Local organizations and clubs often invite distinguished guests to share information and provide programming. Bismarck’s Rotary Club hosted such a guest at its April 22, 1936, noon lunch, when North Dakota’s Department Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Philo George Harrington, spoke on the Spanish-American War.
Harrington served with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, which spent the war in Alabama and did not see combat. Disease affected the unit, and several men died from illness. He later served overseas during World War I with the 116th Engineers and was discharged for disability in March 1919.
He described the events leading up to the war and called it “humane,” arguing that America intervened “to free the Cubans from the misrule, inhumane treatment, and cruelty of the Spaniards.” He stressed that conditions in Cuba were worse than reported in the press.
Harrington told the gathering the war was the “only one ever fought wholly by volunteers.” While volunteers made up most of the forces, the United States still maintained a small regular army, as it had in earlier wars, including the Civil War.
He went on to describe the hardships faced by American troops and the toll of disease, drawing on his own experience. He said citizens had a duty to answer the nation’s call in wartime and briefly addressed national defense and immigration laws. The meeting also welcomed Dr. F.C. Stucke as a new member, named a May program committee, and set a goal of forming a fifty-man chorus for a May gathering in Duluth, led by Prof. John Howard.
Born in Wisconsin, Harrington married Katharine Delzer in Bismarck on September 28, 1920. He operated a barbershop there from 1920 until retiring in 1955. He later lived in Phoenix, Arizona, where he died on April 12, 1962, at a Veterans Administration hospital. He was buried in Bismarck.
Philo Harrington’s program to the Rotarians is just one example of a local dignitary sharing his experiences with a community organization, with people of similar stature continuing the tradition in communities and to organizations across North Dakota.
Dakota Datebook by Daniel Sauerwein
Sources:
- The Bismarck tribune. (Bismarck, ND), Apr. 22, 1936. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85042243/1936-04-22/ed-1/.
- North Dakota. Roster of the Men and Women Who Served in the Army or Naval Service (Including the Marine Corps) of the United States or Its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918. Vol.2. Bismarck, ND:The Bismarck Tribune Co., State printers and binders, 1931, 1252.
- “The Spanish-American War: Manifest Destiny Goes Abroad.” n.d. Army Heritage Center Foundation. https://www.armyheritage.org/soldier-stories-information/the-spanish-american-war-manifest-destiny-goes-abroad/.
- McSherry, Patrick. “4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.” Spanamwar.com. 2026. https://www.spanamwar.com/4thwisconsin.html.
- The Bismarck Tribune. (Bismarck, ND), Apr. 17, 1962.
