William S. McCaskey
William Spencer McCaskey (October 2, 1843 – August 10, 1914) was a United States Army major general who commanded the Department of Texas and Fort Sam Houston from 1906 to 1907. He was born near Paradise in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and as a teenager worked as a printer’s apprentice.
At 17 he joined the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers in April 1861, just after the Battle of Fort Sumter. He served briefly, reenlisted, and later became a First Sergeant in the 79th Pennsylvania Infantry. He fought in Kentucky and Tennessee and took part in Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864. He left the Civil War as a captain in 1865.
After the war, he attended Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He rejoined the Army in 1866 and served for 41 more years in many places, advancing through the ranks until he became a major general. He commanded the Department of Texas at Fort Sam Houston and retired in 1907. McCaskey Ridge at Leon Springs Military Reservation, Texas, was named in his honor.
McCaskey died in Pacific Grove, California, in 1914 and was buried with honors at the San Francisco National Cemetery. Earlier in his career, as a captain in the 20th Infantry and commander of Fort Abraham Lincoln, he notified Libbie Custer that Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and several of his men had been killed at the Little Bighorn in 1876.
His family included his elder brother John Piersol McCaskey, a former Lancaster mayor and namesake of J.P. McCaskey High School; his younger brother Cyrus McCaskey and brother-in-law Jim Marshall also served in the Civil War. He was married to Eleanor “Nellie” Garrison and they had six children.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:30 (CET).