Gerald Dixon was born on October 14, 1896, in Seymore, Indiana. He finished the fourth grade in school and in civil life he worked as a messenger in a railroad office. When he was 17 he ran away from home and enlisted in the army at Columbus, IN, on February 27, 1914. (The record suggests that his parents did give him permission to enlist, after the fact, even though he ran away to do it.) His company commander gave him very favorable ratings prior to the Houston Rebellion; the only infraction on his military record was for “falling out of ranks on practice march, without authority,” and he did not incur a SCM for it.
He had one minor run-in with the law as a civilian (the offense was not specified in his enlistment record but he apparently only spent about 6 hours in jail). Dixon insisted that he had no part in the Houston Rebellion and that when the shooting started in the battalion camp that night he left and went to Camp Logan, which he thought would be safer. He was 21 at the time of the rebellion and 22 when he was delivered to Leavenworth to begin serving a life sentence. The evidence against him was summarized as: “When the men ‘rushed’ the supply tent and overpowered the guards, Dixon was identified as one of those who broke open the boxes and obtained ammunition; After the mutinous soldiers had left camp, a careful check of those who remained was taken about 9:10 P.M., and Dixon was absent; Dixon was seen with the column on its way to the City of Houston; After the murders and other crimes had been committed, the column disbanded, and Dixon started back to Camp Logan with a small detachment. He did not reach camp with these men however, but was returned next morning in arrest with other members of his organization who had been apprehended in or near the City of Houston.”
The JAG, reviewing Dixon’s clemency request on August 14, 1920, wrote: “The occurrences at Houston on the night of August 23, 1917, are without parallel in the history our Army. Without just provocation, these men joined in a mutiny by over-riding and subverting all military authority and restraint, and entered upon an expedition of disorder, riot and wholesale murder. They murdered fourteen innocent and unoffending persons, and seriously wounded eight others. They instituted a reign of terror in the City of Houston, which merits the most severe condemnation and punishment. These men belonged to the military forces of the Government, upon whom the Government in an emergency must rely for the maintenance of order and the enforcement of law. As the result of fair and impartial trials, during which their every legal right was carefully safeguarded, they were convicted of participation in offenses which it was their special duty to prevent. These offenses include two most serious crimes of a civil nature, viz, murder and assault with intent to commit murder; also two of the most serious crimes of which a soldier can be guilty, viz, willful disobedience of lawful orders, and joining in a mutiny.”
When his case of reviewed for clemency in April 1924, the board reported that his life sentence had at some point prior been reduced to 20 years, that his good conduct in prison had resulted in him being made an “outside trusty.” The report also said that a petition for clemency had been submitted on his behalf by the citizens of Seymour, Indiana, his home town. Because he would be eligible for parole on August 9, 1924, just four month hence, the board felt that “further clemency is not recommended” at that time. On June 7 that year the Board of Parole for Leavenworth Penitentiary granted Dixon parole effective August 9, 1924.
In a very interesting detail to Dixon’s case, there is a letter in his file dated August 16, 1924, from the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner of the FBI), reporting to the Army JAG, MG W.A. Bethel, that the Attorney General had received Dixon’s parole case from the Boards of Parole. The letter is signed “J. E. Hoover, Acting Director.” Dixon was released on parole effective September 17, 1924. By 1930, the JAG wrote that Dixon “has maintained an exemplary record during the five year period of his parole…” and that it was appropriate to conclude that “Dixon has completed rehabilitated himself.” “In view of the foregoing,” the letter finished, “it is recommended that the unexecuted portion of the period of confinement in Dixon’s case be remitted.”
Gerald Dixon died in October, 1967.