Text of headstone:
Metcalf
(star)
Wilder S. Metcalf
Brigadier General
National Army 1917 - 18
Brevet U.S.V. 1899
Kansas N.G. 1919
(star)
Private to First Lieut.
Ohio N.G. 1884 - 86
Private to Brig. General
Kansas N.G. 1888 - 1919
Major to Colonel
20th Kansas Vol. Inf.
Philippine Campaign 1898 - 99
Mexican Border Service 1916
World War 1917 - 1918
(wreath)
His beloved wife
Alice L. Metcalf
From Kansas Skyways:
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"GEN. WILDER S. METCALF has been a resident of Kansas since 1887, and developed and is now sole owner of the business known as the Wilder S. Metcalf Farm Mortgage Agency at Lawrence. It is one of the oldest and best known agencies of the kind in the state and its business operations cover twenty-five or thirty counties in Kansas and Oklahoma.
He is the only man who held the office of United States pension agent at Topeka for two successive terms. The Topeka agency was the largest in the United States, covering five states, and through it were distributed more than $18,000,000 annually in pensions. General Metcalf was appointed to the office by President Roosevelt in December, 1901, taking charge of the office n March 1, 1902, was re-appointed by Mr. Roosevelt in January, 1906, and managed the agency until September 1, 1910.
He is perhaps most widely known for his active connection with military affairs. Before coming to Kansas he was a resident of Ohio and for three years was a member of the Ohio National Guard, advancing from private to first lieutenant. At Lawrence he enlisted as a private in the Kansas National Guard. He held every position in the First Regiment from private to colonel, and was colonel in 1898 when the Spanish-American war broke out. He accepted a commission as major in the famous Twentieth Kansas Regiment under Col. Frederick Funston. He spent a year in the Philippines and from May to October, 1899, was in command of his regiment during the Filipino insurrection. He became colonel of the regiment upon Colonel Funston's promotion to brigadier general, and received every vote of the regiment except one. In October the Twentieth Kansas returned home. General Metcalf was twice wounded during this service. In the fall of 1899 he was brevetted brigadier general by President McKinley. He soon afterwards resumed the position of colonel of the First Infantry of the Kansas National Guard. In 1909 the secretary of war appointed him a member of the National Militia Board, consisting of five members. He was colonel of the First Kansas Regiment during the service on the Mexican border in 1916.
Wilder Stevens Metcalf was born at Milo, Maine, September 10, 1855. He spent most of his youth in Elyria, Ohio, where various members of the family still reside. The Metcalfs have been prominent for generations. They have achieved success and distinction in business and military affairs in various professions, and many of them have been widely known as scholars and educators. The publication "Who's Who in America" contains sketches of many Metcalfs, including General Metcalf, and several of his relatives.
Wilder S. Metcalf was reared in Elyria, graduating from the Elyria High School in 1872, and from Oberlin College in 1878. After leaving college he became bookkeeper for a wholesale cheese and butter firm at Wellington, Ohio. In 1887 he removed to Kansas, and on the first of April of that year located at Lawrence and became associated with Edward Russell in the farm mortgage business. The firm of Russell & Metcalf continued until the death of Mr. Russell in 1898. Since then General Metcalf has been sole owner of the business.
General Metcalf was delegate at large in the republican national convention at Philadelphia in 1900, when McKinley and Roosevelt were nominated to head the party ticket. While General Metcalf was absent on the Mexican border in 1916 he was nominated for the State Senate, and was elected in November of that year. For eighteen years he served as a member of the Lawrence School Board and several years as its president. He is a member of the Military Order of Foreign Wars, Army of the Philippines, of the United Spanish War Veterans, the Military Order Carabao, and has a congressional medal for service in the Philippines. He also belongs to the Army and Navy Club of Washington, the Kansas City Club, the University Club of Kansas City, the Topeka Club, the Phi Gamma Delta, the Phi Delta Phi, and is a Knight Templar and a noble of the Mystic Shrine. General Metcalf was married July 30, 1878, to Mary Eliza Crosier of Wellington, Ohio. Mrs. Metcalf died September 8, 1914. He later married Alice L. Bullene."
From Spanish American War Centennial Website on the 20th Kansas (The Fighting Kansas):
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"General:
The following is a history of the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry. The unit was formed during the Spanish American War, but saw the majority of service in the theater of war during the Philippine American War. It was during this latter war that the unit gained fame, fighting in the Philippines.
Unit History:
Governor Leedy of Kansas issued a call for troops to fight in the Spanish American War on April 26, 1898, as soon as war was declared. The 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry was officially mustered into service between May 9 and May 13 at Topeka, Kansas. At the time of mustering in, the regiment consisted of forty-six officers and 964 enlisted men.
Three days after the entire unit was mustered in, the regiment left Topeka for Camp Merritt at San Francisco. The regiment spent the majority of the summer in the camp. By late July, there was an effort to relocate forces from their old camps to new locations to stem the tide of disease which had been rising in the poor conditions of the army camps in general. Perhaps as part of this effort, the regiment was relocated to Camp Merriam on August 5. It was while the regiment was in Camp Merriam that an armistice was declared, ending the fighting between the U.S. and Spain on August 12.
The Fifth Philippine Expedition was preparing to leave for the journey across the Pacific, and the 20 Kansas was to take pat. On October 27, the second and third battalions (Companies C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, and M) of the 20th Kansas steamed for Manila, Philippines aboard the transportINDIANA as part of the build up to occupy the city and surrounding areas. The first battalion (Companies A, B, F, and L) followed aboard the transportNEWPORT. The route across the Pacific was quite lengthy. The INDIANA arrived in Honolulu on November 5, departing four days later, and finally arriving in Manila on December 6 (some sources indicate November 30). The NEWPORT arrived in Honolulu on November 16, departed after three days, and also arrived in Manila on December 6. The Spanish American War officially ended on December 10, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The war was over.
The 20th Kansas was encamped in tobacco warehouses in Manila. On February, 1899, the Philippine American War began and the 20th Kansas was ordered to the front. The regiment advanced on, and was the first to enter, Caloocan on February 10. On March 25, the regiment swam the Tulihan river, captured a blockhouse, and then was involved in the engagements of Malinta and Maycuayan three days later. On March 28th, some of the Kansans swam another river, capturing eighty prisoners among the men occupying the earthworks on the opposite side. On March 31, the regiment entered Malalos, the capital of the Filipino forces. On April 24, the 20th Kansas was involved in the advance against Calumpit, and in the next month, against San Thomas.
On September 6, 1899, the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry boarded transports and steamed for the U.S., arriving on October 10. On October 28, the regiment was mustered out of service. At the time of mustering out, the regiment had decreased in size, including forty-six officers and 720 enlisted men. During its term of service, the regiment had three officers and nineteen enlisted men killed in action. An additional eleven enlisted men died of wounds received in battle. Thirty-five enlisted men died from disease, and 145 more were discharged on disability. Four enlisted men were court-martialed, and four men deserted."