Alvey Augustus Adee (November 27, 1842 – July 4, 1924) was a long-time employee of the United States Department of State who served as the acting Secretary of State in 1898. November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ...

A native of Astoria, New York, Adee got his start in diplomacy by becoming the private secretary of Daniel Sickles, whom Adee accompanied to Madrid when Sickles was named the U.S. Minister to Spain in 1869. While in Madrid, Adee met and was befriended by John Hay, who was then the Secretary of the U.S. Legation there. Astoria, New York is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of Queens, New York. ... Portrait of Daniel Sickles during the Civil War Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1825 – May 3, 1914) was a colorful and controversial American politician, Union general in the American Civil War, and diplomat. ... Madrid is the capital and largest city in Spain, as well as in the province and the autonomous community of the same name. ... For other people named John Hay, see John Hay (disambiguation). ...

Adee stayed at the Legation in Madrid for eight years, then returned to the United States in 1877 to take a temporary secretary position in Washington, DC with the State Department. A year later, he was named the Chief of the department's Diplomatic Bureau. In 1882, he was promoted to Third Assistant Secretary, and in 1886, he was promoted again to Second Assistant Secretary, a position he would hold until his death 38 years later. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

The apex of Adee's career came during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The Secretary of State, John Sherman, was old and in poor health, and the Assistant Secretary of State, William R. Day, was inexperienced in diplomacy, which meant that Adee, as the third-ranking officer in the department, effectively supervised U.S. diplomacy during a war. In September of that year, with both Sherman and Day having left the department, Adee became acting Secretary of State in name as well as fact for two weeks, until John Hay returned from England to take over as the new Secretary. Combatants United States and Cuban rebel forces Spain Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 2,446 combat dead or wounded (US only) Cubans and Filipinos not counted. ... John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823–October 22, 1900) was a Senator from Ohio and a member of the United States Cabinet. ... Categories: People stubs | U.S. Supreme Court justices | Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | U.S. Secretaries of State | Spanish-American War people | American lawyers | 1849 births | 1923 deaths ...

Adee was again in effective charge of the State Department during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, because Hay was ill and the Assistant Secretary was away from Washington. Boxer forces, 1900 photograph The Boxer Uprising (Traditional Chinese: 義和團起義; Simplified Chinese: 义和团起义; Hanyu Pinyin: ; The Righteous and Harmonious Fists) or Boxer Rebellion (義和團之亂 or 義和團匪亂) was a violent movement against non-Chinese commercial, political, religious and technological influence in China during the final years of the 19th century, from November 1899 to September...

After 1909, Adee's influence (and health) steadily waned, though he was allowed to remain as Second Assistant Secretary. He continued to work until his death.

Adee never married and fathered no children.

References

• An Appreciation of Alvey Adee