Henry Tureman Allen | |
|---|---|
 Allen in uniform, 1919 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Iron Commandante" |
| Born | (1859-04-13)April 13, 1859 Sharpsburg, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | August 29, 1930(1930-08-29) (aged 71) Buena Vista, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1882–1923 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | O-27 |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal |
| Children | 3 (includingHenry Jr.) |
| Relations | Frank M. Andrews (son in law) |
Major GeneralHenry Tureman Allen (April 13, 1859 – August 29, 1930) was a seniorUnited States Armyofficer known for exploring theCopper River inAlaska in 1885 along with theTanana andKoyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of wilderness, an accomplishment whichNelson A. Miles compared to that ofLewis and Clark.
Born inSharpsburg, Kentucky, Allen graduated fromWest Point in 1882, and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant ofcavalry. He served on the staff of GeneralNelson A. Miles. He later served as a military attaché toRussia (1890–1895) andGermany (1897–1898). Allen also served in theSpanish–American War in theBattle of El Caney. He was then stationed to thePhilippines to serve as military governor ofLeyte in 1901. Eventually he organized and commanded thePhilippine Constabulary, before going on in 1904 as an observer with theJapanese Army in Korea.
DuringWorld War I, Allen was promoted tobrigadier general and given command of the90th Division, a National Army (present-dayUnited States Army Reserve) division based inTexas. His instructions were to bring them to full strength and convey them to theWestern Front in June 1918.[1] He succeededPierrepont Noyes as U.S. Commissioner in theInter-Allied Rhineland High Commission.[2]
Allen was born on April 13, 1859, inSharpsburg, Kentucky. His parents were Susan (Shumate) and Sanford Allen and he was the thirteenth of fourteen children.[3] After attending Peeks Mill Military Academy, Allen attendedGeorgetown College and graduated in 1878. Then, intent on a military career, he transferred to theUnited States Military Academy (USMA) atWest Point, New York. Once he graduated from the academy in June 1882, he accepted a commission in the cavalry.[4] Among his classmates there at the academy were several men who would, like Allen himself (who graduated 20th in a class of 37), eventually attain the rank ofbrigadier general or higher during their military careers, such asEdward Burr,Lansing H. Beach,Adelbert Cronkhite,John T. Thompson,Charles Treat, Edward A. Millar,Richard W. Young,Benjamin Alvord Jr.,George W. McIver,William H. Sage,Thomas B. Dugan, andWilliam H. Allaire.
From 1888 until 1890, Allen worked as an instructor at West Point.[4] He then served on duty in theAmerican Old West at Fort Keogh, Montana Territory and guarded the Northern Pacific Railroad while it was under construction and then served as a military attache toRussia (1890–1895) andGermany (1897–1898).[5][6][7]
Allen was very satisfied when he was first assigned to serve inAlaska in 1884. He wrote to his fiancée that, "I am willing to forgo almost any benefit that I might receive by going East for an attempt at exploration in Alaska." At the time Allen was ranked as a lieutenant and served as GeneralNelson A. Miles'saide-de-camp. He supervised LieutenantWilliam R. Abercrombie's shipments from Sitka to Nuchek. Allen was later sent by Miles to search for Abercrombie, whom Miles had sent to explore the Copper River. Eventually, Allen discovered Abercrombie close to the mouth of the river. Due to the moving glaciers and rough terrain, Abercrombie did not succeed in going more than 60 miles (97 km) up the river.[7][8][9]
Following the expeditions ofFrederick Schwatka, which covered a lot of Alaskan land but did not contribute much to a map of the area, and Abercrombie, who had failed to make it through the lower canyons of the Copper, Allen devised a plan to explore both the Tanana and Copper rivers, which were two of the biggest uncharted rivers in Alaska. Miles gave permission for Allen to go ahead with his plan, however Miles had wanted at minimum four to ten men and one medical officer to be included on the trip. Allen insisted on only three men including himself and GeneralPhilip Sheridan finally approved of Allen's original trio plan. With Sgt. Cady Robertson and Pvt. Fred Fickett and $2,000, in the spring of 1885, Allen arrived at the Copper River Delta. Allen's plan of action was to reach the headwaters of the Copper River on ice. Though he had little proper food, faced freezing rain, and difficult terrain, Allen continued to move ahead north along the river.John Bremner joined the expedition when Allen came to Taral, anIndian village. Although Allen's supplies were dwindling, he was able to explore the Chitina River, the Copper River's major tributary. During the expedition, Allen learned how to build and navigate skin boats like the Indians in the region. With these boats they moved upriver, losing more and more provisions along the way. On one occasion they had to eat "rotten, wormy meat."[7][9]
After the detachment took up new guides, Allen and his men decided to leave the Copper River and cross into theAlaska Range through a portal that Allen named Miles Pass. They became the first men to cross into interior Alaska through theAlaska Range[10] and first men to chart the rugged river and one of the highest mountain ranges in North America. When one of the enlisted men and Bremner received scurvy from their poor diets, Allen refrained from exploring the Tanana to its headwaters and decided to head to a trading post at its mouth. The post was more than 560 miles (900 km) away and they were to pass through land supposedly belonging to hostile Indians. Briefly after arriving at the Tanana, Allen met the reportedly hostile natives and learned relieving that they were only interested in the pills Allen had with him.[7]
In total, Allen had explored through roughly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in unexplored wilderness in only five months time. General Miles stated that Allen's expedition, "exceeded all explorations on the American continent sinceLewis and Clark."[8]
After theSpanish–American War began in April 1898, Allen left from his position in Germany and by June 1898 was placed in command of Troop D of the2d Cavalry. He then became a major of volunteers and was ordered off to Cuba. He and the volunteers served as scouts and on escort duty during the Santiago Land Campaign. They also fought on July 1, 1898, in theBattle of El Caney. On July 10, Allen took control of the town and its camp containing over 20,000 refugees. Though there was not adequate food nor medicine, a disaster was averted when Santiago de Cuba surrendered only six days later, allowing the refugees to return to their homes. Allen then developed a case ofmalaria[11] oryellow fever and had to go back to the United States to recover.[5] His service in the war made him highly regarded byTheodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt would later try to make Allen part of a planned division of volunteers duringWorld War I, but the division was never formed.[12]
Allen was promoted to the rank of captain in the regular army in the autumn of 1898 and went back to Berlin, Germany as an attaché. Wanting to see battle again in 1899, he transferred to the 43d Volunteer Infantry as a major. He was placed in command of the 3rd Battalion on the island of Samar. During this period, he managed to successfully recruit members for the Philippine Scouts and fight against insurgents. After peace was achieved on Samar, Allen commanded one of the three sections ofLeyte. He gave fair treatment to the local civilians and even worked on several projects to improve Leyte. Allen wanted strict observance of the laws of war and led patrols to enforce them. He became known as "Iron Commandante" to the locals due to his strict, but humane style of governing.[5]
Once Allen felt that the war had ended in his district he volunteered to serve in China to suppress theBoxer Rebellion, but was denied because his service in the Philippines was considered more important.[11] For a short while, Allen served as the governor of Leyte between April and June 1901. After this, he was chosen to found thePhilippine Constabulary because of his success in the recruitment of members for the Philippine Scouts, his ability to speak Spanish, and his record on Leyte. The intention of the constabulary was to fill the gap between the American forces and the Filipino police on the Philippine Islands. It was made up of both Filipino constables and American officers and helped to the islands stabilized. The constabulary aided in the suppression of the rebellion, guarded prisons, provided intelligence, and returned law and order to the islands. He stayed in command of the group up until 1907 and rose to the temporary rank of bridgier general with the command of over 10,000 men.[5]
Allen went back to the United States in the spring of 1907 and returned to his permanent rank as a major. Next he would join the General Staff in 1910 as a cavalry expert. In August 1912, he was appointed to the rank oflieutenant colonel and then in July 1916, became acolonel. He assumed command of the8th Cavalry and led them during the Punitive Expedition, in whichBrigadier GeneralJohn J. Pershing attempted to capturePancho Villa.[5]
After theUnited States had entered World War I in April 1917, Allen was now promoted to brigadier general in May. He was made a temporarymajor general not long afterwards and given command of the newly activated 90th Division atCamp Travis,Texas. The unit consisted mostly of draftees from the states of Texas and Oklahoma−hence the division's T.O. insignia on its badge, together with its nickname of "Tough Ombres"−and, in its first few weeks, had many shortages including rifles, housing, artillery, uniforms, and even soldiers. By the spring of 1918, the division was short by more than 10,000 men. Despite these problems, Allen kept his men in a training program. Once he learned that the division would be joining theAmerican Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on theWestern Front in May of that year, large numbers of troops began pouring into the division. Allen added onto his training schedule and made his men run for fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. Sometime in the third week of June, the division was then shipped off to France.[13]
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Following even more training in northeastern Dijon, on August 24, the 90th Infantry Division entered a sector of the front on the eastern side of the St. Mihiel salient. At the time Pershing, now a fullgeneral andCommander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF on the Western Front (while also commanding the newly createdU.S. First Army), was getting ready for his first major offensive–closing off the salient (seeBattle of Saint-Mihiel). Allen's 90th Division was to form the right pivot in the offensive. It started early on September 12 when the offensive began. After arolling barrage, the division kept moving ahead. Over the next nine hours, Allen's men captured their objectives and by September 16, the Americans had reduced the salient. After the salient was eliminated, Pershing planned for the American forces to attack west atMeuse-Argonne. In the beginning, Allen's unit stayed close to St. Mihiel, covered sectors already left vacant by the troops who went west, and grouped together their positions. Once the Meuse–Argonne battle had become more intense, Allen and his men entered the lines close to Bantheville. The 90th advanced slowly and Allen relieved officers who he found to be incompetent or weak. The division was able to get through the Meuse River near Stenay only several days before the signing of theArmistice of November 11, 1918, which ended hostilities.[13]
Once the war had concluded, Allen was appointed commander of the American Forces in Germany by Pershing in July 1919, after conflicts with the previous commanders,Joseph T. Dickman andHunter Liggett. He was aided in this endeavor by his chief of staff, Brigadier GeneralWilliam Wright Harts. For his services during the war and in the months afterward, he was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal, the citation for which reads:
ThePresident of the United States of America, authorized byAct of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Henry Tureman Allen, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. In command of the 90th Division, General Allen had the important position of conducting the right flank at the St. Mihiel Salient. The brilliant successes there gained and later repeated in the Argonne-Meuse offensive showed him to be an officer of splendid judgment, high attainment, and excellent leadership. Later he commanded the Eighth Army Corps with skill and judgment.[14]
From 1919 to 1923, Allen acted as a military governor of the American zone of occupation around Coblenz. He was also a member of the Inter-Allied Rhineland and High Commission. While he attempted to represent the interests of the United States, he was not provided with any specific guidance or instructions from the War and State departments. Increasingly, he acted in restraining the ambitions of the French in the region.[13]
Allen was promoted once again to the permanent rank of major general in 1923 and retired that same year. Following retirement, he lived in Washington D.C. Over the next seven years of his life, Allen wrote two books about his time in the Rhineland,My Rhineland Journal (1923) andThe Rhineland Occupation (1927). He also spoke on international politics and got involved in theDemocratic Party.[6][13]
Shortly after leaving his last post as U.S. military governor in Germany, Allen committed to an emergency campaign for humanitarian aid to Germany. In 1923, he launched and chaired the American Committee for Relief of German Children. It aimed to provide supplementary meals to starving children, pregnant and nursing mothers. The campaign was especially successful winning donations from the German-American community, but it worked closely with the Federal Council of Churches. Allen's campaign, which continued until mid-1924, raised $4.3 million, and at its height, it distributed meals to one million German children.[15]
Allen served as the executive officer[16] and vice-president of theAmerican Olympic Committee during the1924 Summer Olympics.[17] In 1928, despite being nearly seventy-years-old, Allen was considered as a vice-presidential running mate for DemocratAl Smith, and received 21 votes in the balloting that resulted in the nomination ofJoseph T. Robinson.[9] On August 29, 1930, he died inBuena Vista, Pennsylvania. It was reported inThe New York Times thatheart disease was his cause of death during a visit to the town.[18] Allen was buried inArlington National Cemetery under a monument designed by the sculptorAlbert Jaegers.[5][19] Pershing was one of the pallbearers at the burial.[20]
Henry Tureman Allen married his wife, Dora Johnston (1860–1932), on July 12, 1887. There were three children: Jeanette (1888–1962),Henry Jr. (1889–1971) and Daria (Dasha) (1892–1977).[21] Jeanette was married to Lieutenant GeneralFrank M. Andrews, after whom Andrews Air Force Base is named. Allen was also a knownpolo enthusiast.[12]
Camp Allen, the original home of thePhilippine Military Academy (which began as the officers school of the Philippine Constabulary), is named after him.[22] In 1941, an attack transport formerly known as theWenatchee and thePresident Jefferson was taken over by the U.S. navy and renamedHenry T. Allen.[23] The Alaskan geologist,Alfred Hulse Brooks, once wrote that, "No man through his own individual explorations has added more to our knowledge of Alaska than Lieutenant Allen.".[9]Mount Allen in Alaska is named after him.[24]Allen, Northern Samar town in the Philippines is named in his honor.
Eowyn Ivey's 2016 bookTo the Bright Edge of the World was inspired by the official reports of Allen's 1885 exploration of Alaska and the diaries of his expedition members.[25][26]
| Military offices | ||
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| New division | Commanding General of the90th Division 1917–1918 | Succeeded by Major GeneralCharles Martin |
Yellowstone National Park – history and people | ||
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Historic events and personalities fromYellowstone National Park | ||
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