Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-02-17
FOUR PRIVATES BECAME
LIEUTENANT GENERALS

! =
the United States army Tomorrow he
will be a lieutenant general on the retired
| list
/ Today, John G. Bates is a ma jor gen
era; tomorrow he will be lieutenate gen
cral, at the head of the United States
army. He will retire next April and Maj
! Gen. Henry G. Corbin will become licuten-
ant general. the following September
! Gen. Corbin will be placed ON the retired
/ list and Mai 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 combination of eNcellencies. 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
chiettains as they were forty-fye years
ago
Adna r. ChatTee was 10 years of age.
u farmer hoy, when Lincoln's first call for
soldiers was made. He sought to enlist
in a volunteer company. but failed At
/ the next call he tried again. and failed
! but failure did not discourage him. In
( July. 1861, he left the Ohio farm went to
Pittsburg. enlisted as a 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. lie 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 years
after the war lie was a captain and re-
manned such tWenty-one years. during
which time he was in the more important
Indian campaigns. In IS he was "A major.
in 81 lieutenant colonel, and in Nav, 80
colonel In the Spanish-American war he
was Il brigadier general and later a major
general of volunteers, and upon the re-
organization of the army in 1901 he be
came a major general OF the regular
army; and January ., 1904, this farmer
lad OF 1861 was lieutenant general and
the chief officer of the army in which lie
/ began as a private in the rear rank His
services in China. in 1900, conferred last
ing honor upon his country General
| Chaffee will become resident of south
crn California, and with him will 90 the
best wishes of every man in the United
States army and all who have known him
tue past forty five years. The army has
had no better soldier.
The new lieutenant general. John c.
Bates. received his first commission that
| of first lieutenant, i'll 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 c. Meade's staff from 1868 to the
end of the war, and has fought in various
Indian campaigns. He led a brigade in
Cuba, commanded a department in the
| Philippines. division III the United
States, and tomorrow will be the high
est officer in the army on the active list.
Gen Bates is Il native of Missouri
Forty-tour years ago Henry G. Corbin,
an Ohio farmer boy, enlisted and three
years later was a breyet 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
ta1y power at Washington, being adiu-
tant general In 1904 he went to the
Philippines. He viii soon return to take
command OF the northern division with
headquarters at st. Louis.
Milwaukee schoolboy of l6 made sew
cral efforts to get into the volunteer army
in 1861. but failed. In 1862 he was ad-
jutant 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 4 second lieutenant,
Next September he viii receive the high
est commission that the President can
give 10 Il soldier Such. in brief, is the
military record of Maj.-Gen. Arthur Mac
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 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 un.
questioned devotion to duty, and their
having taken advantage of every oppor.
tunity 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
the land The Evening Wisconsin