Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-28
GEN. NILES OFFICE
How Headquarters Of the Depart
ment Are Fitted Up.
COMMANDERS OF The .. S. ARMY
Portraits of All Except Captain
Doughty Hang on the Walls.
TRIBUTE TO WESTERN MEN

The headquarters of the army have re-
Gently been fitted up and made much more
attractive than heretofore General Miles
| is the kind of a man that likes to have
things neat and pleasant about him, and
with the aid Of General Gilmore. his ad1u-
tant general, he has had the rooms of the
headquarters of the army arranged in a
most tasteful and pleasing manner. Here
| tofore there have been scattered about the
headquarters pictures Of men who have
| commanded the army of the United States.
These have all been grouped together now
on the wall directly in front of the desk of
General Miles, and other pictures have been
arranged about the room of the general
as well as the adjoining rooms. Eighteen
pictures known as Prangs' war pictures,
which have been in the department since
the days of General Sheridan, have been
neatly framed and hung upon the walls
1t is scarcely probable that any one could
remember who commanded the army since
the United States first had an army. 1t is
rather interesting to give a list of those
men who held this distinguished honor and
when they held it. 1t is as follows:
Commanders of the Army.
General George Washington, IT'S to 1888;
Major General Henry Knox, 1888 to 1874;
Capt. John Doughty, 1884, two months;
Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, 1884 to
1871; Major General Arthur ST. Clair, 1871
to 1892; Major General Anthony Wayne,
1892 to 1876; Brigadier General James VIII
kinson. 1896 to 179S; Lieutenant General
George Washington, 1888 to 1899
From this date until 1921 no one was as
signed to command the army, the chief
command being exercised by the Secretary
Of War. The following officers were the
senior officers of the army during this time
Maj. Gen. Alexander Hamilton, 1879 to
1900; Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson. 1900 to
1872; Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn. 1872 to
1915, and Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown, 1915 to
1923.
In 1921 Gen. Brown, who was the senior
officer, assumed command by assignment
The other commanders of the army follow
Maj. Gen Alex. Macomb, 1928 to 1S41 ;
Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, 1871 to 1861; Maj
Gen. George B. Mcclellan, 1861 to 1862;
Maj. Gen Henry w. Haleck, 1862 to 1854;
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, 1864 to 1863; Gen.
William T. Sherman, 1869 to 1883; Gen. Phil
H. Sheridan, 1888 to 1883; Lieut.. Gen. John
NJ Schofield, 1883 to 1895. and MAJ. Cen
Nelson A. Miles, 1895 to date.
While Gen. Scott was in Mexico he had
command only of the army under him, and
did not command the army of the United
States, which was under the direction of the
Secretary of War. There pictures of
every commanding officer, with the excep-
ton of Capt. John Doughty, and no por-
trait of him has ever been preserved for
the War Department 1t is said that Capt
John Doughty and Lieut.. Col. Josiah Har-
mer were assigned to command the army
for the purpose of belittling the position,
but this, of course, is only rumor.
Pictures of the West.
In Gen. Miles room are several interest
ing pictures showing especially his taste
for western life. One is entitled Lone
Tree Indian Camp" representing the fall
| of the year, with tepee of Indians, bucks.
squaws, papooses, ponies and dogs around
about lone tree, where they had camped.
Another picture is entitled THE Last
Stand 1t is after shutdown, and the light
is dying in the west; an old buffalo. sur
rounded by prairie wolves, coyotes and
vultures, is making the last stand for his
life. He has been driven out of the herd
by the younger bulls, and will not be able
to Withstand the attacks of his smaller
enemies during the night. After the Bat
tie" is picture of an elk stag surrounded
by number of does. with another stag
lying at his feet. one that he has Just de-
feated. This is a Rocky mountain scene,
and the snow-capped mountains are seen
| in the distance. There is also picture of
a number of grizzly bears another typical
Rocky mountain scene. In the room adj
| Joining Gen. Miles Office is a picture Of
wounded buffaloes pursued by coyotes. The
buffaloes having been wounded by Indian
arrows, have dropped out Of the herd,
which is disappearing in the distance, and
| the wolves, seeming their blood. have
gathered around them, waiting until they
are too feeble to resist attack. There are
also a number Of portraits of prominent
army people and bust of Gen. Sheridan.
The portraits are of Andrew Jackson,
Zachariah Taylor, William ]. Worth, John
A Logan, George G. Meade, James B. Nc
| Pherson, Frank P. Blair, Henry w. Slo-
cum and Granville E. Dodge, all men who
| have served with distinction in the army.
toona Pass" Battle of Chattanooga"
| Battle of Port Hudson Battle of An
| tietam." Battle of Shiloh Battle of
spottsylvana," Battle Of Gettysburg."
| Mobile Bay" '"The Monitor and Merri-
| mac" "Sheridan's Final Charge at Win
| chester" Siege of Vicksburg." Capture
/ of Fort Fisher Laying the Pontoons at
| Fredericksburg 'Kearsarge and Ala
| bama, "Sheridan's Ride" Capture of
| New Orleans and ''Siege of Atlanta"
Miles on Western Men.
| Gen. Miles was speaking the other day
! about western troops in general, and he
| made some remarks which show his
| knowledge of the western country. West
| ern men" said Gen. Miles, ARE the prod
! uct Of the frontiersmen. Most of them
grew up as boys, and their fathers before
| them, and in many instances they them
selves found 1t necessary to be trained and
skilled In the of firearms. These men
| protected their lives from the Indians and
oftentimes from the wild beasts. In many
cases they have secured their food by
| shooting the buffalo. the deer and the an
| telope, and also smaller game. The men
were skilled III tue use VI tue rifle anu
shotgun They often clothed themselves
| from the buffalo skins, deer skins, bear
| skins and skins of other animals that roam
| the western forests and plains Aside from
| their skill with the gun, they became skill
| ed in all kinds of woodcraft and took care
| of themselves upon the plains and far from
civilization. They gained a knowledge of
| life that no eastern man can acquire, be-
cause his experiences have not led him
| through the same course. Those men were
| taught in natures school, and the princi-
pal part of that schooling is in self-preser-
walton and care Of themselves and their
property. The children of those men be-
came accustomed to all that their parents
had gone through, and for this reason
| those western troops became the flower of
| the army" Gen. Miles often grows en-
| thusiastic in his talk Of the great west,
| where he served SO long and where a great