Alger Service Through the Ages
The Alger’s have a very long history of patriotic and military service going back to when there were not many official written records documenting such things.
General Russell A. Alger’s parents, Russell Alger and Catherine Moulton of rural Lafayette Township, Medina County, Ohio, trace their ancestry back to Sir Thomas de Moulton, a knight who fought with King William I, better known as William the Conqueror, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. If one must fight, one might as well fight with “one of the greatest soldiers and rulers of the Middle Ages” (Brittanica). Finding himself in great favor with the King for his battlefield efforts, Sir Thomas was rewarded with a large swath of land which officially became Moulton, Lincolnshire, England around 1100.
Centuries later, Gen. Alger’s maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather arrived in the United States. Master shipbuilder Robert Moulton relocated from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England to Salem, Massachusetts in 1629, along with his adult son, Robert Jr., a Church of England clergyman. Robert Sr. was loosely anointed “in charge” by the governor and was a very well respected community leader with extensive real estate holdings in the Charlestown area of Boston. The site of his former home became known as Moulton Point and was where the British landed when they crossed from Boston to engage in the Battle of Bunker Hill; both father and son died in 1655. Robert Moulton, III also lived in Salem, when it was popular to fight each other during the witch trials, which he reportedly engaged in.
Jumping ahead to the 5th generation of Robert Moulton descendants, one finds Captain Freeborn Moulton (4/3/1717 – 6/9/1792), the great-great-grandfather of Gen. Russell A. Alger (a 7th generation descendent). Capt. Moulton was born in Windham, CT and is Gen. Alger’s direct tie-in to the Revolutionary War. As part of Colonel Danielson’s Regiment, Freeman was Captain of the Monson minutemen and led the march to Cambridge in response to the Lexington Alarm issued April 19, 1775, kicking off the Revolutionary War. His memorial cenotaph is at Moulton Hill Cemetery, Monson, Hampden County, MA.
Cenotaph for Capt. Freeborn Moulton at Moulton Hill Cemetery in Monson, MA.
His son, also named Freeborn (4/9/1746 – 1815), is likewise listed as being a Revolutionary War veteran from Monson in the Moulton Annul but I’ve not been able to independently 100% confirm this. However, the junior Freeman’s age is more in line with engaging in serious battle.
Although there is much less information immediately available on the paternal side of the Alger family lineage, there are several historical references to “a great grandfather” fighting in the Revolutionary War. Neither the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) nor I have found such evidence, but there may have been an ancestor, potentially Capt. John Alger, Jr., in the earlier and much lesser documented French and Indian War (1755 – 1762). The Alger’s, via Jonathon Alger, came from England around 1630 and landed in Connecticut living primarily in the Old Lyme area. If Capt. John was indeed a war veteran, he was the only one that descended from Jonathon until General Alger.
Revolutionary War Colonel Eli Brownson (5/31/1748 - 3/28/1830) was related to Annette Henry Alger, Gen. Alger’s wife. Born in Salisbury, Litchfield, Connecticut, he registered for the military in 1777 and eventually died in Sunderland, Bennington, Vermont. Annette had him listed as her official Patriot in the DAR’s records, so he is 100% confirmed.
By now the story of General Russell Alexander Alger’s military service should be fairly well known. He signed up to join the Union Army within two weeks of his marriage to Annette as Ft. Sumter had been fired upon and he felt it was his patriotic duty. He mustered into the Civil War as Captain of Company C, 2nd Michigan Cavalry. Rising quickly through the ranks, he then became Lieutenant Colonel of the Michigan 6th Cavalry, then Colonel of the Michigan 5th Cavalry, General Custer’s famous brigade. He was severely injured twice: at the Battle of Booneville (MS, 7/2/1862), where he was also taken prisoner but escaped within 24 hours, then injured again at the Battle of Boonesboro (MD, 7/6/1864). Throughout the winter of 1863 – 1864 he was on special assignment visiting all of the U.S. field armies and camps on the orders of President Lincoln and reported only to him. Due to health issues from his war injuries, he retired from the military autumn of 1864. As with many veterans today, he continued to have service-related health issues throughout his lifetime. In total, he had fought in 66 battles and skirmishes, several of them the fiercest of the Civil War. Alger was considered a brilliant military strategist by Generals’ Custer, Sheridan, McClellan, and Kilpatrick. He was breveted as Brigadier General and Major General for “gallant and meritorious services on the field.”
Gen. Alger went on to bring an important change for veterans by vastly improving their pensions. As governor, he opened the Michigan Soldiers’ Home (now the Michigan Veterans’ Facility) in 1886 in Grand Rapids. He became the national Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) 1889 – 1890 and was a member of the Massachusetts Commandry of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) before becoming a founding member of the Michigan Commandry. Both fraternal organizations were open only to Civil War veterans in good standing and had huge memberships. The Michigan Commandry was the driving force behind the 1921 installation of the impressive Russell Alger Memorial Fountain located in Grand Circus Park honoring the General.
Russell A. Alger Memorial Fountain at Grand Circus Park in Detroit.
Alger went on to be vigorously promoted twice as a Republican candidate for U.S. president, became a Michigan state governor, the U.S. Secretary of War, and a two-time Michigan Senator before dying in office in early 1907.
Funeral arrangements were handled by longtime friend, Truman Newberry (then Asst. Secretary of the Navy) and the GAR at Annette’s request. Although he had requested a simple funeral in keeping with his modest nature, he received two remarkable funerals: a political VIP-filled one in Washington, D.C. where he died and a massive one attended by thousands in Detroit on a frigid January day, the latter being essentially a state funeral.
In addition to his active pallbearers, Alger had some 86 honorary pallbearers, consisting of some of the biggest names in Michigan history: Hudson, Buhl, Joy, Newberry, McMillan, Ferry, et al. He also had a very lengthy funeral cortege consisting of the joint committee of the national House and Senate; state and national VIPs; three full bands; forty mounted police; the Corinthians’ and other Michigan Freemason groups’ members; 15 different military organizations’ and camps’ members (GAR, Loyal Legion, et al.); state, federal, and county officials; and the Newsboys’ Association with hundreds of men and boys bringing up the rear before the general public joined the solemn march. The public viewing was only for four hours exactly, but 20,000 people crammed into City Hall to file past his casket. They followed the General from City Hall down Fort St. to Jefferson Ave., then marched to Elmwood Cemetery and the Alger mausoleum. Russell Alger, the battered Civil War veteran, even received flowers from a group of top former Confederate officers in a stunning show of respect. Gen. Alger dedicated his book The Spanish-American War to “the American Soldier and Sailor.” Although he came from impoverished and very difficult beginnings to achieve enormous fame and fortune, the unassuming Alger most likely still thought of himself as a simple American patriot, soldier, and businessman.
Gen. Alger’s youngest son, U.S. Army Colonel Frederick Moulton Alger (1876 – 1933) first fought in the tough Santiago Campaign of the Spanish-American War as a Captain under General William Shafter and was Assistant Adjunct General while his father was the U.S. Secretary of War. On May 1, 1917, a few years into World War I, 41-year-old Capt. Alger was ordered to camp at Fort Sheridan, IL. He had been involved with the committee to finance needy families of soldiers and war veterans and was also chairman of the Michigan Military Training Camps Association before he left for France, commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel, Field Artillery. He eventually received France’s very prestigious Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (Chevalier, National Order of the Legion of Honor). Although he followed the military path and was very much like his father, Fred strongly rebuffed attempts throughout his life to be drawn into the higher political arena.
In April 1919, Fred was tasked by Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. to organize Michigan’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations. The Gen. Russell A. Alger and Col. Frederick M. Alger VFW Post 995 was 1,000 members strong and active in Grosse Pointe for many years. In February of 1934, a separate Col. Frederick M. Alger American Legion Post 86 was created to “foster and emulate the spirit of comradeship, patriotism, and good citizenship as personified in the life of Col. Frederick M. Alger.” In April of 1935, the Frederick M. Alger Post 7 of the Polish Legion of American Veterans was formed. Alger American Legion Post 303 was based in Grosse Pointe and is still in existence, although the “Alger” was eventually dropped from their name.
When Fred died New Year’s Eve of 1933 in Detroit, wife Mary Alger requested the American Legion handle all funeral arrangements, with assistance from the VFW, United Spanish War Veterans, and the military. Four honor guards stood silent watch at Col. Alger’s two hour public viewing, followed by the funeral mass at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church where he and Mary had been so active. Like his father’s funeral, thousands of members of various military units; the numerous clubs he belonged to; various veterans’ groups and posts; and the public followed the funeral cortege down Jefferson into Detroit, the route lined by hundreds of police officers. The American Legion’s ritualistic rites were solemnly performed during his internment in the Alger mausoleum at Elmwood Cemetery, and another Alger soldier was lain to rest.
The Forty and Eight’s Most Distinguished Medal from the American Legion was awarded to Fred posthumously March 17, 1934. Another of the many tributes paid Fred was a large bronze commemorative plaque that was affixed to the wall outside the front entrance of the original Veterans Building by Detroit’s Common (City) Counsel, November 11, 1934, its current whereabouts unknown. An Alger Memorial Library was also installed in Detroit’s American Legion Home in January 1951. There may not have been American Legions, Veterans of Foreign Wars, or other large veterans’ organizations in Michigan if not for Colonel Frederick Moulton Alger.
Frederick “Fred” M. Alger, Jr. (1907 – 1967) grew up in Grosse Pointe and Metamora before going East to Harvard. Fred was all about horses: playing polo, competing in assorted hunting and steeplechase events, horse racing, and owning his own stables. He famously won the debut Santa Anita Handicap in 1935 with his upstart horse, Azucar, providing exciting Depression-era headlines. Fred was a Naval Reservist and a major player on the social scene before being dispatched to the Naval Base in San Diego in the early days of World War II. Commander Alger mustered out September 1945 and was elected Michigan Secretary of State the following year, serving three 2-year terms. He ran for Michigan Governor in 1952, losing to G. Mennen Williams in an extremely close race. A staunch, early supporter of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for president, Alger was appointed Ambassador to Belgium by him in May 1953 for a four-year-term ending March 1957. CDR Alger stayed active in Republican politics and involved as an officer of several companies. He was a member of several veterans’ organizations including the Sons of the American Revolution, the Military Order of the World Wars, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Fred Alger, Jr. died in Grosse Pointe in 1967 after a brief illness and was buried next to his grandfather in the Alger mausoleum at Elmwood.
39-year-old Russell Alger III (1903 – 1970) was a stockbroker living the good life on his estate (Tuller Plantation) in Albany, Georgia when WWII rolled around. He signed up with the newly created Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Armed Forces. This branch was supposed to be a non-dangerous way for civilians to contribute to the war effort via border, air, and water patrols and other means. There is little information about Russell’s civilian service time but being that he was a voracious speed boat racer/owner and other water craft owner, one would assume that performing water patrol could have been the area in which he was involved.
Russell’s younger nephew, sister Josephine Alger’s eldest child, was 2nd Lt. Henry Francis Chaney, Jr. (1917 – 1942) USMCR, 10300, VMSB-141, Mag 14,1st MAW, FMF. Henry was a very promising 1940 graduate of Andover College, Yale University. After graduation, he attended the University of Michigan’s law school before beginning basic training.
On June 10, 1941, he enlisted for four years in the Naval Reserves for “flight training elimination” at the U.S. Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Grosse Ile, MI. He was called up July 15 as a student naval aviation pilot and completed his flight training there August 14, 1941. He reported to the Naval Advanced Aviation School at Corpus Christi, TX on August 22 for active-duty flight training and was discharged October 16, 1941. He won his commission April 3, 1942, as naval aviator #12676. On May 5, 1942, Henry was commissioned Lieutenant Commander of his aviation cadet regiment.
Chaney deployed from Camp Kearny, San Diego to the Solomon Islands August 30, 1942, and arrived late September 1942, during the brutal Guadalcanal Campaign. He endured the daily Japanese bombardment of his encampment at Henderson Field, the Islands’ key airstrip, in addition to rampant tropical diseases, jungle terrain, rancid food, and a very aggressive adversary. On the night of October 13 – 14, 1942, two Japanese battleships shelled Henderson Field relentlessly, lobbing over 900 two-ton shells. Cactus Airforce Squadron (VMSB-141) lost 26 of its 29 aircraft and five officers, including their commanding officer and executive officer. 2nd Lt. Chaney suffered severe shrapnel wounds to the head from a direct hit and died instantly at 0230 hours on October 14, 1942. His remains were buried in Row 30, Grave 7 at the First Marine Division Cemetery, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. He was killed in action less than a month after his arrival.
July 16, 1947, Josephine requested her son’s remains be sent back to Detroit if ever recovered. In late 1947, the 9105th Technical Services Unit, the military unit who were tasked with identifying and repatriating remains left behind at what used to be First Marine, successfully located him. On March 2, 1948, 2nd Lt. Henry F. Chaney’s remains were returned to Detroit and placed in vault #19 of the Alger mausoleum at Elmwood Cemetery, alongside his grandfather Russell and uncle Fred.
Josephine was the head of the Army and Navy Recreation League at the time of Henry’s death. In 1943, the furnishings installed for the servicemen in the new Recreation Center at Detroit’s famed Brodhead Naval Armory were donated in Henry’s name as a memorial from her.
U.S. Army Air Forces PFC Russell A. Alger, IV (2/25/1926 – 12/25/2012) fought in both WWII and the Korean War. Another lumber industry Alger, he mustered in June 5, 1945, at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, GA and was discharged December of 1946. Russell was 26 years old – a better age than his father was for his World War II service - and single, living in Georgia at his parent’s plantation after attending Georgia Tech. “Rusty” signed up for what was then known as the U.S. Army Air Forces Reserve, enlistment for the duration of the war plus six months. There is nothing known about his later service as public muster rolls for the Korean War appear near nonexistent. PFC Russell A. Alger, IV was buried at Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista, AZ in 2012.
Headstone for Pfc. Russell A. Alger, IV at Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Sierra Vista, AZ.
The Vietnam War came calling for PFC Frederick “Fred” Moulton Alger, III (12/20/1934 – current) who entered the Marine Corps July 3,1959 just after getting his MBA. He was sent to Camp Pendleton, CA, and joined Company A, 3dAmTracBn (Rein), 1st Mar. Div. (Rein), FMF, CP, CA.
PFC Fred Moulton Alger, III and his company in 1959 (Camp Pendleton, CA)
If you know anything about the 1st Division, you know they are the oldest and most decorated Marine Division. They also pride themselves on being extremely big and extremely fierce. Fred was involved with “the operation, employment, maneuver, and maintenance” of amphibious assault vehicles in the 3D Amphibian Tractor Battalion, known since the mid-1970s as the 3D Assault Amphibian Battalion. PFC Alger stated that he and his mates were gung ho to get to Vietnam to do some serious damage – he used a bit more 1st Marines-type parlance – and were very disappointed they didn’t get called up. He also advised he became a crack shot with a rifle while at camp as a youngster, which he illustrated while in the service winning medals in Shooting. PFC Alger mustered out July 23, 1964, in New York City where he turned loose that 1st Marine motto of “No better friend, no worse enemy” successfully for decades on Wall Street.
Although there were very few ways for women to become officially involved in the military, the Alger ladies certainly served their country well. Marion Alger, Russell Jr’s. wife, became heavily entrenched with the Red Cross and war effort in 1917. As an authorized Red Cross representative and instructor, she went into area schools and the greater Detroit community to teach the approved method of sewing bandages and surgical dressings for soldiers. She was also charged with registering sewing and knitting groups of volunteers to make warm items of clothing for hospitalized soldiers. Large classes at the Packard plant, J.L. Hudson’s, and other major companies soon followed. Marion personally tended to wounded WWI U.S. soldiers at hospitals in France while visiting her father, who had moved there after leaving Detroit.
She also became very motivated by and politically involved in what was commonly known as the Nurses Bill (officially the Lewis-Raker Bill) in September of 1918. A group of influential Americans tried to address the ill treatment of female nurses in the military by advocating for their inclusion in military rank and pay. The bill initially failed in July of 1919 – when the (male) U.S. Surgeon General opposed it - but a few watered-down provisions were later passed in June of 1920 as part of the National Defense Act. Sadly, American nurses in the military did not receive the full parity she sought until 1947, after World War II concluded.
Over the many decades she was involved with the Neighborhood Club, countless other programs and services were based there to benefit the community, such as a welfare office and, during World War II, a Civil Defense headquarters and an official U.S.O. center for the thousands of troops shipping out.
Mary Alger, Fred’s wife, also lent her services to the war effort while he went off to fight in WWI. She was involved with several different nursing associations and was Chairman of Nursing Activities with the American Red Cross; she remained very involved with both until her death.
Mary was also very politically active, especially for a woman of the era. On February 20, 1934, a military delegation accompanying General Józef Haller von Hallenburg, Polish war hero of WWI, commander of their famed Blue Army, and political and social activist, appeared unannounced on her doorstep in Grosse Pointe. After inviting the delegation in, the General solemnly conferred upon a shocked Mary the Haller’s Swords Medal honoring her and Fred for “their friendship and services to Poland and the Polish people.” A few weeks later, she was presented with the Polish Army Veteran Association’s Cross of the Order of Merit Medal for her efforts on behalf of war veterans. In 1950, the National Citizenship Award was bestowed on her by the Veterans of Foreign Wars for her “longtime public welfare work, especially for the Red Cross.” She was also founder, life member, chairwoman, or president of an array of veterans and military-affiliated organizations.
The Alger’s have always done what they could for their country and for those who fought for it. It is most fitting that the Russell A. Alger, Jr. estate, “The Moorings,” was left by Marion to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association in remembrance of those who served and died, and to honor and celebrate the thousands of U.S. veterans who respected this great country by fighting for it and for democracy.
CREDITS:
Thank you to Marcia Powell, Patricia Drury, and Peggy Scully of the DAR, and Fred M. Alger, III for their information, photos, and fact-checking.