The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-01-13
MAJOR 4. S. ROWAN
QUITS THE ARMY
Made Famous as the Man Who
Carried the Message to
Garcia"
From Phuadelphia North American.

From Philadelphia North American.
When Major Andrew Summers Row.
an, OF the Fifteenth regiment OF infan-
try, retired recently. one of the bravest
and most capable officers who ever
Wore soldier straps heard taps sound
ed on his military career.
The major first burst into fame as
the man who carried the message to
Garcia shortly before h opening Of
the Spanish war in 1898. For that
heroic feat he became the idol OF the
army. and has since been held up to the
younger generation in every walk Of
life az a glowing example Of the man
who knew nov to obey orders.
Ebert Hubbard. the sage OF East
Aurora, N. Y, annexed fame for both
the major and himself by making the
exploit the subject of a sermon in PAM
! phlet form. which circulated through
and became a household story.
After his meteoric debut the modest
major returned to his regiment and
continued to fulfill his duties as IL
nothing had happened. He bore his
honors easily, for any talk about his
While fighting in the Spanish war
and later against the wild tribesmen Of
the Philippines, the major won further
distinction. Lately he has been resting
quietly with his regiment at Fort
Douglas. Utah, but finding such mac
service.
He could fight, and enjoyed it. But
he couldn't idle away his time with
pleasure. Wasn't he the mar to carry
the message to Garcia?
Major Rowan was graduated from
i tho hTf1ftov Hy ona1npayp ok NIy4rk p@i~k u.
1881, with the rank Of second lieuten-
ant in the Nineteenth infantry. He set
quietly about learning the duties of his
position, and in the course Of time
moved up to the first lieutenancy. But
no one ever heard Of him until war was
declared against Spain. Then came his
great opportunity, n he made good.
It was this a The first move Of
the war department was. naturally. to
get in touch with the Cuban army.
learn from them the exact state of at
fairs on the island. and arrange for
States forces after they should effect a
landing.
It was a delicate task, and one that
could be accomplished only by q single
man. with a quick. resourceful brain
and unflinching nerve. General Miles
work. and, as later events proved, he
picked the right man.
At the war department the lieutenant
was given a sealed message directed to
General Calixto Garcia, the head Of the
Cuban insurgents, and the object Of
his mission was carefully explained to
him. So far, so good; but nobody knew
whore Garcia was. except his men and
himself. That made no difference to
Lieutenant Rowan.
He sailed for Kingston early in April.
1895. and OF the ,23d, after q long wait,
tkrlI0foh h3mHoYR m a hovN ~ ~,u-
looking men entirely unknown to him.
Crossing Jamaica in q day and a night,
the lieutenant was hidden ON q sailboat
In .Q6arge OF other guides. Cuba was
100 miles to the north, and the entire
seast Mss being carefully patrolled by
succeeded in running the gauntlet safe
', ~. Once on the Cuban shore, Rowan,
In the care Of relays Of guides. who
seemed to spring from nowhere, set out
on foo through q wild. trackless coun-
try, infested a, With Spanish rifles at
brought him to his destination. In six
hours he had fulfilled his mission to
Garcia, had shaken hands with that
willy leader and was off again, this
time toward the northern shore. All
the time Rowan lived on baked sweet
potatoes and had to keep to the under
brush. for had he fallen in with any
Spanish troops. bearing such dis
patches as he did. the whole party
would have died the ignominious death
Of the spy. The last stage of the jour-
ney was made in a rowboat. Finally.
after narrowly escaping drowning in a
stormy sea, Rowan arrived at Key
West, where the secretary Of war and
General Miles %anxiously awaited him.
At the hotel Rowan made his report
and received the hearty praise Of his
The ~lieutenant's reputation was
made. The astute Elbert Hubbard took
up his pen, and elucidated for his coun-
trymen the valuable lesson to be gained
from Rowan's unquesttoning obedience
and declared that the greatest need of
the times Is young men Of that stamp.
when you are told to do a thing,
don't stand and ask foolish questions,
but go n do It; carry the message
to Garcia" he said. Millions Of copies
of this little sermon were distributed.
country took It up. and soon Hubbard
became as well known in connection
with the feat as Rowan himself.
Wouldn't Pose a. . Hero.
During the rest Of the Spanish war
Rowan acquitted himself nobly as lieu
tenant-colonel Of the Sixth United
States Volunteer infantry. Others
might think him q hero, but he had
done nothing but what he was ordered,
n there WA plenty more 20 De done.
he told his admirers.
After the short but decisive clash
with Spain, Rowan. nov a captain, con-
tinued to reap laurels with the Eight
eenth infantry in the Philippines. For
a while he was under q cloud for hav-
inG burned . native village, but an I'm
vestigation proved that, as usual, he
had done nothing but his duty. II
turned out that 9 native spy had en-
tered the camp Of the regulars to MUIR
der the captain. thinking that, once
theft leader was out Of the way, the
troops would be thrown into such dis
order that q band Of insurgents nearby
could make short work Of them; How
take, and when the Insurgents ad-
syancsd they got q arm reception
About so Of the enemy were killed. q
dozen, including the spy were cap
turnd. and their town was burned tc
ashes.5 Il goes without saying that
ICaptain Rowan wa duly ~exonerated