After a year of absence from the Army for being sick, he became the superintendent and did much needed work to expand the Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C.

He served in the Philippines against insurgents and as collector of customs at Iloilo from 1899 to 1901 under the command of Colonel Edmund Rice.

Wotherspoon served as the acting president of the Army War College and chief of the Third Division, General Staff in 1907.

[8][9] During his term, he highlighted the shortage of experienced officers and noncommissioned as the Army began to prepare for possible involvement in World War I.

[10] He also emphasized the need to improve coastal defenses to match battleships that were increasing in size and armament,[11] oversaw establishment of the Army's first aviation section as a branch of the Signal Corps,[4] and completion of the Panama Canal and its opening to ship traffic.

[19] Alexander Wotherspoon was a career officer in the United States Navy, and retired as a rear admiral.