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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1877

Vol. III
p289
2698

(Born N. C.)

Edwin F. Glenn

(Ap'd N. C.)

58

Edwin Forbis Glenn: Born Jan. 10, 1857, Greenville, NC.​a

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1873, to June 14, 1877, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Second Lieut., 25th Infantry, June 15, 1877.

Served: on leave of absence and awaiting orders, June 15 to Dec. 27, 1877; on frontier duty at Ft. Stockton, Tex.., Dec. 27, 1877, to May 28, 1878, — Scouting, to Sep. 2, 1878, — at Ft. Stockton, Tex., Sep. 2, 1878, to June 27, 1880, — Ft. Hale, Dak., to Dec. 2, 1882, — Ft. Snelling, Min., to May 14, 1888, — and Ft. Shaw, Mon., to Sep. 30, 1888; and as Professor

(First Lieut., 25th Infantry, Dec. 4, 1884)

of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Minnesota, to –––––.

Vol. IV
p289
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

(Edwin Forbes Glenn)

Military History. — Served: At the University of Minnesota, to Oct. 1, 1891. — On leave to June 23, 1892. — At St. Paul, Min., on duty with National Guard of Minnesota, to Sept. 24, 1892. — (Regimental Quartermaster, Oct. 4, 1892 to April 4, 1894.) — Q. M. and C. S. at Ft. Missoula, Mont., to April, 1894. — at St. Paul, Min., Judge Advocate, Department of Dakota, April 7, 1894 to Sept. 13, 1895, and of the Department of the Columbia;

(Captain of Infantry, 25th Infantry, July 5, 1895)

at Vancouver Barracks, Wash., to March, 1898. — Commanding exploring expedition in Alaska, April 6 to Nov., 1898. — On duty in office of Assistant Secretary of War at Washington, D. C., preparing his report, to March, 1899. — Commanding the exploring expedition to Cook's Inlet and other points in Alaska, April 7, 1899 to ––––

Vol. V
p266
[Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History. — Unknown, no information having been received.

(Major, 5th Infantry, April 22, 1901)

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 23d Infantry, Jan. 1, 1907)

Vol. VI
p241
[Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

(Edwin Forbes Glenn, Born Jan. 10, 1856.)

Military History. —

Captain, 25th Infantry, July 5, 1895.

Commanding exploring expedition to Cook's Inlet and other points in Alaska, April 7, 1899, to Jan. 29, 1900; on detached service and en route to Philippines, Jan. 30 to March 27, 1900; at Manila, March 28 to April 15, 1900; at Iloilo, P. I., acting Judge Advocate, Department of the Visayas, April 19, 1900, to

(Major, 5th Infantry, April 22, 1901)

November, 1901, and Judge Advocate of 5th Separate Brigade, November, 1901, to Feb. 18, 1902; at Manila, in charge of Military Information  p242 Division, Division of the Philippines, Feb. 22 to March 15, 1902; and awaiting orders, March 16 to August, 1902;​b at Bayambang, P. I., commanding troops at that place, August to Oct. 14, 1902; at Manila, on detached service, Oct. 17, 1902, to Feb. 6, 1903; at Camp Gregg, P. I., commanding troops, Feb. 8 to Sept. 15, 1903; en route to U. S., Sept. 17 to Nov. 21, 1903; at Plattsburg Bks., N. Y., with regiment, Nov. 22, 1903, to March 13, 1905 (at San Juan, Porto Rico, member of Board of Officers, May 16 to June 16, 1904; at Fort Niagara, N. Y., at Rifle Competition, July 14 to Aug. 6, 1904; at Manassas, Va., at Maneuver Camp with regiment, Aug. 27 to Sept. 15, 1904); at Columbus Bks., Ohio, commanding post and Recruit Depot, May 14, 1905, to

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 23d Infantry, Jan. 1, 1907)

Oct. 1, 1907; at Annapolis, Md., at Rifle Range, Oct. 8 to Nov. 15, 1907; at New York City on detached service, Nov. 16 to Dec. 5, 1907; at Fort Ontario, N. Y., with regiment, Dec. 6, 1907, to Feb. 2, 1908; at Governor's Island, N. Y., on special duty at Hdqrs. Department of the East, Feb. 3 to June 14, 1908; at Pine Camp, N. Y., Chief Umpire at Maneuvers, June 15 to July 15, 1908; en route to Philippines, July 16 to Aug. 31, 1908; at Malabang, P. I., commanding post, Sept. 10, 1908, to June 12, 1909; at Parang, P. I., with regiment, June 14, 1909, to March 23, 1910; on detached service and en route to U. S., March 23 to May 22, 1910; at Fort McIntosh, Texas, with regiment, May 23, 1910, to

(Colonel of Infantry, March 11, 1911)

(Assigned to 23d Infantry, June 1, 1911)

Aug. 2, 1911; at Fort Bliss, Tex., commanding regiment, Aug. 6, 1911, to Jan. 22, 1912; at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., commanding regiment, Jan. 25, 1912, to Feb. 26, 1913; at Texas City, Texas, commanding regiment, March 2 to July 2, 1913; at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., on temporary duty, July 6 to Aug. 11, 1913; at Washington, D. C., student officer at Army War College, Aug. 15, 1913, to Sept. 1, 1914; at Governor's Island, N. Y., Chief of Staff, Eastern Department, Sept. 2, 1914, to

(Assigned to 18th Infantry, July 12, 1916)

July 20, 1916; at Douglas, Arizona, commanding regiment, July 26 to Sept. 26, 1916; at Deming, N. M., commanding troops along the Mexican border, Sept. 27, 1916, to March 7, 1917; at Douglas, Arizona, commanding regiment, March 9 to April 30, 1917; at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., Commandant Officers' Training Camp, May 2 to

(Brigadier-General, U. S. A., May 15, 1917)

(Major-General, U. S. A., Aug. 5, 1917)

Aug. 24, 1917; at Camp Sherman, Ohio, commanding 83rd Division, Aug. 25, 1917, to Jan. 3, 1918; at Camp Merritt, N. J., commanding Division, Jan. 6 to 14, 1918; en route to France and commanding 83rd Division in France, Jan. 15, 1918, to Jan. 19, 1919; en route to U. S. to Jan. 30; at Camp Sherman, Ohio, commanding camp, Feb. 4 to Dec. 31, 1919.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Retired, Dec. 31, 1919,
At His Own Request, After Over 46 Years' Service.

Vol. VII
p145
[Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920‑1930]

Military History: —

Brigadier-General, May 15, 1917.

Major-General, National Army, Aug. 5, 1917.

Returned to Grade of Brigadier-General, Dec. 31, 1919.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Retired, Dec. 31, 1919,
At His Own Request, After Over 46 Years' Service.

Died, Aug. 5, 1926, at Mentor, Ohio: Aged 70.

Portrait and obituary in Annual Report, Association of Graduates, for 1928.

Major-General, U. S. A., (Posthumously) Aug. 5, 1926,
Act of June 21, 1930.

Buried, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.


Thayer's Notes:

a Gen. Glenn's full name and birth data as shown on this line are from his AOG obituary; they differ from those given in the Register.

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b Major Glenn was court-martialed — being defended by Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Andrew H. Russell — for having administered the water cure to Filipino prisoners of war. He defended the water cure on the grounds that it had in fact saved many lives, as summarized in this article in The New York Times, July 26, 1902:

Defended the Water Cure.

Major Edwin F. Glenn Declared It Had Saved Many Lives
— Some Instances Given.

Washington, July 25. — Copies of Manila papers received at the War Department contain the defense of Major Edwin F. Glenn, who was tried by court-martial on the charge of having administered the water cure to Filipino natives.

The particular case upon which great stress was laid was that of the Presidente of Igbaras. Glenn acknowledged the act, but justified it on the ground that he wanted the information possessed by the Presidente, and which he obtained by the water cure application. Major Glenn, in his plea, says:

"I found very soon after my arrival in Panay that every man's hand was against us; that every man, woman, and child in the islands was an enemy, and in my best judgment they are to‑day, and always will be. Practically every Presidente and other official has been playing double. They organized and were the active members of secret societies, known as the Katipunan, &c., whose avowed objects were to advance the cause of 'independencia,' in any and all ways, and under this high-sounding phrase they have made use of every means forbidden to them by the laws of war.

"These men of peace have actually waged war by killing straggling American soldiers. They have made use of poison in the drinks sold to American soldiers. They have poisoned their arrows and the tips of their spears and bolos, together with the bamboo tips placed in the deadly traps that abounded on the trails.

"I am convinced that my action resulted in hastening the termination of hostilities and directly resulted in saving many human lives, and directly injured no one."

As we've just read, the New York Times article states that he was tried for the torture of several Filipinos, and especially the Presidente of Igbaras (the town's Mayor, Joviniano Ealdama). The final case brought against him, however, seems to have been only for the torture of Ealdama: for which he was convicted, although then merely suspended from command for a month and fined $50 — roughly equivalent in 2016 to $1350. (Admiral Yates Stirling, in Sea Duty, p62, states that he was "cleared"; but it will be noted from that passage that that naval officer, a lieutenant at the time, had "assisted him in rounding up suspects": that may have clouded or colored his recollections.)

The conviction, at any rate, is reported in Letter From the Secretary of War in Response to Senate Resolution of February 23, 1903, Transmitting a Report Showing the Trials or Courts-Martial Had in the Philippine Islands in Consequence of the Instructions Communicated to Major-General Chaffee on April 15, 1902, Together With the Action of the President or the Secretary of War Thereon, March 3, 1903, 57th Cong., 2d Sess., Sen. Doc. 213, p17: a citation for which I am indebted to Prof. Allan W. Vestal of Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa, along with the more general and important correction of some of what I had written earlier on this page. Good details are given in a recent book by John Fabian Witt, Lincoln's Code: The Laws of War in American History (Free Press, 2012), pp359‑361. More accessibly online, see Richard Prevost, Water Cure • US Policy and Practice in the Philippine Insurrection, pp1‑2 and 8‑11.


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