James Denver Glennan
| James Denver Glennan | |
|---|---|
 Brigadier General James D. Glennan, Medical Corps, United States Army. | |
| Born |
March 2, 1862 Rochester, New York, United States |
| Died |
December 24, 1927 (aged 65) Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. |
| Place of Burial | Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia |
| Allegiance |
 United States |
| Service/branch |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | 1888-1927 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held |
Division Hospital in Manila Walter Reed General Hospital Assistant to the Surgeon General |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Medal Medaille d’Honneur |
Brigadier General James Denver Glennan (March 2, 1862 – December 24, 1927) was a senior United States Army officer in the Medical Corps. Beginning his career in 1888 on the frontier during the Indian Wars, Glennan served in the military until his death in 1927. By then he held command of various hospitals and posts in Cuba, the Philippines, France, and the continental United States.[1]
Early life
James Denver Glennan was born in Rochester, New York, on March 2, 1862, to Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Glennan.[2] Immigrating to the United States as a child in 1828 from County Meath, Ireland, Patrick's family eventually settled in Rochester. Graduating in medicine from Geneva College in 1850, he returned to his home of Rochester where he married his wife, raised a family, and practiced medicine until the outbreak of the Civil War.[3]
Patrick was first appointed acting assistant surgeon with the Union Army in 1862 and served in this capacity until becoming commissioned as assistant surgeon, United States Volunteers, in May of 1864. Mustering out in November of 1867, he was the last surgeon of volunteers to have done so.[3] For the majority of his wartime service he was in charge of Stone General Hospital, Washington, D.C.; however, after it closed in 1865, he spent the remainder of his military service at Freedmen's Hospital. He established and then was made executive officer of the hospital in 1868, remaining in this capacity for over twenty-five years.[3]
Freedmen's Hospital later became the university hospital for Howard University. James, along with his two other brothers, followed his father's example and attended the university's medical school.[3] He graduated with his medical degree in 1886 and became appointed assistant surgeon, regular army, on October 29, 1888.[2]
Military service
On the frontier
Soon after joining the army, Glennan reported for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, with the 7th Cavalry. He was with the regiment on the Pine Ridge Agency during the winter of 1890, when it took part in the Wounded Knee Massacre and Drexel Mission Fight. His "fortitude and cool performance of duty under trying fire," during the Ghost Dance War, was commended.[1]
His next assignment was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Arriving there in 1892, he would remain at the post for the next five years at the same time when Geronimo and other Apache prisoners were housed there.[1] His next door neighbor on the post was Hugh L. Scott, future Chief of Staff of the United States Army.[4] Scott was commander of Troop L, 7th Cavalry, which was an Indian scout unit. Both men established a strong relationship with the Native Americans on the post. At one point an outbreak of measles occurred among the native children. Glennan "labored with them incessantly," with the help of Scott and three other soldiers. The camp was quarantined and losses were small. Grateful, the parents of the survivors desired to present Glennan with a gift and settled on purchasing a piece of silver. Its inscription bore "the gratitude of the Indians of Troop L [Seventh?] Cavalry for his services."[5]
Glennan became greatly concerned with the welfare of Apache children at Indian boarding schools. In a letter that he composed on November 1, 1895, he described the bad practices of Carlisle Indian Industrial School in detail. He once witnessed a boy, a Carlisle student dying from phthisis, "compelled to travel in a day coach until unconscious, and then twenty-eight miles in a stage in an effort to get [home] before death, which was accomplished by a few hours." He believed that the best course of action to treat pulmonary disease in the children was to have them returned home in the early stages of their infection. This return to the healthy dry atmosphere of American Southwest would give the sufferers "a chance for life" and prevent them from becoming "sources of infection to their people."[6] The letter reached George Miller Sternberg, Surgeon General of the army, then being forwarded to the adjutant general. It is noted that "nothing happened as a result of this correspondence."[7]
During a time that organized Native American companies within the army faced staunch criticism by officers, Glennan wrote an article supporting their existence in an 1895 issue of the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. He acknowledged that not all companies had been successful in nature, with a number of them experiencing a variety of failures, yet "it is time for those who have seen good results to speak of them."[8] He used his observations of Scott's Troop L as evidence. The men of the troop, from the Apache, Comanche, and Apache tribes, entered the service three years prior as "the usual blanket Indians, without any knowledge of the English language, or the power and resources of the Government, no knowledge of the white man's methods, no occupation, discipline or responsibility." Military service, however, changed all that. Those men would return home and have great influence over their fellow tribespeople. As a result, Glennan called the incorporation of Native Americans into organized army units the "strongest hold the Government has ever had on these tribes."[8]
Promotions
List of Glennan's promotions in chronological order:[9]
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| "No insignia" | Assistant Surgeon | Regular Army | October 29, 1888 (accepted October 31) |
 | Captain (Assistant Surgeon) | Regular Army | October 29, 1893 |
 | Major (Brigade Surgeon) | Regular Army | June 4, 1898 (accepted June 24) Honorably discharged May 12, 1899) |
| | Major (Surgeon) | Volunteers | August 17, 1899 (accepted August 20) Vacated May 11, 1901 Reappointed and vacated January 1, 1902 |
| | Major (Surgeon) | Regular Army | January 1, 1902 |
| | Major (Surgeon) | Medical Corps, Regular Army | January 1, 1902 |
 | Lieutenant Colonel | Regular Army | January 1, 1910 |
 | Colonel | Regular Army | July 1, 1916 |
 | Brigadier general | Medical Corps, National Army | October 1, 1918 (accepted October 14) Honorably discharged March 15, 1919 and reverted to the rank of colonel |
| | Brigadier general | Regular Army | February 9, 1925 (accepted same day) |
Death
Although Glennan was retired on March 2, 1926, he was activated two days later in order to supervise construction work being done on Walter Reed and served in this capacity until his death on December 24, 1927.[1][9] With his funeral held on December 27, a number of close associates and friends served as honorary pall bearers, including Major general Merritte W. Ireland.[1]
Personal life
Hobbies
Glennan took a keen interest in his surrounding while stationed on the frontier. Outside of his military duties, he took up collecting native american artifacts as a hobby. Hugh L. Scott recalled that Glennan "was making a collection of Indian curios" and purchased a Kiowa warrior's shield for fifty dollars from him.[4] He amassed an extensive collection during his life time. After his death, a large portion of it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in the 1940s by Frances Glennan. Over seventy artifacts representing the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Pueblo, along with a number of other Native American cultures, are currently housed at the National Museum of Natural History.
Family
Glennan never married during his lifetime. Despite remaining single, he was nonetheless considered a "handsome man" with "many attractive qualities."[1]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Phalen, James M. "Brigadier General James D. Glennan". history.amedd.army.mil. U.S. Army Medical Department Office of Medical History. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- 1 2 Davis, Jr., Henry Blaine (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, North Carolina: Pentland Press, Inc. p. 149. ISBN 1571970886.
- 1 2 3 4 Lamb, Daniel Smith (1900). A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir. Washington, D.C.: R. Beresford. p. 114. OCLC 894190846.
- 1 2 Scott, 2016, p. 169.
- ↑ Scott, 2016, p. 203-4.
- ↑ Stockel, 2004, p. 66.
- ↑ Stockel, 2004, p. 168.
- 1 2 Glennan, 1895, p. 100.
- 1 2 United States. Adjutant-General's Office. (1927). Official Army Register. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. OCLC 858234644.
References
- Glennan, James D. (January 1895). "The Military Service of Indians". Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. XVI (78). OCLC 1605332. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- Stockel, H. Henrietta (2004). Shame and Endurance: The Untold Story of the Chiricahua Apache Prisoners of War. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-2414-3.
- Scott, Hugh L. (2016). Paul, R. Eli, ed. Hugh Lenox Scott Remembers Indian Country. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-5354-4.