I happened to be reading about the Spanish-American War when I began to wonder about General John Pershing. In the annals of American military history he is often overshadowed by the likes of Eisenhower, Washington, and Grant so I thought I would try to do him some justice. After all, Pershing was a mentor to most of the generals that led us through World War II. With that in mind, here are 5 random facts about General John J. Pershing.
- John Pershing received an extensive education throughout his life. As a child, he attended a school for gifted children. He also attended West Point where he commanded the West Point Honor Guard that escorted Ulysses S. Grant's funeral. After West Point, Pershing attended law school and graduated in 1893.
- Early on in his career, Pershing was often on the wrong side of history. For example, as a second lieutenant he participated in the Wounded Knee Massacre, and ten years later he took part in the suppression of the Philippine Insurrection.
- General Pershing is most well known for his role during World War I, in which he commanded the American Expeditionary Force. It was Pershing who insisted that the American forces retain their leadership and not be split up to reinforce existing British and French units. Pershing also insisted on the creation of a new trench boot which was waterproof, thus helping to prevent trenchfoot. Finally, Pershing recognized the need for a military police force as the war drew to a close. In response, the first military police school was established in Autun, France. Thus, Pershing is considered the father of the modern American military police force.
- Pershing was popularly known by the nickname "Black Jack" because of his service with the 10th Cavalry Regiment, one of the African-American units known as the Buffalo Soldiers, during the Spanish-American War and the Indian Wars. However, this name was actually the media's way of toning down his actual nickname, which was far more offensive and shares its initials with New Jersey.
- Pershing received the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for History for his memoirs, My Experiences in the World War.
[caption id="attachment_2768" align="alignright" width="200" caption="General of the Armies Rank as designed by Pershing"]
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Bonus: General Pershing holds a rank that no other army officer has ever held. In 1919, Congress authorized his promotion to "General of the Armies," not to be confused with the rank "General of the Army." Since he was the first to receive the rank, Pershing was allowed to create his own insignia. Pershing chose four gold stars (the standard insignia is four silver stars) but he never wore the rank on his uniform. He remained the highest ranked army officer in U.S. history until 1976, when Congress retroactively declared George Washington to be the highest ranking officer and that he could never be outranked.
