William Derrington, Co E, 14th Regiment

William Derrington, soldier of the 14th Regiment

 

William Derrington and wife Frances (Marston) (Leighton) circa 1913	Frances and William Derrington, with son Walter (who served in the Army from 1930-1954)

The available documents below show William Derrington's Enlistment into service on March 15, 1899, his receipt of gear on April 21, and his arrival at Pasay, Philippine Island and assignment to E Company, 14th Infantry Regiment on May 28, 1899.  He was 5 feet 3 7/8 inches tall and weighed 141 pounds.

 From 1884 to 1888 he was a restaurant cook in San Francisco.

On his first enlistment, July 1898, he served in the Coast Artillery on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, and was honorably discharged March 1899.

Ten days later he re-enlisted, on 19 March 1899 and was sent to join the 14th Regiment in the Philippine Islands, soon to be part of the American Relief Expedition to China in 1900.  He was in combat in the Philippines and had another soldier's weapon discharge close to his left ear, causing lifetime damage.  See documents below...

In 1902 he enlisted for a third time at Fort Snelling, and served at Fort Morgan, AL in CAC.

His fourth enlistment was in Maine in 1905 where he rotated between three Coast Artillery Forts - Fort McKinnley, Fort Williams and Fort Preble at South Portland, Maine.  He re-enlisted four more times until March 1917.

In June, 1917 he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Maine National Guard.  At the end of his eighth enlistment he enlisted, for one day, in a private Maine National Guard-Active Duty as officer, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in November, 1918.  There is a family story that he was commanding officer of Fort Williams during World War I.

He received an honorable discharge from service on 31 December 1918, with a 15% disability.  The disability paper indicates he had a constant cough, which began during his China duty, and an indication of an increase in "scars" and a 2-inch green turtle tattoo on his left forearm.

Thanks to grandson Philip Nasan for providing all of the information, photos and documents regarding William Derrington's service with the 14th Infantry Regiment in the 1900s.

3/15/1899 Enlistment	4/21/1899 Casual Detachment	5/28/1899 Transfer Card

Click an image above to see larger version...

 

1900 US Census - Company E, 14th Regiment, Philippine Islands

Acknowledgements:
William Derrington, Co E, 14th Regiment
Copyright © 2014  14th Infantry Regiment Association
All Pictures and Documents Copyright © 2014  Philip Nasan, grandson of William Derrington
Last modified: July 13, 2021