[4] The McKinley administration was outraged by the leak of the round-robin letter, but quickly realized that the public would blame the government.
On July 28, Secretary of War Russell A. Alger cabled Shafter and ordered Fifth Corps home to Camp Wikoff on Long Island, New York, for quarantine and mustering out.
On August 3, the day before the letter appeared in the press, Alger ordered construction of barracks at Camp Wikoff to begin and for United States Navy ships to head to Cuba to retrieve Fifth Corps.
This appears disingenuous, however, as Alger had long asserted that naval ships were unavailable to bring the troops home.
[5] One side effect of the Round Robin Letter is that Alger refused to endorse Roosevelt's nomination for the Medal of Honor.