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Title: Andrew Summers Rowan papers
Date (bulk): 1898-1930
Collection Number: 45008
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English, Spanish, and Italian
Physical Description:
6 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 2 oversize folders
(8.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Writings, correspondence, military orders, maps, photographs, clippings, and reports relating to the exploit of Andrew Summers
Rowan in carrying the "message to Garcia" during the Spanish-American War, and to other American military activities in Cuba
and in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War.
Creator:
Rowan, Andrew Summers
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1945.
[Identification of item], Andrew Summers Rowan papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Andrew Summers Rowan was born April 23, 1857 in Gap Mills, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1881 and was commissioned
into the U.S. Army as second lieutenant. With his regiment he served on various special projects, including inspecting the
Mississippi River flood of 1897. From 1891 to 1892, Rowan was in charge of barometric hypsometry of the Intercontinental Railway
Survey in Central America, which brought him to Guatemala and Mexico. In 1896, Rowan, along with coauthor Marathon Montrose
Ramsey, published the book
The Island of Cuba: A Descriptive and Historical Account of the "Great Antilla."
Prior to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley asked Colonel Arthur L. Wagner if he knew of
someone who could get a message to General Calixto García, a leader among the Cuban rebels, whose whereabouts were then unknown.
Anticipating that war with Spain would soon be declared, President McKinley wanted to reach out to the Cuban insurgents in
hopes of gaining their allegiance. Col. Wagner recommended Rowan for the task, and he was sent to Jamaica to await further
instruction.
On April 21, 1898, the same day the US officially declared war on Spain, Rowan received a ciphered cablegram telling him to
join García. After making the treacherous journey to Cuba, Rowan successfully located García at his camp in the Oriente Mountains,
where he gained the general's favor and was able to secure valuable information about the Spanish forces in Cuba. Additionally,
General García sent five of his men back with Rowan to Washington, D.C., in order to give the US additional intelligence information.
Rowan was highly regarded for the role he played in the war by meeting with General García, known as "the message to García."
In 1899, Elbert Hubbard published
A Message to Garcia, a short essay praising Rowan's mission in Cuba and lamenting on the difficulty in finding employees who complete assignments
efficiently, take initiative when challenges arise, and follow instructions without question. The essay became extremely popular,
especially among schoolteachers, industry employers, and the military. It was translated into several languages and was the
inspiration for two motion pictures of the same title, the first produced in 1916 and the second in 1936. Additionally, the
phrase "to take a message to García" became a popular American slang term for taking initiative. Rowan wrote his own account
of his mission to Cuba,
How I Carried the Message to García, published in 1922.
Following his mission to find General García, Rowan briefly returned to Cuba before completing two tours of service in the
Philippines during the Philippine Insurrection, also known as the Philippine-American War. He served in the region of Cebu
from 1899 to 1900 and in Bohol from 1900 to 1902. He was awarded the Silver Star Citation for his gallantry during the attack
on Sudlon Mountain in Cebu and received the Distinguished Service Cross for his service in Cuba. Rowan retired from the military
in 1909 and died on January 10, 1943, in San Francisco.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Andrew Summers Rowan papers contain writings, correspondence, military orders, maps, photographs, clippings, and reports
relating to his exploit in carrying the "message to Garcia" during the Spanish-American War, and to other American military
activities in Cuba and in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War. The collection contains material dating from
1730 to 1940, with the majority dating from 1898 to 1930.
A majority of the material found in the collection pertains to Rowan's mission to meet with General Calixto García in April
of 1898 and the recognition he received from it. The Cuba section of the
Military File contains items from Rowan's exploit to Cuba deemed as being particularly significant by him that he arranged in numerical
order. Among these materials are Rowan's official report of the mission written in 1922, a handwritten letter General García
wrote to the U.S. Secretary of War that Rowan delivered upon his return from Cuba (Box/Folder 3:12), and ciphered cablegrams
Rowan received while in Jamaica awaiting orders to join General García in Cuba (Box/Folder 3:11). Copies of deciphered cablegrams
(Box/Folder 2:2) and other correspondence Rowan received during this mission can be found in the
Correspondence series. Additionally, maps of Cuba that Rowan used during his mission can be found in the
Oversize Material series.
Clippings and ephemera relating to Rowan's exploit in Cuba are included in multiple scrapbooks located in the
Scrapbooks series. These scrapbooks also contain clippings regarding anniversaries of Rowan's mission to Cuba and Elbert Hubbard's essay
A Message to García. For a printed copy of Hubbard's essay, see the
Printed Matter series. Drafts of Rowan's own account of his experience in Cuba,
How I Carried the Message to García, are located in
Writings.
Rowan's military service in Bohol and Cebu during the Philippine-American War is documented in the
Writings,
Military File,
Photographs, and
Scrapbooks series. The
Oversize Material series also contains maps, flags, and a handkerchief captured by Rowan while in the Philippines.
Additionally, the collection includes material relating to Rowan's early military career, including hypsometric work in Guatemala,
which can be found in the
Journals and
Photographs series.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Officers
Philippines -- History -- Philippine American War, 1899-1902
Spanish-American War, 1898
Cuba -- History -- Revolution, 1895-1898
United States. Army