1st Lieutenant Charles Grant Long was one of two platoon leaders of Company F (Artillery), First Marine Battalion (Reinforced) . The company, which saw action in Cuba during the war, was commanded by Captain Francis H. Harrington.
The Biography:
Charles Grant Long was born at South Weymouth, Massachusetts on December 14, 1869.
He was graduated from the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1889, and as a naval cadet he served at sea aboard the U.S.S. BALTIMORE, U.S.S. LANCASTER, and U.S.S. MAINE. After successfully completing two years of sea duty he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Marines on July 1, 1891.
Lieutenant Long was assigned to Company F (Artillery), First Marine Battalion (Reinforced) at Marine Barracks, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, on April 18, 1898. He was recommended by Colonel Robert W. Huntington, Commanding the battalion, to receive a brevet to Captain for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy on June 11, 12, and 13, 1898 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War.
During the Boxer Rebellion at Tientsin, China, in August of 1900, he commanded a battalion of Marines and was commended in Navy Department Orders. He was promoted to Major in 1905, and to Lieutenant Colonel in 1911.
In 1912, he commanded Marine forces in the occupation of the city of Leon in the expedition to Nicaragua. He commanded a regiment during the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1914. In 1915 he was detailed as chief of staff of the brigade on duty in Haiti. He was promoted to Colonel on August 26, 1916. On September 4, 1917 he was designated assistant to the Commandant Major General George Barnett.
On July 1, 1918 he received a temporary appointment to Brigadier
General and was confirmed permanently in that rank on November 19, 1918.
After World War I he commanded the Second Marine Brigade on duty
in Santo Domingo winning the commendation of the military governor “for
the loyal and efficient service of the brigade.”
His request for retirement because of ill health was granted on December 31, 1921. He died on Friday, March 5, 1943 at his home in Dartmouth, Massachusetts and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, 10 March 1943.
Major General Charles Long’s awards included Brevet Medal, Cuba; Navy Cross, West Indian Medal (Sampson), Cuba; Spanish Campaign Medal, Cuba; China Campaign Medal; and Nicaraguan Campaign Medal.
MARINES IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR: Anthology and Annotated Bibliography. (Washington, DC: MCHC, 1998), p.121
Navy Department Press Release, March 8, 1943, Funeral Rites for Major General C.G.Long, U.S.M.C., Retired
Muster Rolls, First Marine Battalion (Reinforced), Company F (Artillery), Camp McCalla, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, June 1898