General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing
the video narration of general joseph "BLACK JACK" pershing
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John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing To the right of Eisenhower's Statue you will see a monument and statue to John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing. John J. Pershing was the only person in history to hold the rank of General of the Armies while serving on active duty. In 1919, to honor his service in World War I, Congress authorized the promotion of Pershing to the rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" and allowed him to design his own insignia. On September 3, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson, in accordance with Public Law 66-45, promoted Pershing to that same rank. The rank was primarily intended to recognize Pershing's performance as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. The wording of Pershing's new rank (i.e. "of the Armies") was to distinguish that this held authority over all armed services, as opposed to the Civil War title "General of the Army" which was itself only an Army rank. General Pershing chose to wear the four stars of a general, but in gold, to signify his new position. A bureaucratic loophole in Army regulations did not recognize this insignia, thus Pershing's gold stars did not appear on Army rank precedence charts and were considered as an unofficial rank insignia. |
The matter was not resolved until after Pershing's retirement when the Army declared that the four gold stars worn by Pershing were the official insignia for General of the Armies of the United States at that time, thus creating the following hierarchy of Army general officer ranks.
History
After reading an advertisement announcing an entrance exam for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, John decided to take the test to earn a free education. His sister Elizabeth helped him study. Only one person in the congressional district would win an appointment. Pershing earned the top exam score by a narrow margin and entered West Point in July 1882.
He was elected president of the class of 1886, and each year held the highest rank in the Cadet Battalion. Pershing commanded the Corps of Cadets when it crossed the Hudson from West Point to Garrison to stand and present arms while the funeral train of Ulysses S. Grant passed by.
In 1896 Pershing was assigned to the frontier with the Tenth Cavalry, an all-black regiment. The Native Americans called these troops' buffalo soldiers because they believed the soldiers’ hair resembled that of a buffalo. At the time, blacks were segregated from whites in the military.
Pershing was then assigned to teach at West Point. Here he was given the nickname “Black Jack” because he had spent time with the Tenth Cavalry. When the Spanish-American War broke out, Pershing was selected to command the Tenth Cavalry once more and led his men in Cuba at the Battle of San Juan Hill. The bravery and courage shown by the men of the Tenth Cavalry earned them Pershing’s respect and admiration. He often praised the black soldiers to others, an unusual thing to do during this time.
During his varied military career Pershing performed frontier duty against the Sioux and Apache from 1886-90, where he won the Silver Star Medal; fought in the Cuban War in 1898; in the Philippines in 1903, cleaning up the Moro insurrectionists; and with the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5, as an observer. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1906. This was followed by the Mexican Punitive Expedition (of 10,000 men) to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1915.
Following the U.S. declaration of war against Germany in 1917, Pershing - now a General - was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force. At the time of his appointment there was no expeditionary force available as such; the regular army comprised 25,000 men at most, and no effective reserves. Pershing needed to recruit an organized army and get it into the field; 500,000 men. Eventually the National Army grew - over the period of a year and a half - to nearly 3 million men.
Pershing personally led the successful Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918.
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice on November 11, a total of 47 days. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, and was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. The battle also cost Pershing 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded, making it the largest and bloodiest operation of the war for the American Expeditionary Force.
In 1921 Pershing became U.S. Army Chief of Staff. He retired from active duty in 1924 at the age of 64, having been awarded the title 'General of the Armies' by Congress, a post previously held only by George Washington (and only then retrospectively awarded in 1976).
After reading an advertisement announcing an entrance exam for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, John decided to take the test to earn a free education. His sister Elizabeth helped him study. Only one person in the congressional district would win an appointment. Pershing earned the top exam score by a narrow margin and entered West Point in July 1882.
He was elected president of the class of 1886, and each year held the highest rank in the Cadet Battalion. Pershing commanded the Corps of Cadets when it crossed the Hudson from West Point to Garrison to stand and present arms while the funeral train of Ulysses S. Grant passed by.
In 1896 Pershing was assigned to the frontier with the Tenth Cavalry, an all-black regiment. The Native Americans called these troops' buffalo soldiers because they believed the soldiers’ hair resembled that of a buffalo. At the time, blacks were segregated from whites in the military.
Pershing was then assigned to teach at West Point. Here he was given the nickname “Black Jack” because he had spent time with the Tenth Cavalry. When the Spanish-American War broke out, Pershing was selected to command the Tenth Cavalry once more and led his men in Cuba at the Battle of San Juan Hill. The bravery and courage shown by the men of the Tenth Cavalry earned them Pershing’s respect and admiration. He often praised the black soldiers to others, an unusual thing to do during this time.
During his varied military career Pershing performed frontier duty against the Sioux and Apache from 1886-90, where he won the Silver Star Medal; fought in the Cuban War in 1898; in the Philippines in 1903, cleaning up the Moro insurrectionists; and with the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-5, as an observer. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1906. This was followed by the Mexican Punitive Expedition (of 10,000 men) to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1915.
Following the U.S. declaration of war against Germany in 1917, Pershing - now a General - was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force. At the time of his appointment there was no expeditionary force available as such; the regular army comprised 25,000 men at most, and no effective reserves. Pershing needed to recruit an organized army and get it into the field; 500,000 men. Eventually the National Army grew - over the period of a year and a half - to nearly 3 million men.
Pershing personally led the successful Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918.
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice on November 11, a total of 47 days. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, and was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. The battle also cost Pershing 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded, making it the largest and bloodiest operation of the war for the American Expeditionary Force.
In 1921 Pershing became U.S. Army Chief of Staff. He retired from active duty in 1924 at the age of 64, having been awarded the title 'General of the Armies' by Congress, a post previously held only by George Washington (and only then retrospectively awarded in 1976).
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John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army--General of the Armies (a retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 promoted George Washington to the same rank but with higher seniority[1]). Pershing holds the first United States officer service number (O-1).
He was regarded as a mentor by the generation of American generals who led the United States Army in Europe during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower,Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton.
Birth name John Joseph Pershing
Nickname"Black Jack"
BornSeptember 13, 1860
Laclede, Missouri, U.S.
Died July 15, 1948 (aged 87)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army--General of the Armies (a retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 promoted George Washington to the same rank but with higher seniority[1]). Pershing holds the first United States officer service number (O-1).
He was regarded as a mentor by the generation of American generals who led the United States Army in Europe during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower,Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton.
Birth name John Joseph Pershing
Nickname"Black Jack"
BornSeptember 13, 1860
Laclede, Missouri, U.S.
Died July 15, 1948 (aged 87)
John Joseph Pershing was born on a farm near Laclede, Missouri, to businessman John Fletcher Pershing and homemaker Ann Elizabeth Thompson. His paternal side ancestors, whose name originally was Persching, immigrated from Germany in the late 18th century. Pershing's mother was of English descent. He also had five siblings: brothers James (b. 1862) and Ward (b. 1874), and sisters Mary Elizabeth (b. 1864), Anna May (b. 1867) and Grace (b. 1869); three other children died in infancy.[3] When the Civil War began, his father worked as a sutler for the 18th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, but did not serve in the military.
John J. Pershing attended a school in Laclede that was reserved for precocious students who were also the children of prominent citizens. Completing high school in 1878, he became a teacher of local African American children.
In 1880, Pershing entered the North Missouri Normal School (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri. Two years later, he applied to the United States Military Academy. Pershing later admitted that serving in the military was secondary to attending West Point, and he had applied because the education offered was better than that obtainable in rural Missouri.
Pershing was sworn in as a West Point cadet in the fall of 1882. He was selected early for leadership and became successively First Corporal, First Sergeant, First Lieutenant, and First Captain, the highest possible cadet rank. Pershing commandedex officio the West Point Honor Guard that escorted the funeral of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Pershing graduated from West Point in the summer of 1886 and was commended by the Superintendent of West Point, General Wesley Merritt, for high leadership skills and possessing "superb ability".
Pershing briefly considered petitioning the Army to let him study law and delay his commission. He applied for a furlough from West Point, but soon withdrew the request in favor of active Army duty. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1886, at age 26, graduating 30th in a class of 77.
Pershing reported for active duty on September 30, 1886, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard, in the New Mexico Territory. While serving in the 6th Cavalry, Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache. During his time at Fort Stanton, Pershing and close friends Lt. Julius Penn and Lt. Richard B. Paddock were nicknamed "The Three Green P's," spending their leisure time hunting and attending Hispanic dances. Pershing's sister Grace married Paddock in 1890.[4]
Between 1887 and 1890, Pershing served with the 6th Cavalry at various postings in California, Arizona, and North Dakota. He also became an expert marksman and, in 1891, was rated second in pistol and fifth in rifle out of all soldiers in the U.S. Army.
On December 9, 1890, Pershing and the 6th Cavalry arrived at Sioux City, Iowa, where Pershing played a role in suppressing the last uprisings of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians. Though he and his unit did not participate in the Wounded Knee Massacre, they did fight three days after it on January 1, 1891 when Sioux warriors attacked the 6th Cavalry's supply wagons. When the Sioux began firing at the wagons, Pershing and his troops heard the shots and rode over six miles to where the attack was. The cavalry managed to make Chief War Eagle and his men retreat from the area after firing back at them. This would be the only occasion where Pershing would see action in the Ghost Dance campaign.[5]
A year later, he was assigned as an instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pershing held this post until 1895. While in Nebraska, Pershing attended law school and graduated in 1893. Additionally, he formed a drill company, Company A, in 1891 that won the Omaha Cup. In 1893, Company A became a fraternal organization and changed its name to the Varsity Rifles. The group changed its name for the last time in 1894, renaming itself the Pershing Rifles in honor of its founder.
On October 20, 1892,[6] Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and took command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry Regiment (one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments), composed of African-American soldiers under white officers. From Fort Assinniboine in north central Montana, he commanded an expedition to the south and southwest that rounded up and deported a large number of Cree Indians to Canada.
West Point instructor [edit]
Captain John J. Pershing, c.1902
In 1897, Pershing was appointed to the West Point tactical staff as an instructor, where he was assigned to Cadet Company A. Because of his strictness and rigidity, Pershing was unpopular with the cadets, who took to calling him "Nigger Jack" because of his service with the10th Cavalry Regiment, a now famous unit formed as a segregated African-American unit and one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments.[7][8][9]
During the course of his tour at the Academy, this epithet softened to "Black Jack", although, according to Vandiver, "the intent remained hostile".[7] Still, this nickname would stick with Pershing for the rest of his life, and was known to the public as early as 1917.[10]
Spanish– and Philippine–American wars[edit]At the start of the Spanish–American War, First Lieutenant Pershing was the regimental quartermaster for 10th Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers) and fought with the unit on Kettle and San Juan Hill in Cuba and was cited for gallantry. (In 1919, he was awarded the Silver Citation Star for these actions, and in 1932 the award was upgraded to the Silver Star decoration.) Pershing also served with the 10th Cavalry during the siege and surrender of Santiago de Cuba.
Pershing was commissioned as a major of United States Volunteers on August 26, 1898, and assigned as an ordnance officer. He was honorably discharged from the volunteers and reverted to his permanent rank of first lieutenant on May 12, 1899. Soon after, he was again commissioned as a major of Volunteers on June 6, 1899, as an assistant adjutant general.
In March 1899, after suffering from malaria, Pershing was put in charge of the Office of Customs and Insular Affairs which oversaw occupation forces in territories gained in the Spanish–American War, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
When the Philippine–American War began, Pershing was either ordered or requested transfer to Manila.[11] He reported on August 17, 1899, as a major of Volunteers and was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Jolo and commanded efforts to suppress the Filipino Insurrection. On November 27, 1900, Pershing was appointed Adjutant General of his department and served in this posting until March 1, 1901. He was cited for bravery for actions on the Cagayan River while attempting to destroy a Philippine stronghold at Macajambo.
On June 30, 1901, Pershing was honorably discharged from the Volunteers and he reverted to the rank of captain in the Regular Army to which he had been promoted on February 2, 1901. He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines. He later was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Regiment, serving as an intelligence officer and participating in actions against the Moros. He was cited for bravery at Lake Lanao. In June 1901, he served as Commander of Camp Vicars in Lanao, Philippines, after the previous camp commander had been promoted to brigadier general.
Rise to general
Pershing with his wife Helen and three of their children
In June 1903, Pershing was ordered to return to the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt, taken by Pershing's ability, petitioned the Army General Staff to promote Pershing to colonel. At the time, Army officer promotions were based primarily on seniority rather than merit,[12] and although there was widespread acknowledgment that Pershing should serve as a colonel, the Army General Staff declined to change their seniority-based promotion tradition just to accommodate Pershing. They would not consider a promotion to lieutenant colonelor even major. This angered Roosevelt, but since the President could only name and promote army officers in the General ranks, his options for recognizing Pershing through promotion were limited.
In 1904, Pershing was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Southwest Army Division stationed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In October 1904, he attended the Army War College, and then was ordered to Washington, D.C. for "general duties unassigned".
Since Theodore Roosevelt could not yet promote Pershing, he petitioned the United States Congress to authorize a diplomatic posting, and Pershing was stationed as military attaché in Tokyo in 1905. Also in 1905, Pershing married Helen Frances Warren, the daughter of powerful U.S. Senator Francis E. Warren, a Wyoming Republican and chairman of the U.S. Military Appropriations Committee. This union helped his military career.[13]
After serving as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War, Pershing returned to the United States in the fall of 1905. President Roosevelt employed his presidential prerogative and nominated Pershing as a brigadier general, a move which Congress approved. In skipping three ranks and more than 835 officers senior to him, the promotion gave rise to accusations that Pershing's appointment was the result of political connections and not military abilities.[14] However, many other officers supported Pershing and believed that, based on his demonstrated ability to command combat forces, the promotion to general, while unusual, was not unprecedented or out of line.[citation needed]
In 1908, Pershing briefly served as a U.S. military observer in the Balkans, an assignment which was based out of Paris. Upon returning to the United States at the end of 1909, Pershing was assigned once again to the Philippines, an assignment which he served until 1912. While in the Philippines, he served as Commander of Fort McKinley, near Manila, and also was the governor of the Moro Province. The last of Pershing's four children was born in the Philippines, and during this time he became an Episcopalian.
Exactly a year later, Pershing's wife and three of his children died in a fire, and Villa sent him a condolence message. Six months later in 1916, Pershing was chasing Villa in Mexico.
On December 20, 1913, Pershing received orders to take command of the 8th Brigade at the Presidio in San Francisco. With tensions running high on the border between the United States and Mexico, the brigade was deployed to Fort Bliss, Texas on April 24, 1914, arriving there on the 27th.[15]
Death of wife and children[edit]After a year at Fort Bliss, Pershing decided to take his family there. The arrangements were almost complete, when on the morning of August 27, 1915, he received a telegram telling him of a fire in the Presidio in San Francisco, where a lacquered floor blaze had rapidly spread, resulting in the smoke inhalation deaths of his wife, Helen Frances Warren, and three young daughters. Only his six-year-old son Warren survived.[16][17] Many who knew Pershing said he never recovered from their deaths. After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son, Warren, and his sister May, and resumed his duties as commanding officer.[18][19]
On March 15, 1916,[20][21][22] Pershing led an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. This expedition was ill-equipped and hampered by a lack of supplies due to the breakdown of the Quartermaster Corps. Although there had been talk of war on the border for years, no steps had been taken to provide for the handling of supplies for an expedition. Despite this and other hindrances, such as the lack of aid from the former Mexican government, and their refusal to allow American troops to transport troops and supplies over their railroads, Pershing organized and commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition, a combined armed force of 10,000 men that penetrated 350 miles (560 km) into Mexico. They routed Villa's revolutionaries and severely wounded Villa himself, but failed to capture him.[23][24]
World War I[edit]
Major General Pershing of theNational Army
At the start of the United States' involvement in World War I President Woodrow Wilson considered mobilizing an army to join the fight. Frederick Funston, Pershing's superior in Mexico, was being considered for the top billet as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) when he died suddenly from a heart attack on February 19, 1917. Following America's entrance into the war, Wilson, after a short interview, named Pershing to command, a post which he retained until 1918. Pershing, who was a major general, was promoted to full general (the first since Philip Sheridan in 1888) in the National Army, and was made responsible for the organization, training, and supply of a combined professional and draft Army and National Guard force that eventually grew from 27,000 inexperienced men to two Armies (a third was forming as the war ended) totaling over two million soldiers.
Pershing exercised significant control over his command, with a full delegation of authority from Wilson and Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. Baker, cognizant of the endless problems of domestic and allied political involvement in military decision making in wartime, gave Pershing unmatched authority to run his command as he saw fit. In turn, Pershing exercised his prerogative carefully, not engaging in issues that might distract or diminish his command. While earlier a champion of the African-American soldier, he did not champion their full participation on the battlefield, understanding widespread racial attitudes among white Americans generally, plus Wilson's reactionary views on race and the political debts he owed to southern Democratic law makers.
George Marshall served as one of Pershing's top assistants during and after the war. Pershing's initial chief of staff was businessman James Harbord, who later took a combat command but worked as Pershing's closest assistant for many years and remained extremely loyal to Pershing.
John J. Pershing attended a school in Laclede that was reserved for precocious students who were also the children of prominent citizens. Completing high school in 1878, he became a teacher of local African American children.
In 1880, Pershing entered the North Missouri Normal School (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri. Two years later, he applied to the United States Military Academy. Pershing later admitted that serving in the military was secondary to attending West Point, and he had applied because the education offered was better than that obtainable in rural Missouri.
Pershing was sworn in as a West Point cadet in the fall of 1882. He was selected early for leadership and became successively First Corporal, First Sergeant, First Lieutenant, and First Captain, the highest possible cadet rank. Pershing commandedex officio the West Point Honor Guard that escorted the funeral of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Pershing graduated from West Point in the summer of 1886 and was commended by the Superintendent of West Point, General Wesley Merritt, for high leadership skills and possessing "superb ability".
Pershing briefly considered petitioning the Army to let him study law and delay his commission. He applied for a furlough from West Point, but soon withdrew the request in favor of active Army duty. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1886, at age 26, graduating 30th in a class of 77.
Pershing reported for active duty on September 30, 1886, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard, in the New Mexico Territory. While serving in the 6th Cavalry, Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache. During his time at Fort Stanton, Pershing and close friends Lt. Julius Penn and Lt. Richard B. Paddock were nicknamed "The Three Green P's," spending their leisure time hunting and attending Hispanic dances. Pershing's sister Grace married Paddock in 1890.[4]
Between 1887 and 1890, Pershing served with the 6th Cavalry at various postings in California, Arizona, and North Dakota. He also became an expert marksman and, in 1891, was rated second in pistol and fifth in rifle out of all soldiers in the U.S. Army.
On December 9, 1890, Pershing and the 6th Cavalry arrived at Sioux City, Iowa, where Pershing played a role in suppressing the last uprisings of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians. Though he and his unit did not participate in the Wounded Knee Massacre, they did fight three days after it on January 1, 1891 when Sioux warriors attacked the 6th Cavalry's supply wagons. When the Sioux began firing at the wagons, Pershing and his troops heard the shots and rode over six miles to where the attack was. The cavalry managed to make Chief War Eagle and his men retreat from the area after firing back at them. This would be the only occasion where Pershing would see action in the Ghost Dance campaign.[5]
A year later, he was assigned as an instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pershing held this post until 1895. While in Nebraska, Pershing attended law school and graduated in 1893. Additionally, he formed a drill company, Company A, in 1891 that won the Omaha Cup. In 1893, Company A became a fraternal organization and changed its name to the Varsity Rifles. The group changed its name for the last time in 1894, renaming itself the Pershing Rifles in honor of its founder.
On October 20, 1892,[6] Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and took command of a troop of the 10th Cavalry Regiment (one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments), composed of African-American soldiers under white officers. From Fort Assinniboine in north central Montana, he commanded an expedition to the south and southwest that rounded up and deported a large number of Cree Indians to Canada.
West Point instructor [edit]
Captain John J. Pershing, c.1902
In 1897, Pershing was appointed to the West Point tactical staff as an instructor, where he was assigned to Cadet Company A. Because of his strictness and rigidity, Pershing was unpopular with the cadets, who took to calling him "Nigger Jack" because of his service with the10th Cavalry Regiment, a now famous unit formed as a segregated African-American unit and one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments.[7][8][9]
During the course of his tour at the Academy, this epithet softened to "Black Jack", although, according to Vandiver, "the intent remained hostile".[7] Still, this nickname would stick with Pershing for the rest of his life, and was known to the public as early as 1917.[10]
Spanish– and Philippine–American wars[edit]At the start of the Spanish–American War, First Lieutenant Pershing was the regimental quartermaster for 10th Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers) and fought with the unit on Kettle and San Juan Hill in Cuba and was cited for gallantry. (In 1919, he was awarded the Silver Citation Star for these actions, and in 1932 the award was upgraded to the Silver Star decoration.) Pershing also served with the 10th Cavalry during the siege and surrender of Santiago de Cuba.
Pershing was commissioned as a major of United States Volunteers on August 26, 1898, and assigned as an ordnance officer. He was honorably discharged from the volunteers and reverted to his permanent rank of first lieutenant on May 12, 1899. Soon after, he was again commissioned as a major of Volunteers on June 6, 1899, as an assistant adjutant general.
In March 1899, after suffering from malaria, Pershing was put in charge of the Office of Customs and Insular Affairs which oversaw occupation forces in territories gained in the Spanish–American War, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
When the Philippine–American War began, Pershing was either ordered or requested transfer to Manila.[11] He reported on August 17, 1899, as a major of Volunteers and was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Jolo and commanded efforts to suppress the Filipino Insurrection. On November 27, 1900, Pershing was appointed Adjutant General of his department and served in this posting until March 1, 1901. He was cited for bravery for actions on the Cagayan River while attempting to destroy a Philippine stronghold at Macajambo.
On June 30, 1901, Pershing was honorably discharged from the Volunteers and he reverted to the rank of captain in the Regular Army to which he had been promoted on February 2, 1901. He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines. He later was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Regiment, serving as an intelligence officer and participating in actions against the Moros. He was cited for bravery at Lake Lanao. In June 1901, he served as Commander of Camp Vicars in Lanao, Philippines, after the previous camp commander had been promoted to brigadier general.
Rise to general
Pershing with his wife Helen and three of their children
In June 1903, Pershing was ordered to return to the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt, taken by Pershing's ability, petitioned the Army General Staff to promote Pershing to colonel. At the time, Army officer promotions were based primarily on seniority rather than merit,[12] and although there was widespread acknowledgment that Pershing should serve as a colonel, the Army General Staff declined to change their seniority-based promotion tradition just to accommodate Pershing. They would not consider a promotion to lieutenant colonelor even major. This angered Roosevelt, but since the President could only name and promote army officers in the General ranks, his options for recognizing Pershing through promotion were limited.
In 1904, Pershing was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Southwest Army Division stationed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In October 1904, he attended the Army War College, and then was ordered to Washington, D.C. for "general duties unassigned".
Since Theodore Roosevelt could not yet promote Pershing, he petitioned the United States Congress to authorize a diplomatic posting, and Pershing was stationed as military attaché in Tokyo in 1905. Also in 1905, Pershing married Helen Frances Warren, the daughter of powerful U.S. Senator Francis E. Warren, a Wyoming Republican and chairman of the U.S. Military Appropriations Committee. This union helped his military career.[13]
After serving as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War, Pershing returned to the United States in the fall of 1905. President Roosevelt employed his presidential prerogative and nominated Pershing as a brigadier general, a move which Congress approved. In skipping three ranks and more than 835 officers senior to him, the promotion gave rise to accusations that Pershing's appointment was the result of political connections and not military abilities.[14] However, many other officers supported Pershing and believed that, based on his demonstrated ability to command combat forces, the promotion to general, while unusual, was not unprecedented or out of line.[citation needed]
In 1908, Pershing briefly served as a U.S. military observer in the Balkans, an assignment which was based out of Paris. Upon returning to the United States at the end of 1909, Pershing was assigned once again to the Philippines, an assignment which he served until 1912. While in the Philippines, he served as Commander of Fort McKinley, near Manila, and also was the governor of the Moro Province. The last of Pershing's four children was born in the Philippines, and during this time he became an Episcopalian.
Exactly a year later, Pershing's wife and three of his children died in a fire, and Villa sent him a condolence message. Six months later in 1916, Pershing was chasing Villa in Mexico.
On December 20, 1913, Pershing received orders to take command of the 8th Brigade at the Presidio in San Francisco. With tensions running high on the border between the United States and Mexico, the brigade was deployed to Fort Bliss, Texas on April 24, 1914, arriving there on the 27th.[15]
Death of wife and children[edit]After a year at Fort Bliss, Pershing decided to take his family there. The arrangements were almost complete, when on the morning of August 27, 1915, he received a telegram telling him of a fire in the Presidio in San Francisco, where a lacquered floor blaze had rapidly spread, resulting in the smoke inhalation deaths of his wife, Helen Frances Warren, and three young daughters. Only his six-year-old son Warren survived.[16][17] Many who knew Pershing said he never recovered from their deaths. After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son, Warren, and his sister May, and resumed his duties as commanding officer.[18][19]
On March 15, 1916,[20][21][22] Pershing led an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. This expedition was ill-equipped and hampered by a lack of supplies due to the breakdown of the Quartermaster Corps. Although there had been talk of war on the border for years, no steps had been taken to provide for the handling of supplies for an expedition. Despite this and other hindrances, such as the lack of aid from the former Mexican government, and their refusal to allow American troops to transport troops and supplies over their railroads, Pershing organized and commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition, a combined armed force of 10,000 men that penetrated 350 miles (560 km) into Mexico. They routed Villa's revolutionaries and severely wounded Villa himself, but failed to capture him.[23][24]
World War I[edit]
Major General Pershing of theNational Army
At the start of the United States' involvement in World War I President Woodrow Wilson considered mobilizing an army to join the fight. Frederick Funston, Pershing's superior in Mexico, was being considered for the top billet as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) when he died suddenly from a heart attack on February 19, 1917. Following America's entrance into the war, Wilson, after a short interview, named Pershing to command, a post which he retained until 1918. Pershing, who was a major general, was promoted to full general (the first since Philip Sheridan in 1888) in the National Army, and was made responsible for the organization, training, and supply of a combined professional and draft Army and National Guard force that eventually grew from 27,000 inexperienced men to two Armies (a third was forming as the war ended) totaling over two million soldiers.
Pershing exercised significant control over his command, with a full delegation of authority from Wilson and Secretary of War Newton D. Baker. Baker, cognizant of the endless problems of domestic and allied political involvement in military decision making in wartime, gave Pershing unmatched authority to run his command as he saw fit. In turn, Pershing exercised his prerogative carefully, not engaging in issues that might distract or diminish his command. While earlier a champion of the African-American soldier, he did not champion their full participation on the battlefield, understanding widespread racial attitudes among white Americans generally, plus Wilson's reactionary views on race and the political debts he owed to southern Democratic law makers.
George Marshall served as one of Pershing's top assistants during and after the war. Pershing's initial chief of staff was businessman James Harbord, who later took a combat command but worked as Pershing's closest assistant for many years and remained extremely loyal to Pershing.
