Prelude to the Spanish–American War

The coat of arms for the 5th Infantry Regiment.

In May 1891, changes were made to the disposition of the various companies of the 5th Infantry Regiment. The companies at first were dispersed to St. Augustine, Jackson Barracks, and Mount Vernon Arsenal; however, later that year two more companies were transferred elsewhere, with one moving to Fort Sam Houston and the other to Fort Leavenworth.^[6] Sigerfoos was stationed at Fort Leavenworth by January, 1893. It was at this time that a local newspaper interviewed him on the subject of military training and the various schools on the post. He was found to be "unusually handsome and intelligent."^[7] He went through the United States Infantry and Cavalry School, located on the post, and completed the course as an honor graduate in 1895.^[8][9] Afterwards he rejoined his regiment, which departed Fort Leavenworth in the fall of 1894, at Fort McPherson. The regiment remained there until the Spanish–American War began.^[6]

Spanish–American War and Occupation of Cuba

Tampa was a strategic supply base and center of water transportation for United States military forces operating in the Caribbean during the Spanish–American War.

In mid-July the regiment was concentrated in Tampa for the invasion of Puerto Rico. During the spring of 1898, in anticipation of war with Spain, the 5th Infantry Regiment received orders to man a number of coastal fortifications on the southern coast of the United States. Most of the regiment left Fort McPherson by mid April with the bulk of it, the headquarters, band, and four companies, sent to Tampa.^[10] Sigerfoos was left in charge of the post for an unspecified period of time. He had with him a detachment of two men from each company and men from the signal corps, with orders to guard the fort's property and protect the officers' families.^[11] Sigerfoos was promoted to first lieutenant on April 26 after the war began.^[9]

Photo of Santiago de Cuba taken in 1898.

In mid-July the regiment was concentrated in Tampa for the invasion of Puerto Rico; however, it ultimately did not participate in the campaign. Hostilities ended before the regiment saw combat. Instead, it left the country on August 21, 1898, for occupation duty in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The men arrived to their destination on August 25. Remaining as one whole unit until the spring of 1899, the withdrawal of volunteer infantry regiments from Cuba prompted the 5th Infantry Regiment to be broken up into detachments. These detachments were spread throughout the province of Santiago and were "actively engaged" in the suppression of the "frequent depredations of organized brigands."^[10]

By early January 1899, the regiment's headquarters was established at Morro Castle with Sigerfoos acting as battalion adjutant of the depot battalion.^[12] The depot battalion, the 3rd battalion, left Cuba for Fort Sheridan on September 21 of that year. By the time the entire regiment left Cuba, it lost two officers and seventy-four enlisted men to a variety of tropical diseases.^[13]

Philippine–American War and Occupation of the Philippines

Sigerfoos enjoyed a brief respite in Illinois before his regiment embarked on another tour of duty overseas. In early February, 1900, Sigerfoos was appointed recorder for an army retiring board that was to meet in Chicago under the command of assistant judge advocate-general Thomas F. Barr."^[14] He was appointed to serve on another board later that month. Scheduled to meet at Fort Sheridan, the purpose of this board was to examine candidates for the United States Military Academy.^[15]

Elements of the regiment began to leave for the Philippines in late August 1900, with the entire regiment in the islands by that winter.^[13] Sigerfoos would remain there for the next three to four years, part of which was in direct participation in the Philippine–American War and later the United States occupation of the islands. He was promoted to captain on February 2, 1901, and in the following September was made an adjutant.^[8] During its service in the war, the 5th Infantry Regiment was actively pursuing forces of the Philippine Republican Army. The companies and various detachments of the regiment marched a total of over 15,426 miles and engaged in thirty-eight skirmishes and minor actions before hostilities ended in July, 1902.^[13] In areas under American control, it became necessary for the military to administer law. Sigerfoos served as judge-advocate on a number of military commissions throughout the year of 1901. One such commission met at Vigan, in the province of Ilocos Sur on Luzon, in June. The commission tried Noverto Pré, an insurgent army officer for "murder in violation of the laws and customs of war." Sentenced "to be hung by the neck until...dead," Pré's sentence was commuted to fifteen years of hard labor at a prison in Manila.^[16] The proceedings of this case, along with nine other murder trials in which Sigerfoos served as judge-advocate, was published in an extensive rebuttal by the War Department in response to allegations that the United States military was committing atrocities against Filipinos during the war. The War Department called the allegations "either unfounded or grossly exaggerated."^[17]

Continued career

After returning to the continental United States in the early 1900s, in 1905 Sigerfoos was assigned as professor of military science at the University of Minnesota.^[8] The assignment allowed him to join his brother Charles, a professor of animal biology, as a faculty member.^[18][5] In addition to his duties as an instructor, Sigerfoos enrolled in the university's law school.^[19] He received his LL.B. in 1908 and his LL.M. the following year.^[8] Using his experience as a judge advocate in the Philippines, in 1908 he published an article exploring the question of whether or not United States military forces in the Philippines were entitled to a trial by jury. He concluded that servicemen were "amenable to trial by the civil courts" when offenses are committed against their native laws; however, a "trial by jury will not be accorded them" unless Congress extended the Seventh Amendment to the Philippines.^[20]

Service in China

Sigerfoos arrived to China on March 28, 1917, in order to serve with the 15th Infantry Regiment stationed in the city of Tianjin.^[21]

Photo of the 1917 flood that struck Tianjin.

A disastrous flood struck the vicinity of Tianjin later that year. Dr. Paul S. Reinsch, the American Minister at Peking, received monetary assistance from the American Red Cross Society that was to be used in relief work. A committee was formed and tasked with outlining the policy and controlling the work. The members in October agreed that with winter fast approaching, priority would be given to the adequate accommodation of some of the city's 55,000 refugees.^[22] It was decided that a camp of "1,000 huts, of reed and mud," were to be built and Sigerfoos, a member of the committee, was assigned as administrator.^[23]

Called the 'American Flood Relief Camp,' more than 6,000 flood survivors were eventually cared for at the facility before its dismantlement in the early spring of 1918. Sigerfoos returned to the United States in mid January 1918 and was not in charge of the camp upon its closure.^[24] "Major Morrow and his associates" received praise for their efficient management of the facility, in which superior sanitary conditions prevented the outbreaks of any contagious diseases; however, Sigerfoos was also responsible for this successful outcome.^[25]

World War I

Sigerfoos commanded first the 152d Depot Brigade at Camp Upton, New York. He was later appointed to command the 56th Infantry Brigade and nominated for promotion to brigadier general.

Mortally wounded

On September 29, 1918, Sigerfoos was mortally wounded near Montblainville, France, close to the Argonne Forest. He had been in command of the 28th Division's 56th Brigade for only an hour. He lingered until October 7, when he died of his wounds.

Reburial

Sigerfoos was initially buried in the cemetery near the hospital where he died. In 1921, he was reburied at Arlington National Cemetery.

Newspaper articles

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edward Sigerfoos.

• "Bazoo Chat". The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo. January 17, 1893. p. 2. Retrieved May 29, 2017 – via Chronicling America from the Library of Congress.
• "Capt. Sigerfoos Accepts". The Minneapolis Journal. May 30, 1905. p. 6. Retrieved June 16, 2017 – via Chronicling America from the Library of Congress.
• "New Military Man at 'U'". The Minneapolis Journal. May 9, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved May 26, 2017 – via Chronicling America from the Library of Congress.
• "University". The Minneapolis Journal. September 26, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved June 16, 2017 – via Chronicling America from the Library of Congress.