View source for Elwell Stephen Otis

{{short description|United States Army general}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Elwell S. Otis
| image               = Elwell S. Otis.jpg
| order               = 2nd American [[Governor General of the Philippines|Military Governor]] of the Philippines
| term_start          = August 28, 1898
| term_end            = May 5, 1900
| president           = [[William McKinley]]
| predecessor         = [[Wesley Merritt]]
| successor           = [[Arthur MacArthur Jr.]]
| order2              = Member of the [[Schurman Commission]]
| term_start2         = March 4, 1899
| term_end2           = March 16, 1900
| predecessor2        = ''Position established''
| successor2          = [[Bernard Moses]]
([[Taft Commission]])
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1838|3|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]], [[Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1909|10|21|1838|3|25|mf=y}}
| death_place         = [[Rochester, New York]], U.S.<ref name=esotisArlington>[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/esotis.htm Elwell Stephen Otis], Arlington National Cemetery.</ref>
| alma_mater          = {{unbulleted list | [[University of Rochester]] | [[Harvard Law School]] }}
| spouse              = {{unbulleted list |Louise Selden|Louisa <!--McAllister--> Bowman}}
| allegiance          = [[United States of America]]
| branch              = {{army|USA}}<br />[[Union Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1862–1902
| rank                = [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major General]]
| commands            = [[20th Infantry Regiment (United States)|20th Infantry Regiment]]<br />[[Eighth Army Corps (Spanish-American War)|Eighth Army Corps]]
| unit                = {{Flagicon|New York}} [[140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment]]
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[American Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Fredericksburg]]
** [[Battle of Gettysburg]]
** [[Siege of Petersburg]]
** [[Battle of Peebles' Farm]]
* [[Indian Wars]]
** [[Great Sioux War]]
* [[Spanish–American War]]
* [[Philippine–American War]]
**[[Battle of Manila (1899)|Battle of Manila]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards              = 
| governor-general2   = [[Jacob Gould Schurman]]
| nickname            = "Granny"
}}
'''Elwell Stephen Otis''' (March 25, 1838 – October 21, 1909) was a [[United States Army]] [[General officer|general]] who served in the [[American Civil War]], [[Indian Wars]], the [[Philippines]] late in the [[Spanish–American War]] and during the [[Philippine–American War]].

==Biography==
Otis was born in [[Frederick, Maryland]] on March 25, 1838. He attended the University of Rochester, where he was a member of the Iota chapter of [[St. Anthony Hall]] aka the Fraternity of Delta Psi.<ref>Negus, W. H. (1900). "[[Delta Psi]]". In Maxwell, W. J. (ed.). ''Greek Lettermen of Washington''. New York, New York: The Umbdenstock Publishing Co. pp.&nbsp;231–234.</ref> He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1860 and was practicing law during the first year of the Civil War.

===Civil War===
During the [[American Civil War]], Otis was appointed captain in the [[140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] formed in Rochester, NY in September 1862. He fought at the battles of Fredericksburg, [[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville]] and [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]]. On December 23, 1863, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of his regiment. At the [[Battle of Spotsylvania]] the regiment's colonel was killed and Otis assumed command. He fought in all the battles of the [[Overland Campaign]]. During the [[Siege of Petersburg]], he assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division in [[V Corps (ACW)|V Corps]] leading it into action at the [[Battle of Peebles' Farm]]. During this battle he was severely wounded, which effectively ended his field career during the Civil War. He was promoted to [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers for actions at Peebles' Farm. Otis eventually recovered and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the [[22d Infantry Regiment (United States)|22nd U.S. Infantry]] in 1867.

===Indian Wars===
Otis continued serving in the army during the Indian Wars as part of the 22nd U.S. including campaigning in Montana in the aftermath of the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]]. On February 8, 1880, he was appointed colonel of the [[20th Infantry Regiment (United States)|20th U.S. Infantry]]. On November 28, 1893, he was appointed brigadier general in the regular army. He later commanded the [[Department of the Columbia]] and the Department of Colorado.

===Philippine–American War===
On May 4, 1898, he was appointed [[Major general (United States)|major general]] of volunteers and was sent to the Philippines with reinforcements for General [[Wesley Merritt]]. Otis assumed command of the [[Eighth Army Corps (Spanish–American War)|Eighth Army Corps]], replacing Merritt, who had become the military governor of the Philippines. Merritt served as military governor only briefly before he returned to the United States. On August 28, 1898, Otis was appointed Military Governor for the Philippines.

He also continued in command of Eighth Corps during the [[Philippine–American War]]. He conducted the U.S. Army during the [[Battle of Manila (1899)|Battle of Manila]] in 1899 and during the first phase of the insurrection before fighting turned primarily to guerrilla warfare. When Filipino General [[Emilio Aguinaldo]] tried to stop the war by sending an emissary to General Otis to appeal for an end to the fighting in the Second Battle of Manila, Otis rejected it, insisting that "fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end."<ref>{{cite book | last1=Thompson | first1=R.E. | last2=Barker | first2=W. | title= A National Weekly Journal of Politics ..., Volumes 30-31 | publisher=The American | year=1899 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WCz9OL0aY_sC | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WCz9OL0aY_sC&dq=speaking%20for%20Aguinaldo&pg=PA210 210]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Miller, Stuart Creighton |title=Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899–1903 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1982 |isbn=0-300-03081-9}} p. 63</ref>

In May 1899, the [[American Anti-Imperialist League]] published a pamphlet of letters allegedly written by U.S. soldiers in the Philippines that documented numerous atrocities committed by troops, leading to a wide public backlash against Otis and the war.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Soldiers_Letters |title=Letters of soldiers during the Philippine-American War}}</ref> In response, Otis denied to the press that any abuses had been committed, and tracked down the authors of the letters, threatening them with a [[court-martial]] if they did not immediately write a retraction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Stuart Creighton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8TkAAAAIAAJ |title="Benevolent Assimilation": The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903 |date=1982 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-02697-9 |language=en}}</ref> Despite his attempts to prevent reports of atrocities from reaching the press, Otis did admit that he suspected his troops of having committed atrocities, stating:

{{Quote|text=The conduct of the Washington Volunteers has been the subject of special investigations for some time. They deny wanton burning or cruelties. And still there are strong indications that they practised these infractions to some extent.}}

===Later life===
He was relieved of command in 1900 and replaced by [[Arthur MacArthur Jr.]], the father of [[Douglas MacArthur]]. He returned to the United States and commanded the [[Department of the Lakes]]. He was appointed major general in the regular army in 1906.

Otis was a skilled general and able administrator. However, he was generally disliked by his subordinates and peers and received harsh treatment in the press. He was known as "Granny" by his troops because of his age and graying hair.<ref>{{cite book |author=Linn, Brian McAllister|author-link=Brian McAllister Linn |title=The Philippine War: 1899–1902 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |year=2000}}</ref>{{rp|27–29}}  On the other hand, Rudolph Rau writes of Otis' work in the Philippines that "He delegated no authority, was pompous and fuzzy, and inspired few".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9psVU2lcosC&pg=PA209 |title=General of the Night|first=Rudolph|last=Rau|date=12 June 2007|publisher=General of the Night |isbn=9780615303444}}</ref> He died in Rochester, New York on October 21, 1909, from painful angina.

===Family===
Elwell S. Otis married twice. His first wife was Louise Selden.  They married in 1870, and had two daughters:
# Laura Lu Otis born 1872 in North Dakota. Married Harry K. Elston.
# Mary L. Otis born 1875 in New York. Married Ralph Isham.
His second wife was Louisa <!--McAllister--> Bowman, the daughter of [[Alexander Hamilton Bowman]] and Marie Louisa Collins. The couple had one child.<ref name="jenniferhsrn">[[United States Census]], 1880 and 1900, and {{url|2=The Historical record of Wyoming Valley: A compilation of matters of local history from the columns of the Wilkes-Barre record, Volume 8 p. 348 |1=https://books.google.com/books?id=Scc8AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA373 }} available online</ref> They were married in 1878.
# Louise B. Otis born February 21, 1882, in Kansas and died December 27, 1963, in [[Santa Barbara, California]]. She married George Wagner.

Louisa "Lulu" Otis, the widow of Elwell Otis died in Santa Barbara, California on June 8, 1934.[[File:Coat of Arms of John Otis.svg|175px|thumb|left|Coat of Arms of Elwell Stephen Otis]]
==Legacy==
For many years on June 15, Rochester, New York celebrated Otis Day. This is no longer the case.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kramer |first=David |date=15 June 2015 |title=Remembering General Elwell Otis on his Day, June 15th: Rochester's imperial war hero |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/blogs/editorial/2015/06/15/remembering-general-elwell-otis--his-day-june-15th-rochestere28099s-imperial-war-hero/71238630/ |newspaper=Democrat & Chronicle |publisher=Gannett |access-date=15 June 2015 }}<br/>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 June 1900 |title=Otis Day at Rochester |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P7k-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=01kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4098%2C5918057 |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |access-date=15 June 2015 }}<br/>{{cite book|title=Official Program, Otis Day Souvenir: Rochester, N.Y., June 15th, 1900|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPCgHwAACAAJ|year=1900|publisher=Rochester Chamber of Commerce}}<br/>{{cite book|first=Donovan A.|last=Shilling|title=They Put Rochester On The Map|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-olnz1NFlsC&pg=PA83|year=2012|publisher=Pancoast Publishing|isbn=978-0-9838496-1-2|page=83}}</ref>

==Portrayal in the media==
* Portrayed by E.A. Rocha in the [[Philippine]] film, ''[[Heneral Luna]]'' (2015), and its sequel, ''[[Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral]]'' (2018).

==See also==
{{Commons category|Elwell Stephen Otis}}
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |author=Elwell Stephen Otis |year=1878 |url=http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp25625 |title=The Indian Question |format=PDF |publisher=Sheldon and Company |access-date=May 7, 2006}} Full book online

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College|Commandant of the Command and General Staff College]]|years  = November 1881 – June 1885}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Thomas Howard Ruger]]}}
{{S-gov}}
{{Succession box
|title  = [[Governor-General of the Philippines|Military Governor of the Philippines]]
|before = [[Wesley Merritt]]
|after  = [[Arthur MacArthur, Jr]]
|years  = August 28, 1898 – May 5, 1900
}}
{{S-off}}
{{s-new|creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Schurman Commission|Member of the Schurman Commission]]|years=March 4, 1899 – March 16, 1900}}
{{s-aft|after=Bernard Moses <br /> ([[Taft Commission]])}}
{{S-end}}
{{Schurman Commission}}
{{American Governors-General of the Philippines}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Elwell Stephen}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1909 deaths]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Philippine–American War]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Otis family|Elwell Stephen]]
[[Category:Politicians from Frederick, Maryland]]
[[Category:People of New York (state) in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Union army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:United States military governors]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Military governors of the Philippine Islands]]
[[Category:University of Rochester alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]