Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

John Biddle (February 2, 1859 – January 18, 1936) was a career

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer who became superintendent of the United States Military Academy.

Early life

Biddle was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan. His father was William Shepard Biddle (1830–1902) and mother was Susan Dayton Ogden (1831–1878). His Biddle family included many political and military leaders, including grandfather John Biddle (1792–1859) and great-grandfather Charles Biddle (1745–1821). His maternal great-grandfather,

Aaron Ogden Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, United States Senator and the fifth governor of New Jersey. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly ...

, served as

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

. His maternal grandfather, Elias B. D. Ogden, served as

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

. His siblings were Dr. Andrew P. Biddle, First Lieutenant William S. Biddle Jr. and Eliza (Lily) Biddle, wife of Episcopal Bishop G. Mott Williams. Biddle was raised outside the United States until he was a teenager, and he attended schools in Geneva and Heidelberg. He then attended the University of Michigan for a year, where he became a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, but left to attend the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1881, ranked second of 53. His high class ranking earned him a Second lieutenant (United States), second lieutenant's commission in the first choice of most top graduates, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Corps of Engineers.

Military career

The American Army on the Western Front, 1917-1918 Q6077

Biddle was commissioned an engineer. Biddle was in charge of river and harbor work at Nashville, Tennessee from 1891 to 1898. When the Spanish–American War broke out, he became Chief Engineer of Volunteers, serving in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. He was awarded the Silver Star. From 1901 to 1907 he was Engineer-Commissioner in charge of public works in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he was in charge of river and harbor work in San Francisco from 1907 to 1911 and then served as an observer with the Austro-Hungarian Army on the Eastern Front (World War I), Eastern Front from November 1914 to June 1915. He then was in charge of river and harbor improvements in Baltimore, Maryland. Biddle served as the superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point from July 1916 to June 1917. When the United States entered World War I, he commanded a brigade of engineer regiments, then served as acting United States Army Chief of Staff in Washington while Chief of Staff Tasker Bliss was in London. In 1918 he was again sent overseas to take charge of American troops in Great Britain and Ireland.

Death

Biddle died in San Antonio, Texas after a long illness. His nephew William Shepard Biddle III (1900–1981), rose to be major general after commanding the 113th Cavalry Regiment (United States), 113th Cavalry Regiment in World War II, and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (United States), 11th Constabulary Regiment in the German occupation.

Awards and decorations

;United Kingdom *Royal Victorian Order (commander) (1919) *Order of the Bath (knight commander) (1918) ;United States *Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army), Army Distinguished Service Medal *Silver Star The citation for his Army DSM reads:

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, John 1859 births 1936 deaths Military personnel from Detroit Biddle family, John United States Military Academy alumni University of Michigan alumni Superintendents of the United States Military Academy Burials at West Point Cemetery Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army generals of World War I United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)