Alfred E. Bates

Alfred E. Bates (July 15, 1840 – October 13, 1909) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the American Civil War, American Indian Wars, and Spanish–American War, he attained the rank of major general and was best known for his service as Paymaster-General of the United States Army from 1899 to 1904.

A native of Monroe, Michigan, Bates attended the local schools and Canandaigua Academy in Canandaigua, New York before enlisting in the Union Army for the American Civil War. He served briefly in Company A, 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment before receiving appointment to the United States Military Academy (West Point). He graduated in 1865 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Cavalry. Bates served on frontier duty at posts in western states including Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming and took part in expeditions during the American Indian Wars.

In 1875, Bates transferred to the army's U.S. Army Pay Department, and he performed paymaster duties at posts in states and territories including Texas, Dakota Territory, Montana, and Minnesota. In 1897, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned as the army's Deputy Paymaster-General. During the Spanish–American War, he was promoted to temporary brigadier general and was assigned as U.S. military attaché in London and Paris. In July 1899, he was assigned as the Paymaster-General of the United States Army. Bates served in this post with the rank of brigadier general until January 1904. He was promoted to major general on January 21 and retired on January 22, six months before attaining the mandatory retirement age of 64. He was a recipient of the Legion of Honor (Officer) from France to recognize his service as attaché in Paris.

In retirement, Bates was a resident of Washington, D.C., and was called on to perform public service including assisting the American Red Cross during its response to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and representing the United States during Pan-American Conferences on international finance and monetary policy. He died in New York City on October 13, 1909, and was buried at West Point Cemetery.

Early life Alfred Elliott Bates was born near Monroe, Michigan, on July 15, 1840, a son of Alfred Gould Bates and Elizabeth Ann (Elliott) Bates, who was known as Ann. He attended the schools of Monroe and Canandaigua Academy in Canandaigua, New York. The unit was subsequently mustered into federal service as Company A, 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment. He graduated in 1865 ranked 17th of 68, and received his commission as a second lieutenant of Cavalry. During his academy years, Bates was one of Elizabeth Bacon's suitors, but she married George Armstrong Custer in 1864. Among his classmates who became general officers were Charles W. Raymond, John Patten Story, George H. Burton, and Samuel Meyers Mills Jr. Among his classmates who did not become general officers was Henry B. Ledyard Jr. In May 1906, he accepted a request from William Howard Taft, the United States Secretary of War to assist the accounting department of the American Red Cross as it provided disaster relief following the San Francisco earthquake. In 1908, Elihu Root, then serving as the United States Secretary of State, appointed Bates to represent the United States at the Pan-American Conferences, and assigned him to prepare and present a research paper on the world's currencies.

On October 9, 1909, Bates was in New York City to see off his wife as she boarded a ship bound for Europe. He had a stroke soon after she left, and was taken to a private medical facility on West 61st Street.

Legacy In September 1898, Félix Faure, the president of France, conferred on Bates the Legion of Honor (Officer) in recognition of his service as U.S. military attaché in Paris.

There is a cenotaph to Bates at Woodland Cemetery in Monroe, Michigan.

Bates Battlefield, near Thermopolis, Wyoming, is the site where Bates led troops during an 1874 engagement against the Arapaho, and is named for him. The location was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. They were the parents of two daughters, Henrietta and Elizabeth. Caroline McCorkle's mother Caroline Morgan Waterman was the sister of Eliza Matilda Waterman, who was married to politician and banker Edwin D. Morgan. McCorkle was a favorite niece of the Morgans, and as a result she inherited a substantial portion of their wealth when they died in the mid-1880s.

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