Andrew Summers Rowan
Encyclopedia
Andrew Summers Rowan was an American Army
officer
who served as the liaison
between the United States
and Cuban rebels
led by General Calixto García
during the Spanish American War.
Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Virginia
(now West Virginia) in 1857. He was the son of John M. Rowan
and Virginia Summers. He enrolled at West Point
at the age of twenty and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1881. In the years before the Spanish American War, Rowan served several frontier posts and with military intelligence
in Latin America
. He was interested in Cuba
in particular and co-wrote a book about the island (see writings listed below).
With tensions between the United States and the Spanish
(who then ruled Cuba) growing, President William McKinley
saw value in establishing contact with the Cuban rebels who could prove a valuable ally in case of war with Spain. McKinley asked Colonel
Arthur L. Wagner
to suggest an officer to make contact with Garcia's rebels. Wagner suggested Rowan, by now Captain, who then traveled to Cuba via Jamaica
. Rowan met Garcia in the Oriente Mountains and established a rapport. Rowan garnered information from Garcia who was eager to cooperate with Americans in fighting the Spanish. Rowan returned to the US and was given command of a force of "Immunes", African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. He received the Distinguished Service Cross
.
In 1899 artist and publisher Elbert Hubbard
wrote a passage entitled A Message to Garcia
extolling the virtues of Rowan, lauding his reliability and competence. Finding appeal in this message, industrial and military leaders ordered millions of copies of the text to distribute to their workers and soldiers making it a best-seller. It was translated into several languages and sold internationally.
In 1908, while Rowan was at Fort Douglas, Utah
, his wife, Josephine, established a reading room for the blind at the Salt Lake City Public Library
. This may be the longest, uninterrupted, service project in the city's history.
Rowan retired after thirty years of service, in 1909, and died in the Presidio of San Francisco
in 1943. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
who served as the liaison
Liaison officer
A liaison officer or LNO is a person that liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, they are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. In the military, liaison officers may...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Cuban rebels
Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...
led by General Calixto García
Calixto García
Calixto García e Iñiguez was a general in three Cuban uprisings, part of the Cuban War for Independence: Ten Years' War, the Little War and the War of 1895, itself sometimes called the Cuban War for Independence, which bled into the Spanish-American War, ultimately resulting in national...
during the Spanish American War.
Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(now West Virginia) in 1857. He was the son of John M. Rowan
John M. Rowan
John M. Rowan was born May 17, 1829 in Craig County, Virginia. When he was about sixteen years old he came to Gap Mills, West Virginia to work as a clerk for Andrew Summers. He worked there for several years until the California Gold Rush in 1849. After receiving word about this new opportunity he...
and Virginia Summers. He enrolled at West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at the age of twenty and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1881. In the years before the Spanish American War, Rowan served several frontier posts and with military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. He was interested in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in particular and co-wrote a book about the island (see writings listed below).
With tensions between the United States and the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(who then ruled Cuba) growing, President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
saw value in establishing contact with the Cuban rebels who could prove a valuable ally in case of war with Spain. McKinley asked Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Arthur L. Wagner
Arthur L. Wagner
Arthur Lockwood Wagner was a United States brigadier general and military instructor.-Biography:Born in Ottawa, Illinois, Wagner graduated from West Point in 1875 near the bottom of his class with a commission in the infantry...
to suggest an officer to make contact with Garcia's rebels. Wagner suggested Rowan, by now Captain, who then traveled to Cuba via Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Rowan met Garcia in the Oriente Mountains and established a rapport. Rowan garnered information from Garcia who was eager to cooperate with Americans in fighting the Spanish. Rowan returned to the US and was given command of a force of "Immunes", African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. He received the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
.
In 1899 artist and publisher Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
wrote a passage entitled A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia
A Message to Garcia is a best-selling inspirational essay written in 1899 by Elbert Hubbard that has been made into two motion pictures.Felix Shay, Hubbard's personal assistant, wrote:...
extolling the virtues of Rowan, lauding his reliability and competence. Finding appeal in this message, industrial and military leaders ordered millions of copies of the text to distribute to their workers and soldiers making it a best-seller. It was translated into several languages and sold internationally.
In 1908, while Rowan was at Fort Douglas, Utah
Fort Douglas, Utah
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially...
, his wife, Josephine, established a reading room for the blind at the Salt Lake City Public Library
Salt Lake City Public Library
The Salt Lake City Public Library system's main branch building is an architecturally unique structure in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is located at 210 East, 400 South, across from the Salt Lake City and County Building and Washington Square.-History:...
. This may be the longest, uninterrupted, service project in the city's history.
Rowan retired after thirty years of service, in 1909, and died in the Presidio of San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
in 1943. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Literature
- A Message to Garcia (Elbert Hubbard. Filiquarian Publishing, LLC, 2006).
- Entry in Cullum's Register
- Andrew Summers Rowan Arlington National Cemetery Website
Writings
- The island of Cuba; a descriptive and historical account of the "Great Antilla" (written with Marathon Montrose Ramsey) (New York: H. Holt & Co., 1896; 2nd ed 1897).
- How I carried the message to Garcia (San Francisco: W. D. Harney, 1922).