henrylstimson

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...

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...

Summary: This is Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson walking beside Chief of Staff of the Army Major General Leonard Wood at President Taft's New Year's Day reception, January 1, 1913 in Washington D. C. The written caption on the plate here reads: SEC'Y STIMSON & OFFICERS JAN 1, '13 Now that we know it is January 1, 1913, and knowing that Henry L. Stimson was Secretary of War at that time makes it a good deal easier to find what the hoo ha of military dress uniforms and top hats is about. New York Times advanced search brings us to: [ query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9900EEDA123BE633A... ] For these headlines and quotes - "THOUSAND IN CROWD AT TAFT'S RECEPTION; Thirty-eight Nations Represented at Brilliant New Year Gathering at White House." + "WASHINGTON, Jan. 1. -- Long before 11 o'clock this morning, which was the hour announced for the opening of the President's New Year reception, thousands of persons stood in line from the entrance gate of the White House to the west door of the State Department." For comparison photos of Maj-Gen Wood see here: and here: www.wood.army.mil/MGLeonardwood.htm Here is the Citation for his Congressional Medal of Honor: history.amedd.army.mil/moh/woodl.htm www.wood.army.mil/engrmag/Maneuver Support Magazine/PDFs for Summer 2008/Roberts.pdf

nudecowboy - What building do you think it is then, with the anchor and cannon? Department of War building possibly?

I'm pretty sure it's the Old Executive Office Building (then the State, Was, and Navy building), now also known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Thanks! We'll add this additional information to the source data and reload the description.