Charles Maxwell Clement (October 28, 1855 – September 9, 1934) was a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...

and

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

officer who attained the rank of major general as commander of the 28th Infantry Division.

Early life

Charles M. Clement was born in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury ( ) is a city and the county seat of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Susquehanna Valley, Sunbury is positioned on the east bank of the Susquehanna River. Sunbury's roots stretch back to the early ...

on October 28, 1855, the son of John Kay Clement and Mary S. (Zeigler) Clement. He was educated at academies in Sunbury and

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a City (New Jersey), city situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the c ...

, afterwards working as a clerk in the Northumberland County

Prothonotary A prothonotary is the "principal clerk of a court," from Late Latin, L.L. ''prothonotarius'' (Wiktionary:circa, c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the Byzantine E ...

's office. He

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

, attained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, and commenced practice in Sunbury in 1878.

Career

Clement was also active in business, including serving as President of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania and attorney for or board of directors member of several utilities and other corporations. A Republican, he served in various local and county party positions, including Chairman of the Northumberland County Republican Committee. He also held local office, including member of Sunbury's City Council, Assistant Burgess, school board member, and City Solicitor. In the 1890s he served as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Military service

Clement was an organizer of the Sunbury Guards, a unit which was incorporated into the National Guard as

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

E, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. Enlisting as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in 1877, he was soon commissioned as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and he commanded the company for several years. In 1896 he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the 12th Infantry. In 1898 he became the regiment's Lieutenant Colonel and second in command. He served in this position when the regiment was mustered into federal service for the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and remained until the regiment was discharged in October, 1898. Remaining in the National Guard after the war, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

as commander of the 12th Infantry. In 1910 he was promoted to brigadier general as commander of Pennsylvania's 3rd Infantry Brigade. Clement was promoted to major general in 1915 and assigned to succeed

Charles B. Dougherty Charles Bowman Dougherty (September 3, 1860 – August 1, 1924) was an officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He attained the rank of major general as commander of the 28th Infantry Division. Early life Charles B. Dougherty was bor ...

as commander of the 28th Infantry Division, then known as the 7th Division. He led the division during its service on the border with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

as part of the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

. At the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Clement was still in command, though he was nearing retirement age. When the 28th Division was called to active duty, Clement traveled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to observe front line combat and obtain information on

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

techniques so that he could incorporate them into the division's training. Clement returned to the United States and trained the 28th Division until shortly before it embarked for France. He retired for medical reasons in late 1917, completing over 40 years of military service.

Awards

When the United States Army created the Spanish War Service and

Mexican Border Service The Mexican Border Service Medal was a U.S. service medal established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918. It was awarded for service on the border between May 9, 1916 and March 24, 1917. Additionally, recipients included those who performed ...

Medals, Clement was designated as the first official recipient of each, in recognition of his status as the longest-tenured National Guard officer eligible for the medals at the time they were authorized.

Retirement, death and burial

Clement was active in the Masons,

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

and other fraternal, civic and veterans organizations. In retirement he wrote several articles and gave many speeches on Pennsylvania history, military history and other topics. He died in Sunbury on September 9, 1934, and was buried in Sunbury's

Pomfret Manor Cemetery Pomfret Manor Cemetery is a cemetery located in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Former members of the United States Congress and U.S. Medal of Honor winners are among the notable interments here. History Incorporated as the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Company o ...

Family

In 1879 Clement married Alice Virginia Withington (1855–1933). They had four sons, John Kay (1880–1971), Martin Withington (1881–1966), Charles Frances (1884–1963) and Theron Ball (1896–1965). John Kay Clement (

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, 1901,

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in chemistry,

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, 1904) was a career Army officer who served in the Spanish–American War, World War I and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and retired as a colonel.

Martin W. Clement Martin Withington Clement (December 5, 1881 – August 30, 1966) was the 11th president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), from 1935 to 1948. Background Clement was born and raised in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Major General C ...

(Trinity College, 1901) was a prominent railroad executive who served as President of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

. He was a veteran of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 12th Regiment. During World War I he was an advisor to the U.S. Railroad Administration, and he performed a similar function for the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

during World War II. Charles F. Clement (Trinity College, 1905,

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

, 1908) was an attorney and business executive who served as President of Philadelphia's Winslow-Knickerbocker Coal Company and attained the rank of colonel as a Pennsylvania National Guard member, including commanding the 28th Infantry Division's Military Police Battalion and serving on the division staff during World War I. Theron B. Clement (Trinity College, 1917) served in the Pennsylvania National Guard and was a captain and assistant quartermaster with the 28th Infantry Division in World War I. He later pursued a business career, and was an executive with the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnat ...

Transcontinental and Western Air Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

Union Switch & Signal Union Switch & Signal (commonly referred to as US&S) was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS (from 2015, Hitachi Rail ...

, and the General Grinding Wheel Corporation.Trinity College Alumni Magazine
Necrology: Theron B. Clement
Fall 1965, page 40

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Charles Maxwell 1855 births 1934 deaths Pennsylvania National Guard personnel 19th-century United States Army personnel People from Sunbury, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania lawyers United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals National Guard (United States) generals American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of World War I 20th-century American railroad executives American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Military personnel from Pennsylvania