Edwin B. Winans (U.S. Army General)
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Edwin Baruch Winans (October 31, 1869 – December 31, 1947) was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
officer who attained the rank of major general.


Early life

Winans was born in Hamburg, Michigan as the son of Edwin B. Winans, Governor of Michigan. 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 1891, after which he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th Cavalry on June 12, 1891. Among his classmates there were several men who would, like Winans himself, become
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 ...
s in the future, such as
Andrew Hero Jr. Andrew Hero Jr. (December 13, 1868 – February 7, 1942) was a Major general (United States), major general in the United States Army who was prominent for his service as Chief of United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, Coast Artillery. Early l ...
, James F. McIndoe, John W. Heavey, John J. Bradley, LeRoy S. Lyon, John L. Hines, and Hanson E. Ely.


Military service

Winans served in the
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and Texas from 1891 to 1897; was a professor of military science and tactics, Michigan Military Academy, from 1897 to 1898; and served with a regiment in the Philippines from 1899 to 1900. He was with the Punitive Expedition in Mexico in 1916 after graduating from the Mounted Service School. During
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 ...
, Winans commanded the 64th Brigade of the 32d Division, which was then serving in France as part of the
American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
(AEF) from July 1918 onwards. He served with distinction during the war, earning the
Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...
while in command of the brigade, the citation for which reads: On August 23, 1920, Winans took command of the 10th Cavalry at
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and distinguished himself as a leader able to vastly improve a unit while commanding respect, loyalty, and results. The following year, former Third Army commander Major General Joseph T. Dickman, VIII Corps Area Commanding General, commended him for the condition of the 10th Cavalry, and for the excellent morale and esprit of the regiment.
On the whole, I consider the Tenth Cavalry to be as good, and in some respects better, than the Thirteenth Cavalry, which up to this time, was in the best condition of any regiment I had ever inspected.
Colonel Winans was quick to relate the commendation to his troops, saying that the "officers and men are entitled to equal share in the credit, for without their cooperation, such a showing would have been impossible." In 1927 Winans was assigned as
Superintendent of the United States Military Academy The superintendent of the United States Military Academy is the academy's commanding officer. This position is roughly equivalent to the chancellor (education), chancellor or University president, president of an American civilian university. T ...
. Then he was assigned as commander of the Hawaiian Division. Later, he commanded the 8th Corps Area,
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, Texas, until he was assigned the task of reactivation of the Third Army. Winans assumed command of the Third Army on September 15, 1932, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He retired October 31, 1933. After retirement, he served on a
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commission. Major General Winans' awards include the
Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...
"for exceptionally distinguished and meritorious service" during three major offensives;
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and
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
with two palms by the French Government. Winans made his home in
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. He died on December 31, 1947, at Walter Reed Hospital, and was buried in the cemetery at the United States Military Academy on January 3, 1948.


Bibliography

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References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Winans, Edwin B. 1869 births 1947 deaths 19th-century United States Army personnel United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel People from Livingston County, Michigan United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Michigan United States Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) American recipients of the Legion of Honour American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) United States Army generals Superintendents of the United States Military Academy People from Vienna, Virginia Military personnel from Fairfax County, Virginia Burials at West Point Cemetery