robertmackayclan

I've just rented a movie called "Geronimo, An American Legend" which tells of the story of Geronimo and has a section dealing with our cousin Charles Gatewood (a descendant of Robert Mackay Sr.) who helped negotiate Geronimo's surrender.

I'll have more comments once I've finished watching this film.

I think this is a must see if you are interested in this part of our family history.

The whole film deals with a young lieutenant played by Matt Damon and his association with our cousin of Geronimo fame, Charles B. Gatewood.

It was said in the movie that Charles Gatewood "loved the people he was fighting against and hated the people he was fighting for".

He was always on friendly terms with Geronimo and also told the other Lieutenant that he knew what it was like to hate the Blue Coats. He was born in Woodstock, Va. and lived through the Civil War, although he was too young to participate.

Like most of our family living in Virginia during that time he probably experienced the same events that affected the lives of many of our relations that are discussed in some of the pages in the Robert Mackay Clan Memorabilia section: http://www.geocities.com/mckyrbnsn/rmc/rmcmem/.

If I ever obtain enough material on the period of Charles Gatewood's life dealing with Geronimo I may put it up on this website.

In the end he never received any kind of award or recommendation for his participation and was suddenly transferred to some remote outpost in Wyoming.

All in all I believe he received little recognition in textbooks.

In the movie he told the other Lieutenant "someone has to go back and tell the truth" regarding what happened during that time.

I've just rented a movie called "Geronimo, An American Legend" which tells of the story of Geronimo and has a section dealing with our cousin Charles Gatewood (a descendant of Robert Mackay Sr.) who helped negotiate Geronimo's surrender.

I'll have more comments once I've finished watching this film.

For those of you who are wondering how Charles B. Gatewood fits into the Robert Mackay family here's his line of descent: In the movie it was asked if Lieut. Gatewood was a family man in which he replied that he had two children. I believe he said a son and a daughter.

However, I do not take the word of a movie when it comes to actual genealogical facts. I would be interested in knowing if he did indeed have any descendants.