CAPTAIN MUNROE MCFARLAND
West Point Class 1888.
Joined the 18th US Infantry in Iloilo on Aug 10 1899.
Took part in engagements at Jaro, Pavia, Romblon, and in campaign through Panay Island.
Military Governor of Romblon, Dec. 16, 1899 to May 2, 1900.
Returned to the U. S. with his regiment in Sept 1901.
U.S.M.A. Class of 1888
Vol. III p421 3269 - (Born Md.) - Munroe McFarland - (Ap'd Md.) - 32
Military History. - Cadet at the Military Academy, June 15, 1884, to June 11, 1888, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
Second Lieut., 21st Infantry, June 11, 1888.
Served: on frontier duty at Ft. Sidney, Neb., Sep. 20, 1888, to -----.
Vol. IV
p469 [Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890-1900]
Military History. - Served: In the Department of the Platte, Jan., 1890 to Sept., 1893. - At Infantry and Cavalry School, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Sept., 1893 to Sept., 1895 (Graduate, 1895).
(First Lieut. of Infantry, 13th Infantry, July 5, 1895)
- Department of the East, Sept., 1895 to April, 1898; Tampa, Fla., to June 8, 1898. - With 5th Army Corps in Cuba to Aug. 14, 1898. - (Regimental Adjutant, May 10, 1897 to -----); On transport Saratoga, en route to Cuba, June 9-27; Siboney, Cuba, June 25-27; Sevilla, June 30; participated in battle of San Juan, July 1, 2, 3; in the siege and surrender of Santiago, July 3-10; in various camps near Santiago to Aug. 14, 1898. - At Camp Wikoff, L. I., to Sept. 15, 1898. - Department of the East to -----
(Captain of Infantry, 18th Infantry, March 26, 1899)
Vol. V
p424 [Supplement, Vol. V: 1900-1910]
Military History. - Served: With 5th Army Corps in Cuba, to Aug. 14, 1898; (Regimental Adjutant, May 10, 1897 to March, 1899); Department of the East, to April, 1899; with Regiment, 13th and 18th Infantry, en route to and in Philippines, to Sept., 1901; participated in engagement near Guadeloupe Ridge, June 10, 1899; in trenches about Manila, to Aug. 10, 1899, when he joined 18th Infantry at Iloilo; participated in battles Illaza and Pavia, Nov. 21, 1899 and in campaign through Island of Panay; assault Romblon, Dec. 16, 1899; Military Governor, Province Romblon, Dec. 16, 1899 to May 2, 1900; returned to U. S. with regiment and served with regiment at Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo., to April, 1903; en route to and in Philippines with regiment, to Feb., 1905; at Fort Leavenworth, Kas., to Oct., 1907; Army War College, Washington, D. C., to Oct. 30, 1908.
(Major, Porto Rican Regiment of Infantry, Oct. 12, 1908)
- With regiment in Porto Rico, to -----; Indian, Spanish-American and Philippine Service Medals.
Vol. VI
p502 [Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910-1920]
(Born June 28, 1867.)
Military History. -
Captain, 18th Infantry, March 26, 1899.
(Major, Porto Rican Regiment of Infantry, Oct. 12, 1908)
In Porto Rico with regiment, to
(Transferred to 24th Infantry, Aug. 22, 1910)
(Major, 29th Infantry, March 10, 1911)
June, 1911; at Fort Porter, N. Y., with 29th Infantry, to September, 1913; (except from Nov. 27, 1912, to Feb. 8, 1913, when he was en route to Sophia, Bulgaria, and to Belgrade, Servia, and on duty as Military Observer during Balkan Wars); detailed to General Staff, Sept., 11, 1913; at Washington, D. C., and at San Antonio, Texas, on General Staff, to
(Lieut.-Colonel of Infantry, July 1, 1916)
(Colonel of Infantry, May 15, 1917)
(Brigadier-General, National Army, Dec. 17, 1917)
p503 Feb. 16, 1918; joined 162nd Brigade, 81st Division, at Camp Jackson, S. C., Feb. 19, 1918; served there and at Camp Sevier, S. C., and at Camp Mills, N. Y. to July 31, 1918, when he sailed with his Brigade for France; in France with Brigade; in active service with Brigade against Germans in St. Dié Sector, Sept. 22 to Oct. 20, and in Meuse-Argonne offensive, Sommedieue Sector, Nov. 5 to 11, 1918; commanding 162nd Brigade en route to training area near Chatillon, Nov. 18 to Dec. 1, 1918; commanding Brigade in training area, to May 13, 1919; at Bonnétable, commanding Brigade, to May 29; at St. Nazaire to June 5; en route to U. S. to June 13; at Camp Devens, Mass., in charge of discharge of officers, to
(Returned to Grade of Colonel, July 15, 1919)
July 26; at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., commanding post, July 28, 1919, to -----
Service medals: Indian, Spanish-American, Philippines, Cuban Occupation.
Vol. VII
p277 [Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920-1930]
Military History: -
Colonel of Infantry, May 15, 1917.
Brigadier-General, National Army, Dec. 17, 1917.
Returned to Grade of Colonel, July 15, 1919.
At Jefferson Bks., Mo., commanding post, July 28, 1919, to Feb. 14, 1921; at Chicago, Ill., commanding Intermediate Supply Depot, to Aug. 14; at Washington, D. C., at Army War College, Aug. 15, 1921, to July 7, 1922; on leave of absence to Nov. 7, 1922.
Colonel, U. S. A., Retired, Nov. 7, 1922, At His Own Request, After Over 38 Years' Service.
Died, Sept. 3, 1924, at Los Angeles, Calif.: Aged 57.
MUNROE McFARLAND
No. 3269. Class of 1888.
Died, September 3, 1924, at Los Angeles, California, aged 57 years.
On that hot June 15th of 1884 he trudged up the long hill with the rest of us, slim, slight and fair - the youngest of us a11, but even then showing those fine characteristics of conscience, loyalty and duty which we who served with him were for so many years to continually observe and ceaselessly admire.
Munroe McFarland was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, born June 28, 1867, the son of Cyrus Dodd McFarland, a prominent attorney of that city. He was of that branch of the American McFarlands which traces its ancestry back through the Revolutionary period to the landing of Daniel McFarland at Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 1718. Munroe's boyhood was spent in Baltimore, where he attended the schools there available and came to West Point just before his seventeenth birthday, scarcely prepared to undergo the rigors of Colonel Bass' requirements in Davies' "Legendre" and Church's "Spherical Trig". He scented danger during much of his plebe year, but pulled through, and advanced to heights of glory with Church's "Analytics" and "Shades and Shadows". His cadet service was filled with hard work and conscientious endeavor. He was indeed earnest all the time, a model in conduct, never offending, and with a good will toward all that endured throughout his life. Upon graduation on June 11th, 1888, he chose the infantry branch of the service, "The Queen of Battles", and at the end of a happy graduation leave joined the 21st for frontier duty at old Fort Sidney, Nebraska. There in the Indian country he began his career as a commissioned officer of the army. Subsequently he passed to the higher grades in the Regular Army, being promoted First Lieutenant of the 13th Infantry, July 5, 1895; Captain, 18th Infantry, March 26, 1899; Major, 29th Infantry, March 10, 1911; Lieutenant Colonel of Infantry, July 1, 1916; and Colonel, May 15, 1917.
In 1893 he was ordered as a student officer at the Infantry and Cavalry School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, graduating in 1895; and was Regimental Adjutant, 13th Infantry, from May, 1897, to March, 1899. He served in Cuba during the Spanish-American War from June until August, 1898, participating in the Battle of San Juan, July 1, 1898, followed by the siege and surrender of Santiago. In the Philippine Islands from April, 1899, to September, 1901, he participated in engagements near Guadaloupe Ridge, June 10, 1899; and was in the trenches about Manila to August 10, 1899, in the Battle of Illaya and Pavia, and in the campaign through the Island of Panay and the assault on Romblon.
He was assigned as Military Governor of the Province of Romblon, December 16, 1899, and served in this capacity until May 2, 1900. He returned to the United States and remained for three years, then going again to the islands where he served from 1903 to 1905. He was a student officer at the Army War College, October, 1907, to October, 1908; a Major of the Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry from October 12, 1908, to August 22, 1910. He went to Bulgaria and Servia as Military Observer for the United States Army, during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, and was in the field with the Balkan armies and in Sofia and Salonika on this interesting duty. On September 11, 1913, he was detailed as a member of the General Staff serving in the War College in Washington, and in charge of the then important work of Military Intelligence at San Antonio during the threatened trouble with Mexico. On December 17, 1917, he was appointed Brigadier General of the National Army, and February 19, 1918, joined the 162nd Brigade of the 81st Division at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. He served there and at Camp Sevier, South Carolina, and Camp Mills, New York, sailing for France with his brigade on July 31, 1918. In active service during many engagements from early in September until the Armistice, he commanded his brigade against the Germans in the St. Die Sector, September 22 to October 20, and in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Somme Dieu Sector, November 5 to 11, 1918. He had a brigade of which he was proud and sailed with it from St. Nazaire, homeward bound, on June 5, 1919.
He was returned to the grade of Colonel on July 15, 1919, and assigned to the command of Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained until February 15, 1921, when transferred to take command of the Intermediate Supply Depot at Chicago.
He was again at the Army War College from 1921 to 1922, but was in ill health during the latter part of the course and obtained leave of absence in July. On November 7, 1922, he retired from active service at his own request after over 38 years of service. A few weeks were spent in Buffalo while he was arranging his personal affairs in the East and preparing to go with his family to Los Angeles, where he had decided to make his home. He purchased a house on De Grandpre Avenue, Hollywood, and was enjoying a new freedom of life. But scarcely was his home settled when his heart began to fail and "the time of his unmooring" was at hand. On September 3, 1924, in peace and happiness and surrounded by his family, Munroe McFarland passed on from this shore to the land of the great beyond.
He was devoted, loving, considerate and dutiful as son and brother, and as husband and father. For many years during his early career, his mother and two sisters shared his army home. He is survived by his wife, who was Frances Ogilvie of Buffalo, and by his two daughters, Jean and Ruth.
His service to his country was loyal and efficient. He was a conscientious soldier, unassuming and unpretending, not looking for the limelight - not caring for the things that show but the things that count. His satisfaction was in fulfilling each responsibility, in doing each daily task in a manly and soldierly way and more than accomplishing the mere requirements of orders and regulations. Modest to a fault, he yet possessed the virtues that stood out and made him endeared and honored to both his seniors and his juniors. He loved his Alma Mater and often thought of West Point and its influence on his life; in fact, he embodied to a marked degree the West Point motto of:
"Duty well performed,
Honor e'er untanned."
"To every man there openeth
A Way, and Ways, and a Way,
And the High Soul climbs the High Way,
And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
And in between, on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth
A High Way, and a Low.
And every man decideth
The Way his soul shall go."
"Munnie" took the High Way. And his soul shall go on; and he shall live with us, an example of gentleness and kindness and helpfulness, and we shall always think of him as our good comrade and companion - such a man we are proud to take by the arm and say,
"Behold my Friend."
CLASSMATE.
Annual Report, June 11, 1925