The Washington times., 1901-09-14

Niles, Trumbull county. Ohio, January
| %, lS43 His ancestors were of Scotch
| Irish descent, and came to this country
about century and a half ago. William
Mckinley, father of the President, mar
ried, in 1929. Nancy Campbell Allison. who
| was of English and iScotch-German de-
scent. The President is the seventh of
their nine childrengY1ron manufacturing
and molding was the trade of the elder
Mckinley and of hisrfather. They were
men of strong chafacter and ability, de-
vout members of the Methodist Church.
and in politics ardent Whig and Repub-
lican. The father of the President lived
to see his son Governor of Ohio. and his
mother saw him President. She died De-
cember IL. 1897. at the age Of eighty-eight.
Williams education was begun in the
public schools OF Niles, but when he was
rine years old the family moved to Port
land. Mahoning county. Ohio, where his
schooling was continued in Union Semi
nary. He remained here until he entered
Allegheny College. Meadville, Pa. in 1860
Soon after this, although he was fond of
athletic sports, his health failed on ac-
count of overstudy. Upon recovery he
became clerk in the Poland postoffice.
and held this position when the civil war
broke out in 1861
On June II, of that year, he enlisted as
private in Company E of the Twenty
third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This or
ganization became a famous regiment
and numbered among its officers and meE
Gen. w. S. Rosecrans, Gen. R. B. Hayes,
who became President of the United
States in 1871; Gen. E. p. Scammon, Gen.
James M. Comley. and many other we'll
known men. The regiment saw active
service throughout almost the entire war.
Mckinley served on the stats of Hayes,
Crook, and Hancock
CAREER AS A SOLDIER.
Gen. Rohert P. Porter. in his life of
President Mckinley thus quotes Presi-
dent Hayes, who was at the beginning of
the war an officer in young McKinley's
regiment, regarding his early military
record.
Rather more than thirty years ago I
first made the acquaintance of Major Nc
Kinley. He was then boy, had just
passed the age of seventeen. He had be-
fore that taught school and was just COM
ing from an academy to the camp. He
with me entered on a new strange life
a soldiers life in time of actual war. We
were in fortunate regiment-its colonel
was William S. Rosecrans-graduate OF
West Point, brave, patriotic, and
very able man, who afterward came to
command great armies and fight many
famous battles. Its lieutenant colonel
was Stanley Matthews-a scholar and an
able lawyer. who after his appointment
to the Supreme Bench. the whole bar of
the United States was soon convinced was
of unsurpassed ability and character for
that high place.
In this regiment Major Mckinley
came, the boy l have described. carrying
his musket and his knapsack. In every
company in that regiment General Rose
Grams and Colonel Matthews and myself
soon found there were young men Of ex-
ceptional character and promise. l need
not go into any detail of the military his
tory of this man ! have described. At
once it was found he had unusual char
acter for the mere business of war.
Young as he was we soon found that
in business, in executive ability, young
Mckinley was man OF rare capacity. of
unusual and unsurpassed capacity for a
boy of his age. When battles were fought
or service was to be. performed in war
like things he always took his place. The
night was never too dark; the weather
was never too cold; there was no sleet
or storm, or hail. or snow. or rain that
was in the way Of his prompt and eff
cient performance of every duty.
When / became commander Of the
regiment he soon came to be upon my
staff and he remained upon my staff for
one or two years, SO that j did literally
and in fact know him like book and
love him like a brother. From that time
he naturally progressed, for his talents
and capacity could not be unknown to
the staff of the commander OF the Army
of West Virginia, George Crook. favor
lite of the army he commanded. He want
ed Mckinley and of course, II was my
duty to tell Mckinley he must leave me.
THE bloodiest day Of the war, the day
on which more men were killed or wound
ed than on any other day of the war
observe don't say than any other battle
stretching over many days, but any one
day-was the 18th of September. 1862, in
the battle of Antietam That battle began
at daylight. Before daylight men We're
in the ranks and preparing for it. With
out breakfast, without coffee, they went
into the fight and it continued until the
sun had set. Early In the afternoon. nat
urally enough with the exertion required
of the men, they were famished and
thirsty and to some extent broken in
spirit. The commissary department of
that brigade was under Sergeant McKin-
ley's administration and personal super
vision. From his hands every man in
the regiment was served with hot coffee
and warm meats, thing that had never
occurred under similar circumstances In
any other army in the world. He passed
under fire and delivered with his own
hands these things so essential for the
men for whom he was laboring.
PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT.
Coming to Ohio and recovering from
wounds, l called upon Governor Tod and
told-bim this incident. With the empha-
sis that distinguished that great war
Governor he said, Let. Mckinley be pro-
NOTED from sergeant to lieutenant and
that 1 might not forget, he requested me
to put it upon the roster of the regiment.
which / did and Mckinley was promoted.
AS was the case. perhaps, with very many
soldiers, / did not keep a diary regularly
from day to day, but ] kept notes of
what was transpiring. When | knew that
i was to come here 1t occurred to me to
open the old note book of that period and
see what it contained and / found this
entry:
Saturday, December 13. 1s62.-our new
second lieutenant Mckinley, returned to-
day-an exceedingly bright, intelligent,
and gentlemanly young officer. He prom
ises to be of the best
He has kept the promise in every sense
of the word
The Twenty-third Ohio was early in ac-
tive service. Toward the end of July.
1861. the regiment was ordered to Clarks-
" I,rfli WA