Evening star., 1909-06-05
Monument TO MAJOR ROGERS
HERO OF EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN
RESTS IN ARLINGTON.
Record Of His Detail in Levant Bar
red by War Department From
His Tombstone.

A monument recently erected at Ar
lington is that over the grave Of the late
Maj. Robert Morris Rogers, I'd United
States Artillery. one time colonel OF the
general staff OF the Egyptian army.
This memorial Is the tHibute of relatives
and friends in the army and navy and in
civil life. Made Of pinkish gray granite
from the Mohegan quarry at Peekshll.
the huge. oblong block, roughly hewn, is
rugged. simple. strong. as soldiers mon
ument should be.
On it's face is a polished tablet, bearing
the inscriptions:
Robert Morris Rogers 1s43-19O6 Pri-
vate. Sd W, Va. Cav, 1861 1-62. Lieut. 5th
w. Va. Inf. and 73d Ohio Inf. 1925.
Graduate U. S. NIL. Academy. 1857. Lieut.
and Capt. 22d u. s. Arty, 1S67-1a01. Ma
jor U. s. Army. 1901. On Gen. Howard's
Staff Battle Of Gettysburg. A Good Sol
dler- A Devoted Friend. A Man of
Honor
Situation Of Monument.
At the base of the monument In large
lettering is the name Rogers"
This tribute is placed under the great
oaks, not far from the mansion and ad-
joining the plot of the Stevens family.
where the late Admiral Holdup Stevens
and his father, Commodore Holdup Ste
vens. who was one of Perry's captains
at Lake Erie and died in command of
the Washington navy yard, are buried.
The son and grandson of these diStin-
guished officers Admiral Thomas Holdup
Stevens, the third to bear the name. and
Gen. Blk. Roberts, were the inspirers OF
the project to build a memorial to the
brave soldier who was their lifelong
friend.
The record of Maj. Rogers life was a
gallant one. as the succinct summary on
the monument shows. One of its most
interesting episodes. however. his service
in the Egyptian army. of which he was
pardonahly proud. is not mentioned there.
The War Department must pass on
every inscription on every monument at
Arlington. That department has always
ignored the special service on which, to-
gether with a number of other officers,
among them Col. Chaile-Long. who sub
sequently became Chinese Gordon's chief
of staff. and Col. James S. Morgan were
detailed.
The Egyptian Mission.
The brief story of the mission Of these
officers in Egypt begins with the recon-
mendation of Gen. Sherman, then COM
mander-in-chief of the United States
Army. that a number Of officers. federals
and confederates, classmates and COM
in Egypt. He detached eight or nine
lieutenants then in service, including
Lieut. Rogers. according to each a years
leave of absence.
The secret object of this detail was to
break the Turkish yoke in Egypt and to
convert that country into an empire. with
urkey and Central Africa as vassals un-
der 1smail Khedive, imperator. The OBJ
Ject of this mission was defeated in 1871.
The American officers. who had been
Ecyyy, bnr yo1
in scientific work. They made surveys
at Assouan. which resulted in the recent
construction of the Assouan DAM They
constructed the first disappearing coun-
terpoise battery at Alexandria for coast
defense. They pushed the frontier of
Egypt south TO the equator. One Of the
officers won fNnown by the final solution
of the NiIe source
The work Of few of these men on
that historic July II, 1882, when the Eng
lish fleet. in the interest Of the khedive,
and to defeat the uprising of Arab Pasha.
bombarded the Alexandria forts for over
ten hours. is still remembered.
Terrified by the bombardment. the
agents of the United States deserted the
consulate and fled from the city. There
upon the American officers there present
took command of the consulate and. aided
by the sailors and marines, under the
and Lieut.. Commander Hutchins. helped
save the city of Alexandria from destruc-
ton. Several hundred persons, including
the khedive and his family, were saved
from massacre.
No Record Of Service.
Yet there is no official record Of this
romantic story, no tablet either in Egypt
or America to commemorate the deeds of
this little band Of American officers, who.
in a foreign service, added to the glory
of their country and contributed to the
progress of civilization.
The history of this mission. indeed, is
almost forgotten. The recent revolution
modern government, which these officers
hoped to bring about more than thirty
years ago. has inspired no mention of 1t.
One Of the officers. who served with
Maj. Rogers in Egypt. commenting on the
absence from his tombstone of any men,
tion of his experience in that country,
said:
"The achievements Of this mission re-
fiected credit upon the American army
and navy and American name in America.
Europe and in Egypt. Foreign govern
ments would have been honored by such
achievements, and far from quibbling over
their presence in a foreign army, where
they were gaining experience would have
accorded their officers triumphs if need
be and after their names they would have
written. '"Aux Grands" Hommes la ma
ton reconnaissance" In lieu thereof our
War Department writes, mo record
cH0(I1ncc nc DAMN 0cccOcn