Miles, their several legislatures passing unanimous votes of thanks for his services. His last campaign against the Indians was in South Dakota in 1890-91, after which time trouble with warlike Indians ceased.
On the retirement of General John M. Schofield, September 29, 1895, General Miles became commanding general of the Army of the United States by virtue of his seniority in rank. He commanded the army sent to Chicago to suppress the Chicago rioters in 1894, and in 1897 visited the scenes of the Greco-Turkish war. He also represented the United States at the jubilee of Queen Victoria the same year. In the Spanish-American war he mobilized the regular army of twenty-five thousand men and formed out of over two hundred thousand volunteers the United States volunteer army which in less than three months with the aid of the navy conquered a peace with Spain, secured independence for Cuba and added to the domain of the United States the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico. He took command of the United States army at Santiago, July 11, 1898, and arranged the terms of capitulation, but left the formality of the surrender to the general in the field. He directed in person the capture and occupation of Porto Rico. In conducting the Spanish-American war he sought to protect the soldiers against the imposition of contractors who furnished to the army unwholesome food, by instituting a searching investigation of the conduct of the commissary department, and thus stopping further issue of worthless meat. He was raised to the rank of lieutenant-general in February, 1901, in pursuance of an act of congress passed June 6, 1900. In 1902-03 he made a tour of inspection in the Philippine Islands. He was retired August 8, 1903, by age limit.
He was married June 30, 1868, to Mary, daughter of Charles and Eliza Sherman, and two children were born of this marriage. Mrs. Miles died August 1, 1904.
He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Harvard university in 1896 and from Brown university, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1901, and Wayne college, Pennsylvania, 1904. He became a 32d degree Mason, an honorary member of the Union League and St. Nicholas clubs of New York city; the Union League, Illinois, Athletic, Iroquois, and Union clubs of Chicago; the Pacific Union club of San Francisco, California; and a member of the Metropolitan, Army and Navy, and Chevy Chase clubs of Washington, District of
