PRESIDENT WILLIAM McKINLEY - MILITARY APPOINTMENT SIGNED 12/24/1898 CO-SIGNED BY: LT. GENERAL HENRY C. CORBIN, RUSSELL A. ALGER - HFSID 27638

WILLIAM McKINLEY, RUSSELL A. ALGER and HENRY C. CORBIN
Military Appointment signed to appoint Samuel M. Mansfield to Colonel in the Corps of Engineers
Military Appointment Signed: "William McKinley" as President and "R.A. Alger" as Secretary of War, 1p, 14½x20, on vellum. Washington, 1898 December 24. Appointment of Samuel M. Mansfield as Colonel in the Corps of Engineers. Signed: "H.C. Corbin" as Adjutant General at upper left. During the Spanish-American War, President McKinley depended on Adjutant General HENRY C. CORBIN when it came to military matters. Frequently, it was Corbin who ordered military movements, not Secretary of War Alger. Corbin served as Adjutant General from 1898-1904. The Spanish-American War ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898, just two weeks before this document was signed. By this treaty, Spain freed Cuba and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the United States, receiving $20 million in payment for the Philippines. RUSSELL A. ALGER, an attorney and Civil War hero like McKinley, served as Secretary of War during McKinley's first term, from March 5, 1897 until August 1, 1899, when he resigned over criticism of his management of the War Department. Despite having been Governor of Michigan (1885-1887), Alger lacked the decisiveness required during the Spanish-American War. McKinley made his own strategic decisions without consulting Alger, and "Algerism" became a synonym for incompetence. 2¼x2¼ blue War Office seal affixed. Sporadically yellowed and damp stained. Rippled. Folds, vertical fold touches "e" in Alger.