Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1906-02-14
FOUR PRIVATES BECAME
LIEUTENANT GENERALS

BY Lieut-Col. ]. A. Watrous, Z. S. Army.
Today, Adna R. Chaffee IS lieutenant
general. on the active list, at the head of
the United States army. Tomorrow he
will be a lieutenant general on the retired
list
Today, John c.: Bates is ma jor gen
era: tomorrow he will be lieutenantt gen
eral, at the head of the United States
army. He will retire next April and Maj.
Gen. Henry C. Corbin viii become ieuten
ant general. the following september
Gen. COrbin will be placed on the retired
list and Ma .-Gen. Arthur Macarthur will
become lieutenant general
Americans who do not know that lieu
tenant general and head of the United
States army is an exalted station, and
requires Il combination of eXcellencies, are
behind the age.
At this time, when one famous general
is going to the retired list and another
eminent general succeeds him, it will be
found interesting to look at four military
chieftains as they We're forty five years
ago.
Adna r. Chaffee was 10 years of age,
4 farmer boy, when Lincoln's first call for
soldiers was made He sought to enlist
III Il volunteer company, but failed. At
the next call he tried again, and failed.
but failure did not discourage him. In
July, 1861 ne left the Ohio farm. went to
Pittsburg enlisted as private and was
assigned to the Sixth cavalry He was so
we'll pleased with the profession that he
decided to adopt it for life He held the
various non commissioned positions in his
troop for two years when he was com
missioned second lieutenant. He was dis
tinguished for his dauntless courage in all
of the cavalry engagements in the Army
of the Potomac when not in the hospital
recovering from wounds. Two wears
after the war he was a captain and re-
manned such tWentyone years. during
which time he was In the more important
Indian campaigns. In 'SS he was a major
in '91 lieutenant colonel, and in May, 80.
colonel. In the Spanish-American war he
was a brigadier general and later major
general of volunteers, and upon the re-
organization Of the army in 1901 he be-
came Il majO general of the regular
army: and January 9, 1904, this farmer
lad Of 1861 was lieutenant general and
the chief officer of the army in which he
began as a private in the rear rank. His
| ing honor upon his country General
Chaffee will become a resident of south
ern California, and with him will 90 the
best wishes of every man in the United
States army and all who have known him
the past forty-fve years. The army has
had no better soldier
The new lieutenant general, John c..
Bates, received his first commission, that
of first lieutenant, in May, 1861, from
President Abraham Lincoln. No one had
recommended him, though his father was
the attorney general in Mr. Lincoln's cab
met. The President liked the appearance
OF the handsome, tall youngster of Is,
recently from Washington university, and
sent his name to the Senate. From that
time to this there has not been a more
faithful, painstaking, worthy soldier in
the American army. He served on Gen.
George G. Meade's staff from 1863 to the
end of the war, and has fought in various
Indian campaigns. He led a brigade in
Cuba, commanded q department in the
Philippines. a division in the United
States, and tomorrow will be the high
est officer in the army on the active list
Gen. Bates is a native of Missouri.
Forty four years ago Henry c. Corbin,
an Ohio farmer boy, enlisted and three
years later was a brevet brigadier GER
eral, starting as a second lieutenant in
the regular army in 1866, receiving all of
the ranks up to, and including major
general, by June, 1900. During the Span
ish- American war he was the great mill
tary power at Washington, being adju-
tant general. In 1904 he went to the
Philippines. He will soon return to take
command of the northern division with
headquarters at st. Louis.
A Milwaukee schoolboy of 16 made sew
eral efforts to get into the volunteer army
in 1861. but failed. In 1862 he was adj
iutant of a Wisconsin regiment Less
than three years after that he returned
to the state in command of that regi-
ment and the following year entered the
regular army as second lieutenant
Next September he will receive the high
est commission that the President can
give to a soldier. Such, in brief, is the
military record of Mai Gen. Arthur Mae
Arthur, who has served faithfully and
with marked distinction. Like Gems.
Chaffee and Corbin, Gen. Macarthur has
served at the head of the army in the
Philippines. His latest service was as
the army's representative with the Japa-
nese army. He is now on a tour of OBJ
servation in India, but will return in
time to assume the duties of chief of
staff in April, and will become lieutenant
general next September.
These four boys of 1861, now with
more than national reputation, gave no
more promise of future greatness and sue
cess than almost any four young men of
the present day are promising
The secret of their success is their nm
questioned devotion to duty, and their
having taken advantage of every oppor-
tumty to the more thoroughly fit them
selves for the high offices that have been
bestowed upon them. Their success may
Well prove an inspiration to the youth of