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Toward Retirement 197 eral Merriam’s responsibilities eased considerably when Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee took command of the Department of the Missouri, coming from the Department of Western Cuba, and relieved Merriam of making periodic trips to Omaha. On December 27, 1900, General Merriam and Una welcomed their first grandchild, Merriam Bart Berger, a son born in Denver to Carry and George Berger. Early in 1901 Lt. Henry Merriam returned from duty in the Philippines and became an aide to his father.The family had come together again in Denver with the exception of son Charles, who remained at Stanford University.10 Merriam’s successful experience in simultaneously commanding two large army departments brought him another such tenure on March 2, 1901. He was abruptly assigned command again over the Department of the Missouri in addition to his ongoing command of the Department of the Colorado. His dual command would continue until August 13, 1901, when he relinquished command of the Missouri department to Brig. Gen. John C. Bates.11 As General Merriam approached the mandatory retirement age of sixty-five on November 13, 1901, he faced yet one more culminating battle in his thirtyeight -year army career. It had long been one of his goals to retire as a major general. At that time the rank was the highest that could be attained through peacetime army promotions. Furthermore, the army did reward high-ranking officers of honorable service at retirement with the two stars. Merriam’s last battle over promotion, however, became a most difficult and complicated one. It should be noted that Merriam strongly believed that he deserved this final promotion, which fueled his determination to reach this goal. In the army’s date-of-rank system, he placed near the top, but his advancement depended on the retirements of those above him in seniority. The age limitation, though, left him with little time to accomplish his objective. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Merriam considered his chances of becoming a major general as excellent. After all, he had President McKinley in his corner. Merriam had an interview with the president on April 11, 1901, and he quoted McKinley as saying, “GeneralWheaton will retire and make way for you at an early day.” Merriam reported this conversation to General Corbin, the army adjutant general, and Corbin replied: “If the President wants a vacancy for you he has only to touch a button. I have in my desk Wheaton’s offer to retire if promoted.” Corbin promised to remind the president of his intention to promote Merriam and apparently did so on several occasions . McKinley also told Secretary of War Root and others of his promise to Merriam.12 Merriam’s position with the promised presidential assistance unexpectedly crumbled with the shooting of McKinley on September 6, 1901, and his death eight days later. At that time Brig. Gen. LloydWheaton decided that he was not ready to retire. Although the new president, Theodore Roosevelt, had been informed by Corbin of McKinley’s intention to promote Merriam, the new president had different ideas about promotion to general rank of officers near their 198 Chapter 13 retirement age. He believed this was bad policy, concerned that this system contributed to old officers in senior leadership and failed to provide an incentive for younger officers to remain vigorous and efficient. Thus Merriam’s hoped-for major-general promotion became ensnarled in a series of unfortunate events.There was no time left to maneuver. By age, Henry Merriam retired on November 13, 1901, as a brigadier general. His long military career had come to an end, he having by all appearances lost his final battle. Surprisingly, however, he was not yet defeated. Over the years, Merriam had fought tenaciously and aggressively to secure promotions, enlisting the help of any politician or fellow army officer he could think of. He again began writing letters asking for support in rectifying his failure to retire as a major general, a grave injustice in his eyes. Merriam even had printed a long summary of his army service, at the end detailing the promises of McKinley and the complicating circumstances involving the retirement of GeneralWheaton . He went toWashington and spoke with various congressmen, political leaders, and army and War Department personnel. In an amazing turn of General Merriam after retirement, with Una, at home in Maine. Courtesy Berger Family Collection. [18.116.63.236] Project...

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