Charles H. Whipple

Charles H. Whipple (12 June 1849 – 6 November 1932) was an officer in the United States Army. He served as a paymaster from 1881 to 1912 and was a veteran of the American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War. Whipple served as Paymaster-General of the United States Army from 1908 to 1912 and attained the rank of brigadier general.

Early life Charles Henry Whipple was born in Adams, New York on June 12, 1849, a son of Henry Benjamin Whipple and Cornelia (Wright) Whipple. He was raised and educated in Adams and in Faribault, Minnesota, where his father served as the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota. In March 1871, Whipple accepted a position as a paymaster with the Northern Pacific Railway.

In May 1884, Whipple was carrying a $30,000 payroll (over $1 million in 2025) to Fort Buford with a sergeant as guard when seven masked men attempted to rob them near Glendive, Montana. The sergeant was killed and the driver of the stagecoach in which they rode was wounded, but Whipple escaped with the money and hid in some nearby brush. Society of Foreign Wars, Whipple was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Family In December 1871, Whipple married Evelyn Elizabeth McLean, a daughter of Nathaniel McLean, who served as a Union Army brigadier general during the American Civil War, and granddaughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John McLean. and Henry Halleck, who was his first cousin once removed.

Effective dates of promotion Major, 18 February 1881 Lieutenant Colonel, 3 May 1901