Officer in the United States Army John J Pershing Essay

Introduction

John Pershing was an exemplary officer in the United States Army. He served with distinction in various conflicts ranging from the Spanish American War to the 1^st World War. Although later in his career critics called him a desk soldier since he commanded far from the frontlines, his previous engagements proved he had the mettle and intelligence to lead men into battle.

Furthermore, his successes in the previous battles speaks volumes of his leadership abilities and justifies the promotion to the highest rank ever held by a united states officer in his lifetime; the rank of General of the Armies. “Black jack” Pershing is also accredited for mentoring the golden generation of American generals who led the United States Army in the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany in the 2^nd World War. These include Marshall, Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower. (Vandiver, p 69)

Background

Pershing grew up at a farm in Laclede, Missouri and attended an exclusive school that only admitted kids who had a slightly higher intelligence than others. Not just any child could be admitted into this institution; you had to come from a high profile family. His father operated a general store in the local town and with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861; he sold food and other supplies to the 18^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He never served in the military.

Maybe it’s these close ties with the Military by his father that played a part in Pershing’s decision to enlist later in life. After graduating from High School in 1878, Pershing was employed as a teacher and was actively involved in educating African American children who were suffering from the racial divide that affected America in the late 19^th century. Through this, Pershing was able to cultivate a deep tolerance of the racial divide and this experience came in handy later in his military life during his command of the racially mixed infamous Buffalo Soldiers.

In 1882, Pershing applied to the United States Military Academy, WestPoint mainly to further his college education rather than serve the military, as he later admitted. His leadership qualities at WestPoint were immediately noticed and he rose through the ranks from First Corporal to First Captain, the highest possible rank for a cadet at WestPoint.

One of his achievements at WestPoint while serving as Cadet First Captain was the ex-officio command of the WestPoint Honor Guard of the funeral escort of President Ulysses S Grant Pershing graduated in 1886 and was highly recommended by General Wesley Merritt as a student processing “superb ability” when it comes to leadership skills. He considered delaying his commission so as to study Law but immediately withdrew it and was later commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. This was the “start of an illustrious military career that would span over 30 years and culminate at the 1^st World War” (Lacey, p 192)

Military Career

His first taste of combat came with the 6^th US Calvary in New Mexico. He was assigned to Fort Bayard where he participated in the suppression of the various uprisings of native Indian communities. His bravery in battle was noted especially against the Apache. Pershing served with the 6^th Calvary up to 1890 after which he moved to University of Nebraska where he pursued his Law degree. While at Nebraska he was an instructor on military tactics and formed drill company, company A, that won the Omaha Cup in 1891.

Company A was later renamed Pershing Rifles in 1894. The young officer’s career was beginning to take shape and this is evident with the promotion to First Lieutenant on October 1^st 1895 where he took charge of the 10^th Calvary Regiment that was made up of African-American soldiers serving under white officers. This was a unique troop and Pershing had to draw from his experiences as a teacher in Laclede when he was teaching African American children. The 10^th Cavalry under the command of Pershing “successfully deported the Cree Indians from the US to Canada” (Smythe, p 126) and the continued support of African American Soldiers earned Pershing the nick name “nigger Jack” during his duty at WestPoint. This title was later toned down to “black Jack” by the Media..

Citations for Bravery

Pershing continued with his exemplary career whereby he was again cited for gallantry in the Spanish American War. He received a Silver Citation Star for these actions in 1919.In his other roles from the conflict, Pershing was put in charge of the occupying forces that won over territories like, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guam in the Spanish-American War. In another conflict, the Philippine-American War, Pershing was put in charge of efforts to suppress a Philippine struggle and was again recognized for his bravery at Cagayan River during the battle at the Philippine stronghold of Macajambo.

During all these conflicts, from the Spanish-American War to the Philippine-American War, Pershing was serving in a Brevet rank, which means being allowed to hold a higher rank only on a temporary basis but you do not receive the benefits of the higher rank. Pershing later fought with the 15^th Cavalry Regiment against the Moros and was again cited for bravery at Lake Lanao.

Pershing’s promotion to the rank of Brigadier General in 1905 elicited some sharp response from ranking army officers who did not approve of his promotion. In doing so, thanks to a presidential prerogative and an approval of congress, Pershing skipped three ranks and over 835 senior offices.

It is important to note that during this time, promotion of army officers was mostly based on seniority than merit. While many officers approved of Pershing’s ability to command forces, the senior military establishment still believed in following traditions when it came to handing out promotions. Others argue his promotion was due to political connections and Pershing’s marriage to Helen Francis Warren in 1905, daughter to powerful US Senator Francis E Warren and Chairman of US Military Appropriations Committee, might have made the difference. (Smith, p 275)

1^st World war

Pershing’s initial involvement in the 1^st World War was as close as you can get to a lucky break when Fredrick Funston who was being considered for the top job suddenly died from a heart attack on 17^th February 1917. Pershing was put in charge by President Wilson after a brief interview. 1918 saw the full participation of American forces in the conflict with entire divisions fighting alongside French troops. The 1^st World War was a brutal affair.

Human losses running into thousands wasn’t an unusual occurrence and this is exemplified by the Franco-British offensive on the Somme where 600,000 casualties were reported in four and a half months. Troop offensives were brought to a standstill by barbed wires and the cross fire from machine guns. Trenches were commonly adapted to make defensive stands. Trench warfare also affected the soldier’s feet and Pershing oversaw the creation of the “1918 Trench Boot” that was later known as “Pershing Boot”.

All in all, achieving military objectives was a painstakingly slow process and Pershing disliked it. Instead, he preferred American forces fight as units under their own command rather than being split up to supplement French and British regiments. Furthermore, he preferred open warfare over trench warfare where he felt the American soldier would be at a bigger advantage due to his skill with rifle.

These frustrations might have contributed to two controversial decisions that he made during the conflict. His decision to recapture Sedan in France was a chaotic affair with US troops being exposed to friendly fire from their allies, the French on the left and even from one another as the 1^st division moved westwards at night. Unconfirmed sources report that Douglas Macarthur was erroneously arrested as a German officer. His second error in judgment for which he later apologized was the sending of an unsolicited letter to the Allied Supreme War Council demanding German soldiers to be denied truce and instead “unconditional surrender be the only offer on the table”.(Strachan, p 247)

Summary

America’s success in the conflict is still largely accredited to Pershing even though senior commanders still regarded him as a desk soldier. In his defense, it was more practical for him to command from the rear due to the poor state of communication in the 1^st world war. In his other achievements after the conflict, he created the Pershing Map which was supposed to be a national network of military and civilian highways and it laid the foundation for the Interstate Highway System. He also established the Reserve Officers Association in 1922 to advise congress and the President on matters of national security. John “Black Jack” Pershing died on 15^th July 1948 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery alongside the gravesites of the men he commanded in Europe. (Ferguson, p 370)

Works Cited

Ferguson Niall; The Pity of war, Basic books, new edition, 2000, pp 369-375.

Lacey Jim; Pershing (Great Generals), Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp 192-198.

Smith Gene; Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J Pershing,Wiley, 1^st Edition, 1999, pp 275-277.

Smythe Donald; Pershing: General of the Armies, Indiana University Press; 1st edition, 2007, pp 125-129.

Strachan Hew; The First World War, Penguin (non-classics), 2005, pp 247-250.

Vandiver E Frank; Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J Pershing, Texas A & M University Pr; 1st edition, 2004, pp 69-75.