Clinton L . Riggs Clinton Levering Riggs ( September 13 , 1865 – September 12 , 1938 ) was an American businessman , government official , military officer , and lacrosse coach . He served as the Adjutant - General of the Maryland National Guard and the Secretary of Commerce and Police of the Philippine Commission from 1913 to 1915 . Riggs was also the second head coach of the lacrosse team at Johns Hopkins University . Early life and college . Riggs was born in New York City on September 13 , 1865 to merchant and manufacturer Lawrason and Mary Turpin ( née Bright ) Riggs . His family moved to Baltimore , Maryland the year after his birth in 1866 . During his childhood , he spent his summers in Narragansett Pier , Rhode Island and attended the St . Paul ' s School in Concord , New Hampshire . Riggs then attended college at Princeton University , where he played on the Princeton Tigers men ' s lacrosse team . He graduated in 1887 with a degree in civil engineering . In 1888 , he began postgraduate work at Johns Hopkins University where he also coached the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men ' s lacrosse team . Hopkins lost their first game to the Druid Hill Park Lacrosse Club ] ] , 4 – 1 , but then captured the first victory in school history against the Patterson Lacrosse Club of Baltimore , 6 – 2 . Professional career . After concluding his postgraduate studies in 1889 , he moved to Iowa to work as an engineer . Riggs then became a cattle rancher before returning to Baltimore to become a machinist apprentice with the Robert Poole & Son Company . On October 12 , 1891 , he became vice president of the Detrick & Harvey Machine Company , a position he held until his retirement on December 31 , 1920 . He served in the Fifth Regiment of the Maryland state militia , beginning as a second lieutenant of Company E on April 29 , 1890 . He was promoted to captain and took command of Company F on November 12 , 1895 . He later attained the rank of major , and was mustered for the Spanish - American War on May 14 , 1898 as part of the United States Volunteers . " The New York Times " reported that " he was in such disfavor with the then Col . Coale and most of the other officers of the regiment that he resigned as soon as the regiment was mustered out of service . " In January 1904 , Riggs was named Adjutant - General of the Maryland National Guard by Governor Edwin Warfield . The appointment was not received favorably by his fellow officers of the regiment , as " The New York Times " noted , he assumed " command of all the officers who induced " his earlier resignation . Riggs served in that position for four years . In 1913 , President Woodrow Wilson appointed General Riggs to the Philippine Commission . As Secretary of Commerce and Police , Riggs clashed with Governor General Francis Burton Harrison about who had authority over the Philippine Constabulary . In November 1914 , Harrison cabled Washington to request the dismissal of Riggs from his post on the commission . In February 1928 , while living in Catonsville , Maryland , Riggs served as chairman of the Wood Memorial Fund , which sought to raise $ 2 million to eradicate leprosy in the Philippines . Riggs did business in real estate and served as the head of the Baltimore real estate board . He was also involved in swine breeding . Personal life . On October 23 , 1894 , he married Mary Kennedy née Cromwell . Riggs was a member of the Baltimore Club , the Bachelors ' Cotillon Club , Municipal Art Society , and served as chairman of the house committee of the Baltimore Athletic Club . He enjoyed playing lawn tennis , American football , and lacrosse . Riggs was described as " a lifetime Democrat in his political conviction " , but voted against presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan because of his stance on the silver issue . Riggs died of a heart condition on September 12 , 1938 at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore , Maryland ] ] .