armyreliefsocietylawnparty

I love this shot! The ones where people don't know they're being photographed are the best. Seeing people acting natural reminds you that people have always been the same.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called skint...getting by creatively and gracefully, and we'd love to have this added to the group! I need that gaint flag cover for my portable garage!

May 25, 1911. Two more photographs from this occasion, the annual lawn party of the Army Relief Society (which raised funds for the care of widows and orphans of officers and enlisted men of the Regular Army): www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163471986/in/p... www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163471766/in/p...

Title should read GEN. Grant not Ge. Grant

If it was taken the same day as this photograph of Stimson and Grant, then it was taken May 25th, 1911. That makes sense given Stimson's term as Secretary of War and Grant's date of death (see below).

General Grant was Frederick Dent Grant (May 30, 1850 – April 12, 1912), the oldest son of Ulysses S. Grant. He died of cancer on Governer's Island just over a year after this photo was taken.

The man in the top hat escorting Grant was Henry L. Stimson (1867-1950) appointed Secretary of War in 1911.

He went on to be Secretary of State, the Governor of the Philippines and again Secretary of War in the 1940's during which he oversaw the Manhattan Project and chiefly influenced Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Governer's Island is at the mouth of the East River in New York just across from the much smaller Ellis Island. Below is a lithograph from around the same time (1911):

The occasion for this photo was an annual event on Governors Island, the lawn party of the Army Relief Society. The party was a fundraiser for the organization, which provided succor to widows and orphans of officers and enlisted men of the Regular Army. Pictured here is the 1911 version, which was held on May 25, 1911. In response to an email query, Mike Shaver, National Park Service Ranger/Historian at the Governors Island National Monument, provided the date of this event, and also noted that Henry L. Stimson had been appointed Secretary of War only a few weeks earlier, in that same month of May, 1911. Stimson served in the cabinet of President William Howard Taft. Here is another photo of Stimson with General Grant: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2162710703/in/p... Here is a photo of the lawn party, when the excitement was at full tilt: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163472204/in/p... General Grant was the host on this occasion; as Commanding General of the United States Army, Department of the East, he resided on Governor's Island. In fact, he died there, on April 11, 1912.

Wystan: Thanks for the additional information and bringing our attention to the date on the negative. We'll add the date to the record next time we update.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_L._Stimson en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Grant en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governors_Island

The date at the top says Feb 25, 1911. I beleive that's General Frederick Dent Grant (son of General Ulysses S. Grant) and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Grant sucumbed to cancer on April 11, 1912.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Dent_Grant

Left: Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson (1867-1950) See also this picture of Secy Stimson & Ge. Grant at lawn party. It is interesting that hanging behind Stimson is the 45-star (pre-Oklahoma) U.S. flag which was replaced by the 46-star version in 1908. Maybe the obscured flag on the right is the contemporary 46-star flag displayed beside the "old" one. In a year's time from this photo, the U.S. would have the 48-star flag that would remain unchanged until 1959.

Maybe its the Fourth of July?

The lawn party was an annual fundraising event for the Army Relief Society, which provided for widows and orphans of officers and enlisted men of the Regular Army. General Frederick Dent Grant, the Army's commanding officer on Governor's Island, was the host on this occasion. General Grant, the son of former President U. S. Grant, resided on the island, and died there, in 1912. We have been misreading the date on this photo as February, but in fact the 1911 party was held on May 25: that's a "5" in the date, not a "2." In response to an email query, Mike Shaver, National Park Service Ranger/Historian at the Governors Island National Monument, provided the date of May 25, 1911, for this event, and also noted that Stimson had been appointed Secretary of War only a few weeks earlier, in that same month. Here is a photo of the lawn party, going full blast: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2163472204/in/p...