Francis Vinton Greene

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Francis Vinton Greene
Born(1850-06-27)June 27, 1850
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
DiedMay 15, 1921(1921-05-15) (aged 70)
New York, New York, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Years of service1870–1886, 1898–1899
RankMajor General
Unit2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps
Battles/wars
Alma materU.S. Military Academy
RelationsGeorge S. Greene (father)
Samuel Dana Greene (brother)
Other workWar Department attaché,
Professor of Artillery at West Point,
New York City Police Commissioner
Signature

Francis Vinton Greene (June 27, 1850 – May 15, 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.

Biography[edit]

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, first in his class.[2] 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.[3] 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 an instructor of practical military engineering at West Point before resigning from the Army on December 31, 1886. He published multiple articles on the development of modern warfare and U.S. military policy.[4][5]

After leaving the Army, Greene became president of the Barber Asphalt Paving Company, joining the New York National Guard on December 18, 1889 as a major and serving as 1st Brigade engineer.[6][7] He was elected colonel of the 71st New York Infantry Regiment on February 2, 1892.[7][8]

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.[9] During his service, he was put in charge of the finances of the preliminary Philippine administration. In September 1898, he briefed President McKinley on the Philippine situation and recommended the annexation of the entire archipelago. He wrote to William R. Day and William McKinley that he and Admiral Dewey agreed that the Philippines should not be divided, and it would be much better to hold the islands as one. He expected British agreement. [10]

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.[11] He was president of the Niagara-Lockport and Ontario Power Company, along with other business ventures with Buffalo businessman John J. Albright. Greene died on May 15, 1921, at his home in the Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City.[7] He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[12]

Legacy[edit]

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.

Dates of rank[edit]

Insignia Rank Date Component
No insignia Cadet, USMA September 1, 1866 Regular Army
Second Lieutenant June 15, 1870 Regular Army
(Artillery)
Second Lieutenant June 10, 1872 Regular Army
(Engineers)
First Lieutenant January 13, 1874 Regular Army
(Engineers)
Captain February 20, 1883 Regular Army
(Engineers)
Major December 18, 1889 New York
National Guard
Colonel February 2, 1892 New York
National Guard
Colonel May 2, 1898 Volunteers
Brigadier General May 27, 1898 Volunteers
Major General August 13, 1898 Volunteers

[2][13]

Publications[edit]

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.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Spaulding, Thomas M. (1931). "Greene, Francis Vinton". In Johnson, Allen; Malone, Dumas (eds.). Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 7 (Fraunces-Grimké). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 565–566. Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b Cullum, George W. (1930). Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from its establishment in 1802 to 1890. Vol. VII (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 98.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Greene, Francis V. (1883). "The Important Improvements in the Art of War During the Past Twenty Years and their Probably Effect on Future Military Operations". Journal of the Military Service Institution. 4: 1–54 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
  5. ^ Greene, Francis V. (1887). "Our Defenceless Coasts". Scribner's Monthly Magazine. 1: 51–66 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
  6. ^ Brown, John Howard (1900). "Greene, Francis Vinton". Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. Vol. III. Boston, Massachusetts: James H. Lamb Company. p. 394. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Gen. F. V. Greene Dies After Long Illness: Ex-Police Commissioner and Colonel of 71st Regt. Passes Away at His Home Here" (PDF). The New York Times. May 16, 1921. p. 15. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York since its establishment in 1802: Supplement, 1890–1900. Vol. IV. The Riverside Press. 1901. p. 193. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1798–1903 by Francis B. Heitman.
  10. ^ Zelikow, Philip (November 2017). "Why Did America Cross the Pacific? Reconstructing the U.S. Decision to Take the Philippines, 1898–99". Texas National Security Review. 1: 56–57.
  11. ^ "General Greene In Police Department". Baltimore American. December 24, 1902. Retrieved May 1, 2011. 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 ...
  12. ^ "Greene, Francis V". ANCExplorer. U.S. Army. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Official Army Register for January 1886. Washington: Adjutant General's Office. 1886. p. 41.
  14. ^ 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.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francis Vinton Greene.
Police appointments
Preceded by NYPD Commissioner
1903–1904 		Succeeded by
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