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tributed the Republican victory to that policy. Upon his return to the Philippines in December 1900, he found the archbishop and United States civil and military officials still at odds. He also observed that Chapelle's actions had exacerbated relations between the Catholic Church and the Filipinos; consequently, many native Catholics were turning to Protestantism. McKinnon was fearful that the archipelago would be lost to Catholicism.92

Following Chapelle's departure for Rome in April 1901 to report on his Philippine mission, McKinnon continued to support American policy in the islands. It seemed that the issue of the friars and their lands would never be resolved. Finally, however, President Roosevelt sent a delegation to Rome in May 1902 to negotiate a settlement; William Howard Taft, chairman of the Second Philippine Commission and then Civil Governor of the islands, headed the delegation. As a result of the negotiations, which ended on 21 July, the Pope agreed to send a representative to the Philippines to negotiate the sale of the lands, but he refused to order a withdrawal of the friars. He did concede, however, that they would gradually be replaced by priests from other nations. In December 1903 the United States purchased 390,000 acres of the friar lands for $7,543,000; in turn the lands were sold to the natives on easy terms. Unfortunately, Chaplain McKinnon never lived to learn the results of the settlement; on 24 September 1902 he died in the Philippines of amoebic dysentery. 93

An unusual sidelight regarding the decision to press the Holy Sea for a settlement of the friar matters was that Chaplain Edward J. Vattmann served as an adviser to Roosevelt. Following President McKinley's death on 12 September 1901 from an assassin's bullets, Vattmann, an Ohioan, was selected to give the benediction at his funeral in Canton, Ohio. His selection was probably the result of his Republican political sympathies and his acquaintance with McKinley. Only a short time before, he had conferred with the President in Canton, and the Chief Executive had decided to send him to the Philippines with the hope that he, in an unofficial capacity, could ameliorate relations between the friars and American authorities. Learning of that decision, Roosevelt brought Vattmann from Fort Sheridan, Illinois, to Washington, D.C., where he and the Assistant Secretary of War consulted with him. Desirous of knowing the "right and wrong of the friar situation," the new Chief Executive also deemed it a good idea to send the chaplain to the islands. He informed Secretary of War Root to arrange the trip "under such conditions as entirely harmonize with the requirements of your Department."

94

There was a delay in Chaplain Vattmann's departure, apparently the result of arranging it in consonance with the desires of Secretary Root and Catholic Archbishop John Ireland. There were some questions about the nature of the mission. Roosevelt asked Root to place the trip in the agenda of the cabinet meeting scheduled for 15 November 1901. On that same day Vattmann wrote to the President's secretary, George B. Cortelyou, saying that he would also attempt "to ascertain who sends ammunition to the insurgents and in what way."5 On 15 December Archbishop Ireland, who was instrumental in smoothing relations between the Holy See and the United States regarding the friar issue, wrote to Root that Vattmann's "mission be to look into the work done by army chaplains in the Philippines, that and nothing more." " Not until 1 April 1902 was Vattmann able to depart from San Francisco; he arrived in Manila on 1 May.

Vattmann remained in the archipelago for five months. In addition to serving in Iloilo Province as chaplain of the 29th Infantry Regiment, he was permitted to do missionary work in nearby towns. The Filipinos graciously welcomed him, and he reported that nearly everywhere they liked Americans and hated the friars. He saw a picture on the wall of one church which showed Christ tempted by the devil and the devil as a friar. He wondered if the picture reflected the feelings of the masses. Though there was a shortage of priests in the province, he learned that the native priests were opposed to the friars; they desired American priests as replacements. He also gathered intelligence information from the native priests and other Filipinos and reported it, as soon as possible, to his commanding officer. In July 1902 he learned the name of the province insurgent leader and the number of men under his command; in addition, he was told that the insurgents would have given up already if they had not received encouragement and financial assistance from leading people in the islands of Negros and Panay."

97

Whatever the exact nature of Chaplain Vattmann's mission, his activities apparently were a means of accomplishing it. He departed from the islands on 25 September 1902, less than five months after his arrival, and upon reaching the states, he reported to the Adjutant General of the Army and was reassigned to Fort Sheridan. Three months later, President Roosevelt commended him for his Philippine service; Vattmann evidently showed him the "right and wrong of the friar situation." In April 1903 Secretary of War Root sent him to Rome; officially, he went to apprise the Holy See of the information he had gathered in the Philippines involving

church and state issues. His trip, however, also seemed to have furthered negotiations regarding the friars and their lands.98

In 1904, when chaplains whose records reflected "exceptional efficiency" became eligible for promotion to major, Roosevelt wrote to Secretary of War Taft that "if any man deserves promotion Father Vattmann does." " Not surprisingly, he was one of the first four chaplains selected for promotion. Thirteen years later, when Roosevelt thought that he would be leading a division of the American Expeditionary Force in France, he told reporters in Chicago that he wanted Vattmann to be his division chaplain.100

THE BOXER REBELLION

Two chaplains accompanied the American forces sent from the Philippines to suppress the "Boxer Rebellion." The units were the 9th and 14th Infantry Regiments, Troop "M" of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Light Battery "F" of the 5th Artillery, and some marines; the chaplains were Walter Marvine of the Ninth and Leslie R. Groves of the Fourteenth. In addition, Major General Adna R. Chaffee, commander of the United States expedition, granted permission to a civilian Catholic priest, Joseph M. Gleason, to serve as acting chaplain of Troop "M". Two Y.M.C.A. secretaries, John M. Phipps and Robert E. Lewis, assisted the chaplains. Phipps, who sailed to China with the Fourteenth, became ill aboard ship and entered the Methodist Mission Hospital at Tientsin; when he recovered, he worked among the American forces in the Tientsin area. Lewis, who was stationed in Shanghai before he left to evade the "Boxers," received permission from the commander of the Fourteenth to assist Chaplain Groves. 101

Though Chaplain Gleason accompanied Troop "M" from Tientsin to Peking, little is known about his ministry except what he reported in a letter to President Roosevelt in 1908 and what several members of the troop wrote in 1909. After serving among United States soldiers in the Philippines, he joined the troop at Nagasaki Harbor on the Transport Grant. He was allowed to wear the uniform, but though the unit undoubtedly shared its rations with him, he received no pay. Being the only Catholic priest with the international expedition, and being able to speak several languages, he conducted services for forces of other nations, as well as for the Americans. He visited with the sick and wounded and conducted burial services. On several occasions he addressed the enlisted men on

the camp ground. He also visited them, regardless of their creeds, and enjoyed their "full confidence"; they appreciated his "cheery manner.

"" 102

While the Ninth and the marines were taking the walled city of Tientsin on 13-14 July 1900, and following the battle, Chaplain Marvine gave his attention to the sick, wounded, dying, and dead. Later, when his unit departed with the other American forces to relieve the legations in Peking, his commander believed that he would be most useful at the Tientsin hospital; he therefore stayed there until January 1901, when he was ordered to Peking, where he remained until he left China three months later. At both places his ministry was similar; he held three services-including a communion service-each Sunday, visited the sick, and conducted burial services. Following the final victory over the "Boxers," he held a special Thanksgiving service in Tientsin for about 600 people. In Peking some missionaries joined him to conduct five special nightly services, which averaged about 250 in attendance; as a result of the meetings, he baptised several enlisted men.'

Chaplain Groves was in China for only three months, 27 July to 3 November 1900, but his ministry was so effective that the regimental commander recommended him for the Medal of Honor. On the march from Tientsin to Peking, the Fourteenth encountered two enemies, the Boxers and the hot weather. At the battles of Yang-Tsun and Peking, he and Y.M.C.A. secretary Lewis were "untiring night and day in administering to the wounded." After the fighting Groves buried the dead and identified each body by sealing personal data in a bottle and burying it with the corpse. During the long march, the sun was so fierce that soldiers fainted on the road "by the hundreds"; 40 ambulances could have been filled. But the "suffering men found a friend" in Groves; his commander said that he was "always in the right place at the right time." 104

"He was mounted, but oftener a soldier was on his horse than him-
self. He was constantly in attendance on the severest cases, giving
such aid as was possible. He would generally arrive at the bivouac
of his regiment hours after it had gone into camp for the night
and yet be ready for the early start in the morning. Such conduct
needs no comment."

"" 105

Once the battle of Peking ended, Chaplain Groves became a circuit rider; on his horse, “Reddy," he went from camp to camp conducting services and leading Bible classes. On one occasion, he was invited to preach to the missionaries who had gathered in Peking, and he was tempted to prepare a sermon on the text, "Vengeance is mine, I will

repay, says the Lord." He told his wife that with the exception of the Presbyterians and Methodists, he was disillusioned with the missionaries. He claimed that they were selling loot to American soldiers and desirous of destroying "everything and everybody" they counted as enemies. If he preached the sermon, however, he did not mention it in his monthly reports or correspondence with his family. Musician Calvin P. Titus, a soldier who received assistance from the chaplain on the long march and recovered in time to be recommended for the Medal of Honor for bravery at Peking, provided music for Groves' services. Thus, the Fourteenth's religious leaders possessed unusual credentials; both men had been recommended for the Medal of Honor. Titus, however, was the only one to be presented the prestigious award; Chaplain Groves received "Honorable Mention" in orders.106

Looking back at the ministry of the chaplains during the three conflicts, Cephas C. Bateman claimed in 1904 that it created an appreciation for the chaplaincy that existed "at no previous period of . . . history,' and the evidence supports his appraisal. Accurately or inaccurately, a Leslie's Weekly reported condemned both the Army and the chaplains for what he termed "that miserable burying business" at Camp Wikoff. In addition, someone in the Adjutant General's Office leaked information to the press that three chaplains-Sewell N. Pilchard, John S. Seibold, and Orville J. Nave-had pleaded ill health or old age to avoid orders for the Philippines. All three men were too sick or aged, but Nave's illness, at least, was partially the result of his vigorous devotion to his calling at Fort McPherson. The leak was probably a veiled attempt to discredit Nave for his outspoken pre-Spanish-American War efforts to improve the status of chaplains and the moral condition of the Army. In any event, Bateman cited the achievements and recognition of individual chaplains and expressed the hope that the new status and "pronounced encouragement" extended to the chaplain would "invest his position with dignity and render him still more efficient." 107

NOTES

1 David H. Shannon, Twentieth Century America, (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1963), p. 19. 2 Marvin A. Kriedberg and Merton G. Henry, History of Military Mobilization in the United States Army 1775-1945, (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1955), p. 171; Winthrop S. Hudson, Religion In America, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1965), pp. 320–321; Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), pp. 733-734; H. Shelton Smith, Robert T. Handy, Lefferts A. Loetscher, American Christianity, Vol. 2, New York: (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1963), pp. 367–368. Shannon, Twentieth Century America, pp. 21, 129-130.

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