John Coalter Bates Lieutenant General, U.S. Army;
Veteran of the Civil War; Spanish-American War and Philippine War
John Coalter Bates was born on 26 August 1842 in St. Charles, MO.
The son of U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates, he was educated at Washington University in St. Louis and joined the Army, first as a First Lieutenant in the 11th U.S. Infantry Regiment, then as Aide-de-Camp to General George G. Meade.
He served throughout the Civil War and attained the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel for his bravery and meritorious service at Gettysburg and other battles. He remained in the Army after the war, serving in the western U.S. during the Indian Wars and achieving the rank of Colonel as Commander of 2nd U.S. Infantry in 1892.
During the Spanish-American War, Bates commanded a division in Cuba as a Brigadier General and served as Military Governor of Cienfuegos. He later traveled to the Philippines, where he negotiated a treaty with the Sultan of Sulu that established Moro neutrality and enabled the U.S. to establish outposts in the southern Philippine Islands. Bates then commanded 1st Division, VIII Corps in Luzon, Philippines, afterward advancing to Corps Commander.
From 1901-04, he commanded the Department of the Missouri at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and then the Department of the Lakes in Detroit, with the rank of Major General. In 1905 he became Commander of the Army's Northern Division in St. Louis.
In January 1906, Bates was appointed Army Chief of Staff, receiving a promotion to Lieutenant General and serving until he reached mandatory retirement age of 64 in April 1906.
In Retirement:
After retiring, he served as Commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. from 1909 to 1911.
Death and Burial:
Lieutenant General John Coalter Bates died on 4 February 1919 in San Diego, CA. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

John Coalter Bates (August 26, 1842 – February 4, 1919) was Chief of Staff of the United States Army from January to April 1906. Along with Arthur MacArthur, Jr., Bates was one of the last American Civil War veterans still on active duty in the United States military at the time of his retirement.
Bates was born in St. Charles County, Missouri to congressman and future Attorney General Edward Bates and Julia Davenport Coalter. He was educated at Washington University in St. Louis. He was commissioned a first lieutenant with the 11th Infantry Regiment and later became an aide to General George G. Meade, reaching the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel for gallant and meritorious service in operations resulting in the fall of Richmond and surrender of Lee's Army in April 1865.
He later served on the Indian Frontier for many years (being promoted to major in 1882 and to lieutenant colonel in 1886), was made a colonel of the 2nd Infantry Regiment in 1892, and in May 1898 was promoted to Brigadier general of an Independent Brigade consisting of the 3rd Infantry Regiment and 20th Infantry Regiment in the Spanish-American War and commanded a division of volunteers in the Philippines in the early stages of the Philippine-American War. He was military governor of Cienfuegos in 1899, went that year to the Philippines, where he conducted the negotiations with the Sultan of Sulu. From 1900-1901, he commanded the 1st Division, Eighth Army Corps, conducted operations against insurgents in southern Luzon, and then commanded that department.
He commanded a provisional division in maneuvers at Fort Riley and commanded the Departments of the Missouri and the Lakes from 1901–1904 and later the Northern Division for a year before serving as the chief of staff of the United States Army from 15 January to 13 April 1906. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant general and later retired from active service in April 1906. He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) and the Grand Army of the Republic.

Engagements: • Indian Wars (1775 - 1924) intermittent • Mexican-American Wars (1846 - 1848) • American Civil War (1861 - 1865) • Philippine-American War (1899 - 1902)
Source: Military Hall of Honor