
In 1906 they went back to Washington State.

The specific history of the military in Skagway and Dyea is interesting if not confusing. Here is the list of military units and their dates of arrival:
-9th Cavalry arrives 1897
-14th Infantry arrives 16 Dec 1897 and Feb 1898
-company L of the 24th (the African American unit) arrived May 15, 1899 from Ft. Douglas, Utah, they came up on the steamer Humboldt.
-106th Coast Artillery (32nd Company arrives March to May 1902) arrives 1902
-3rd Infantry arrives July – Oct 1904
-8th Infantry arrives July 1904 (they go to Haines in November 1904)
-There were also a couple of earlier military expeditions, as early as 1865.

Skagway Museum Record; “Duty Station Northwest” by Woodman; “Biographical Register of the Officers…” by G.W.Cullum; familysearch