Charles Hedges McKinstry (December 19, 1866 – November 29, 1961) was an engineer and army officer for the United States Military.

Early life and education

McKinstry was born on December 19, 1866, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

and graduated in 1888, number two of forty-four in his class. Among his classmates there were several men who would, like McKinstry himself, eventually attain the rank of

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, such as James W. McAndrew,

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, Henry Jervey,

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, Edward Anderson, William H. Hart, Charles Aloysius Hedekin and William S. Peirce.

Military career

McKinstry was an instructor of engineering in West Point for the Corps of Engineers at the Engineering School of Application from 1891 to 1893. On June 11, 1888, McKinstry made second lieutenant and on July 22, 1888, he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. On October 11, 1892, McKinstry became 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 ...

. Then on July 5, 1898, he became a

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 ...

. After becoming a major, McKinstry went on to be in charge of defensive works and harbors improvements in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

from 1898 to 1900. From 1901 to 1903, he was at the Engineer School in Willets Point, New York, as an instructor, which included instruction in astronomy. McKinstry moved on to Southern California during 1903–1906 to work on fortifications, rivers and harbors. On January 1, 1906, he became a lieutenant colonel. In 1909, McKinstry became

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

in the Philippine Island Division until 1911. On February 27, 1912, he was promoted to brigadier general and then became commander of the 158th Field Artillery Brigade on August 5, 1917. In 1919, McKinstry retired as a

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 ...

Personal life

On January 10, 1920, Lillie Lawrence McKinstry, his wife, died in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. McKinstry regained his rank of brigadier general in June 1930. On November 29, 1961, McKinstry died in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinstry, Charles Hedges 1866 births 1961 deaths United States Military Academy alumni American military engineers United States Army generals United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals of World War I Military personnel from San Francisco United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel 19th-century United States Army personnel