Lee Christmas
Encyclopedia
Lee Christmas was an American mercenary
in Central America
.
in Livingston Parish, Louisiana
. As a young man, he worked as a pilot on tugboats on Lake Pontchartrain
but became a brakeman living in McComb, Mississippi
for the Illinois Central System
in 1879. He helped to build the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad, but returned to passenger service as a baggage master before the line was completed. He then became a fireman and was later promoted to engineer.
Christmas ran locomotives between Memphis and New Orleans until 1891, when he fell asleep and ran by a flag, resulting in a collision with an oncoming train. Because he had been on duty for 54 hours when the accident occurred, he was not fired, but he was not allowed to return to his previous position because a company physical had discovered that he was color blind.
by President Terencio Sierra
in May 1902. Defecting again in 1903, Christmas accepted a position as aide to rebel General Manuel Bonilla
. When Bonilla became President of Honduras, he appointed Christmas a general. Perhaps to assert his toughness or to intimidate the natives, Christmas had been known to chew on glass.
Bonilla's abortive invasion of Nicaragua in 1907 led to his overthrow by General Miguel Dávila
. Christmas was wounded in the fighting and exiled to Guatemala, where he reconnected with Bonilla. With financing by "El Amigo" (United Fruit company agent Samuel Zemurray), Bonilla and Christmas led a failed revolution in 1910 against the artillery of the garrison at Tatumbla - two 42mm fieldpieces previously supplied to the government forces by Zemurray.
They had better luck the following year, with a reorganized force supplied with US Army surplus Colt Model 1895 machine gun
s. Bonilla's rebels captured Trujillo and Ironia, and cemented their victory at the Battle of La Ceiba on January 25, 1911. Christmas used his machine guns for fire support of the infantry with interlocking fields of fire, inflicting some six hundred casualties on the government forces. This is believed to be the first time automatic weapons were so used, and La Ceiba was studied by military professionals in Europe and the Americas. This tactical use of machine guns would become standard practice in the First World War. Bonilla resumed the presidency of Honduras, with Christmas as his military commander, but Bonilla's sudden death in 1913 forced Christmas into exile once more.
For the next ten years, reports surfaced of Christmas being seen throughout Latin America. It may be that Samuel Zemurray invoked the threat of an appearance by Christmas to intimidate recalcitrant clients. His presence in the Mexican Revolution as an aide to Emiliano Zapata
is impossible to confirm.
Suffering from tuberculosis
, Christmas returned to Louisiana and died in New Orleans one day before the thirteenth anniversary of his victory at La Ceiba. He was widely written about in his lifetime, and is believed to be the inspiration for Richard Harding Davis
' novels Captain Macklin and Soldiers of Fortune.
The University of Tennessee has papers donated by Mrs. Marion Samson of Abilene, Texas in 1958. They include correspondence to and from Christmas, and an invitation to his wedding to Ida Culotta at Puerto Cortés, Honduras in 1914.
Author Lucius Shepard
wrote about him in American Monsters: 44 Rats, Blackhats, and Plutocrats, edited by Jack Newfield and Mark Jacobson.
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Early life and career
Lee Christmas was born on February 2, 1863 on a plantation on the Amite RiverAmite River
The Amite River is a tributary of Lake Maurepas in Mississippi and Louisiana in the United States. It is about long. It starts as two forks in southwestern Mississippi and flows south through Louisiana, passing Greater Baton Rouge, to Lake Maurepas. The lower of the river is navigable...
in Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Livingston Parish Is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Livingston. As of 2010, its population was 128,026....
. As a young man, he worked as a pilot on tugboats on Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
but became a brakeman living in McComb, Mississippi
McComb, Mississippi
McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States, about south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 13,644. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi, Micropolitan Statistical Area...
for the Illinois Central System
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
in 1879. He helped to build the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad, but returned to passenger service as a baggage master before the line was completed. He then became a fireman and was later promoted to engineer.
Christmas ran locomotives between Memphis and New Orleans until 1891, when he fell asleep and ran by a flag, resulting in a collision with an oncoming train. Because he had been on duty for 54 hours when the accident occurred, he was not fired, but he was not allowed to return to his previous position because a company physical had discovered that he was color blind.
Central America
In November 1894, he moved to Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Again employed as a railroad engineer, he was captured by rebels at Laguna Trestle on April 14, 1897 and joined their cause. He defected to the government forces in 1899 and was appointed a Colonel and Chief of Police of TegucigalpaTegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
by President Terencio Sierra
Terencio Sierra
Terencio Sierra Romero was President of Honduras between 1 February 1899 and 1 February 1903.Sierra was born in Coray, Valle, Honduras. After studying in Comayagua he became a typographist in El Salvador before travelling through Central and South America as an accountant in the shipping industry...
in May 1902. Defecting again in 1903, Christmas accepted a position as aide to rebel General Manuel Bonilla
Manuel Bonilla
General Manuel Bonilla Chirinos was President of Honduras from 13 April 1903 to 25 February 1907, and again from 1 February 1912 till 21 March 1913....
. When Bonilla became President of Honduras, he appointed Christmas a general. Perhaps to assert his toughness or to intimidate the natives, Christmas had been known to chew on glass.
Bonilla's abortive invasion of Nicaragua in 1907 led to his overthrow by General Miguel Dávila
Miguel R. Dávila
General Miguel Rafael Dávila Cuellar was President of Honduras between 18 April 1907 and 28 March 1911. He occupied various posts in the government of Policarpo Bonilla, before becoming President himself. He died in Honduras on 11 October 1927....
. Christmas was wounded in the fighting and exiled to Guatemala, where he reconnected with Bonilla. With financing by "El Amigo" (United Fruit company agent Samuel Zemurray), Bonilla and Christmas led a failed revolution in 1910 against the artillery of the garrison at Tatumbla - two 42mm fieldpieces previously supplied to the government forces by Zemurray.
They had better luck the following year, with a reorganized force supplied with US Army surplus Colt Model 1895 machine gun
M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
s. Bonilla's rebels captured Trujillo and Ironia, and cemented their victory at the Battle of La Ceiba on January 25, 1911. Christmas used his machine guns for fire support of the infantry with interlocking fields of fire, inflicting some six hundred casualties on the government forces. This is believed to be the first time automatic weapons were so used, and La Ceiba was studied by military professionals in Europe and the Americas. This tactical use of machine guns would become standard practice in the First World War. Bonilla resumed the presidency of Honduras, with Christmas as his military commander, but Bonilla's sudden death in 1913 forced Christmas into exile once more.
For the next ten years, reports surfaced of Christmas being seen throughout Latin America. It may be that Samuel Zemurray invoked the threat of an appearance by Christmas to intimidate recalcitrant clients. His presence in the Mexican Revolution as an aide to Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
is impossible to confirm.
Suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, Christmas returned to Louisiana and died in New Orleans one day before the thirteenth anniversary of his victory at La Ceiba. He was widely written about in his lifetime, and is believed to be the inspiration for Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played...
' novels Captain Macklin and Soldiers of Fortune.
The University of Tennessee has papers donated by Mrs. Marion Samson of Abilene, Texas in 1958. They include correspondence to and from Christmas, and an invitation to his wedding to Ida Culotta at Puerto Cortés, Honduras in 1914.
Author Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
wrote about him in American Monsters: 44 Rats, Blackhats, and Plutocrats, edited by Jack Newfield and Mark Jacobson.