United States Marine Corps General. The Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, he saw service both at home and abroad, but his most significant contribution to the Corps may have been when he successfully defended the Marines before the United StatesCongress to help thwart a plan by a committee commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt to merge the Corps into the Army. He is credited with saving the Marine Corps because of this effort. Born in Utah, Alabama, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1868 to 1870, and was appointed to the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 1871. During the Spanish-American War he was promoted because of his leadership in a successful effort to destroy an enemy water supply near Cuzco, Cuba. In 1899 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and sent to the Philippines were he commanded the First Brigade. In 1903 he was appointed Brigadier General and named the tenth Commandant of the Marine Corps (becoming to date the only Marine Corps commandant to be a West Point graduates). A few months later he led a provisional brigade of Marines to Panama to help squelch an uprising in the region that threatened the construction of the Panama Canal. On May 21, 1908 he was appointed Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps. It was during this time that he battled the ill-fated attempt to redefine the role of the Marines. As Commandant he also oversaw the construction of new Washington, DC Marine barracks whose basic form and design are still used today. He retired in 1910 and died twenty-one years later in Washington DC.
United States Marine Corps General. The Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, he saw service both at home and abroad, but his most significant contribution to the Corps may have been when he successfully defended the Marines before the United StatesCongress to help thwart a plan by a committee commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt to merge the Corps into the Army. He is credited with saving the Marine Corps because of this effort. Born in Utah, Alabama, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1868 to 1870, and was appointed to the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 1871. During the Spanish-American War he was promoted because of his leadership in a successful effort to destroy an enemy water supply near Cuzco, Cuba. In 1899 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and sent to the Philippines were he commanded the First Brigade. In 1903 he was appointed Brigadier General and named the tenth Commandant of the Marine Corps (becoming to date the only Marine Corps commandant to be a West Point graduates). A few months later he led a provisional brigade of Marines to Panama to help squelch an uprising in the region that threatened the construction of the Panama Canal. On May 21, 1908 he was appointed Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps. It was during this time that he battled the ill-fated attempt to redefine the role of the Marines. As Commandant he also oversaw the construction of new Washington, DC Marine barracks whose basic form and design are still used today. He retired in 1910 and died twenty-one years later in Washington DC.
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