Russell A. Alger
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| Russell Alexander Alger | |
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| In office March 5, 1897 – August 1, 1899 |
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| President | William McKinley |
| Preceded by | Daniel S. Lamont |
| Succeeded by | Elihu Root |
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20th Governor of Michigan
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| In office January 1, 1885 – January 1, 1887 |
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| Lieutenant | Archibald Buttars |
| Preceded by | Josiah Begole |
| Succeeded by | Cyrus G. Luce |
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| Born | February 27, 1836 Medina County, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 1907 (aged 70) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Annette H. Henry |
| 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.
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[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 to 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. On April 2, 1861, he married Annette H. Henry of Grand Rapids. They had six children; Fay, Caroline, Frances, Russell Jr., Fred and Allan. He had a home in Black River, Michigan which is in Alcona Township, Michigan, which he maintained while overseeing his lumbering operations.
[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.Alger was considered a military strategist and stood with President Lincoln on the battlefield surveying the Union supplies and 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.
After the war, Alger settled in Detroit as head of Alger, Smith & Company and the Manistique Lumbering Company. His great pine forest on Lake Huron comprised more than 100 square miles and produced annually more than 75,000,000 feet of lumber.[1]
[edit] Politics
In 1884, Alger was elected Governor of Michigan , 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.
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.
[edit] Legacy
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.
Alger, Michigan is also named after him. It is a small community founded in the late-1800's located in the lower peninsula of the state. It was named after Russell Alger as he oversaw lumbering and railroad operations in that area at the time.
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 from 1861 to 1865, Inc. and last National Secretary of the Grand Army of the Republic.
- Russell A. Alger at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-02-11
[edit] References
- ^ Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889
[edit] External links
- Russell Alexander Alger in Library of Congress's The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War
- SECRETARIES OF WAR AND SECRETARIES OF THE ARMY: Portraits & Biographical Sketches by William Gardner Bell from the CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY, UNITED STATES ARMY
- Biography of Alger through 1891 from "Chapter LIII: Grand Rapids and Kent County in the War for the Union," Baxter, Albert, History of the City of Grand Rapids, New York and Grand Rapids: Munsell & Company, Publishers, 1891.
- Image of Russell Alger from "1888 Presidential Possibilities" card set t207.com
- Grosse Pointe War Memorial - Russell Alger Mansion
- Memorial Library
| 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 |
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