by Rev. Canon Dr. Robert Girard Carroon, PCinC
John Coalter Bates was the 14th Commander-in-Chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and the first from the Commandery of Missouri. Born in 1842, he was the son of Edward Bates, who served as Attorney General in the Cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln. John C. Bates was a native of Charles County, Missouri, and, after graduating from public school, entered Washington University in St. Louis.
With the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, he enlisted at nineteen and was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the 11th United States Infantry on May 14, 1861. With his regiment, he joined the Army of the Potomac in October 1861. The 11th served with the Army of the Potomac throughout the entire war.
The 11th U.S. Infantry was in Major General George Sykes’s Division, and Bates served until April 27, 1863, when he joined the staff of General Joseph Hooker. Lieutenant Bates was promoted to Captain on May 1, 1863. On June 27, 1863, when Hooker was relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac, Captain Bates was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Major General George Meade, with whom he served for the remainder of the war, mustering out on June 30, 1865. Captain Bates was breveted Major on August 1, 1864, and Lieutenant Colonel on April 9, 1865 – the day of Lee’s surrender to General Grant at Appomattox – “for gallant and meritorious services during the recent operations resulting in the fall of Richmond, Va., and the surrender of the insurgent army under General R.E. Lee.”
During the Civil War, Bates participated in the Battles of Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, the Siege of Petersburg, and the operations leading to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.
His distinguished wartime career influenced his decision to continue in military service. He was assigned to the 20th United States Infantry as a Captain on September 21, 1866. For nearly the next 30 years, John C. Bates served in the West, fighting Native Americans in the Northwest and along the Mexican border. He was promoted Major and transferred to the 5th Infantry on May 6, 1882, and transferred back to the 20th Infantry on May 24, 1882. After three years with the 20th, he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th Infantry on October 19, 1886, and returned to the 20th on December 10, 1890. With his promotion to Colonel on April 25, 1892, he transferred to the 2nd United States Infantry.
During the Spanish-American War, he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers and later Major General of Volunteers, serving in Cuba. He participated in the Battles of El Caney and Santiago. In 1899, General Bates was assigned to the Philippines and was appointed Brigadier General, U.S. Army. He soon became commander of the 1st Division, succeeding General Henry W. Lawton, who was killed in action. His area of command was Southern Luzon. While in command there, he negotiated a treaty with the Sultan of Sulu, known as the Bates Treaty, and also pacified Cavite and Mindanao. General Bates was promoted to Major General in the Regular Army on July 15, 1902, and to Lieutenant General on February 1, 1906. Upon the retirement of Lieutenant General Adna R. Chaffee, General Bates became Chief-of-Staff of the U.S. Army, serving until his retirement on April 14, 1906, when he was succeeded by Brigadier General J. Franklin Bell.
John Coalter Bates was highly active in the Missouri Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He was elected a Companion of the First Class in Missouri on October 8, 1887, and assigned Insignia #5704. He served as Senior Vice-Commander of the Missouri Commandery from 1904 to 1905 and as Commander from 1905 to 1906. He was elected Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Order on October 16, 1907, and was elected Commander-in-Chief on October 20, 1909, succeeding Major General Grenville Mellen Dodge. General Bates served a two-year term, retiring in 1911. He was succeeded by Rear Admiral George W. Melville. After completing his term as Commander-in-Chief, General Bates moved to San Diego, California, where he died on February 14, 1919 and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.