Adna Chaffee

Adna Romanza Chaffee (April 14, 1842—November 1, 1914) was a General in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish-American War, and was instrumental at crushing the Boxer Rebellion in China. He was the Army Chief of Staff from 1904 to 1906, overseeing far-reaching transformation of organization and doctrine in the Army.

Contents

1 Civil War 2 Indian Wars 3 Spanish-American War and Boxer Rebellion 4 Later Military Service

Civil War

Chaffe was born in Orwell, Ohio. When the American Civil War broke out in July 1861, Chaffee enlisted with the Union Army and was assigned to the 6th Cavalry Brigade as a Private. In 1862, Chaffee was promoted to Sergeant and took part in the Peninsular Campaign and the Battle of Antietam, in September of that year he was made the First Sergeant of Company K. He rose to the commissioned rank of Second Lieutenant in May 1863, he served with the 6th Cavalry for the remainder of the war, being twice wounded. In February 1865, he was promoted into a First Lieutenant, for his "gallant and meritorious" actions during the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House he was brevetted into a Captain.

Indian Wars

Chaffe decided to remain with the army after the war, he was posted in the west, obtaining the rank of Captain in October 1867. For the next thirty years he took part in the Indian Wars, fighting off the Central Plains and Southwestern tribes. In 1868 he was brevetted into a major following his actions at Paint Creek, Texas , in the following years he engaged the Indians many times, most notably at Red River, Texas in 1874 and Big Dry Wash, Arizona in 1882, for whom he was brevetted into a Lieutenant Colonel. In July 1888 he was promoted into a Major and transferred to the 9th Cavalry . From 1894 until 1896, he was an instructor of tactics at Army’s Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, in June 1897 he was promoted to Colonel and transferred to 3rd Cavalry where he served as the commandant of the Cavalry School at Fort Riley until 1898.

Spanish-American War and Boxer Rebellion

With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 he was assigned a brigade and was promoted into a Brigadier General of volunteers in May of that year, and in July after his victory at El Caney, into a Major General of volunteers. From late 1898 until May 1900 he served as the chief of staff to the military governor of Cuba, General Leonard Wood, being promoted into a full army Colonel in May 1899. In June 1900 the Boxer rebellion broke out in China, in July Chaffe was sent to China as the commander of U.S. Army’s China Relief Expedition, a part of the larger international contingent assigned with the rescue of western citizens and the crushing of the rebellion. Chaffe played a key role in rapid advance to the imperial capital of Beijing and its subsequent capture on August 14, 1900 successfully relieving the beleaguered embassy staffs and western nationals.

Later Military Service

In February 1901, he became a Major General in the regular army and from July of that year until October 1902 served as the military governor of the Department of the Philippines , during the last phase of the Philippine-American War. He was then commander of the Department of the East until October 1903. In January 1904 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and from January 9, 1904 until January 14, 1906 served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. At his own request he was retired on February 1, 1906. In his retirement he moved to Los Angeles where he was appointed the president of the Board of Public Works for the city of Los Angeles.

Chaffee was married twice, in 1868 he married Kate Haynie Reynolds who died the following year, in 1875 he married his second wife, Annie Frances Rockwell. His son Adna Chaffee, Jr. also became an Army General and was one of the fathers of U.S. Army’s armored forces.