Description

Adna Romanza Chaffee (b. 1842 - d. 1914) was born April 14, 1842 in Orwell, Ohio. He was the son of Truman Bibbins and Grace Hyde Chaffee.

Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish-American War, and fought in the Boxer Rebellion in China. 

For several years, his regiment was employed in almost continuous action against Indians in the Southwest where he proven himself a brave and stubborn fighter. Among the famous battles of the Indian Wars, was the Battle of Big Dry Wash fought on July 17, 1882, between troops of the United States Army's 3rd Cavalry Regiment and 6th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Chaffee, and 60 members of the White Mountain Apache tribe who had coalesced under the leadership of a warrior called Na-tio-tish, who was among the warriors killed. The site of the battle is now an historical park, in Coconino County, Arizona.

On January 8, 1904 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and Army Chief of Staff overseeing far-reaching transformation of organization and doctrine in the Army. He died November 1, 1914 in Los Angeles, California.

Chaffee was married twice: in 1868, he married Kate Haynie Reynolds, who died the following year; in 1875, he married his second wife, Annie Frances Rockwell (b. January 16, 1852 - d. April 14, 1921).

His son, Adna Romanza Chaffee, Jr., achieved the rank of Brigadier general and was one of the fathers of the U.S. Army’s armored forces. He was a product of Chaffee's second marriage.

Father and son are buried next to each other in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Chaffee's wife, Annie Francis Rockwell, is buried with him.

In this October-November 1865 photo taken in New Orleans, Louisiana, Chaffee carried the rank of First Lieutenant (brevet).

Sources: Arlingtoncemetery.net;  armyhistory.org; tshaonline.org; Family Search.

Note: this photograph is available from the Arizona Historical Society Library, #23443