The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-06-07
GEN. BRUSH RETIRED.
Was Last Civil War General to
Leave Active List.
FACTS ABOUT RETIRED ROLLS
Contain Names Of Four Lieutenant
Generals, Nelson A. Miles Being
the Ranking 0tficer-Adna r.
Chaffee's COURAGE.
~ GEORGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington.-Today there are on
the active list of the regular army
only three officers who saw serv.
ice in the Civil war. Brig. Gen. Daniel
H. Brush has retired within day or
two and with his retirement the last
general oficer Of the army who saw
Civil war duty passed from tho scene
Of field duty.
There always has been a dispute a.
to whether Maj. Gen. Frederick Dent
Grant, who died few weeks ago, had
q right to be considered q veteran OF
the Civil war. Grant was under f1re
IN the sixties. but it has been held
that he obtained that distinction only
because Of his somewhat adventurous
boy spirit which led him to wander
away from his fathers headquarters
to be made the target for some SCAT
terinS shots of the enemy. The
younger Grant was not sworn into the
service during the Civil war.
-Four lieutenant generals are car
ried on the retired rolls OF tho United
States army. The ranking officer
whose name appears there is Nelson
A. Miles. One year ago General Miles,
II years old, was thrown from his
horse while riding on the Potomac
driveway. He was badly hurt and for
time fear was entertained that be
might not recover, but today he is up
and about, and apparently is fit for
another campaign, II such were neces-
sary. against either the Sioux, the
Nez Peroes, the Arapahoes, the Kio-
was, the Pawnees, the 0heyennes,
the Blackfeet or the Apaches, for with
the braves OF every one of these tribes
the general has measured cunning and
strength.
chafiee's Bravery at Santiago.
Adna r. Chaffee is a lieutenant
general on tho retired list, ranking be-
tween Generals 8. B. M. Young and
John G. Bates. His civilian garb can
not hide the soldier figure, and If the
evidence Of form were not there, Chat
fees face would show that most OF
his life had been spent In the open,
and moreover in position OF COM
mand.
When no was 4 colonel Chaffee was
in command at one part of the field in
front Of Santiago where the bullets
were flying thick enough to make the
situation uncomfortable. Captain Lee,
q British army officer who had been
sent to Cuba to watch the operations
Of tho war, and who OF course was
noncombatant, wrote a story about
the tight In which he said that moth
Ing was more magnificent than the
courage Of Col. A. R. Chatfee on that
occasion. Everybody under orders ex-
cept Chaffee took such cover as could
be obtained. The colonel turned to
Captain Lee, who seemed reluctant to
consider that seeking cover was the
proper thing, and said: you had
better get something in front of you.
There Is no use being killed at this
stage of the game" Lee took to cover,
but in telling the story he added:
II noticed that Chaffee refused to fol-
low his own advice"
There are many major generals on
the unlimited retired list of the army.
The name of Daniel E. Sickles leads
all the rest. Within a short time
the two officers who were next to
him in rank for years have died.
They were Major Generals Oliver O.
Howard and Wesley Merritt. General
Sickles not only heads the list in rank.
but he Is the oldest Of the retired
major generals. He was born Octo-
Der 20. 1925.
ChapIaIns on Retired List.
There are twenty-one chaplains on
tho retired list Of the army, and OF
these five were retired because OF dis.
ability received in line OF duty. Sew
eral Of the retired army clergymen en-.
tered as privates OF volunteers and
after being mustered out at the close
OF the Civil war entered divinity
schools, graduated, were ordained and
then felt the call to enter the service
In capacity somewhat different from
that in which they had previously
served
Colonel Stephen G.. Dodd, Francis
H. Weaver, Delmar r. Lowell, John
II. Macomber and Orv1lle ]. Nave on.
tered army life as privates OF volun-
teers and later were given appoint
ments as chaplains in regiments OF
the regular establishment.
It should not be- assumed hastily
that, because the active list of the
army shows the presence Of the names
OF few soldiers of Civil war service,
there are not many veterans still con-
nected with the army who could un-
der proper provocat1on give a good
account of themselves in the field, Ger.
tainly in directing capacity. There
are scores of fine old soldiers, retired
by the exigency of age, or OF dis
ability which by this time may have
disappeared, whose names still appear
In the army lists and whose appear
ance justifies the statement that they
would not be averse once more to
sleeping under canvas and to taking
to the saddle.
There are two retired lists known