Francis Vinton Greene

Francis Vinton Greene (1850–1921) was a United States Army officer who fought in the Spanish–American War.[1] He came from the Greene family of Rhode Island, noted for its long line of participants in American military history.

Francis Vinton Greene
Francis Vinton Greene
Born(1850-06-27)June 27, 1850
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
DiedMay 13, 1921(1921-05-13) (aged 70)
New York City, New York, USA
AllegianceUnited States of America
Years of service1870–1886, 1898–1899
RankMajor general
Unit2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps
Battles/warsBattle of Manila, Spanish–American War (1898)
Other workWar Department attaché,
Professor of Artillery at West Point,
New York City Police Commissioner

Biography

Greene was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 27, 1850. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1870. He first served in the U.S. artillery and then transferred to the Corps of Engineers in 1872. He next served as an attaché from the War Department to the U.S. legation in St. Petersburg, Russia. While there he served in the Russian army during its war with Turkey.[2] He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1874 and captain in 1883. He returned to the U.S. and was a civil engineer to the city of Washington, D.C. and was a professor of artillery at West Point before resigning from the Army on December 31, 1886.

When the Spanish–American War broke out he raised the 71st New York Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned as its colonel on May 2, 1898. He was quickly promoted to brigadier general of Volunteers on May 27, 1898. He commanded the second Philippine Expeditionary Force which became the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps. Greene took a prominent part in the Battle of Manila in 1898. He assisted in the surrender negotiations for Manila. In August 1898 he was promoted major general of Volunteers and resigned on February 28, 1899.[3]

After the war, he pursued a variety of occupations. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1900. He served as the New York City Police Commissioner from 1903 to 1904.[4] He was president of the Niagara-Lockport and Ontario Power Company, along with other business ventures with Buffalo businessman John J. Albright. He died on May 13, 1921, in New York City.

Legacy

Greene's family holds a distinguished place in American military history. His father was Civil War general, George Sears Greene, famous for his defense of Culp's Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg. His older brother, Samuel Dana Greene, was the executive officer of the USS Monitor during the Battle of Hampton Roads. All were from Rhode Island.

Publications

His publications include a series of works on military campaigns, including:

  • The Russian Army and its Campaigns in Turkey. New York: D. Appleton and Company. 1879. Retrieved July 18, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • Sketches of Army Life in Russia. London: W. H. Allen & Co. 1881. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • The Mississippi (Campaigns of the Civil War). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1882. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • General Greene. New York: D. Appleton and Company. 1893. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • The American Revolutionary War and the Military Policy of the United States. New York: Charles Scribners's Sons. 1911. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • "Foreword and Epilogue". Why Europe is at War: The Question Considered From the Points of View of France, England, Germany, Japan and the United States. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1915. pp. v–xvi and 141–170. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • Our First Year in the Great War. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1918. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  • Greene also wrote a biographical sketch in a collection of Theodore Roosevelt's political writings entitled, "American Ideals", originally published 1897 and subsequently republished for Roosevelt's presidential campaign in 1900.[5]

See also

References
  1. Spaulding, Thomas M. (1931). "Greene, Francis Vinton". In Johnson, Allen; Malone, Dumas (eds.). Dictionary of American Biography. 7 (Fraunces-Grimké). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 565–566. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Greene, F.V. (1879). "Preface". The Russian Army and its Campaigns in Turkey. New York: D.Appleton and Company. pp. vii–viii. Retrieved July 18, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  3. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1798–1903 by Francis B. Heitman.
  4. "General Greene In Police Department". Baltimore American. December 24, 1902. Retrieved 2011-05-01. Francis Vinton Greene was this afternoon appointed commissioner of police by Mayor Low to succeed Colonel John Partridge when the latter retires from office on ...
  5. Greene, General Francis Vinton (1900). "Biographical Sketch". American Ideals; And Other Essays Social and Political by Theodore Roosevelt. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 1–15. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
Police appointments
Preceded by
John Nelson Partridge		 NYPD Commissioner
1903–1904		 Succeeded by
William McAdoo
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