By Rev. Canon Dr. Robert Girard Carroon, PCinC
Arnold Augustus Rand was serving as Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief (actually Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief after the death of Rear Admiral Melville moved Lt. General Arthur MacArthur to the place of Commander-in-Chief) when the unexpected death of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, on September 5, 1912, resulted in his becoming the first officer not of General or Flag rank to succeed to the office of Commander-in-Chief of MOLLUS.
Arnold Rand was born in Boston, Massachusetts, March 25, 1837, the son of Edward Sprague Rand and Elizabeth Arnold. He was educated at Mr. Dixwell’s School in Boston and in Vevey, Switzerland. Upon his return from Europe, he entered the employ of Blake, Howe, and Company Bankers, continuing with their successors, Blake Brothers and Company, until the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion. The imminent outbreak of the war caused him to enlist as a private in the 4th Battalion, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia on April 14, 1861, but on October 30 of that same year he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry. He was promoted to Captain of the same on February 4, 1862 and made Assistant Adjutant General, U.S. Volunteers on June 3, 1863. His next advancement was to Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry on December 3, 1864, and this was followed by promotion to Colonel of the Regiment on January 22, 1864. He resigned his commission on February 3, 1865. Colonel. Rand served in the 10th Army Corps and the Army of the James and in the Shenandoah Valley under Major General Philip Sheridan.
Major Edward T Bouve, in an article on the battle at High Bridge, Virginia, wrote, “The Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry had been subjected to a training and discipline which caused it to develop rapidly into one of the finest cavalry regiments in the army. The officers were nearly all veteran soldiers, educated in the hard school of war. A large proportion of the men in the ranks had seen service, and the rank and file, as a whole, proved to be such as any officer might be proud to lead. The quality of the regiment is easily accounted for, when it is considered that its first colonel left the lasting impression of himself upon it: that colonel was Arnold A. Rand.”
Following the end of the war, Col. Rand moved to California for three years but returned to Massachusetts where he entered law school at Boston University. He was admitted to the Suffolk County Bar in 1874 and entered law practice with his father. In 1885, in company with N. J. Bradlee, he organized the Massachusetts Title Insurance Company. Ten years later, he returned to the practice of law, but then became Vice President of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He also served as vice president of the Real Estate Exchange and a Trustee of the Massachusetts Soldier’s Home.
Colonel Rand became a Companion of the Loyal Legion on June 7, 1871, when he was elected a Companion of the First Class of the Commandery of Massachusetts with Insignia No. 1311. On May 4, 1881, he was elected Recorder of the Massachusetts Commandery and served in that office until 1906. As such he was the executive officer in charge of the Cadet Armory and was the one most responsible for assembling the great collection of Civil War artifacts, flags, trophies, and medals, as well as paintings, engravings and an enormous number of records and photographs of Civil War soldiers both north and south. Most of these items, including 37 volumes of portraits and 36,000 views, are now at the United States Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania where they form the basis of the great collections of the USHMHI.
Arnold Rand steadfastly refused to accept election as Commander of the Commandery of Massachusetts, but in 1911 he allowed his name to go forward for election as Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, never intending to move beyond that position. The deaths of Rear Admiral George Wallace Melville and Lt. General Arthur MacArthur, however, raised Colonel Rand to the position of Commander-in-Chief. It was the intent of the national nominating committee that Colonel Rand be nominated to succeed to a full term as Commander-in-Chief, but he steadfastly refused, feeling that the position should be held by an officer of General or Flag Rank. On October 25, 1913, he wrote the Recorder-in-Chief, Lt. Colonel John Page Nicholson, “I should not be human if I did not feel proud of the honor which came to me, and that I have been the Commander-in-Chief of what I regard as the grandest organization of our country-representing a certain class of the men who put down the rebellion, established the Union and destroyed slavery – it is good reason for pride. But the special gratification which comes to me is that the Commandery of the State of Massachusetts will go down into history as having had a Commander-in-Chief when names will practically be forgotten and only the proud record remains. I heartily wish that all the Commanderies may receive like recognition. For all the courtesy which I have received, for all the kind words which have been said, I am profoundly grateful.”
Colonel Rand remained an active member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion until his death at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1917. He and his wife, Anna Eliza Lebarron Brownell had no children. Colonel Rand’s brother, Captain Frederick H. Rand who served in the 26th New York Calvary and was a Companion of the First Class (Insignia #1451) of the Massachusetts Commandery, survived him as did Frederick H. Rand, Jr. (Insignia #14755). Colonel Rand was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief by Bvt. Brigadier General Thomas Hamlin Hubbard. He is buried aside his wife at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.