USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County, Volume I > Part 64
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1884, it was organized under state authority, and Capt. C. S. Mower, who had served nearly five years in the volunteer army, was commis- sioned major. He appointed Rollin B. Mallory adjutant, Henry G. Rogers quartermaster, Oscar W. Carlson surgeon, and Joseph W. Sanderson chaplain. Upon the death of Major Mower in 1885 Cap- tain Henry G. Rogers became major and made Capt. John E. Penne- feather his quartermaster, the other staff officers remaining the same. The battalion went into camp for the first time in 1885. In January, 1886, Major Rogers resigned and Capt. George P. Traeumer of Com- pany C, a veteran of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin, was made major and assumed command. Captain Mallory at that time resigned as adjutant and was succeeded by Otto H. Falk, who afterward became very prominent in the National Guard. It was Major Traeumer who cam- manded the battalion at the time it was compelled to fire upon the striking workmen in the "May riots" of 1886. The fact that many of the strikers were relatives and friends of the Poles in the old Kosci- usko Guard, which constituted part of the battalion, speaks well for the discipline of the battalion. The Light Horse Squadron and Battery A also participated in quelling the riots. Adjutant Falk succeeded Major Traeumer in command in September, 1888, and at that time Capt. H. M. Seaman became adjutant. A few months later Major Falk was promoted to a lieutenant-colonelcy and Louis Auer was commissioned major of the battalion. In 1888 the Rusk Guard was made part of the battalion and the next year the Badger State Rifles and the Chapman Guard were added. In 1892 the Bay View company was added and the battalion became a regiment. During the interim between the resig- nation of Lieutenant-Colonel Falk at the time of his appointment to be quartermaster-general, and the commission of Major Auer as lieuten- ant-colonel in July, 1892, Capt. Charles King of the regular army, re- tired, was in command. In 1893 Lieut .- Col. Albert Bleuel was com- missioned colonel and Major H. M. Seaman became lieutenant-colonel. The regiment, which was known as the Fourth of the Wisconsin National Guard, was composed of eight companies and was under the command of Col. H. M. Seaman at the outbreak of the Spanish- American war.
The agitation for the organization of a battery brought about re- sults when on May II, 1885, sixty-five young men were mustered into the service by Capt. Charles King of the United States army. The first captain of the battery was Joseph B. Oliver, who had served as lieutenant and captain in the Fifth Wisconsin during the Civil war, and W. B. Roberts was the first lieutenant. The organization, which is known as Battery A, was first quartered in the Farwell avenue
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skating rink, but in 1890 the property was sold and the battery has since occupied quarters with the Light Horse Squadron in the armory erected by the latter on Broadway.
Of the veteran soldier organizations the Grand Army of the Re- public made its first appearance in Milwaukee on July 31, 1866. Two independent organizations had been formed and from these were re- cruited Phil Sheridan Post, No. 3. which was chartered on the above date. On Sept. 16, 1875, General John Sedgwick Post, No. 12, was chartered and held its meetings at the National Home. It was disbanded within a short time after its organization and many of its members joined Veteran Post, No. 8, which is still in existence and has at the Home one of the finest post rooms in the state. Interest in Sheridan Post lagged and it died a natural death. Some of its members organized Robert Chi- vas Post, No. 2, which is still in existence. Robert Chivas was a nephew of the late Alexander Mitchell and a lieutenant in the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin who was killed at Missionary Ridge on Nov. 25, 1863. E. B. Wolcott Post, No. I, was chartered Jan. 5. 1880. and is today the largest in point of membership in the state. The post was on the point of surrendering its charter in 1881, but finally de- termined not to surrender and since then has steadily improved. The other Grand Army posts in the city are the Robert Mueller, the Rank and File, and the George C. Drake. There are Woman's Relief Corps connected with most of the Milwaukee Grand Army posts, and several Circles of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The Wisconsin Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States was organized in Milwaukee in 1873. Among the men who have held the office of commander are Col. Charles D. Robinson, Gen. C. S. Hamilton, Capt. I. M. Bean, Col. Charles A. Hamilton, Gen. Lucius Fairchild, Col. C. D. Cleveland, Capt. George W. Burnell, Capt. George I. Robinson, Maj. Charles H. Anson, Capt. Edward Furgeson, Col. J. McK. Bell, Col. Cornelius Wheeler, Lient. T. W. Haight, Capt. F. H. Magdeberg, Lieut. F. A. Anson, Capt. E. B. Parsons, and Lieut. Arthur Holbrook, Gen. F. C. Winkler, Maj. George E. Sutherland and former Gov. George W. Peck. The present commander is Lieut. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, United States army. The commandery holds eight meetings each year and has published three volumes of its war papers. It has a membership of about 200.
In 1880 was held in Milwaukee what was by far the largest re- union of soldiers held up to that time. The Grand Army had lost its prestige and its hold upon old soldiers because it had become a machine
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for furthering the business, political or social interests of some of the more ambitious members. So ineffective had the organization become that when the department encampment was held at Berlin, Wis., in January, 1879, there were but three posts represented, and the most important business that came before the meeting was the proposition as to whether the Wisconsin department should surrender its charter and become a part of the Illinois department. At the time there was organized in Berlin a Wisconsin Reunion Association, composed par- tially of Grand Army men, but a large majority were ex-soldiers who did not belong to any post. Col. Colwert K. Pier was made president of the association and Griff J. Thomas of Berlin, secretary. It was decided to hold a reunion in Milwaukee of all the Wisconsin soldiers who could be brought together, the event to occur during the week beginning June 8, 1880. In order to get in touch with the ex-soldier's all over the state the following circular was published in practically all the papers in the state, and in hundreds of papers outside of the state: "Soldiers : At a meeting of your comrades, held at Berlin, January Ist, there was organized a Wisconsin Reunion Association. Every surviving soldier or sailor who enlisted from Wisconsin and was honor- ably discharged from the United States Military or Naval service is earnestly requested to write upon a postal card, name, occupation, post-office address, letter of company or companies, number of regiment or regiments in which he served, and send it to Griff J. Thomas, sec- retary of the Wisconsin Reunion Association, Berlin, Wisconsin, who will arrange and compile a roster in alphabetical order, by company or regiment, for record and publication. Sailors will give name of boat or boats on which they served.
"Comrades ! Attend to this at once, or we shall not know whether you are dead, proud, or gone to Texas.
"C. K. PIER, President. "Fond du Lac, Wis., January 11, 1879."
Replies began to come in at once and continued to pour into the office of the secretary for a year and a half. Many of the letters con- tained war incidents, bits of biography and valuable war history. Through the efforts of Lieut .- Col. Jerome A. Watrous, United States army, Colonel Pier began a series of articles compiled from the data furnished by these replies which were printed in The Milwaukee Sun- day Telegraph until the time of the reunion. The publication of these articles laid the foundation for the agitation which brought not only the greatest soldier reunion ever held, but also was the beginning of a new growth of the Grand Army of the Republic. The reunion itself was a great success. Fully a quarter of a million people, including
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100,000 ex-soldiers. gathered in the city. All that portion of the city which is now Prospect Hill was covered with tents to house the mul- titudes and the hotels and private homes were filled to overflowing. The city raised some $40,000 for the entertainment of its guests during the week of the reunion. Many distinguished people were present. including Gen. U. S. Grant. The doubling of the city's population and the trebling of her industries within the next twelve years is often at- tributed to the impetus given by the reunion.
In 1889 was held in Milwaukee the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was on this occasion that Gen. Wil- liam T. Sherman made his last visit to the city, and reviewed the great parade of veterans. One of the attractions of the week was a naval battle planned and conducted by Capt. J. B. Oliver, captain of Battery A. The revenue cutters "Michigan" and "Andy Johnson" participated and the shore force, consisting of the National Guard of the state, ex- tended from the Northwestern depot to the government pier. Gen. Russell A. Alger was chosen commander of the Grand Army at this encampment.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
During the period immediately preceding the outbreak of hos- tilities in the Spanish-American war there was nothing of importance in military circles in Milwaukee, although the Fourth regiment, Bat- tery A, and Troop A kept up the high standard of efficiency for which they had become noted. At the opening of that struggle the war de- partment notified Gov. Edward Scofield that Wisconsin's quota under the first call for troops would be three twelve-company regiments and that the point of mobilization would be Milwaukee. On April 27. 1898, Governor Scofield, as commander-in-chief of the Wisconsin National Guard, issued the following order :
"Brigadier-General C. R. Boardman is hereby directed to proceed to Milwaukee and assume command of all troops of the Wisconsin National Guard that have been ordered to rendezvous there to be intis- tered into the volunteer army of the United States. He will establish headquarters on the State Fair grounds, where the troops are to be quartered.
"In honor of the late Governor Louis P. Harvey, the post will be known as Camp Harvey."
The First regiment of the National Guard consisted of but eight companies at the time of the call, and as it had been agreed at Washing- ton that the National Guard of the several states should have the pref- erence in enlisting, four companies of the Fourth regiment, A. B, C
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and F, taken in point of seniority, were added to the First to fill its quota. All of the Milwaukee companies had offered their services, as had the Battery and Troop A. The Milwaukee troops marched to Camp Harvey on April 28 and there joined the other companies of the regiment. As soon as the work of the medical examiners was finished the troops at the camp were mustered into the United States service. the First regiment receiving its discharge from the state on May 14 and joining the volunteer forces of the United States the same day. The mustering officers were Capt. W. L. Buck of the Thirteenth United States infantry and Lieut. F. M. Caldwell of the regular artillery. On May 20 the First left Camp Harvey, the Second and Third having pre- ceded it some days before, and on the 23d arrived at Jacksonville, Fla. There it was assigned to the Second division of the Seventh Army corps. The First remained in camp at Jacksonville until Sept. 6, and then returned to Milwaukee, where it arrived on Sept. 10. The outside companies were at once dispatched to their home stations, and all were mustered out of the United States service on Oct. 18. One memorable event of the Jacksonville encampment was the review of the regiment by Gen. Fitzhugh Lee on June 6.
On June 18 the war department notified Governor Scofield that Wisconsin's quota under the second call of the President issued on May 25 would be one twelve-company regiment of infantry and a bat- tery of light artillery. The four Milwaukee companies were the only regular infantry companies left in the state by the first call, and the authorities determined to apportion the other eight companies accord- ing to state senatorial districts and the size of the cities where they were enlisted. The companies came from Waukesha, Stoughton. Platteville, Merrill, Stevens Point, Green Bay and Viroqua. On June 29 the volunteer companies gathered at Camp Douglas, the state mili- tary reservation, and were later joined by the four Milwaukee com- panics and the Battery. The mustering in was in charge of the same officers, Captain Buck and Lieutenant Caldwell, who had performed the service for the other three regiments. Battery A went into the United States service on July 9 one hundred and nine strong and two days later the Fourth regiment of the Wisconsin National Guard be- came the Fourth Wisconsin Volunteer infantry. On Sept. 14 the Fourth left Camp Douglas and procceded to Anniston, Ala., where it remained until mustered out on Feb. 28, 1899. Battery A was mustered out at Milwaukee on Oct. 8, 1898, not having been called out of the state. It will be seen that Troop A-the Light Horse Squadron-of Milwaukee, was the only regular National Guard organization that did not become part of the United States volunteer army for the war with
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Spain. No Milwaukee troops participated in any engagement of the short struggle and the only casualties occurring among the enlisted men were due to disease.
Some of the Milwaukee troops were called into requisition by the state in 1898 prior to their enlisting for the war. On June 23 labor troubles resulted in a riot at Oshkosh and the mob threatened to de- stroy a number of the factories in that city. Adjt .- Gen. C. R. Board- man was sent to Oshkosh by the governor and upon his recommenda- tion the commander-in-chief ordered Col. H. M. Seaman, of Milwau- kee, with the four companies. D. E, G and H. of the Fourth, Battery A. and Troop A to proceed to the city and protect property. The pres- ence of the soldiers had the desired effect, no violence being done after their arrival. When the matter was finally settled the infantry and the battery embarked for Camp Douglas and the squadron returned to Milwaukee. The effect of this Oshkosh trouble was to show the au- thorities the necessity of keeping an armed force within the state. Or- ders were issued organizing another regiment to be known as the Fifth infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, two of the companies. C and G, being located in Milwaukee.
Immediately after the return of the Wisconsin volunteers Brig .- Gen. C. R. Boardman set about re-organizing the National Guard of the state. To each of the old guard companies was sent the following letter :
"By direction of the Governor I have the honor to inform you that all organizations, formerly members of the Wisconsin National Guard and which volunteered and were mustered into the United States service for the war with Spain, will, if the members so desire, be taken back into the Guard as soon as they are mustered out of the service of the United States. Each company will be given its old letter and will be assigned, so far as possible, to the regiment to which it formerly belonged. The commissions of officers will be dated so as to make the term of service continuous and all enlisted men, who were former members of the guard and who were accepted as volunteers, will be permitted to enlist for one year. All others must enlist for three years."
Three of the companies of the old Fourth regiment of the Guard, which had gone to the front with the First Wisconsin volunteers, namely A, F, and B. took advantage of the offer and were mustered into the state service as Companies A. F. and K of the First regiment of the Wisconsin National Guard. Chapter 200 of the laws of 1899 pro- vided for the organization of three twelve company regiments and a separate battalion of infantry, a light battery and a squadron of cav-
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alry. To take the place Company C of the old Fourth regiment of the Guard had had in the First Wisconsin volunteers, Company E of the Fourth Wisconsin volunteers was selected and became Company I by General Order No. 4. issued June 10. 1899. Subsequently by a special order the company letter was again made E. To fill the quota of the First one of the Milwaukee companies in the recently organized Fifth was taken and made Company D of the regiment. Battery A was re- organized on Oct. 18. 1898. Otto H. Falk, of Milwaukee, was made colonel of the First regiment and resigned Jan. 2, 1906, being suc- ceeded by Col. George H. Joachim, of Madison. The regimental officers from Milwaukee are Majors Oliver E. Lewis and Peter Piasecki ; quartermaster with the rank of captain, Capt. Paul G. Hirtz ; chaplain with the rank of captain, Herbert H. Jacobs ; battalion adjutant with the rank of first lieutenant, Otto W. Geyer : and battalion quartermaster and commissary with the rank of second lieutenant, Paul Ahnert. Be- side the five companies of infantry Milwaukee has Battery A and Troop A, the only artillery and cavalry companies in the state.
In his biennial report to the governor, dated Sept. 30, 1898, Adjt .- Gen. C. R. Boardman said of Troop A :
"In 1896 this body was reported as 'struggling for existence.' It has won the struggle and is now in a prosperous condition. The re- sult is due to the intelligent and energetic work of Captain W. J. Grant, who has spent a large portion of his time and made many sac- rifices in behalf of the organization he so ably commands. Since Janu- ary, 1897. Troop 'A.' First Cavalry, Wisconsin National Guard, has had an average active membership of sixty-two. Beside maintaining its old quarters in the Light Horse Squadron Armory in Milwaukee it has established a military camp in the suburbs of the city by enclosing a plat of six acres of land and building thereon complete. commodious stables for sixty horses, barracks for the men and cottage for the guards. It has purchased forty-five horses and two mules for the ex- clusive use of the troop under the same conditions that govern the purchase and maintenance of animals in the United States army. This so far as known is the only troop of the National Guard in this country to own its own troop horses and use them for nothing but cavalry ser- vice."
Although no one of the four companies comprising the Tenth Separate battalion of the Wisconsin National Guard is located in Mil- waukee, the commander of that organization, Major John J. Lynch. is a resident of the city and is well-known in its military circles.
Directly after the return of the volunteers of the Spanish-Ameri- can war the men began to form themselves into various local or regi-
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mental organizations, the general object being to perpetuate the asso- ciation of the camp and field, and also to inculcate a general spirit of patriotism. Not long afterward these societies were merged into a na- tional organization known as the Spanish-American War Veterans, which was formed in Trenton. N. J., Dec. 14, 1899. The department of Wisconsin has twenty-four camps, three of which, Hugh J. McGrath Camp No. 4. Capt. Allyn Capron Camp, and Richard J. Dawson Camp No. 5. are located in Milwaukee. The first named camp maintains a ladies' auxiliary.
The war with Spain and the later conflicts with the Philippine in- surgents and the Chinese "Boxers" have given rise to a number of military societies differing but little in their purpose. Among these the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States ranks fore- most. The members derive their right of membership from personai service in the war with Mexico, the war with Spain, with the Filipinos, the Boxers, or else by inheritance from ancestors who fought with Eng- land. France or the Algerians in the earlier days of the nation. Mil- waukee is the home of five of the officers of the Wisconsin command- ery, namely Lieut .- Col. J. A. Watrous, U. S. A., commander : Maj. B. H. Dally. U. S. V., vice-commander : Gen. Charles King, U. S. V .. vice general commander : Lieut. Fred P. Cook. U. S. V .. secretary ; Lieut. Clarence Christianson. U. S. V., treasurer. Previous command- ers are Brig .- Gen. Charles King and Col. H. M. Seaman.
There is also in Milwaukee a camp of the organization of the Sons of Veterans, known as the C. K. Pier Camp No. I. Milwaukee has also an auxiliary known as the Woman's Auxiliary No. 4 of the same general organization.
Beside these national veteran societies there are in the city a num- ber of local veteran organizations. These are the Deutscher Krieger- bund. the Deutscher Kriegerverein, the Deutscher Landwehrmaenner Verein, the Deutscher Militaerverein, the Minute Men of '61. the Twenty-fourth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers Association. the Twenty-sixth Regiment Association, the Veteranen Verband, the Vet- erans' Women Society, and the Deutscher Landwehr Frauenverein.
Milwaukee has contributed many of the most prominent men of the volunteer and regular army forces and the navy service of the United States, and has been the home of many others. Of these may be prominently mentioned Maj .- Gen. L. Cutler. Maj .- Gen. Rufus King and his on, Brig .- Gen. Charles King, Lieut .- Gen. Arthur MacArthur. Rear Admiral James Kelsey Cogswell. Brig .- Gen. F. C. Winkler, Brig .- Gen. W. T. Duggan, Brig .- Gen. F. C. Powell. Brig .- Gen. Henry A. Reed, Brig .- Gen. J. C. Starkweather, Brig .- Gen. Harrison C. Hobart.
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Col. Halbert E. Paine. Maj .- Gen. Charles S. Hamilton. Lieut .- Col. J. .1. Watrous. Col. Geo. B. Goodwin. Lieut .- Col. O. H. Falk. and Gov. Cornelius Wheeler of the Soldiers' Home. Gen. Rufus King has been mentioned more extensively on page 97; Brig .- Gen. H. C. Hobart on page 170: Col. Halbert E. Paine on page 143: BrigadierGeneral Starkweather and Major-General Cutler in this chapter and Brigadier- General Winkler and Colonel Falk in the second volume of this work.
Lieut .- Gen. Arthur MacArthur was born at Springfield. Mass .. June 2. 1845. and received his education in the public schools and under the preceptorship of private tutors in Milwaukee. He became a soldier in the War of the Rebellion as adjutant of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin Volunteer infantry. On Aug. 4. 1862. he was a commissioned lieuten- ant and on Jan. 25, 1864. was made a major. On June 10, 1865, he re- ceivedl an honorable discharge from the United States volunteer ser- vice. having meantime risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. On Feb. 23. 1866. he was commissioned first lieutenant in the Seventeenth United States infantry, and in September of the same year was trans- ferred to the Twenty-sixth infantry. Later he received a com- mission as captain and as such commanded companies in the Thirty- sixth and Thirteenth infantry regiments. On May 26, 1886, he was made assistant adjutant general with the rank of major. and at the outbreak of hostilities of the Spanish-American war was made a brigadier-general of volunteers, receiving his commission as such on May 27. 1898. On Aug. 13. 1898. he was promoted to major-general of volunteers and on Jan. 2. 1900. received a commission as brigadier-general of the regular army. He was commissioned major-general on Feb. 2. 1901. and lieutenant- general on Sept. 15. 1906. Before entering the United States army he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for gallantry in the ac- tions at Perryville, Stone's River. Missionary Ridge and Dan- dridge and made colonel by brevet for bravery in the battle of Frank- lin and the Atlanta campaign. On June 30. 1890. he was awarded a medal of honor for seizing the colors of his regiment and planting them on Missionary Ridge on Nov. 25. 1863. He was wounded in the battles of Kenesaw Mountain and Franklin. During the Spanish- American war he commanded the First brigade. independent division, of the Eighth Army Corps in the advance on Manila in July and Au- gust. and in the battle of Manila on Aug. 13 he commanded the divi- sion. Since the close of that war General MacArthur has held various department commands, having for nearly two years been in chief com- mand of 60.000 men in the Philippines. Milwaukee has been his sta- tion for more than a year. and when he retires in 1909. this will be- come his home, as it was when his career began in 1862.
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Rear Admiral James Kelsey Cogswell was born in Milwaukee on Sept. 27. 1847, and was graduated at the Annapolis Naval Academy in the class of 1868. His first service in the navy was as midshipman on the U. S. S. Powhatan in 1869 and in ISTO-1871 he was ensign on the Saginaw. He was master on the Saranac and the Pensacola and after his promotions to lieutenant and lieutenant-commander served on the Ticonderoga. the Essex. the Kearsarge. the Tallapoosa and the Marion. He did shore duty at Torpedo Station, Newport. the hydro- graphic office in Washington and the Portsmouth navy yard. He was the executive officer of the battleship Oregon when that vessel made her famous trip around Cape Horn during the Spanish-American war. For this service and gallantry in the battle of Santiago he was ad- vanced five numbers. In 1904 he was retired with the rank of rear admiral. His death occurred at Jacksonville, Fla .. on Aug. 14. 1008.
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