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Review of General Miles’s “insubordination and unfriendliness” towards the Roosevelt administration which is damaging the army and will ultimately lead to the general’s retirement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-03-22
Theodore Roosevelt declines to advise the War Department on the selection of Army Posts. He emphasizes that such decisions should be made solely based on the needs of the Army and not influenced by individual or local interests.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-07
James B. Martin examines the tumultuous relationship between Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles and President Theodore Roosevelt during the first two years of Roosevelt’s administration. Martin details Miles’s impressive record as a field officer, earning the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, and he shows how he was not as well prepared to fight bureaucratic battles in Washington, D.C., as the Commanding General of the Army. Martin looks at the issues that caused a breach between Miles and Roosevelt, including Miles’s criticism of American actions in the Philippines. Martin covers the role played by Secretaries of War Russell A. Alger and Elihu Root, and he lays most of the blame for the Miles-Roosevelt dispute at the feet of Miles, but he does note that Roosevelt’s large ego and decision not to forcibly retire Miles contributed to the feud.
Photographs of Miles and Root appear in the article. An article box on page eleven notes that this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal is dedicated to Oliver R. Grace.
Professor Frederick Martens warns of the dangers of “contemporary American imperialism” which was similarly commented on by Theodore Roosevelt. Martens believes colonies created by military means will require constant military power to control, unlike colonies created through the “peaceful sphere of commerce and trade.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-19
John Brown, writing from Cuba, relates an incident when a “committee of ladies” wanted to see Alice Roosevelt but was turned away by General Wood. Afterwards, Brown heard Wood say that the ladies’ appeal could only go through him as his authority on Cuba supersedes that of President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-03-18
General Howze mourns the death of William McKinley but also salutes the new president with respect and admiration. The army has a deep feeling of loyalty for President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-19