Background
Russell Alexander Alger was born on February 27, 1836 in Lafayette, Ohio, United States. He was the son of Russell and Caroline (Moulton) Alger.
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(Published under the direction of The Hon. Russell A. Alge...)
Published under the direction of The Hon. Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War, by Brig. Gen. Fred C. Ainsworth, Chief of the Record and Pension Office, War Department, and Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley. Series III of book. Government Printing Office: 1899. Consists of Civil War correspondence, orders, reports, and returns not included in Series I and II for the Union authorities.
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(Excerpt from Eulogy on the Late General Philip H. Sherida...)
Excerpt from Eulogy on the Late General Philip H. Sheridan: Delivered at the Reunion of the Army of the Cumberland, Chicago, September 19, 1888 Unlike the wars of Europe, which would have ended at farthest with Gettysburg and Vicksburg, these reverses to the South seemed only to increase its fury, which was met as promptly and with equal courage and determination by the loyal North. Eighteen hundred and sixty-one had passed with its varied successes and failures for the Union army. In Virginia we had met with disasters, while in the West, though not always successful, we had won Don elson and Shiloh. Still rebellion was running at an increasing tide, and the spring of 1862 found both armies facing each other, and both being rapidly strengthened by enlistments, while our navy was being augmented as rapidly as possible. The call for men for the ranks was being nobly responded to by the loyal North, but the great cry was for men to command them. General Grant had shown great capabilities, but even he, unjustly we all believe, was under a tempo rary shadow, while Sherman was but a Division Com mander. There was never a time when fighting and skilled officers were more needed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Russell Alexander Alger was born on February 27, 1836 in Lafayette, Ohio, United States. He was the son of Russell and Caroline (Moulton) Alger.
Alger attended Richfield Academy in Summit County, Ohio, studied law in Akron, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in March 1859.
In 1859 Alger became a lawyer in Ohio, but he removed in that year to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in search of an outdoor life. Here he laid the foundation of his large fortune in lumber.
He entered the Civil War as a private soldier, was wounded several times, and was in the autumn of 1864 commanding his regiment with rank of colonel in the Virginia Valley campaign under Sheridan. He was later able out of ample means and a generous heart to assist Sheridan with a gift of $10, 000. Apparently inconsistent with this friendship was a discovery which Charles A. Dana of the Sun flaunted against Alger to block the latter's aspirations for the presidency in 1892. Dana alleged that, with the approval of Sheridan, Alger had been recommended for dismissal from the army. Alger had indeed been discharged, upon resignation, September 20, 1864; and he had subsequently been given brevet rank, for gallantry, as brigadier-general and then as major-general of volunteers. The dismissal papers, however, included the original charge of absence without leave made by General Custer, endorsed in succession by Merritt, Torbert, Sheridan, and the adjutant-general of the army. Alger's story was one of sickness in August 1864, hospitalization at Annapolis, assignment to court-martial duty in Washington, and honorable discharge upon his own request. The two stories were never adequately reconciled; but upon the eve of Alger's selection for a place in McKinley's cabinet they were studied by Senator J. C. Burrows of Michigan, who guaranteed that Alger's military record would pass muster. Dana himself seems to have become satisfied that his exposé was without validity.
After the Civil War, Alger settled in Detroit, where his fortune and his personal popularity grew to large dimensions. He defeated "Uncle Josiah" W. Begole, when the latter with fusion endorsement ran for reelection as governor of Michigan in 1884.
He returned to business after a single term, was a "favorite son" in the Republican nominating convention of 1888, and received from his comrades of the war their highest honor in the command of the Grand Army of the Republic, in 1889. Alger was secretary of war from March 1897 until July 1899 when he resigned at the request of President McKinley. The responsibility for the army and for the War Department as he found them rests squarely upon the people of the United States, indifferent in this period to both military preparation and efficiency of administration. The posts of command in the regular army were filled with elderly officers, generally near their age for retirement. The bureaus of the War Department were encrusted with the routine of an army of 25, 000, and there were deep jealousies between the officers of the line and the bureaus that governed them. There was nothing resembling a general staff, and no systematic study had been given to any of the problems that must certainly arise in the event of war.
When Congress, on March 9, 1898, appropriated the President's fund of fifty millions "for the national defense, and for each and every purpose connected therewith, " Alger neither secured an allotment for such last-hour preparations as might have been practicable, nor resigned his post. "No part of this sum was available for offensive purposes--even for offensive preparation, " he subsequently declared, without apparently realizing that such an interpretation of the law by the President ought to have led to his own immediate withdrawal from the cabinet. Not until after the actual declaration of war were there funds available for the preparation of an expeditionary force; and then events moved so rapidly that, with the inadequate and red-tape-bound departmental organization, all preparation was hit-or-miss. The degree to which the President interfered with the fighting of the war lessened the personal liabilities of his subordinates. Alger, however, was the one who prevented General Miles, the commander-in-chief, from going to Cuba, and who secured the command of the expedition for a Michigan officer, W. R. Shafter, who was obese to start with and physically incapacitated during much of the Santiago campaign. As the short war progressed a wave of criticism was directed against Secretary Alger. In the commissary and hospital services the inadequacies were flagrant. As soon as the fighting was over, President McKinley created a voluntary commission, with General Grenville M. Dodge as president, to survey the conduct of the war. Its report, supplemented by that of the "embalmed beef" commission, and by the court-martial proceedings in the case of Commissary-General Charles P. Eagan, presents a bitter picture of war administration. Through the winter of 1898-1899 McKinley retained Alger in the cabinet, feeling the increasing political burden of his presence. The President appears to have refused to let Alger retire under fire; but he called for his resignation a few weeks after it was suggested that his Secretary would become a candidate for the United States Senate, with the support of Governor Pingree, upon an antitrust platform.
Alger became senator from Michigan in 1902, and died before the expiration of his term.
Alger is notable for his service in 66 different battles and skirmishes. President Andrew Johnson nominated Alger for the award of the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers and later for the award of the grade of brevet major general of volunteers. He was also known as the 20th Governor and U. S. Senator from the state of Michigan also U. S. Secretary of War during the Presidential administration of William McKinley. As Republican governor, Alger gained some eminence among the statesmen of the Middle W. As Secretary of War, he recommended pay increases for military personnel serving at foreign embassies and legations. He also recommended legislation to authorize a Second Assistant Secretary of War and recommended a constabulary force for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
(Excerpt from Eulogy on the Late General Philip H. Sherida...)
(Published under the direction of The Hon. Russell A. Alge...)
Alger was a member of the Republican Party.
Alger administered the War Department in a kindly, routine way, inheriting the antagonism that usually existed between the department and the commanding general.
In 1861 Alger married Annette Henry, who bore him nine children. With five of them, she survived him.
