Category / Alaska

by Old Guard History

No Shave November – Thomas Childs Woodbury

No Shave November
Each Saturday in November, an Old Guard veteran will be featured that sports impressive facial hair.

Thomas Childs (T.C.) Woodbury was born in 1850 in Kentucky. Both his father and grandfather graduated from West Point Military Academy, in 1836 and 1814, respectively. T.C. Woodbury attended West Point, graduating in 1872. He was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment, serving with the unit along the Gulf Coast, in Indian Territory and in Utah. Woodbury deployed as to Cuba in the War with Spain and was wounded at the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1898.
The following year he deployed again, this time as part of the Army’s response to the Philippine Insurrection. He was promoted to major while in the Philippines and commanded the 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry. Woodbury served as military governor of the Island of Bohol for just over a year following the surrender of the insurrectionists. He returned to the U.S. in 1903 and took command of the 3rd Infantry Regiment the following year. The Old Guard was supposed to deploy for duty along the Panama Canal, but instead deployed to the Alaskan frontier.
Woodbury commanded the 3rd Infantry during a trying time. They traveled by steamship from San Francisco to Camp Skagway, Alaska until Fort William H. Seward was completed (present-day Haines, AK). The discovery of gold in the Yukon was a draw for thousands flooding into the frontier. The Army maintained 1,500 miles of telegraph lines connecting Juneau, Valdez, and Sitka, with the Old Guard running lines all the way to Nome. One additional mission was to restrict over-harvesting of the caribou population native to the region. In order to accomplish its mission, the Regiment was broken up, with companies serving at outposts stretched far apart. During the two-year deployment, elements of the Regiment served at Forts Liscum, Davis, Egbert, Gibbon, and St. Michael. The unit returned to Washington State in 1906, many seeing their families for the first time in two years.
Woodbury served in Washington State for two years commanding the Department of the Columbia from 1907-1908. Woodbury was tasked to return to the Philippines to serve on the general staff. His service was cut short by illness. During the trip on the transport back to the United States, he was struck by paralysis, succumbing to his illness on September 26, 1911, at the age of 61. He was later laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington D.C. beside his father.

by Old Guard History

The Old Guard in Alaska – 1904-1906


Postcard view of Fort William H. Seward, Alaska, circa 1904.

Modern view (2015) of Fort William H. Seward site, present-day Haines, Alaska. Photo by National Historic Landmarks Programs.


On September 30, 1904, the Headquarters, Field and Staff elements of the 3d Infantry Regiment left Camp Skagway, Alaska and arrived at nearby Fort William H. Seward, AK. Soldiers of the Old Guard became the first garrison troops at newly-completed Fort William H. Seward, current day site of Haines, AK.


The discovery of gold along the Alaska/Canada border brought thousands looking to find their fortunes. To help the Alaska territory cope with the sudden population boom, the U.S. Army built forts, roads and telegraph lines. The Army maintained 1,500 miles of telegraph lines connecting Juneau, Valdez and Sitka, with the Old Guard running lines all the way to Nome. One additional mission was to restrict commercial over-harvesting of the caribou population native to the region.


The Regiment left San Francisco aboard the US Army Transport “Buford” on July 1, 1904 and sailed to Skagway, arriving July 7. Camp Skagway served as home base until September 1904, when Fort William H. Seward was completed and ready for garrison troops. The Regiment often worked broken up by companies and detachments. In addition to Fort William H. Seward and Camp Skagway, the men of the Old Guard were posted to Forts Liscum, Davis, Egbert, Gibbon, and St. Michael.


In a description of the work involved in constructing sixty miles of telegraph lines reaching Fort Gibbon:
“A thirty-foot right of way was cleared, poles cut and set and line strung. Camp equipment was carried most of the way on a barge and after the use of the barge was prevented by ice in the river, camp was moved on sleds, drawn by some mules and some by the men. Conditions of the weather were most severe during the last six weeks. Work progressed for days while the temperature was more than 50 degrees below zero. Frost bites were of common occurrence and received but little attention. Four men suffered frozen feet or hands but none so severely that the members were lost. This expedition was one of one of great hardship and peril and its successful completion reflects great credit on the whole detachment.”


The Old Guard returned to Washington State in 1906, where men saw their families for the first time since deploying to Alaska.


Many of the buildings used and lived in by the Old Guard still stand, and are in use. The modern-day photo shows one of the barracks buildings as it looks today. Fort William H. Seward was it used by the Army until 1945. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1978. To see more present-day photos of Haines, go to: www.facebook.com/OldGuardMuseum/posts/10153528581784573