The first enemy of the Class of 1899 was a winter blizzard that covered the Plain with two feet of snow. Guests and fanfare at Graduation were kept at a minimum by the severity of the storm. Not only were guests prevented from getting in, cadets, although now graduates, were unable to get out. Trains could not run for several days due to drifted snow. The new second lieutenants wondered how they would get to their assignments.
Of the 84 plebes that entered the Academy in 1895, 72 waited for the snowbound trains to take them to their first assignments. As could be expected from their early graduation, most of the Class of 1899 were sent to the Philippines, and three of them, Henry Way, Pierce Foster, and Robert Calvert, died while serving there. The branch of choice for most members of the Class of 1899 was Infantry. Thirty-eight members of the class joined this branch. Sixteen graduates choose Artillery, 12 went Cavalry, and six became members of the Corps of Engineers.
In addition to seeing action in the Philippines, members of the class fought in Cuba and Europe during WWI. Fifty-two of the 72 graduates were still on active duty when the U.S. entered WWI, and 17 saw combat during this conflict. Several class members were recalled to active duty at the beginning of WWII. Those graduates were Gallup, Carter, Embick and Herron. Gallup used his expertise in artillery munitions; Carter was involved in flying training; Embick became a senior War Department Member of the Joint Defense Board; and Herron served on the Personnel Board of the Secretary of War.
Fourteen members of the Class of 1899 returned to West Point to teach in various departments. Woodruff, Markham, Stickle, Rand, and McDonough taught engineering. Jewell was an instructor in the Department of Drawing and Modern Language. Trott, Simonds, Ansell, Yates, and Hunt served in the Department of Law with Simonds also teaching in the Department of Tactics. Long also taught at the Academy from 1909-12 in the Department of Tactics. Nicholls taught ordnance and gunnery to the cadets. Carter had the longest tenure as an instructor, teaching at the Academy for 25 years. Gallup had two tours as an instructor at West Point-one in 1905 and a second in 1909.
Many of the graduates made military service their lifelong career. Twenty retired as general officers with several staying on active duty until the mandatory retirement age.
Other members of this class made significant contributions during their military service. Markham supervised the construction of the Army Navy Club in downtown Washington, DC, and established a bridge and road system in Cuba. Halstead was instrumental in developing the fingerprinting method that is used worldwide today. The floods in northern New England were of particular interest to Trott who worked on them.
Several of the graduates of this class were athletes who contributed to success on the football field. In 1898, the football team only played four games, winning two, losing one, and gaining a tie. The Academy beat Lehigh University 18-0; Tufts 40-0; lost to Harvard 0-18; and tied Princeton 5-5. Romeyn was selected to the All-American team, and Albert Waldron and Leon Kromer also were star football players, with Kromer being selected as the captain of the 1898 team.
Life for cadets in 1899 was very different from that of cadets today. They received a salary of $90 every two months. They were weighed and measured twice each year; once in October and again in May. The average cadet was 5'8" and weighed 141lbs. After 1915, each class announced it would sponsor a window in the Cadet Chapel. The Class of 1899 decided on a stained glass window that depicts Obadiah, a little- known prophet.
James Albert Woodruff, the first to graduate in the Class of 1899, was born at Fort Shaw, MT, on 19 Jun 1877. His father, BG Charles Albert Woodruff, was a USMA graduate, Class of 1871. A military family, the Woodruffs moved frequently, and James entered West Point with an appointment from his father’s home state of Vermont. He did well academically and graduated at the top of his class while also holding the rank of First Captain in the cadet chain of command. As a young engineer lieutenant, he was assigned to the Corps of Engineers in the Philippines but was sent back to West Point to teach engineering from 1903-05 and again from 1906-07. He then taught engineering at Ft. Leavenworth before commanding the 10th Forestry Engineers as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France during WWI. Along with several foreign awards, he received the Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts. Woodruff was the Commandant of the Engineer School from 1921-24 and served as Chief of Staff in the Canal Zone from 1924-27. In 1928, Woodruff was Director of the Command and General Staff College, and, by 1938, he was promoted to major general, commanding the 1st Corps Area from 1939-41 when he retired. He returned to active duty from 1941-43 as the U.S. entered WWII. MG Woodruff retired to California and died on 20 Aug 1969 in San Francisco at age 92.
William Kelly was born in New York City on 8 Jan 1877. He graduated second in his class at West Point after completing one year at Yale. Kelly was assigned to the Corps of Engineers and went to the Philippines. While there, he was involved in road and bridge construction which helped to end the insurrection and reestablish commercial activities. While serving in the Army, his assignments consisted of the design and construction of seacoast fortifications in California and on Long Island Sound, and a return tour to the Philippines. He was stationed in San Francisco during the earthquake and fire and was in charge of relief and housing work. During WWI, Kelly served in Washington, DC, and France, where he was tasked to survey the navigation of the Danube and collect inventories of floating plants and facilities from the Rhine, Elbe, Oder, and Niemen rivers. In France, he was the Chief Engineer, 42d Division. Before his retirement in 1951, he was the Chief Engineer of the Federal Water Power Commission and studied most of the important streams of the United States to carry out the terms of the Federal Water Power Act. COL Kelly wanted to retire after 30 years, but a senator blocked his retirement. The senator felt that Kelly’s contributions were far too important for him to retire. He resigned in 1928 and was placed on the Honorable Retired list in 1951. Kelly’s civilian career was as distinguished as his military career. He was the vice president, general manager, and then president of the Buffalo, Niagara, and Eastern Power Company. He also served with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Smithsonian Scientific Series, Washington, DC. COL Kelly’s decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal for service in France and the French Legion of Honor. He was the oldest living graduate from November 1978 until he died in 1980 at the age of 103.
Horton Whitefield Stickle was born in Jones County, IA, on 21 May 1975 and graduated first in his high school class. He entered West Point two years later and graduated third in his class. Stickle’s father was CPT Augustus C. Stickle, 3rd New Jersey Cavalry, a Civil War veteran. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion of Engineers and served in the Philippines. He also was an instructor at West Point in civil and military engineering during 1904-05. His next assignment was to the Panama Canal Project at the request of GEN Goethals. He opened and operated the quarries at Porto Bellos, 30 miles from the Atlantic Coast. He was allowed to retire as a lieutenant colonel in 1916 under a special law. Stickle was reinstated and retired a second time in 1930 as a colonel. After his second retirement, he bought a farm in Michigan and settled there, doing volunteer work and planting crops. He died in 1959 at the age of 83.
Lewis Hathaway Rand of New Jersey entered West Point on 19 Jun 1895. After graduation, he was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He taught Civil and Military Engineering and was an instructor in the Department of Practical Military Engineering and Mathematics at West Point. Among his other assignments, were tours in the Philippines and Germany. In the Philippines, Stickle worked on bridges and new road construction in Luzon and Mindanao and received the Philippine Service Medal. Rand commanded the 1st Battalion of Engineers in Washington Barracks, DC, and was in charge of the 2d Engineer District at Cincinnati during 1912-14. He retired in 1922, due to disability, at the rank of colonel. He died on 27 Apr 1948 in Burlingame, CA, at age 71.
After graduating 5th in his class, Edward Murphy Markham served in New York, Florida, and the Philippines within 3 years of graduation. He was born on 6 Jul 1877 in New York. While in the Philippines, he was tasked to survey the coal deposits throughout the islands by using old Spanish maps and records. He also spent a good deal of his military career in Cuba, establishing the bridge and road system throughout the Island. While stationed in Washington, DC, he was promoted to major general and supervised the construction of the Army-Navy Club. Markham was instrumental in combating the great floods of 1912, 1913, and 1916 on the lower Mississippi River. He also served as an instructor at the Academy in the Practical Military Engineering Department. That assignment was shortened due to the onset of WWI, and he then was assigned to Ft. Dix to organize and train troops. After his return from WWI, he was assigned as a District Engineer in Detroit, MI, where he was responsible for the improvements on the western end of Lake Erie to Whitefish Point on the eastern end of Lake Superior. He had temporary duty in Asia, North Africa, and Europe to study foreign methods of hydraulics. After his retirement in 1938 as a major general, he became the Public Works Commissioner for New York City. He died on 14 Sep 1950 at age 73 in Albany, NY.
Born in Ottawa, Canada, on 18 Jan 1874, Thomas Herbert Jackson, followed Edward Murphy Markham by graduating 6th in his class. He was known as a man of steel because of his leadership throughout his military career. He was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers and served initially in Portland, ME. Upon graduation from the Engineer School of Application, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of Engineers at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Jackson served with the AEF and transferred to Paris as the Engineer Supply Officer and then as the Chief Engineer Officer with the AEF. He had an interest in flood control and was selected as president of the Mississippi River Commission in 1928 when he was a brigadier general. He also served in France with a group of American engineers and pioneered the newly-organized Division of Construction and Forestry. Failing health caused him to retire in early 1937, and he died shortly after in China on 7 Apr 1937.
Le Vert Coleman was born on 7 Sep 1877 in Alabama. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was stationed at Ft. Hamilton, NY. As a company commander, he was assigned to Ft. Monroe, VA, and Ft. Totten, NY. At Ft. Sam Houston, he was with the 17th Field Artillery. He then served in the Philippines, returning for a second tour in 1915. Coleman was assigned to the office of the Chief of Staff in Washington, DC, and attended several service schools, including the Army War College and the Coast Artillery School. Coleman was then assigned to Camp Eustis, VA, with the 49th Artillery. One of his final assignments was as the military attaché to Brazil. He also was assigned to the French Headquarters, Army, on the Rhine, and as Chief of American Missions. COL Coleman retired in 1922 due to a disability and died in New York City on 28 Jan 1953 at the age of 76.
Alfred Burpee Putnam was the Cadet Adjutant while at West Point and graduated 8th in the class. He married Myrtie H. Harris shortly after graduation and was stationed at Ft. Monroe, VA, as an Artillery officer. During his career, he was assigned to Angel Island, CA, and Ft. Flagler. He transferred to the Engineer Corps, served in the Philippines, and was the Assistant Engineer of the Moro Province. Putnam died in 1915 of pneumonia at the age of 38.
George Woodbury Bunnell, Jr., was born in California on 7 Dec 1874. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant but resigned in 1901. Due to his love of the military, however, he continued with the New York National Guard and retired as a colonel. Bunnell was an engineer on the staff of the major general commanding the National Guard of New York. In 1917, he went to France and served with the 26th Division of the AEF. He was remembered as a fair leader who paid strict attention to detail. His retirement years were spent in Norwell, MA, where he lived with his wife until his death on 14 Aug 1958 at age 83.
Born on 14 Oct 1874, Hubert Llewellyn Wigmore was only 39 years old when he died in Tokyo. His military career began when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served with the 5th Cavalry. He transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was eventually appointed Military Attaché to the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He married in 1908 while assigned to the Board of Engineers of New York City. His qualities made the Army the perfect place for him. Some have said that he should have been in the Army during the 1860s because of his leadership and strategic abilities. He was known to be decisive, direct, quick-witted, resourceful, genial, and respectful, and those qualities served him well as an officer. Wigmore’s last assignment was as the military attaché in Tokyo, Japan. Wigmore suffered an attack of appendicitis and died there on 2 Sep 1913.
As a cadet, Albert E. Waldron was noted for his strong academic and athletic achievements, especially football. Born in Des Moines, IA, on 5 Nov 1873, he entered the Academy on 19 Jun 1895. He married Mollie Orr soon after graduation, on 18 Feb 1899 at Orr’s Mill, NY. Waldron received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Artillery at the close of the Spanish-American War. He transferred to the Corps of Engineers and was stationed in Washington, DC, and the Philippines. At the onset of WWI, he was promoted to colonel and ordered to La Rochelle, France, where he commanded the 35th Regiment of Engineers. In 1919, COL Waldron commanded the 5th Engineers when they returned to the U.S., accompanied by President Wilson. After 30 years of service, Waldron retired as a colonel and worked in civil positions, most notably as the expert advisor to the Superintendent, Division of Standards and Purchase, State of New York. He died suddenly on 10 Jul 1937 at age 63 and is interred in the West Point Cemetery.
Known as "Nick," Jesse Crook Nicholls was born in Alabama on 29 Aug 1874. Coming from an ancestry that included military service, Nicholls was drawn to the Military Academy. After completing his third year at the University of Alabama, he finally entered West Point in 1895 and graduated in 1899. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Artillery and assigned to Texas. During that assignment, a hurricane hit, and an estimated 6,000 people died. His parents were notified that he was lost, but that was not the case. After the storm, he commanded a unit responsible for maintaining order. In 1906, Nicholls married Florence Zacharie Ellis of New York. Following the wedding, he was sent to Springfield Armory and placed in charge of the rifle factory and the ballistics lab. Nicholls’ military career centered around assignments in Ordnance and he also served as an instructor as West Point. He was an assistant instructor in Ordnance and Gunnery. Later in his career, he was a professor of military science and tactics at Cornell University. He designed the first 16-inch, wire-wrapped gun. He also tested explosives, seeking a replacement for wet guncotton as the filler in submarine mines and was the first to find TNT suitable for this purpose. He quickly became an expert in the field of explosives and the production of powder. His various assignments throughout his career led him to Cuba, Watertown Arsenal, Ft. Monroe, and Picatinny Arsenal. Due to a disability, he retired in 1920 at the age of 46 as a major. During the next 25 years, he was devoted to hybridizing peonies and irises and growing award-winning flowers. Nicholls died in Ithaca, NY, on 26 Jul 1961, at the age of 86, after a brief illness.
Frank Carson "Bijou" Jewell was born in Chicago on 16 Oct 1873. Before his appointment to West Point, he attended the preparatory department of Beloit College for 2 years. He graduated 13th in his class, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the old 5th Artillery, and was stationed at Ft. Wadsworth, NY. His next assignment was as an instructor in the Department of Drawing and Modern Language at West Point. WWI gave LTC Jewell his first command with the 306th Field Artillery, followed by command of the 30th Artillery Brigade in 1918. He was selected to attend several military schools during his career, including the General Staff School and the Army War College. His name is on the Initial General Staff Corps Eligible List, and he was a member of the War Department General Staff during 1921-25. For his service as Chief of Staff of the Railway Artillery Reserve, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He was 58 years old when he died on 20 Nov 1931 at Walter Reed General Hospital. He is buried at West Point.
Fred Hayes Gallup entered West Point after completing two years at Drake University. After graduation, he had various assignments and returned to the Academy as an instructor twice, first in 1905 and again in 1909. He married Caroline Hill Kean in 1905 and had one child, Adelaide Dyer, who was born in Cuba. In WWI, he was responsible for the manufacture of munitions. He attended several service schools: the Artillery School, the Mounted Service School, the Advanced Course, and the Chemical Warfare School. COL Gallup retired at the age of 64 in 1940. Even though he had retired, COL Gallup offered his services to the United States during WWII. Because of his expertise in artillery and munitions, he was assigned to Ordnance and supervised shell-loading plants in Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama. One of the few graduates to serve in both world wars, Gallup retired again at the end of WWII with over 40 years of service. Gallup died on 23 Jan 1967 in Charlotte, NC, at the age of 90.
Michael Joseph "Pinkey" McDonough was renowned for his humor, generosity, and religious faith. Born in Massachusetts in 1877, his first assignment after graduation was with the Coast Artillery. After a year, he transferred to the Corps of Engineers and served in Cuba, the Philippines, Albany, and Memphis. Then, as an assistant instructor of Practical Engineering at West Point, he was also in charge of the Children’s School. He next served as the senior engineer instructor for the Citizens Training Camps at Plattsburg, the forerunner of the Officers Training Camp for the AEF. He also completed the Army Engineering School and the Service Schools at Leavenworth. McDonough was promoted to lieutenant colonel and stationed at Camp Beauregard training the 114th Engineers when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He died at Fitzsimmons General Hospital on 13 Feb 1921 at the age of 44.
Patrick W. Guiney hailed from Massachusetts and was a plebe in 1895. He had an exceptional record as a scholar and a soldier that he carried through his military career. After graduating on 15 Feb 1899, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Cavalry and assigned to Ft. Reno, OK. He spent the majority of the next two years in China and was involved in the operations against the Boxers, the capture of Peking and the Imperial Palace, and the battle south of Peking. His next assignment was to the Philippines, where he was assigned to a regiment involved in operations against the insurgents. When he returned to the United States, he served as Constructing Quartermaster, Post Quartermaster, Assistant to the Depot Quartermaster, and Division Quartermaster. In 1929, he was Commandant of the Quartermaster Corps Subsistence School. His final assignment before his death was as the assistant to The Quartermaster General in Washington with duty as Chief, Construction Division, Office of The Quartermaster General. Guiney was awarded the Silver Star citation for action during the Boxer Rebellion and a Purple Heart for a wound he received in the Philippines in 1902. Because of a Meritorious Service citation from the commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces, an oak leaf cluster was added to the Purple Heart ribbon. BG Guiney died at Walter Reed General Hospital on 17 Dec 1936 at age 59.
Hugh Auchincloss Roberts was born in Georgia in 1876. After graduation, he served in Cuba as a disbursing officer until 1900 and transferred to the 8th Cavalry in 1901. He was then assigned to at Ft. Riley, KS, in 1902 and died there at the age of 28 on 22 Oct 1904.
Born into a military family, Charles Brooks Clark entered the Academy in January 1895 after completing two years at Tufts College and majoring in engineering. While a First Classman, he covered the West Point football games for the Boston and Philadelphia newspapers. Upon graduation, Clark was assigned to Company D of the 23rd Infantry, the first company of American troops to make contact with the Malays in Manila. He aided in lowering the Spanish flag and raising the American flag in May 1899. He married Julia Marvin in 1901 while stationed in the Visayan Islands. She died 2 years later after giving birth to a son. He remarried in 1905 to Edith Overton and had a daughter, Jocelyn. Clark found another challenge when he entered St. Louis Law School at Washington University, completed an LLB degree in 1904, and was admitted to the Missouri Bar the same year. In 1908, Tufts College granted him a degree, Extra Ordinum, and awarded him a master of science degree in 1910. Clark was another officer who served in WWI in France and fought on the front lines with the 89th Division. Clark attended the Army School of the Line, Army General Staff College, and was a professor of Military Science and Tactics at Denison University. Before his retirement in 1937 after 42 years of service, he commanded the 23rd Infantry at Ft. Sam Houston. After retirement, COL Clark remained active in his community and in civic affairs, becoming president of the largest cooperative housing project on the West Coast and amortizing its debt, making the project profitable. He died at the age of 86 in 1963 in Florida.
Herman Walter Schull was another cadet born in England. Unlike the majority of his classmates who went to the Philippines, Schull went to Cuba for the first three years after graduation. He then served in the recruiting service in Pennsylvania before returning to Cuba for another year. His career took a turn in 1902 when he was assigned to Sandy Hook Proving Ground for six years. His follow-on assignments included Frankford Arsenal, where he inspected ordnance materials; Office of the Chief of Ordnance, Principal Assistant in Office; and the Ordnance Claims Board, Aberdeen Proving Ground. He attended the Army War College during 1922-23 and went on to command the Springfield Armory and the Watervliet Arsenal. His final assignment was with the Ordnance Department in Washington, DC, during 1934-38. He retired to California after 40 years of service and died in Tucson, AZ, in 1968 at the age of 93.
Henry Blow Farrar, or "Harry Blow" as he was known, hailed from Missouri. He found life at West Point to be both challenging and interesting and graduated number 20 in his class. His military career was filled with assignments in Artillery and as a student at the Army Service Schools at Ft. Leavenworth. Farrar received the Distinguished Service Medal for his service as commander of the 343rd Field Artillery, U.S. Army, in France. He was recommended again for the same award in 1927. He retired in 1929 as a colonel, after 30 years of service, and spent his retirement on a ranch in Texas with his wife. He died in 1948 at the age of 73.
An extremely popular professor, Clifton Carroll Carter taught at West Point for 25 years. As a yearling, he was a corporal, a first sergeant as a cow, and a captain in his last year at the Academy. His two sons also were graduates of West Point: Clifton Coleman Carter in 1926 and Marshall Sylvester Carter in 1931, plus a grandson, Marshall Nichols Carter in 1962. A cadet wrote an article in The Pointer in 1940 when BG Carter retired. The article begins "What makes a West Pointer?" The most admired professor of his era, he was forced to retire at age 64. Education was of utmost importance to Carter. Before coming to West Point, he was enrolled in a degree program at the University of Kentucky. After graduating 21st in his class after Farrar, he was assigned to several posts before coming to West Point. While in Cuba, he was the aide to GEN Leonard Wood. By the end of that tour, he was well known for his varied and extensive experience in the field of electrical engineering. "He has had more and varied extensive experience…than any other officer of his grade, and possibly of any other grade as well." He then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology with plans to take a course in electrical engineering. He took several courses and earned a degree from MIT in only 10 months, the first degree on record to be awarded in less than one year. Carter married Mai Coleman ("Aunt Mai" as she was affectionately known) in 1902. He retired in 1940 but returned to service soon after the U.S. entered WWII. He joined the aircraft industry and Cal-Aero Academy as Assistant to the President and General Coordinator of Flying Training and Technical School Activities. He was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list. BG Carter died in Washington, DC, in 1950 at the age of 74.
"Roll with the punches" was the philosophy of Leon B. Kromer. While at West Point, Kromer was the captain of the 1898 football team and also played baseball. He returned in 1901 to coach both teams. Army football remained one of his passions throughout his life, and he was able to attend many Army-Navy games. After graduating from West Point, he was assigned to GEN Pershing’s staff during the Pancho Villa Expedition into Chihuahua, Mexico. He also served in WWI with the 82d Division and the 11th Cavalry Regiment. While Kromer was the commanding officer of the 11th Cavalry at the Presidio, he rode every day and insisted that his officers do the same. He couldn’t understand when an officer did not want to ride: "They were in the Cavalry, weren’t they?" After being assigned as an instructor at the Army War College in Washington in 1928, he was nominated by GEN MacArthur in 1934 to be Chief of Cavalry. He remained in that assignment until his retirement in 1938. Like many other officers, he returned to active duty at the beginning of WWII. Kromer retired again and moved to Vermont, where he bought a farm and began a major reforestation project that lasted 10 years. He died in Germantown, MD, in 1966 at the age of 90 and is buried at West Point.
Irvin Leland Hunt married Annie Butler shortly after graduation and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry. He spent the next 3 years in Puerto Rico and the Philippines and was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1903, Hunt returned to West Point as an assistant professor of Law and History from 1903-1907. He wrote a pamphlet of instruction on the historical background of the Constitution and made several trips abroad on confidential missions for the government. He had a deep love of history and the philosophy of war and had planned to continue this research after his retirement. He transferred to the Judge Advocate General’s Department in 1916 to conduct a study of the military government’s intervention in Mexico. Before that, he was stationed in the Philippines; traveled to Japan, Korea, and China; and worked with the War Department in the Bureau of Insular Affairs. He transferred to the Quartermaster Corps and then graduated from the Army War College. He died unexpectedly in 1934 at the age of 56 at Walter Reed General Hospital and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Henry Benjamin Clark was admitted to West Point after graduating from Beloit College. He immediately was disqualified due to an injured tear duct in one eye, but surgery in 1895 corrected the problem, and he was admitted. After graduation, Clark was stationed in San Diego, served at the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, and became an honorary member of the Sierra Club. He made numerous recommendations in his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior, and many were adopted. Our parks today show the results of his recommended changes. He married Lena Sefton Wakefield in 1912 (he had met her many years before) and was assigned to the 74th Railway Artillery. He later commanded the U.S. Railway Artillery around Verdun at the time of the WWI Armistice. He attended the Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth and was a member of the War Department General Staff. Clark retired in 1922 to become the president of the Container Corporation of American. He later became a director and held the position for 25 years. After his retirement, Clark remained very active in civic affairs. His home and its acreage was donated to the Zoological Society of San Diego when he died at his home in San Diego in 1958 at the age of 84.
George S. Simonds was assigned to the 22d Infantry after graduation. He served in the Philippines and China before joining Irvin Hunt as an instructor in the Law and History Departments in 1904. He also taught in the Department of Tactics from 1915 to 1917. After WWI began, Simonds was sent to France as an American observer of military operations. He went to France a second time, in 1917, in charge of an advance party and was a member of the General Staff of the General Headquarters of the AEF. For his efforts in WWI, he received a Distinguished Service Medal. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1924 and major general in 1933. MG Simonds retired in 1938 and died 7 months later. He was buried at West Point with full military honors. One classmate said of Simonds, "As a man, as a leader, and as a friend, he was one of West Point’s greatest sons."
Llewellyn Noel Bushfield was born in Tennessee on 14 Sep 1876. He spent three years in the Philippines after graduation and was then sent to Vancouver Barracks, WA, for a year. In 1903 he was assigned to Ft. Lawton, WA, but was dismissed on 25 Jul 1903.
James Buchanan Ray was born in Kentucky on 25 February 1876. He resigned his commission in 1900, was admitted to the bar in Kentucky and began practicing law. He was associated with two law firms in Paducah, KY, during the next few years. Ray was a member of the National Army until he resigned in 1918. He died on 21 Nov 1947 at the VA Hospital in Dayton, OH, at the age of 71.
Francis Neal Cooke was one of four Plebes assigned to a room on the top floor of the barracks during Beast Barracks. After graduation, he reported to Ft. Wadsworth, NY. Cooke had tours of duty in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, France, and Hawaii. He commanded the Coast Defenses of New Orleans in 1917 and was assigned to Ft. Winfield Scott, CA, and Ft. Eustis, VA, before deploying to France in 1918 where he commanded the Camp at Ft. Federes, Brest. He later served as Chief of Staff of the Hawaiian Division in 1925. COL Cook retired after 34 years on active duty. He died in 1936 in Washington, DC, at the age of 60.
Stanley Dunar Embick, from Pennsylvania, attended several Artillery schools after graduation and was the honor graduate of the Coast Artillery School as well as an early member of the War Department General Staff. Embick excelled as an officer. He served as an instructor at the Army War College, with the War Plans Division of the War Department General Staff during WWI, and as Commandant of the Coast Artillery School and the 3rd Coast Artillery District. By 1941, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was headed for retirement. Embick was recalled to active duty at the start of WWII and was the senior War Department Member of the Joint Defense Board, Canada - United States. After the reorganization of the War Department in 1942, Embick was the designated senior War Department Member and Chairman of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee. This was the same year that the Joint Chiefs of Staff was created. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1946 and retired soon after. He received the Distinguished Service Medal, his second award, for his outstanding service. Embick died in 1957 at age 80 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC.
Samuel Tilden Ansell was born in North Carolina on 1 Jan 1875. His first assignment after graduation was to Puerto Rico, and later he was transferred to the Philippines. He had two assignments as an instructor at West Point in the Department of Law; the first during 1902-04 and the second during 1906-10. He also was an instructor in the National Guard in 1908. Ansell was selected to attend the University of North Carolina in 1904 and 1906. Because of his performance as the Assistant Judge Advocate during 1911-12 and as the Acting Judge Advocate during 1917-19, Ansell received a Distinguished Service Medal in 1919. He resigned in 1919 as a brigadier general. After his resignation, BG Ansell continued to practice law in Washington, DC, where he died on 27 May 1954 at age 79.
After graduating 32d in his class, Ralph Stuart Granger was assigned to the Artillery. He was stationed at five different installations during his first six years. He then was assigned to the 1st Field Artillery and later became the regimental Quartermaster to the Army School of Line after he completed the course. Granger opened and organized the Quartermaster General Depot in Los Angeles and was promoted to colonel. He commanded the 347th Field Artillery and deployed the regiment to France in 1918. His next assignment was at Ft. Sill, where he remained until his retirement in 1922. He contracted pneumonia in 1925 and died in California on 14 January at the age of 50. He is buried at the Soldiers Home Cemetery in California.
Born in San Francisco in 1875, Robert Halford Peck came to West Point after working for a coffee and tea company and teaching school in California. After graduation, he joined the 10th Infantry and was stationed in Cuba and then the Philippines. He married the following year, but his wife died in Kansas in 1902. He then graduated with high honors from the Infantry and Cavalry School and the Staff College and was sent back to the Philippines. Peck married his second wife, Mabel Steele of New York, and they had five children. He was stationed in Hawaii when the U.S. entered WWI and was sent back to the States en route to Europe. He deployed to France in 1918 with the 47th Infantry and also was attached to the 33rd Division (French) from 1918 to 1920. Peck received a Croix de Guerre that included an Army citation for his performance. A soldier assigned to Peck’s unit described an incident when Peck was preparing to attack just as the armistice was to go into effect. A German soldier discerned that Peck was planning to attack, so he raised a white flag and came forward to tell Peck of the armistice. Peck said with great disappointment, "Then that spoils all my schemes." Peck’s soldiers felt so strongly about his leadership and disregard for his own safety in battle that they wrote him a note telling him they felt prepared to fight. Promoted temporarily to the rank of general, Peck was recommended for the Belgian War Cross and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Distinguished Service Medal. GEN Peck retired in 1928 for physical disability. Upon retirement, the Prudential Life Insurance Company and the Oberdorfer Insurance Agency employed him. He became interested in genealogy and stamp collecting during his retirement and also started editing a newspaper column on genealogical research that brought him acclaim. Peck died on 5 Mar 1932 at the age of 57 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Evan Harris Humphrey was born on 5 Mar 1875 in California. He spent his first three years after graduation in Cuba as the assistant to the chief quartermaster, followed by two years in the Philippines. Then he was stationed in Honolulu with the Constructing Quartermaster and Purchasing and Depot Commissary. Humphrey attended the Army War College, the Command and General Staff School, the School of the Line, and the General Staff School. During 1925-29 he was an instructor at the Army War College and then was assigned to the 6th Cavalry at Ft. Oglethorpe, GA, during 1929-31. The 1st Cavalry at Ft. Bliss, TX, was his next assignment before he assumed command of the 23rd Brigade from 1936-37. His final assignment was as the commanding general at Ft. Stotsenberg from 1937-38. He retired in 1939 as a brigadier general. BG Humphrey died in 1963 at the age of 88.
Halsey Edward Yates was born in Nebraska on 13 May 1876. Graduation found him assigned to Cuba for a year before being ordered to the Philippines until 1902. Yates then served as an instructor at the Academy in the Department of Law from 1902-06. He then returned Cuba with the 17th Infantry and remained there until 1909. He also served with the recruiting depot at Ft. Siocrum, NY, and the 30th Infantry in Alaska. Yates then served as the Commandant of the Cadets at the University of Nebraska from 1909-12. In WWI, Yates was the military attaché in Romania in charge of observation of the Russian-Romanian front in South Russia and Hungary. He also was responsible for reorganizing the Hungarian Policy. He then was assigned as the commanding officer at Ft. Ontario, NY, and later attended the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA. Before his retirement, he was the Executive Officer, 1st Reserve District, in Los Angeles, CA. He retired in 1940 by operation of law. COL Yates died in 1963 in West Los Angeles, CA, at 87.
Clement Augusta Trott, from Milwaukee, was the youngest man in his class. "The Baron," as he was known, worked hard in and out of school, servicing a five-mile paper route throughout the year when he was a young boy. This well prepared him to handle the rigors of cadet life. As a cadet, he was an officer beginning his yearling year. He enjoyed keeping statistics and kept records on Academy sports. When he returned to West Point in 1906 as an instructor, he was the graduate manager of the cadet baseball team and secured the services of one the best coaches in the country. Trott married Leah Wright soon after graduation, and they remained happily married for 50 years. They were only separated when Trott was with Pershing on the Punitive Expedition into Mexico and in France. In WWI, he was an instructor at Ft. Sheridan, served with the 83rd Division, and then with the 5th Division. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and the Silver Star for valor. Like several of his classmates, Trott worked on flood control in northern New England. As a brigadier general, he commanded brigades in Utah, Boston, Ft. Meade, and Ft. Lewis. Because of his age, BG Trott was forced to retire in 1941. His retirement was filled with the things that he loved: reading, sports, and golf. BG Trott died on 14 Apr 1950 at the age of 72 in Geneva, IL.
George Van Horn Moseley was born in Illinois in 1874. His roommate in his third and fourth years was William Topping Merry. His military career began in the Philippines with the 9th Cavalry, where he fought against Arejola. He was the aide-de-camp to BG J.M. Bell during 1900-01. He again was an aide-de-camp to BG J.M. Lee while assigned to the 3rd Brigade Headquarters during 1903-06. Moseley attended the Army School of the Line and the Staff College before transferring to the 1st Cavalry. He was a military observer to the German and French Grand Maneuvers. He also was stationed at the Presidio in San Diego and was with the office of the Chief of Staff in 1912. During WWI, Moseley was on the general staff of the AEF and was in charge of the American evacuation from France. He accompanied GEN Pershing on inspections of the depots and cantonments of the United States during 1919-20. MG Moseley commanded the 1st Cavalry Division and personally crossed the border at Juarez during the battle between the Federals and Revolutionalists. He stopped the fighting and held the Federal Forces. His next assignment was as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. MG Moseley retired in 1938 by operation of law. His decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal with an oak leaf cluster along with several foreign awards. After retirement, MG Moseley spoke around the county as part of a program to make Americans aware of terrorism and sabotage in the US. MG Moseley died in 1960 in Atlanta, GA, at the age of 86.
Charles Cook Farmer, Jr., was born in 1876 in Mt. Carroll, IL. Neither an outstanding nor a bad student at West Point, he was a solid performer. This performance carried through to active duty while in the Cavalry. In 1905, he graduated from the Infantry and Cavalry School at Ft. Leavenworth and then was stationed with the renowned Indian fighter, Hugh Scott (Class of 1876). In 1907 and 1908, he took extended leave and visited China, Italy, France, and England. His military career was shortened due to a hearing loss, and he was forced to retire in 1920. He lived the remainder of his life in Florida and enjoyed gardening and reading foreign languages. He died in 1952 at the age of 76 after a lengthy illness.
Born in Illinois in 1875, Wilson Bryant Burtt served in the Philippines and at Ft. Snelling, MN, with the 5th Infantry. He was an instructor of Military Science and Tactics at Kentucky State University before returning to the Philippines in 1907. In 1908 he was reassigned to the 20th Infantry and then attended the Army Service School, the Army Staff College, and the Army School of the Line, where he was a distinguished graduate. He also graduated from the Army War College in 1915. Burtt was the Assistant Chief of Staff during the Mexican Punitive Expedition and returned to the U.S. to be an inspector/instructor with the National Guard of California. His next assignment was at the Presidio in California as an instructor at the Officers Training Camp. During WWI, Burtt participated in the St. Mihiel Offensive and in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918. In France, he was the Chief of Staff of the AEF in 1919. Burtt resigned in January 1920 as a major but was reappointed as a lieutenant colonel in June 1920. His later assignments were as an instructor at the Army War College and as the assistant commandant of the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. He retired in 1938 and died in Massachusetts in 1957.
Fred Radford Brown was born in Streator, IL, on 6 Feb 1876. He was in his first year of high school when a congressman suggested that he take the exam for an appointment to West Point. Brown scored well enough to get the appointment (after the principal and the first alternate failed), and his parents reluctantly agreed to allow him to attend. After graduation, he went to the Philippines and then to China. He commanded the 368th Infantry and the 58th Infantry Regiments during WWI. He attended the School of the Line, the General Staff School, and the Army War College. Brown also authored the "Official History of the Ninth U.S. Infantry, 1799-1909." He died in Washington, DC, on 30 Aug 1941 at the age of 65.
Born in Texas, Josiah Charles Minus moved to South Carolina when he was 9 years old and eventually attended The Citadel in Charleston. He entered West Point in 1895 via an appointment from South Carolina. After graduating, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and was assigned, like many of his classmates, to the 20th U.S. Infantry in the Philippines. He served there on two occasions and was appointed Captain of the Philippine Scouts in 1905. An illness caused him to be transferred, and, in 1907, he was assigned to Clemson College in South Carolina as a professor of Military Science and Tactics. He taught at Clemson until 1908, when he was forced to retire because of a disability. He was recalled to active duty in 1918 due to WWI and served with the Inspector General’s Department. He was returned to retirement in 1919. Minus had a very busy and productive life after his retirement from active duty. He moved his family back to Texas, where he owned and operated a ranch and other properties. He was the president and director of the Southern Texas Truck Growers Association. In 1920, he aided in organizing the National Bank of Ft. Sam Houston and served as director of the bank. In 1937, he organized the Union State Bank of San Antonio and was the principal owner and a director, assisting many small businessmen denied credit by larger institutions. Minus also was very active in the San Antonio community and worked with various charities dedicated to the well being of boys. Minus died in 1945 in San Antonio and is buried in the Old National Cemetery.
Charles Michael Bundel was born in Pennsylvania on 2 Jun 1875. He was 20 years old when he entered West Point and was an average student, graduating 42d in the class. He was ordered to the Philippines with the 4th Infantry at the height of the insurrection; the remainder of his military career included assignments in the U.S., a tour in Alaska and another tour in the Philippines. Bundel was an honor graduate of The Army School of the Line, which demonstrated his high degree of tactical and administrative ability. He also graduated from The General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Many of the men who worked with Bundel had a great admiration for him and a personal devotion to him as a leader. He was professional and demonstrated a great competence as a regimental commander. In 1919, Bundel was assigned to The General Service Schools at Ft. Leavenworth as an instructor. He was then appointed as a director of the school and served in that capacity until 1924. When the schools reopened following WWI, all of the courses had to be redesigned based on the experiences of WWI. Bundel’s contributions were unparalleled, and he was promoted to brigadier general in 1934. His final assignment was as the Commandant of the Command and General Staff School in 1936. He retired in 1939 at the age of 64 and lived in San Francisco with his wife until his death in 1941 at the age of 66.
Stuart Heintzelman, "Tommy" to his friends, was born in New York City on 19 Nov 1976. Both his grandfather (Class of 1826) and father (Class of 1867) graduated from West Point. He was educated abroad as a child and graduated from the Groton School in Massachusetts before entering the Academy. His leadership qualities were evident early in his military career as a cadet. He was the captain of the class gym and track teams, and he also was elected president of the Cadet Athletic Association. As a star football player, he was an Army letterman. After graduation, he was assigned to the 4th Cavalry in the Philippines, where he served until 1900. He then joined the 6th Cavalry in China and participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion. Heintzelman had a keen interest in research and military history and served several tours at the Leavenworth School as an instructor as well as instructing at the Army Service Schools. In 1916, he was assigned to Princeton University as a military instructor and was awarded an honorary degree of master of arts. During WWI, Heintzelman served in France and Italy with the General Staff at the headquarters of the AEF; as a Military Observer with the French Army, First Army Corps; as Chief of Staff of the IVArmy Corps; and as the Chief of Staff of the Second Army. For his service in WWI, he was named a Commander of the Legion of Honor, awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm, named a Commander of the Order of the Crown, and awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He was appointed a brigadier general in 1922 and a major general in 1931. His assignments included director of the Army War College; the General Staff at Headquarters, VI Corps Area; Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2; Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4; commander of the 22d Infantry in Hawaii; and commander of the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York. Before his death, MG Heintzelman was the Commandant of the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. He died on 6 Jul 1935 at age 59 in Hot Springs, AK.
Gwynn Richard Hancock was born in Missouri in 1876. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the 6th Artillery in Honolulu. His following assignments were with the recruiting service and the Artillery School until 1902. He was stationed at the Artillery School again in 1904; commanded a company at Ft. Hamilton, NY; served at Ft. Caswell, NC; and was the post commander at Ft. Constitution, NH. His untimely death at age 36 in 1912 occurred while he was a company commander at Ft. Strong, MA.
Henry Leavenworth Harris, Jr., was born in New York in 1875. Both his father (Class of 1869) and grandfather (Class of 1825) were West Point graduates. After graduation, he was assigned to the 10th Infantry in the Philippines; then to the 4th Infantry in 1902; and, finally, to the 22d Infantry in 1903. Harris received the Distinguished Service Cross "for extraordinary heroism" in the Philippines. He resigned in 1905 but was reappointed in 1907 and assigned to the 6th Field Artillery. Harris was commanding the detail working on the Progressive Military Map of the United States at Ft. Sam Houston when he lost his left leg in an accident. He was retired as disabled in 1909 as a first lieutenant. During WWI, Harris was recalled to active duty in 1917 to serve with the Recruiting Office. In 1919, he was assigned to the Quartermaster General Supply Depot but was relieved from active duty at his own request. Harris died in San Francisco in 1957 at the age of 82.
Laurence Halstead was born on 21 Oct 1875 in Riverside, a suburb of Cincinnati, OH. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Puerto Rico and then to the Philippines, where he served with the 13th Infantry. In 1903, he married Anna Louise Maus and moved to San Francisco as the commanding officer of the Army Disciplinary Barracks at Alcatraz Island. Halstead was instrumental in developing the finger printing method that is used today for identification of criminals. General Arthur MacArthur sent Halstead to Washington, DC, to Army Headquarters to brief the Army staff on the invention that now is used worldwide. Halstead had tours of duty in West Virginia and Montana and then at the School of the Line at Ft. Leavenworth. He completed the Staff College as an honor student. After another assignment in the Philippines, he went to Corregidor Island and then to Mexico to pursue Pancho Villa. WWI saw Halstead serve as the Chief of Staff of the 84th Division in Kentucky and then as the Chief of Staff for the First Army in France. He later was an instructor in Artillery Studies at the Army Center in Trier, Germany. In 1923-25 he attended the Army War College in Washington, DC, and then was assigned to the 27th Infantry in Hawaii. The 27th Infantry was nicknamed the "Wolfhounds" by Halstead. Halstead returned to the United States to become the Chief of Staff of the VII Corps Headquarters in Nebraska. His next assignment was as the commander of the 12th Infantry Regiment at Ft. Howard, where he was promoted to brigadier general. After his promotion, BG Halstead was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone as the commanding general of the Pacific Sector. During that tour, he wrote the military plans for the defense of the canal. Before his retirement, he was the commanding general of the First Army in New York, where he commanded the first Army-Navy Amphibious Operation in Puerto Rico. He retired in 1939 due to a heart condition after 40 years of service. For his service in WWI, BG Halstead received the Distinguished Service Medal. BG Halstead enjoyed a pleasant retirement in Washington, DC, where he painted, wrote poetry, and sailed on his cabin cruiser. He died in Washington, DC, on 5 Jun 1953 at age 77.
Boston, MA, was home for Pierce Currier Foster,who was born on 21 Mar 1978. He received his early education in Germany and Switzerland before entering Lehigh University in 1894. After a year, he applied to West Point and received an appointment. Following graduation, Foster was assigned to the 3rd Infantry and sent to the Philippines, where he was killed in the line of duty in 1899 at the age of 21.
Frederick William Van Duyne, 48th man in the Class of 1899, was born in New Jersey in 1875. He saw significant action in the Philippines and was recommended for the Medal of Honor because of his heroism. He also was recommended and nominated for a brevet promotion for distinguished gallantry in action while in the Philippines. Van Duyne attended the Army Service Schools and served as the assistant G-1 with the 84th Division while in southern France during WWI. His final assignment was in Boston, MA, with the 1st Cavalry Quartermaster. He retired in 1939 by operation of law and lived in New Jersey until his death in 1958 at 83 years of age.
Charles Douglas Herron, "C.D." or "Fox" to his friends, was initially assigned to the Philippines after graduation from West Point. He was later stationed in Wyoming with the 18th Infantry and again in the Philippines before graduating second from the Leavenworth schools. Herron knew Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall personally and had many stories to share about each. He eventually served as MacArthur’s Chief of Staff and as his Executive Officer for Reserve Affairs. Herron went to France as commander of the 313th Field Artillery when the U.S. entered WWI . He won the Distinguished Service Medal after serving as the Chief of Staff of the 78th Division under GEN Pershing. In 1937, he was the commander of the Hawaiian Division and studied the genealogy of Hawaiian-Americans of Japanese ancestry. He was against the relocation and mass internment of Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor and so testified before Congress. Herron retired in 1941 but was recalled to active duty by Marshall as a member of the Personnel Board of the Secretary of War. He was in charge of the wartime expansion of general officers and eventually set up the system for evaluating more than 1,500 officers for promotion. For his services, he received a second Distinguished Service Medal upon the recommendations of Marshall and Eisenhower. Herron again retired and lived in Bethesda, MD, for a numbers of years before moving to Hawaii in 1966. He died in Honolulu on 24 Apr 1977 at the age of 100.
John Dudley Long was born in Indiana in 1876. He served in Cuba twice: once in 1900 and again in 1906-07. He also served as an Assistant Instructor of Tactics at the Academy in 1909. As a military attaché, he served in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. He then attended the Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff School. He was a senior unit instructor with the Organized Reserve of Baltimore and retired in 1940 by operation of law.
Robert Bernard Calvert was born in Windall, IN, on 19 Feb 1875. He was accepted at the Academy in 1894 but had to wait a year to begin due to an eye condition. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 24th Infantry and sent to the Philippines. He was shot and killed by an enlisted soldier after reprimanding him for misconduct. Calvert was 32 years old when he died on 16 Oct 1906.
Born in Georgia, George Deveraux Jarrett served in Cuba and the Philippines from 1899 to 1903, but saw no significant action in the Philippines. Upon leaving the Philippines, he sailed on the US Army Transport Sheridan. He arrived in San Francisco and was subsequently stationed in Ft. Riley, KS, as the commander of Company A, 1st Battalion. He died at Ft. Logan in 1904 of malaria. He was 30 years old.
Grayson Villard Heidt, known as "Jimmie" to his friends, was born near Griffin, GA, on 27 Jan 1875. He grew up in Texas and Georgia and attended Southwestern University at Georgetown, TX, and Moreland Park Military Academy in Atlanta before coming to the West Point Preparatory School in Washington, DC. He received an appointment to West Point in 1895. Heidt excelled in sports, especially football, and played on the West Point team. After graduation, he was assigned to the Cavalry and served in the Philippines and then at Ft. Grant, AZ. He became ill while in the Philippines and was sent to the Infantry and Cavalry School in Kansas. He was on sick leave for approximately six months and, upon returning to duty, was assigned to the U.S. Army Transport Service in Washington. In 1906, he transferred to the 11th Cavalry and served in Cuba until his return to the U.S. because of a recurrence of his previous illness. His final assignment was as an instructor in the Department of Modern Languages at West Point. He retired in 1908 for physical disability received in the line of duty. Heidt moved to Atlanta, GA, and became the president of the Barrett-Barnes Company. He eventually moved to New York City and started the Villard Manufacturing Company. Heidt missed the military life, so when the War Department offered him a position as an instructor of Military Science and Tactics at Marist College in Atlanta, he accepted. His next assignments were in a recruiting and as the Quartermaster at Ft. Sill, Newport News, VA; and then in France with the AEF. He had various assignments from 1920 to 1939 in the Quartermaster Corps in New York, California, Hawaii, and Texas with his final assignment at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, as Quartermaster, VIII Corps Area. He again retired in 1939 to a small Texas estate where he lived with his wife. During a trip to visit his daughter, he died in Mexico City, Mexico, at the age of 70 on 8 Sep 1945. He is buried in the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam Houston, TX.
James Cooper Rhea was born in Hamburg, IA, on 7 Mar 1876. "Jim Crow," as his friends called him, graduated from Baylor University in 1895 and then was appointed to West Point. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 7th Cavalry and served in the Philippines. He then attended the Army Service School at Ft. Leavenworth and was a Distinguished Graduate. Rhea had several additional tours in the Philippines as well as a tour in Mexico. During WWI, he was assigned as an instructor of Cavalry Tactics at the Reserve Officers Training Camp at Ft. McPherson, GA. From there, he was assigned as the Assistant Adjutant General of the Central Department and then to the 305th Infantry. In 1918, he was a member of the AEF and served in the Marbache Sector, the St. Mihiel Salient, and then in the Argonne Forest as Chief of Staff. He finally was attached to the Headquarters Staff of the Army of Occupation. Rhea received the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, and French Armies of the East citation. He was promoted to brigadier general on 22 May 1927 before his retirement on 30 Jun 1927. He died in Brookline, MA, on 3 Aug 1927 at the age of 51.
Born in Sweden on 1 Apr 1874, James Hanson entered West Point in June 1894. After graduation, he was assigned to the 14th Infantry in the Philippines and remained there until 1900. He was sent to China to help suppress the Boxer Rebellion and was commended for bravery for scaling the walls of Peking. During WWI, he served with the 84th Division and became the Chief of Staff of the 9th Division. He then was selected to attend the General Service Schools at Ft. Leavenworth and was a Distinguished Graduate. He next was selected as military attaché for the American Embassy in Chile in 1923 and remained in that assignment until his untimely death in Washington, DC, on 20 Sep 1927 at the age of 53.
Walter Stevens Brown was born in Maine in 1875. Brown’s first assignment after graduation was to the Philippines, where he remained until 1903. He was with the 10th Infantry and served as the regimental adjutant from 1903-05. His next assignment was as a professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Maine. Brown retired in 1909 as a captain due to a disability contracted in the line of duty. After retirement, he was in business in Alaska, British Columbia, New York, and Michigan. He died in 1969 in Michigan at age 94.
William Topping Merry was born in New York in 1876, the grandson of Eliphalet Remington II, the rifle inventor. Merry’s roommate his second year was Charles Romeyn. In his third and fourth years, his roommate was George Van Horn Moseley. During his career, Merry completed the Army Staff College, the Infantry School and the Army War College, as a distinguished graduate. He served in the Philippines after graduation and then again in 1910. He was with the 15th Infantry in China and served on the General Staff. In 1917, Merry was an instructor at the first Officers Training Camp. Merry also was a professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Illinois. After retiring in 1928, COL Merry became a citrus farmer in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. He died in Texas in 1970 at the age of 94.
Frederick Blair Kerr was born in Clearfield, PA, on 27 Oct 1876. "Freddy," as his friends called him, attended Braden’s Preparatory School before attending West Point. He was the manager of the football team as a cadet and remained an avid fan throughout his life. GEN John Pershing was a tactical officer at West Point when Kerr was a cadet and was the victim of a practical joke played by Kerr’s class. Kerr was not responsible but tried to take the blame for the joke to prevent the entire class from being punished. The class would not allow it, however, and they all accepted their punishment. Nineteen years later, GEN Pershing inspected COL Kerr’s regiment and remembered the incident. Kerr resigned in 1904 after serving in the Philippines and at Ft. Crook, NE. He was with the 22d U.S. Infantry and received the Silver Star and was cited for gallantry. After resigning his commission, he went into business with his father in Clearfield and remained there until the outbreak of WWI. He again entered the Army at the rank of major and was assigned to Ordnance but transferred to the Engineers. He was promoted to colonel and commanded the 23rd Engineers in France, where GEN Pershing personally cited him for his work. He was discharged in 1919 and returned to his former position as the president of the Potts Run Coal Company, Boardman Coal Mining Company, and the Commonwealth Coal & Coke Company. He was very active in his community, serving on the local school and park boards/councils and as a member of the county draft board during WWII. Kerr also was one of the founders of the American Legion and was the first elected commander of the John Lewis Shade Post, American Legion, in 1919. Kerr served as the adjutant general of Pennsylvania in the grade of brigadier general prior to retiring. He died in Clearfield, PA, at the age of 86 on 1 Nov 1952.
Lawrence DuVal Cabell, known to his classmates as "Duvy," was born in Dallas, TX, on 22 Aug 1874. He attended a college prep school in New York and two years at A&M College of Texas before coming to West Point. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant, Cabell was assigned to the Infantry and went to Cuba for the next year and then to Ft. Sheridan, IL. His third assignment was to join many of his classmates in the Philippines with the 14th Infantry. Later he served in New York at Ft. Niagara and Ft. Porter and then was sent back to the Philippines. In 1906, Cabell was appointed the Assistant to the Chief Quartermaster in Cuba. From there, he was ordered to San Francisco as the Assistant Depot Quartermaster and by 1907 was in the Quartermaster Department. He was Quartermaster of the USA Transport Thomas during 1907-09 and then served as Assistant Depot Quartermaster at Jeffersonville, IN, until 1911. Cabell then returned to the Infantry and was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, TX. That same year, he was appointed the Regimental Quartermaster. In 1913, he transferred to the 6th Infantry at the Presidio in San Francisco. Cabell was assigned once again to the Quartermaster Department in 1914 and sent to Ft. Sam Houston and then Naco, AZ, and Douglas, AZ, until 1916. Then he went to Llano Grande, TX, as the Quartermaster and then on to New York City, where he served as the Assistant Depot Quartermaster in charge of the movement of Army transport vessels at the port. Later he was assigned to Camp Sherman with the 83rd Division and then to Chillocothe, OH. Cabell also served in Newport News, VA; Nantes, France; and Jeffersonville, IN. He then was assigned to the IX Corps Area General Depot at Ft. Sam Houston as Depot Quartermaster. His last assignment before his retirement was with the Organized Reserves in Dallas and the Recruiting Services. He retired in 1928 after serving 30 years. COL Cabell died at the age of 72 in Hot Springs, AR, on 24 Nov 1946.
Clyffard Game was born in England in 1873 and appointed to West Point from the state of Minnesota. His assignments included service in Puerto Rico, with the 1st Infantry in the Philippines, on the Mexican border and in France during WWI. Game was 64 years old when WWII started and wanted to enter the service, but, He died at the age of 81 in Philadelphia on 18 Jul 1955.
George Washington Stuart, born in 1875, came to West Point from Chariton, IA, via the University of Minnesota. After graduating from West Point, Stuart’s first assignment was with the 7th Infantry in Nome, AK. His other assignments included Texas, several tours in the Philippines, and Montana. He completed the school of the Line and the Army Staff College. He commanded the 9th and 148th Regiments of Infantry and was decorated five times. He served both as the Chief of Staff and Commander of the 37th Division.COL Stuart retired in 1939 and died at the age of 73 in Carmel, CA, on 2 Mar 1948.
Robert Cherry Foy was born in Eufaula, AL, on 20 Aug 1876. He received a bachelor of science degree from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, AL, before being appointed to West Point. Foy, very active in athletics during his cadet years, was a star tackle on the football team and returned in the fall of 1899 to coach. Foy’s assignments included Cuba, the Philippines, Turkey, Hawaii, and many locations in the continental U.S. He also served in France and Germany during WWI and commanded a regiment in France. He attended several schools, including the Army School of the Line, the Mounted Service School, the Field Artillery School, and the Army War College, and was the Acting Assistant Chief of Staff G-2 of the War Department General Staff. BG Foy retired in 1939 and lived his remaining years in Boerne, TX. He died at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, at the age of 67 on 6 Feb 1944.
Illinois was the home of Henry Newell Way, who was a teacher at a large country school before receiving his appointment to West Point. After graduation, he was assigned to the 4th Infantry and sent to the Philippines. On 16 Aug 1900, he was sent on an operational mission and was killed during an ambush on 28 Aug 1900 at the age of 26.
William Taylor Patten was born near Yorkville, SC, on 18 Dec 1875. After graduation, he was assigned to the 13th Infantry in New York and trained to go to the Philippines. After three years in the Philippines, he returned to the U.S. and was stationed at the Presidio until 1904. He attended the Infantry-Cavalry School at Ft. Leavenworth before heading back to the Philippines with his family for a second tour. While stationed in the Philippines, he was assigned to the Military Information Division and eventually became an Assistant Judge Advocate. He was promoted to captain and returned to the U.S. to be stationed again at Ft. Leavenworth. His next assignment was as a professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Patten retired on 27 Jun 1913 due to a physical disability but went back to active duty in 1915. In 1916, he commanded a company in Monterey, CA, and, in 1917, he was the president of the Examining Board for Candidates for Commissions in the Officers’ Reserve Corp. The next two years brought assignments with The Student Officers’ Training Corps at the University of Washington and as the District Inspector of the 12th District, Students Army Training Corps, in Montana. He then was an instructor of Infantry, National Guard of Washington, for the War Department. COL Patten’s final assignment before his retirement in 1922 was with the 3rd Infantry (which later became the 161st Infantry), National Guard. His retirement years were spent fishing and camping near Puget Sound. He died on 17 Aug 1947 at the age of 71 near Seattle, WA.
Duncan Kennedy Major, Jr., a native of New York City, was born in 1876 and received his appointment to West Point from his home state. Major’s first assignment was in the Philippines with the 14th Infantry. After a year, he joined many of his classmates in China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion and then returned to the Philippines. In 1905, he attended the Infantry and Cavalry School and was retained as an instructor. Major also was assigned as the Assistant Military Attaché in Paris and with the maneuver division on the Mexican border before WWI. During WWI, he was the Chief of Staff of the 26th Division, for which he received the Distinguished Service Medal. His next assignments were as an instructor at Ft. Leavenworth, an aide to GEN Pershing, a member of the War Department General Staff, and the Chief of Staff of the IV Corps Area. In 1929, he commanded the 29th Infantry, which, at that time, was the only full-strength regiment in the Army. His success led him to another assignment with the War Department on the General Staff and, in 1935, as a general officer at the School of the Line. In 1936, he commanded the Infantry brigade in Hawaii, and his final assignment was in San Francisco as the commander of the Port of Embarkation. BG Major retired in 1940 and lived in Virginia until his death on 26 May 1947 at the age of 71.
James Justice was born on 3 Mar 1876 in Huntsville, TX, and entered West Point when he was 17 at the urging of his mother. He served two tours in the Philippines, with the first lasting from 1899-1902. He returned to the U.S. in 1902 and was stationed at Ft. Crook, NE. On his second tour in the Philippines, he was accompanied by his wife and stayed until 1906. He completed several schools and was a Distinguished Graduate at the Army School of the Line. He decided to attend the Signal School instead of the Staff Class and graduated in 1911. During WWI, he was the Assistant Chief of Staff of the 80th Division at Camp Lee, VA. He also was an instructor at the Brigade and Field Officers School at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, and commanded an Infantry Replacement Regiment at Camp Gordon in Atlanta, GA. His last assignment during WWI was in the Inspector General’s Office in Washington, DC. Justice attended the Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth and the Army War College and served on the War Department General Staff for two years. In 1925, he was the Assistant Chief of Staff of the II Corps Area at Governors Island, NY. He retired in 1927 due to poor health and died at the age of 57 in New York City on 24 Apr 1933.
Born in Escanaba, MI, Llewellyn William Oliver’s first assignment was in Cuba, like many of his classmates. He also served at Ft. Riley, KS; many years later as the Director of the Department of Tactics, Assistant Commandant; and finally as the Regimental Commander of the 2d U.S. Cavalry. He was an instructor in the Tactical Department at West Point from 1906-1910. Oliver also served two tours in the Philippines. After his second tour in 1917, he became the Chief of Staff at Hoboken, for which he earned the Distinguished Service Medal from the Army and the Navy Cross from the Navy. Oliver graduated from many schools, including the French Cavalry School, The Command and General Staff School, and the War College. COL Oliver’s last assignment before retirement was as the Chief of Staff of the IV Corps Area, Atlanta, GA. He was recalled to active duty in 1941 and served as chief of the Intelligence Section, Transportation Corps, in the War Department until he reached the mandatory retirement age. He died in Washington, DC, on 14 Jun 1944 at 68.
Arthur Sidney Cowan was born in Maine on 14 Apr 1875. "Frenchy," as his friends called him, was an avid baseball player and fan. He made the team his plebe year, which was unusual. Cowan felt that his education at West Point was a privilege and did his utmost to succeed. In February 1899, he went to the Philippines and was awarded a Purple Heart. His early assignments included Cuba, China, Ft. Wayne, Vancouver Barracks, and the Presidio. In 1906, he began the School of the Line at Ft. Leavenworth and completed the course as a Distinguished Graduate. He then attended the Army Staff College and decided to transfer to the Signal Corps of Aviation when the Air Corps was forming. He then was assigned as the Commandant of the new Signal Corps School of Aviation in 1914. After serving there for several years, he decided to return to the Signal Corps and was sent to the Panama Canal Zone. Cowan was on GEN Pershing’s staff during WWI but preferred to be with combat troops. In 1919, he returned to the U.S. and was the Commandant of the Army Signal School at Ft. Leavenworth. In 1927, he attended the Army War College followed by the Industrial College and was assigned as the Commandant of the Army Signal School at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. He stayed in that position for eight years before accepting his final assignment at Governors Island. Cowan retired in 1939 but was recalled to active duty during WWII. Health problems caused him to retire again in 1942, and he enjoyed a long retirement in Washington, DC, watching baseball and entertaining friends. On 24 Jun 1957, he died at 82.
Another foreign-born cadet, Hector Arsene Robichon, was born in Canada on 7 Jul 1876. After graduation, he was assigned to the 27th Infantry and sent to the Philippines. He was dismissed on 28 Jan 1904 as a first lieutenant and later was reinstated during WWI and promoted to captain. In 1919, he was honorably discharged and went on to be the Assistant Attorney General in New York from 1931-37. He died on 15 Aug 1950 in Huntington, NY, at 74.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, on 27 Nov 1877, Reginald Edwards McNally attended Montclair Military Academy and then Highland Falls Military School before receiving his appointment. At West Point, McNally was a member of the Army Polo team, participated in many other sports, and won the saber for best all-round athlete. He also won an award for his excellent horsemanship and was selected as a color bearer. After graduation, McNally was stationed in Ft. Logan with the 25th Infantry, but later that year he received word that he was being reassigned to the 3rd Cavalry in the Philippines. By 1901, he was Assistant Quartermaster at Cabugao. After leaving the Philippines, he was stationed in New York City, Ft. Leavenworth, and San Francisco. He again was ordered to the Philippines with the 8th Cavalry in 1906 but returned to the States in 1907, graduated from the Mounted Service School at Ft. Riley, and then was assigned to Ft. Robinson, NE. McNally was promoted to colonel in 1918. After the end of WWI, he served in France with the 14th Cavalry. He was awarded two Silver Stars and cited by the War Department for gallantry in the Philippines. COL McNally died on 21 Dec 1937 in San Francisco at the age of 60.
Ephraim Geoffrey Peyton, or "Eph" as he was known, attended Mississippi State University before coming to West Point. After graduation, along with many of his classmates, Peyton served in the Philippines with the 6th Infantry. In 1901, he transferred to the 108th Infantry and served at Ft. Leavenworth, Ft. Logan, and three more times in the Philippines. He commanded almost every company and served as both the battalion and regimental adjutant. In 1915, he taught at West Point in the Department of Tactics and then, as an instructor in the Officers’ Training Camp at Ft. Lee as a lieutenant colonel. He entered WWI with many other graduates in 1917 and saw battle in the Argonne, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Silver Star. A brigade commander said of Peyton, "The accomplishment...is largely due to his ability, character, military attainment, and leadership. He is the finest type of officer…" He received accolades from officers within his command, as well as from commanding officers, throughout his career. In 1926, he was assigned to the War Department General Staff, and then went on to be the Director of the Department of Experiment at Ft. Benning and finally served as Assistant Commandant. His next assignment took him to Washington, where he served in the office of the Chief of Infantry and then with the War Department General Staff. Next he commanded the 30th National Guard Division. His final assignment before his retirement was as the Chief of Staff of the VIII Corps Area. BG Peyton served on active duty until his retirement in 1938, by operation of law, at the rank of brigadier general. In addition to a successful military career, BG Peyton also had a very fulfilling retirement. He worked with the Salvation Army, the Home for Crippled Children, and with the Masonic charities. He also was active in the Episcopal church and organized a citywide Civilian Defense organization in WWII. BG Peyton died in Atlanta, GA, on 1 Jan 1950 at age 73.
Albert N. McClure was born in Casey County, KY, in 1874. His love for horses and mules carried over to his career as an Army officer. He, too, was assigned to the Philippines after graduation. Then he served with the 14th Infantry and fought in the Boxer Rebellion. McClure graduated from the Cavalry School at Ft. Riley; went to the French Cavalry School; and then traveled throughout Germany, Austria, and Hungary. He visited the horse-training centers in Vienna and Budapest and various horse-breeding locations. His expertise was used in WWI when he purchased, trained, and judged horses and mules for the U.S. and the Allies. COL McClure died on 19 Aug 1952 at William Beaumont Army Hospital in Ft. Bliss, TX. He is buried in the National Cemetery at Ft. Bliss.