Salt Lake Tribune | 1910-11-28 | Page 2 | Veteran of Mexican War Dies Suddenly

VETERAN OF MEXICAN III DIES SUDDENLY General James Oakes, Famous Frontier Soldier, Succumbs to Heart Disease. v. WASHINGTON, Nov. 27. General James Oakes, who was retired in 1879 , after thirty years of active service in the Mexican and civil wars, as well as In Indian uprisings in the southwest, sank unconscious to the pavement today to-day near his home and died twenty minutes min-utes later at a local nospltal. Death was caused by heart trouble. General Oakes was born near Limestone, Lime-stone, Pa., April '4. 182G, and was educated edu-cated at the "University of Pennsylvania Pennsyl-vania and the United States military, academy. lie-served for a time In the faculty of the academy, but at the outbreak out-break of the war with Mexico, accompanied accom-panied General Zachary Taylor and was breveted first lieutenant. Ho slater wus assigned to frontier duties du-ties against the Indians In northern Arizona, Ari-zona, and In 18G1 reachvd the rank of lieutenant colonel, being assigned to the Fourth cavalry. He boca.mp colonel of the Sixth cavalry that same year, and after distinguished service in the Tennessee Ten-nessee and Mississippi campaigns, he was made b.iigadler general brevet March :t0, 1865. At the close of the civil war. ho was head of the frccdmeh's bureau at Austin. Tex . and later again saw service against the Indians of the southwest. Me was retired at his own request on April 20. 1370. and had spent most of his time since In TCcw York, Pittsburg and Washington.