Robert MacFeely

Robert Macfeely (1 July 1826 – 21 February 1901) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the American Indian Wars and American Civil War, he served from 1850 to 1890 and attained the rank of brigadier general. Originally commissioned in the Infantry, during the Civil War Macfeely began to specialize in Commissary duties, and he served as the army's Commissary General of Subsistence from 1875 until his retirement.

A native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the son of a War of 1812 veteran, Macfeely was raised and educated in Carlisle and began attendance at the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1846. He graduated in 1850 and served in Oregon and Washington during the Yakima War of 1855 to 1858. During the Civil War, he was assigned to commissary officer duties and he served as chief commissary of several corps, departments, and districts.

After the war, Macfeely continued to serve in the Commissary department with assignments in Chicago and Detroit. In May 1875, Macfeely was appointed as the army's commissary general, and he held this post until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64 in 1890.In retirement, he was a resident of Washington, D.C. Macfeely died in Washington on 22 February 1901. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life Robert Macfeely was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on 1 July 1826, a son of George McFeely, who commanded a regiment during the War of 1812, and Margaret (McKeen) McFeely. He was raised and educated in Carlisle, then worked as a clerk at the Carlisle post office.

In 1846, Macfeely began attendance attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1850 ranked 31st of 44. Among his classmates who attained American Civil War prominence or became prominent in the 40 years afterward were Gouverneur K. Warren, Cuvier Grover, Adam J. Slemmer, Richard Arnold, Lucius M. Walker, Armistead Lindsay Long, Robert Ransom, Eugene Asa Carr, William Carlin, Charles Sidney Winder, Elisha Marshall, Nicholas Bartlett Pearce, William Lewis Cabell, and Alfred Mouton.

Start of career In July 1850, Macfeely was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry by brevet. He served in the garrison at Fort Brady, Michigan from 1850 to 1852 and at Fort Columbus, New York in 1852. Macfeely was promoted to first lieutenant in February 1855, and he took part in that year's Yakima War expeditions. Macfeely served as commissary general until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64 in July 1890. In 1895, Elizabeth Flagler, the daughter of Brigadier General Daniel Webster Flagler, was tried for the killing of Ernest Green, one of several African American boys she shot at when she observed them stealing pears from her father's garden. Macfeely served as one of her sureties when she posted bond; she was convicted of manslaughter, paid a $500 fine, and served three hours in the District of Columbia jail.

In 1899, Macfeely testified before investigators looking into the United States Army beef scandal that occurred during the Spanish–American War. According to Macfeely's recollection and documentation, in 1878 the army adopted the use of canned meat for situations in which soldiers on the move could not obtain beef "on the hoof" or had no way to cook their meals. This contradicted the testimony of Charles P. Eagan, who said canned beef was supposed to be used only in stews and soups, and Charles Woodruff a Civil War veteran who claimed that in his experience the army never furnished live cattle to troops. Macfeely's home and the nearby Cleveland Abbe House were combined to form the location of the Arts Club of Washington.

Dates of rank Macfeely's dates of rank were:

Second Lieutenant (Brevet), 1 July 1850 Second Lieutenant, 13 July1852 First Lieutenant, 3 February 1851 Captain, 11 May 1861 Major, 9 February 1863 Lieutenant Colonel (Brevet), 13 March 1865 Colonel (Brevet), 13 March 1865 Brigadier General, 14 April 1875 Brigadier General (Retired), 1 July 1890