Russell A. Alger

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Russell Alexander Alger

41st United States Secretary of War
In office March 5, 1897 – August 1, 1899
Preceded by	Daniel S. Lamont
Succeeded by	Elihu Root

Born	February 27, 1836 Medina County, Ohio, USA
Died	January 24, 1907 (aged 70) Washington, D.C., USA
Political party	Republican
Profession	General, Politician

Russell Alexander Alger (February 27, 1836 – January 24, 1907) was a Governor and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and also U.S. Secretary of War during the Presidential adminisration of William McKinley. He was supposedly a distant relation of Horatio Alger, although Russell Alger lived his own "rags-to-riches" success tale.

1 Early life and career
2 Civil War
3 Postbellum activities
4 Bibliography
5 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Alger was born in Lafayette Township in Medina County, Ohio. He was orphaned at age 12 and worked on a farm support himself and two siblings. He attended Richfield Academy in Summit County, Ohio, and taught country school for two winters. He studied law in Akron, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in March 1859. He first began to practice law in Cleveland and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1860, where he engaged in the lumber business.

[edit] Civil War

He enlisted as a private soldier in the American Civil War in 1861. He was commissioned and served as a captain and major in the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment. At the Battle of Boonesville, July 11, 1862, he was sent by Colonel Philip Sheridan to attack the enemy's rear with ninety picked men. The Confederate forces were soundly defeated, and although Alger was wounded and taken prisoner, he escaped the same day. On October 16, he was made Lieutenant Colonel of the 6th Michigan Cavalry.

On February 28, 1863, he was promoted to colonel of the 5th Michigan Cavalry. His command was the first to enter Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on June 28, and he was specially mentioned in the report of General George Armstrong Custer on cavalry operations there. While pursuing the enemy on July 8, he was severely wounded at Boonesborough, Maryland. He participated in General Sheridan’s Valley Campaigns of 1864 in Virginia. On June 11, 1864, at Trevillian Station, he captured a large force of Confederates with a brilliant cavalry charge. One year later, on June 11, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier general and major general of volunteers.

[edit] Postbellum activities

After the war, Alger settled in Detroit as head of Alger, Smith & Company and the Manistique Lumbering Company. Alger was elected Governor of Michigan in 1884, serving from January 1, 1885, to January 1, 1887. He declined renomination in 1886 and was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket in 1888. In 1888, he was elected as the first Commander of the Michigan Department of the Grand Army of the Republic and as the 18th Commander-in-Chief of the GAR in 1889.

Russell A. Alger

Alger was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of U.S. President William McKinley on March 5, 1897. As Secretary, he recommended pay increases for military personnel serving at foreign embassies and legations. He recommended legislation to authorize a Second Assistant Secretary of War and recommended a constabulary force for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. He was criticized for the inadequate preparation and inefficient operation of the department during the Spanish-American War, especially for his appointment of William R. Shafter as leader of the Cuban expedition. Alger resigned at President McKinley’s request, August 1, 1899, though he perhaps got the last word on his critics by publishing The Spanish-American War in 1901.

On September 27, 1902, Alger was appointed by Michigan Governor Aaron T. Bliss to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James McMillan. He was subsequently elected by the Michigan State Legislature to the Senate in January 1903. He served until his death in Washington, D.C. in 1907. He was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Coast Defenses and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Pacific Railroads, both in the Fifty-ninth Congress. He is interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.

Alger County, Michigan is named for him. A monument by Detroit sculptor Carlo Romanelli, consisting of a bronze bust of Alger mounted on a stone pedestal, is located on the grounds of the William G. Mather High School in Munising, Michigan. It was erected in June, 1909, with funds provided by the heirs of Alger and by the Board of Education of the Munising Township Schools. A memorial fountain by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon was dedicated in Detroit in 1921.

In 1942, a United States Liberty ship named the SS Russell A. Alger was planned. She was cancelled before construction.

Alger was also known for his largely xenophobic and anti-immigrant views. He feared the influx of "Chinese pagans" into Michigan, as well as the influence of Mormons and others. He also viewed immigrants as largely economically inferior to native-born Michiganians.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography
Bell, Rodney E. "A Life of Russell Alexander Alger." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1975
U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses for Russell Alexander Alger. 59th Cong., 2nd sess. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1907.
Michigan Historical Commission. 1924. Michigan Biographies: Russell Alger, Lansing.
Michigan Commandery of the Military of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
Final Journal of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1957. Compiled by Cora Gillis, Jamestown, New York, Past National President, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865, Inc. and last National Secretary of the Grand Army of the Republic.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Josiah Begole	Governor of Michigan 1885 – 1887	Succeeded by Cyrus G. Luce
Preceded by Daniel Scott Lamont	United States Secretary of War 1897 – 1899	Succeeded by Elihu Root
Preceded by James McMillan	United States Senator (Class 2) from Michigan 1902–1907 Served alongside: Julius C. Burrows	Succeeded by William A. Smith