George W . McIver George W . McIver ( February 22 , 1858 – May 9 , 1947 ) was a United States Army Brigadier General who served as acting Chief of the Militia Bureau and commanded the 161st Infantry Brigade in World War I . Early life . George Willcox ( sometimes spelled Wilcox ) McIver was born in Carthage , North Carolina on February 22 , 1858 . He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1869 to 1870 while his father was a professor there , graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1882 and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry . Initially assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment , McIver served throughout the western United States during the American Indian Wars , including postings to Forts Pembina , Fred Steele , Laramie , Logan , and Bridger . In 1885 he was part of a force sent to Rock Springs , Wyoming to intervene during unrest between Chinese and white miners ( the Rock Springs Massacre ) . McIver participated in the Sioux Campaign of 1890 - 1891 . He served as a tactical officer at West Point from 1891 to 1893 , and was assigned to Camp Pilot Butte ( also known as Camp Rock Springs ) , Wyoming from 1893 to 1894 , after which he was posted as the regular Army officer advising the California National Guard . Spanish - American War . In 1898 , he returned to the 7th Infantry for service in Cuba during the Spanish - American War , and took part in the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill . Post Spanish - American War . From 1898 to 1900 , McIver was stationed at Fort Brady , Michigan , and at Leech Lake Indian Agency in Walker , Minnesota . From 1900 to 1901 , he was stationed at Forts Davis and St . Michael , Alaska . McIver was on recruiting duty in Portland , Oregon from 1901 to 1903 . He was assigned to the Philippines from 1903 until 1905 . From 1905 to 1907 McIver was Commandant of the U . S . Military prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay . He supervised the construction of buildings erected in Golden Gate Park to provide temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . In 1907 , he became the Commandant of the School of Musketry in Monterey , California , and was responsible for the publication of the Army Small Arms Firing Manual . He served again in the Philippines from 1912 to 1914 . In 1915 McIver was assigned as executive officer of the National Guard Bureau . From September to October , 1916 he served as acting Chief of the Militia Bureau during the interregnum between the death of Albert Mills and the arrival of Mills ’ replacement , William A . Mann . World War I . In 1917 McIver was promoted to Brigadier General and took command of the 161st Brigade of the 81st ( Wildcat ) Division . The 81st Division was made up largely of recruits from North and South Carolina , and trained in South Carolina at Camp Sevier ( near Greenville ) and Camp Jackson ( near Wildcat Creek , which gave the division its nickname ) . McIver led the brigade during combat on the Western Front in France , including participation in the Meuse - Argonne Offensive . While serving as brigade commander , he also served on three occasions as interim commander of the 81st Division between December , 1917 and July , 1918 . McIver had a mixed record on the issue of race , but was regarded as more progressive than his peers . Though he worked to have Puerto Rican soldiers transferred from the 161st Brigade , he successfully integrated Lumbee s and other Native Americans from North Carolina . In addition , based on his Indian Wars experience , he expressed the view that African - Americans made good soldiers and should be allowed to serve , though he also believed that they could do so successfully only if led by white officers . At the end of World War I McIver was recommended for the Distinguished Service Medal , but it does not appear to have been approved . Post World War I . Following the war , McIver returned to his permanent rank of Colonel . From 1919 until his retirement in 1922 , he commanded first the Demobilization Group at Fort Pike , near Little Rock , Arkansas ( now Camp Joseph T . Robinson ) and then the recruit depot at Fort Slocum , New York . Death and burial . In retirement McIver resided in Washington , D . C . In 1930 he was promoted to Brigadier General on the retired list . He died in Washington , D . C . on May 9 , 1947 . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Section 6 , Site 5680A . Legacy . The George Willcox McIver Papers are part of the East Carolina University ’ s Joyner Library collections . In 2006 , McIver ’ s autobiography , " A Life of Duty : The Autobiography of George Willcox McIver , 1858 - 1948 " , was edited by Jonathan Dembo and published .