Miles, Nelson Appleton, 1839-1925

This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Collection

Smithsonian

Creation Date

1900

Louis B. Livingston examines why President Theodore Roosevelt chose retired general John McAllister Schofield to command the troops needed to seize coal mines during the anthracite coal strike of 1902. Livingston chronicles Schofield’s military service, and he details his command of troops during five labor disputes during the late nineteenth century. Livingston contends that Roosevelt was drawn to Schofield’s exemplary record, his support of Army reforms, and the restraint he showed during previous strikes. Livingston suggests that Roosevelt’s threat to seize the mines moved the parties, the mine owners and the United Mine Workers, to accept arbitration. Livingston also explores other aspects of the strike negotiations such as Roosevelt’s poor relationship with General Nelson Appleton Miles and the degree to which Roosevelt kept his plans to seize the mines if necessary a secret. 

Four illustrations and a photograph supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Gary Ross Mormino explores the relationship between Florida, Cuba, and the Spanish-American War. Mormino describes the enclaves of Cuban immigrants in Florida, and he notes that cities like Key West, Florida, were home to revolutionary movements and figures like Jose Marti. Mormino examines the influx of soldiers into Florida cities such as Tampa, Lakeland, and Miami, and he details the not unexpected difficulties with drink, women, and race relations between white and African American soldiers. Mormino also describes the chaotic mustering and departure of the troops from Florida, and he asserts that while much of Florida may have experienced a temporary economic boost from the war, it had “little long-term impact” on the state.

Eight photographs and five illustrations populate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Leslie H. Southwick provides a comprehensive history of the 1904 presidential election, surveying the Republican and Democratic candidates as well as those of the Socialist, Populist, and Prohibition parties. Southwick describes Theodore Roosevelt’s path to securing his election, touching on his service as Vice President, his political battles with Senator Marcus Hanna, and his selection of George B. Cortelyou as his campaign manager. Southwick also covers Alton B. Parker’s path to the Democratic nomination, highlighting the roles played by former nominees William Jennings Bryan and Grover Cleveland. Southwick describes the dull fall campaign, enlivened by the musings of Finley Peter Dunne’s fictional barkeeper, Mr. Dooley, which Southwick quotes frequently in the course of the article.

Photographs of the four candidates for president and vice president of the Republican and Democratic parties appear in the article, along with an electoral map of the election, and Homer Davenport’s famous cartoon endorsing Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

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.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Collection of newspaper clippings of articles, photographs, and maps showing some of the actors, naval vessels, and events making up parts of the Spanish-American war. Includes some handwritten notes and hand-colored photographs.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1898

A number of men are in a wagon driven by a donkey. General Nelson Appleton Miles looks backward while the trusts hold Alton B. Parker in his lamp. August Belmont and David B. Hill are up front directing the donkey. A Tammany tiger sits beside Parker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-21

Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles holds a paper that reads, “Order of retirement from active service,” as he walks away from Adjutant General Henry Clark Corbin and President Roosevelt, who both hold papers that say, “Git!”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08

Uncle Sam stands beside President Roosevelt and points to Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles being hoisted on the shoulders of two men from the Grand Army of the Republic. A paper is at the foot of the stairs: “Roosevelt’s snub to Gen Miles.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-11

Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles sits astride a horse and presents his sword to Father Time, who holds that hourglass reading “64.” There is a sign in the upper left-hand corner: Nelson A. Miles. Lieut. Gen. U.S.A. Retired Aug 6th 1903.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-06

Secretary of War Elihu Root holds a rope that is attached to a “Lieut-Gen. in command” chair on which General Nelson Appleton Miles sits, typing at a typewriter. Miles has typed reports and speeches already, and is currently typing: “My charges against the Army: looting, water cure, murder, favoritism.” Root taps President Roosevelt on the shoulder and presents the rope to him, directing him to pull the chair out from underneath Miles.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-20

Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon says, “Tariff revision or an extra session!” in one cartoon. The next includes a teddy bear and President Roosevelt reading a paper that says, “Mr. President: Anything you say goes! California.” Another cartoon depicts a government clerk holding a bag that says, “50% salary increase” while Uncle Sam says, “And more if necessary.” The next cartoon depicts William Jennings Bryan saying to William Randolph Hearst, “After you, my dear Willie!” with a sign that reads, “To presidency.” Another one shows South Carolina senator Benjamin R. Tillman depicted with a pitchfork walking toward the White House with a dove of peace. Finally, the last cartoon depicts Senator Joseph Benson Foraker with a sign that says, “Reenlistment” in front of a group of soldiers labeled, “25th Infantry” — the black regiment at the center of the Brownsville Incident.

comments and context

Comments and Context

When cartoonist Clifford Kennedy Berryman switched, shortly prior to this drawing’s publication, from the Evening Star from the Washington Post, his drawing style improved: a better ability to capture celebrities’ likenesses to place atop little bodies. This cartoon fell back on the erstwhile cartoonists’ annual chestnut — a reliable theme to use once a year, the Valentine cards for politicians — either dream-fantasies or the unlikeliest of scenarios.

Secretary of War Root sends two copies of the proposed letter to General Nelson Appleton Miles. He has arranged a meeting at his house at Ireland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12

President Roosevelt goes over the events in the controversy at the Government Printing Office. He is pleased that the situation with Wall Street has improved. Roosevelt is annoyed over the public outcry that emerged when no special commendation was offered to General Nelson Appleton Miles upon his retirement. Such a commendation would have been unprecedented and Roosevelt continues to have a very low opinion of Miles.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1903-09-03

There is a movement to make General Nelson Appleton Miles the commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and then the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. As commander, Miles could create problems for the Republican Party by making “demands on the Pension Office and posing as the friend of the soldier.” President Roosevelt considers Miles a self-interested liar and traitor. The financial situation is “ugly” and Roosevelt blames the panic on “speculative watering of stocks on a giant scale.”

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1903-08-06

Sheet music for the patriotic song “For Victory of Our Country’s Flag,” which celebrates the American military heroes of the Spanish-American War. The song is dedicated to the United States Army and Navy. The cover features a large American flag and photographs of prominent individuals from the war, including Governor Roosevelt.

Collection

Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection

Creation Date

1899

Song book of ten patriotic songs, including titles such as “Our Country, May She Always Be Right,” “Our Own Native Land,” and “When the Troops Come Home.” The cover includes small, oval portraits of General Miles, General Shafter, Theodore Roosevelt, and General Wheeler.

Collection

Dr. Danny O. Crew Theodore Roosevelt Sheet Music Collection

Creation Date

1898

The New Voice is a periodical associated with the Prohibition Party. This issue includes state-by-state reviews of the advance of the temperance agenda, overviews of the issue in other news media, and an editorial directed at President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-31

President McKinley rides an elephant driven by Marcus A. Hanna. The elephant is carrying Russell A. Alger, Nelson Dingley, William R. Day, and William T. Sampson. A second elephant follows, and a group of men that includes “Nelson A. Miles, Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph Wheeler, Fitzhugh Lee, Henry C. Lodge, William R. Shafter, Winfield S. Schley, John T. Morgan, Cushman K. Davis, George Dewey,” and others, march alongside under the standard “Imperialism for Ever.” A group of disgruntled men sit on the roadside, watching the procession.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1899-01-18

Print shows General Nelson A. Miles, oversized, sitting at a desk, holding in his left hand a book titled “How to Become President [by] Gen. Miles.” Around him are many newspaper reporters and photographers, representing such newspapers as “The Yellow Yawp, Daily Whoop, The Scare, The Blow, Morning Bluff, Daily Slush [and] Staats Klatsch [with a reporter that looks like Oswald Ottendorfer].” On the wall in the background is a telephone labeled “To the Administration” that is covered with cobwebs.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1899-03-15