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General Rafferty was born in La Porte, Indiana, on April 11, 1859. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy from Illinois in 1876 and graduated from that institution on June 12, 1880, when he was commissioned Second Lieutenant, 1st Artillery. He was promoted to the grade of first lieutenant in 1887, captain in 1899, major in 1905, and lieutenant colonel, Coast Artillery Corps, in 1908. He became a full colonel in 1911. He was commissioned a brigadier general of the National Army in 1917 and retained that grade until honorably discharged from the National Army in 1918 when he reverted to the grade of colonel in the Regular Army. On December 1, 1919, after forty-three years service. General Rafferty retired at his own request and became a brigadier general, retired, under the Act of June 21, 1930.</p>
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During his long service, and particularly after he had attained a field grade, General Rafferty was assigned to many key commands. Most notable among them were command of the important Coast Defense Districts, at various times, of Baltimore, Maryland; New London, Connecticut; the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay Area; Oahu, Territory of Hawaii; the Columbia River District; and the District of Southern New York. As a brigadier general of the National Army, he organized and commanded the 54th Artillery Brigade at Camp McClellan, Alabama.</p>
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This brief record of a long life on the Army Active List says but little of what General Rafferty did for the important arm of the Service with which he served for so many years. The writer is one of the few now left alive who knows in detail the extent of the labor which that fine soldier performed; the high standard of efficiency to which he raised every command with which he served; the extreme interest he always showed in instructing and training his junior officers to become expert in coast artillery work; the celerity with which he grasped and perfected improvements in the functioning of coast artillery. Not only was General Rafferty quick to realize the benefits of change but also to see and to originate many improvements himself. He was particularly interested in the accuracy of mortar fire. At one time, he so perfected the complicated operations necessary for a hit on moving targets at long range that he was able to successfully conduct mortar practice, firing from a mortar pit, at thirty second intervals, projectiles weighing a thousand pounds each to destroy his target effectively. To the knowledge of the writer, this feat has never been duplicated.</p>
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As a cadet, Rafferty was very popular with and beloved by all of his classmates; indeed, by all who knew him. He graduated near the head of his class, and, throughout his army career, applied his many talents to what he thought was for the betterment of the service. He did not always attain the desired end, but the writer believes that there was no superior officer who did not admire Rafferty and credit him with a brilliant mind and the capacity for unending industry. Unfortunately, while still a cadet, Rafferty was the victim of a minor accident which left him with a slight limp for the rest of his life. Another tribute to the man is the fact that this handicap effected him neither physically nor mentally—throughout his service he was always as active as he was in cadet days.</p>
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I saw but little of Rafferty after retirement; but the bond of friendship formed during those eventful years at the Academy takes no note of Time or Distance. A note from him, just a short time ago, when he asked me to attend a Class reunion, was full of affection for those of ’80 still alive and of regret for his precarious health which was to prevent him from leaving his Baltimore home. Not long after receipt of this affectionate and treasured letter, my dear friend died of heart trouble.</p>
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Requiescat in Pace, Classmate; surely you have</p>
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<em>Joined the Army of the Blest With Benny Havens, Oh.</em></p>
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<em>—C. J. B.</em><br />
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