Robert B Huston came to Guthrie, O.T. to join his brother Hadley, and together they formed a law office in Guthrie. Huston also became a member of the Territorial Militia. Reorganized in1895 the militia became the Oklahoma National Guard. Huston served as Captain for Company A. The Oklahoma National Guard was not federalized during the Spanish-American War, but numerous officers and enlisted men served with the Rough Riders and with the First Territorial Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Huston was among those officers serving with the Rough Riders and commanded D Troop. Huston saw combat action in Cuba with the regiment as is shown in a letter he wrote to his wife on July 6, 1898: “Had two orderlies one had his leg shattered right behind me the other shot thro the knee partly, and I took one thro the hat.”
On a side note, Huston’s guidon bearer was Roy V. Cashion of Hennessee. Cashion was killed during the battle of Santiago thus becoming the first soldier from Oklahoma Territory to die in battle on foreign soil.
Of further interest, two other members of the regiment went on to serve in Guthrie. The first is Frank Frantz. Originally from Prescott, Arizona, Frants served as the commander of A Troop and later as the 7th and final Governor of Oklahoma Territory.
The second is Christian(Chris) Madsen, who served as the regimental quartermaster sergeant and went on to become one of the famous three guardsmen of territorial marshals along with William “Bill” Tilghman and Henry “Heck” Thomas under Chief Marshal E. D. Nix.