Between Vanderbilt and Verdi

That’s where my short (144 page) biography of Edward Vattmann lands on the public library shelf.

It may be dwarfed by the Vanderbilt and Verdi books, but Vattmann lived as large as the two better-known men.

Well-acquainted with several US presidents and close friend of two—William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt—Vattmann was also a great friend of the Sioux, earning their trust and respect when he served as an army chaplain in the aftermath of Wounded Knee in 1890. He helped quell rioters at the Pullman Labor Strike of 1894. The first Catholic chaplain to be appointed after the Civil War, he was the first chaplain to attain the rank of Major, and after the 1898 War with Spain, was sent on a private mission to the Philippines by President Roosevelt who called him “a good soldier and a good priest, a most useful citizen and one of the staunchest of American patriots.” Living large.

He helped settle immigrants in Texas where a town was named after him. He was active in civic affairs in his adopted hometown of Wilmette, Illinois, and came out of retirement to train chaplains for the Great War.

President McKinley opined that “the American Catholic Church can point with proud exultation to that noble type of priest and patriot—Father Edward Vattmann.” Living large.

The little book about this large life is available on Amazon here.

I hope you enjoy meeting one of the most obscure—yet fascinating—characters of the Church in America - it’s a real adventure story. Cheers!