Elwell Stephen Otis (March 25, 1838 – October 21, 1909) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

late in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

and during the Philippine–American War.

Biography

Otis was born in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

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. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1860 and was practicing law during the first year of the Civil War.

Civil War

During the

, 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, Chancellorsville and 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 The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

. During the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

, he assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division in V Corps leading it into action at the

Battle of Peebles' Farm The Battle of Peebles's Farm (or Poplar Springs Church or Poplar Grove Church) was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, during the Siege of Petersburg i ...

. During this battle he was severely wounded effectively ended his field career during the Civil War. He was promoted to brevet

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of volunteers for actions at Peebles' Farm. Otis eventually recovered and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 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 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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of volunteers and was sent to the Philippines with reinforcements for General

Wesley Merritt Wesley Merritt (June 16, 1836December 3, 1910) was an American major general who served in the cavalry of the United States Army during the American Civil War, American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier ...

. Otis assumed command of the 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 in 1899 and during the first phase of the insurrection before fighting turned primarily to guerrilla warfare. Otis's response when 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 was, "fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end." Soldiers under Otis' command were accused of committing abuses early in the war. In response to these charges, Otis said:

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 The Department of the Lakes was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1866 to 1873 and again from 1898 to 1913. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Atlantic and comprised posts in the Midwestern United Sta ...

. 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. 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". 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 Bowman, the daughter of Alexander Hamilton Bowman and Marie Louisa Collins. The couple had one child. United States Census, 1880 and 1900, and available online They were married in 1878. # Louise B. Otis born February 21, 1882, in Kansas and died December 27, 1963, in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. She married George Wagner. Louisa "Lulu" Otis, the widow of Elwell Otis died in Santa Barbara, California on June 8, 1934.

Legacy

For many years on June 15, Rochester, New York celebrated Otis Day. This is no longer the case.

Portrayal in the media

* Portrayed by E.A. Rocha in the

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

film, '' Heneral Luna'' (2015), and its sequel, '' Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral'' (2018).