John J. Pershing

General of the Armies John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (September 13, 1860 - July 15, 1948), was a general officer in the United States Army. He 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. The rank is known as General of the Armies. (a retroactive Congressional edict passed in 1976 promoted George Washington to the same rank but with higher seniority). 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. These include George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton.
Summary of service
Dates of rank
Assignment history
1882: Cadet, United States Military Academy
1886: Troop L, Sixth Cavalry
1891: Professor of Tactics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1895: 1st Lieutenant, 10th Cavalry Regiment
1897: Instructor, United States Military Academy, West Point
1898: Major of Volunteer Forces, Cuban Campaign, Spanish-American War
1899: Officer-in-Charge, Office of Customs and Insular Affairs
1900: Adjutant General, Department of Mindanao and Jolo, Philippines
1901: Battalion Officer, 1st Cavalry and Intelligence Officer, 15th Cavalry (Philippines)
1902: Officer-in-Charge, Camp Vicars, Philippines
1904: Assistant Chief of Staff, Southwest Army Division, Oklahoma
1905: Military attache, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
1908: Military Advisor to American Embassy, France
1909: Commander of Fort McKinley, Manila, and governor of Moro Province
1914: Brigade Commander, 8th Army Brigade
1916: Commanding General, Mexican Punitive Expedition
1917: Commanding General for the formation of the National Army
1917: Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, Europe
1921: Chief of Staff of the United States Army
1924: Retired from active military service
1925: Chief Commissioner assigned by the United States in the arbitration case for the provinces of Tacna and Arica between Peru and Chile.
References
Notes
Sources
Further reading
Richard Goldhurst, Pipe Clay and Drill: John J. Pershing, the classic American soldier, (Reader's Digest Press, 1977)
Gene Smith, Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing (Wiley, New York, 1998)
Donald Smythe, Guerrilla Warrior: The Early Life of John J. Pershing (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973)
Donald Smythe, Pershing: General of the Armies (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1986)
Frank E. Vandiver, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing - Volume I (Texas A&M University Press, Third printing, 1977)
Frank E. Vandiver, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing - Volume II (Texas A&M University Press, Third printing, 1977)
Other websites
Pershing Museum
Biography of John J. Pershing
New York Times obituary
Black Jack Pershing in Cuba
CHAPTER IV, General of the Armies John J. Pershing, State Funeral, 15-19 July 1948 in The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969 by B. C. Mossman and M. W. Stark, United States Army Center of Military History
1860 births
1948 deaths
American generals
American military personnel of the Spanish-American War
American military personnel of World War I
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Deaths from congestive heart failure
Deaths from coronary artery disease
Military people from Missouri