Charles Irving Martin (January 25, 1871 – May 8, 1953) was an American military officer and a lawyer.

Early life

Charles Martin was born to William Martin and Mary Martin in

Ogle County, Illinois Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 51,788. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle ...

in 1871.''Who Was Who in American History - The Military'' (Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who, Inc., 1975) pp. 356

Military career

Martin enlisted as a private in the First Kansas Infantry regiment on August 26, 1890.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. ''Generals in Khaki'', (Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, 1998), pp. 245–246 While he was enlisted, Martin attended and graduated from the Normal School at Fort Scott in 1892. In 1893, Martin was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the same regiment, and promoted to

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 ...

the following year. He was transferred on April 30, 1898, to the 20th U.S. Volunteers, with whom he saw action in the Philippines during 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 ...

.Schrantz, Ward. ''A Machine-Gunner in France: The Memoirs of Ward Schrantz, 35th Division, 1917-1919'' (Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2019), pp. 245 The following year, in 1899, Martin was promoted to major and was transferred to the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Philippines during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. He returned to the United States in 1901, still part of the 20th Kansas, but working as the clerk for

Bourbon County, Kansas Bourbon County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Scott. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 14,360. The county was named after Bourbon County, Kentucky, the former home o ...

district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

, position which he held until 1905. During his time as the Bourbon County clerk, Martin was admitted to the Kansas bar and practiced in Fort Scott,

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

and Wichita. From 1905 to 1909, Martin served as inspector general of the Kansas National Guard as a brigadier general.

First World War

From 1909 to 1917, Martin served as the Adjutant General of Kansas and commanded the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Kansas National Guard as a brigadier general. On August 5, 1917, some time after the United States' entry into

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 ...

, Martin was given command of the 70th Infantry Brigade, 35th Infantry Division, and departed for France with the rest of the division in May 1918, arriving in Liverpool on May 8, 1918.Ferguson, Daren. ''35th Infantry: Trails of the Santa Fe Division'', (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing, 1994), p. 8 In May 1918, Martin served as an observer with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

while the 35th Division was assigned to their reserve lines during the Spring Offensive of 1918. From July to September 1918, Martin and the 70th Brigade manned a quiet portion of the trenches,Ferguson, Daren. ''35th Infantry: Trails of the Santa Fe Division'', (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing, 1994) p. 9 before participating in the Saint-Mihiel offensive, although not directly as the 35th Division did not see action until September 26, 1918. Martin was relieved of command prior to the 70th Infantry Brigade's first action, and was replaced on September 21, 1918, by Colonel Kirby Walker, 139th Infantry Regiment. He was honorably discharged on December 1, 1918.

Inter-War period

Martin was recommissioned in 1921 as the commanding officer of the 69th Infantry Brigade, Kansas National Guard. During this time, Martin continued to practice law and was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar in 1923. In 1932, now a major general, Martin was given command of the 35th Division until his mandatory retirement at the age of 64 in 1935.

Personal life and death

Charles Irving Martin married Lou Ida Ward on November 28, 1894. Together, they had one child, Lillia Mae Markley. Prior to his retirement, Martin worked as the manager of the Veterans Administration facility in

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Leavenworth County, Kansas Leavenworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 81,881. The county ...

, from 1927. He retired from this job in 1941. Martin lived out the rest of his retirement in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he died on May 8, 1953. He is buried at the Leavenworth National Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Charles Irving 1871 births 1953 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War Military personnel from Illinois United States Army generals National Guard (United States) generals United States Army generals of World War I People from Ogle County, Illinois 19th-century United States Army personnel Kansas National Guard personnel