WOODEN CHEST ATTRIBUTED TO LEONARD WOOD

Large wooden chest, approximately 42" x 24" x 18" with galvanized steel insert. Stenciled name and address bears the name of Leonard Wood, a US Army general and Medal of Honor recipient. As a physician, during his deployment, this trunk may have served to transport medical supplies, medicines, or personal goods which needed to be kept dry and cool in a hot, humid climate. The trunk is marked in several corners with a red "2" indicating it was part of a larger shipment of crates. Leonard Wood was medically trained and was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars while serving as an Assistant Surgeon in the Apache Campaign of the Summer of 1886. In 1895, he was the White House Physician to President Grover Cleveland. He began his long friendship with Theodore Roosevelt during his years in Washington. During the Spanish-American War he was the commander of the First Volunteer Cavalry (The Rough Riders) - Roosevelt was his second-in-command. Following the war, he served as Military Governor of Cuba until 1902. As a Brigadier General he fought the Moros during the Philippine Insurrection in 1904 and less than a year later he was named Army Chief of Staff by President William Howard Taft (who he knew in the Philippines where Taft served as Civilian Governor). In less than a decade, he had jumped from a Captain in the Medical Corps to the highest post in the Army. He resigned that position in 1914. When World War I broke out, he became a vocal advocate for preparedness. He hoped to be secretary of War, but was not appointed. In 1927 he returned home from Manila to seek medical attention of a tumor resulting from an earlier head injury. He died on the operating table of a Boston hospital on August 7, 1927. He is buried in Section 21 of Arlington National Cemetery. Unfortunately, we have not been able to uncover any photographic or written documentation about this particular piece. It shows wear and age, and the stencil is very difficult to make out. Very Good