Major General Henry Tureman Allen (April 13, 1859 – August 29, 1930) was a senior United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of wilderness, an accomplishment which Nelson A.

Born in Sharpsburg, Kentucky, Allen graduated from West Point in 1882, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of cavalry.

[4] Among his classmates there at the academy were several men who would, like Allen himself (who graduated 20th in a class of 37), eventually attain the rank of brigadier general or higher during their military careers, such as Edward Burr, Lansing H. Beach, Adelbert Cronkhite, John T. Thompson, Charles Treat, Edward A. Millar, Richard W. Young, Benjamin Alvord Jr., George W. McIver, William H. Sage, Thomas B. Dugan, and William H. Allaire.

Due to the moving glaciers and rough terrain, Abercrombie did not succeed in going more than 60 miles (97 km) up the river.

[7][8][9] Following the expeditions of Frederick Schwatka, which covered a lot of Alaskan land but did not contribute much to a map of the area, and Abercrombie, who had failed to make it through the lower canyons of the Copper, Allen devised a plan to explore both the Tanana and Copper rivers, which were two of the biggest uncharted rivers in Alaska.

Though he had little proper food, faced freezing rain, and difficult terrain, Allen continued to move ahead north along the river.

When one of the enlisted men and Bremner received scurvy from their poor diets, Allen refrained from exploring the Tanana to its headwaters and decided to head to a trading post at its mouth.

[7] In total, Allen had explored through roughly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in unexplored wilderness in only five months time.

General Miles stated that Allen's expedition, "exceeded all explorations on the American continent since Lewis and Clark.

"[8] After the Spanish–American War began in April 1898, Allen left from his position in Germany and by June 1898 was placed in command of Troop D of the 2d Cavalry.

Though there was not adequate food nor medicine, a disaster was averted when Santiago de Cuba surrendered only six days later, allowing the refugees to return to their homes.

Allen then developed a case of malaria[11] or yellow fever and had to go back to the United States to recover.

[12] Allen was promoted to the rank of captain in the regular army in the autumn of 1898 and went back to Berlin, Germany as an attaché.

[5] Once Allen felt that the war had ended in his district he volunteered to serve in China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, but was denied because his service in the Philippines was considered more important.

The constabulary aided in the suppression of the rebellion, guarded prisons, provided intelligence, and returned law and order to the islands.

He assumed command of the 8th Cavalry and led them during the Punitive Expedition, in which Brigadier General John J. Pershing attempted to capture Pancho Villa.

He was made a temporary major general not long afterwards and given command of the newly activated 90th Division at Camp Travis, Texas.

insignia on its badge, together with its nickname of "Tough Ombres"−and, in its first few weeks, had many shortages including rifles, housing, artillery, uniforms, and even soldiers.

[13] Following even more training in northeastern Dijon, on August 24, the 90th Infantry Division entered a sector of the front on the eastern side of the St. Mihiel salient.

At the time Pershing, now a full general and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF on the Western Front (while also commanding the newly created U.S. First Army), was getting ready for his first major offensive–closing off the salient (see Battle of Saint-Mihiel).

In the beginning, Allen's unit stayed close to St. Mihiel, covered sectors already left vacant by the troops who went west, and grouped together their positions.

The brilliant successes there gained and later repeated in the Argonne-Meuse offensive showed him to be an officer of splendid judgment, high attainment, and excellent leadership.

The campaign was especially successful winning donations from the German-American community, but it worked closely with the Federal Council of Churches.

[17] In 1928, despite being nearly seventy-years-old, Allen was considered as a vice-presidential running mate for Democrat Al Smith, and received 21 votes in the balloting that resulted in the nomination of Joseph T.

[23] The Alaskan geologist, Alfred Hulse Brooks, once wrote that, "No man through his own individual explorations has added more to our knowledge of Alaska than Lieutenant Allen.".

Eowyn Ivey's 2016 book To the Bright Edge of the World was inspired by the official reports of Allen's 1885 exploration of Alaska and the diaries of his expedition members.