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Family, classmates, and friends were saddened at the not unexpected death of General <em>E. M. Markham</em> at Albany Hospital, Albany, New York. He had been seriously ill for a period of over two years, and his passing ended a similar period of great suffering. He was buried at West Point. General Markham was born July 6, 1877, in Troy, New York, the son of Cornelius and Margaret Markham. All of his early schooling was received in the public schools of his home town. He had just completed Troy High School when he received his appointment to the Military Academy from Senator Edward Murphy, a family friend whose name he bears.</p>
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Ed Markham was one of the bright outstanding stars of his Class in nearly all of his academic subjects, graduating No. 5 in the Class of February 1899. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant of Engineers, thereafter passing through all of the intermediate grades and finally attaining the rank of Major General in October 1933.</p>
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His first duty assignment was at the Engineer School, Fort Totten, New York, followed by a brief tour in Florida, where he worked on coast fortifications. In 1902 he was ordered to the Philippine Islands and was initially engaged upon the construction of Fort William McKinley, outside of Manila. This work completed, he was then charged with an investigation of coal deposits throughout the entire Philippine Islands, as could be determined from old Spanish records and maps. In 1904 he was returned to the States, and in January of the same year married Grace Schermerhorn of Troy, New York, his boyhood schoolmate and sweetheart. His first station as a married officer was with the Engineer Battalion at Washington Barracks, District of Columbia. In October 1905 he was promoted to Captain. When the battalion was ordered to Cuba in 1906, Ed Markham went with it to join the Pacification Forces, with station at Camp Columbia. A good part of his time in Cuba, aside from troop duty, was spent upon improvement of the road and bridge system throughout the Island.</p>
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He was ordered home in 1908 and again was stationed in Washington, where, as a Captain, he was appointed Assistant District Engineer Commissioner. During this period, in addition to his regular duties, he in his spare time supervised the building of the Army & Navy Club in downtown Washington. He was promoted to Major in February 1912 and transferred to Memphis, Tennessee, as District Engineer. In this capacity, he gained valuable experience in flood control matters while combatting the great floods of 1912, 1913, and 1916 upon the lower Mississippi River.</p>
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In 1916 he was ordered to the United States Military Academy as Professor of Practical Military Engineering, or “P.M.E.,” as it was known at that time to the Cadets. This most interesting assignment was interrupted by the United States entry into the Great War in 1917, when he was ordered to Camp Dix, New Jersey, to organize and train the 303d Engineer Regiment, 78th Division. (As a coincidence, his son. Edward, Jr., commanded the 303d Engineer Battalion for a time during World War II.) In July 1917 he was promoted to Lt. Colonel (temporary). In June 1918 he accompanied his regiment to France to become a part of the A.E.F. After a short period in the line with the British, he was relieved of his command and designated as Deputy Director for Light Railways and Roads. In this assignment he did much to sustain the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. Following the armistice, he served for a little less than a year as Chief Engineer of the Army of Occupation in Germany.</p>
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He returned to the States in the summer of 1919 and resumed his river and harbor work as District Engineer, Detroit, Michigan. During this tour of duty, he was responsible for all improvements on the Great Lakes from the western end of Lake Erie to Whitefish Point at the eastern end of Lake Superior. At the same time, the U. S. Lake Survey was directly under the control of the Detroit District Office. He received his permanent Lieutenant Colonelcy in September 1919. In May 1921 he was promoted to full Colonel.</p>
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In July 1925 he was transferred to duty with troops, as Commanding Officer of Fort A. A. Humphreys, Virginia, now Fort Belvoir, and Commandant of the Engineer School. His period of command was one of transition, when Fort Humphreys was changed from a temporary to a permanent installation. In the summer and fall of 1929 he was ordered on temporary duty for an extensive tour of Europe (excluding U. S. S. R.), Asia Minor, and North Africa, to study foreign methods of hydraulics as applied to flood control work. This tour and his report anually resulted in the establishment of the well-known Vicksburg Laboratory, Corps of Engineers. Shortly after his return home, he was again transferred to river and harbor duty as Division Engineer, Great Lakes Division, Cleveland, Ohio. His responsibilities now included the entire Great Lakes area so far as river and harbor matters were concerned. His previous assignment at Detroit and experience gained through his knowledge of the Lake Survey stood him in good stead during this particular tour of duty.</p>
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In 1933 he was appointed Major General and Chief of Engineers by President Roosevelt, and held that position until October 1937. During this period, it has been said that he passed upon more large scale expenditures than any other Engineer Officer in peacetime history. These included extensive flood control measures, the Fort Peck and Bonneville dams, and many huge WPA projects designed to bring the country out of the depression of the 30's. He advocated such controversial measures as the St. Lawrence Waterway and the Florida Ship Canal.</p>
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General Markham's last assignment in the Army was from October 1937 to February 1938, when he made a special study of the engineering and fortification needs of the Hawaiian Islands. He retired in February 1938, as a Major General.</p>
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His retirement was retirement from the Army only, not from the active life to which he was so accustomed. He immediately took a position in the La Guardia administration as Commissioner of Public Works, City of New York. He left this position after a very short time to assume the presidency of the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, Chicago, Illinois, and to this venture into civilian business and a highly competitive industry he brought with him the integrity and moral values with which he had so long and faithfully served his country. In the spring of 1945, he finally retired, purchased a home, and settled down in Albany, New York.</p>
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This retirement was in the full sense of the word, and he and his wife lived quietly but happily until his serious illness. They had two sons, twins, born in 1905, and one daughter, born in 1910. Both of the boys, Edward Murphy, Jr., and Harrison S., are graduates of West Point; Edward now retired, and Harrison still on active duty. Daughter Grace is married to Colonel William J. Matteson, retired, and makes her home in Great Barrington, Mass. All children are married, and eleven grandchildren, setting a record, it is believed, for the Class of 1899, were the pride and joy of their grandfather's life. The eldest, Edward Murphy Markham III, is now a First Classman at West Point, and it was hoped that General Markham would live to see him graduated.</p>
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The official record, as outlined above, speaks for itself. But there is another, more important side of the picture—“Eddie" Markham, the man. First of all, he was Irish and he was aggressive. He once startled a group of newspaper men interviewing him, when he took over as Commissioner of Public Works, New York City, by likening himself to "Terrible Terry" McGovern, a champion prize fighter around the turn of the century. But beneath his aggressiveness, energy and will to succeed, were certain characteristics that endeared him to everyone. General Markham had the human touch. He was equally at home with the high or the low. The problem of the buck private or a dredge worker received as much attention, thought and understanding, as would the problems of his brother officers. Many the man who was down and out of a job he has helped; many an adjustment has been made in official Army orders to meet personal problems of officers and enlisted men alike; many a young man he has aided and encouraged into West Point or Annapolis.</p>
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Perhaps even of more consequence was General Markham's love and affection for his family. His sons can well remember that as soon as they were old enough to hold a rifle or cast a rod, they were always along with their "Dad" for ducks in Arkansas, deer in Michigan, or trout on the north shore of Superior, probably much to the disgust of their father's adult companions. General Markham was always happiest at home with his wife and children. Rarely did he go out in the evening, but was content to read, to play the piano or organ, and derive the maximum pleasures from his home. He was always patient and forgiving. An officer once said, "His middle initial 'M' is not for Murphy, it is for Mercy”, which sums up in a nutshell his attitude towards his family and his fellow man.</p>
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Religion played a very important part in his life. Born a Catholic, his entire life reflected Catholic principles. As a young lieutenant, he played the organ at services in Cuba or the Philippines. His musical talents were known in the Army. He composed a march in 1917 for the 303d Engineers, and later a hymn, “Petition”, which is still sung at the Cadet Chapel.</p>
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General Markham exemplified every single day of his existence all those attributes that go to make up a good officer, a good husband, and a good father. His intellectual capacity was far above the average. His unassuming good nature, coupled with tremendous energy and a decisive attitude toward any and every problem, plus his constant seeking of responsibility, carried him to the very top of his profession. The Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, and placed him upon an equal footing with our nation's business leaders. And the greatest tribute of all was his own contention that he had never, during his 73 years, consciously or willfully hurt a human being.</p>
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Our Country has lost a soldier: many have lost a friend; his family have lost a splendid husband and father.</p>
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Requiescat In pace.</p>
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<em>—H. S. M,</em><br />
<em>—E. M. M., Jr.,</em><br />
<em>—G. S. M.</em></p>