University of Rochester - Interpres Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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1908 INTERPRES Vol. XLIX the Fort Leavenworth military academy and had charge of it for a considerable time. As a result of his legal training he was much in de- mand as a judge in military trials, and is said to have sat on more courts- martial than any other army officer. The year i 1893 saw Colonel Otis' promotion to the rank of Brigadier General over the heads of men cf longer service. At the beginning of Spanish War troubles, General Otis w-as sitting upon a very import- ant courtmartial, from which he could not well be spared. When it was over, he was detailed to the command of the Philippine detachment. His heaviest work came in putting down the native insurrection after the war. In a comg ' Commander in Philippines paratively short campaign he broke the force of organized opposition and reduced the contest to guerilla warfare. After this there was noth- ing more to do but the unpleasant task of killing off the irreconcilable. Considering that his main work was done, he asked to be relieved from command in order to attend to long neglected private business. General Otis' return home was the occasion SE' of a big celebration by the people of the city, which most of us remem- H ber Well. , In 1900 he was appointed' Major- General in the regular service, which cbommission he held at the time of his retirement. 9

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Vol. XLIX INTERPRES 1908 GENERAL OTIS General Otis was born in Maryland. Before he was old enough to remember, his father had moved to Rochester and located on the Lyell road. In those days, all of the district about what is now Otis station, was a part of the' Otis farm. The homestead is still standingg but the farm lands have mostly been absorbed by the growing city. When Otis attended college, the classes were held in that building on West Main Street of which only the oldest Alumni tell. He was a member of the class of 1858, one of the first few the college turned out. Anderson was then ' president, and it must have been more than a coin- cidence that the subsequent life of the student so faithfully carried out the precepts of the venerable teacher. Otis was a live man in college and his name is connected with one or two practical jokes that are not yet out of date. He graduated high in his class and a year afterward was admitted to the bar. Then he entered Harvard Law School and received his degree in 1861. V In 1862, Otis was off to the war as captain of a A Senior in College ' company of volunteers under Colonel O'Rorke. O,Rorke died at Gettysburg, and the hard lighting which followed car- ried away the officers in large numbers and finally left Otis in command. Throughout all the severe fighting of Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania, it had seemed as if Otis were invulnerable. Finally his turn came at Chapelhouse. He was so severely wounded in the head that the doctors considered his injury fatal. In 1866, however, he was sufficiently recovered to accept an appointment as Lieutenant Colonel in the regular army. From 1866 to 1898 Colonel Otis served upon the Western plains. His life was an active and varied one. The most important active service which he saw during this period was during the Indian troubles at the time of the Custer massacre. While not fighting the Indians he founded 8

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