James Anderson Irons (February 21, 1857 – July 20, 1921) was a brigadier general 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 ...

Early life and education

Irons was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 ...

on February 21, 1857, the son of James R. Irons and Sarah (Anderson) Irons. He attended the public schools of Philadelphia and was an 1875 graduate of Central High School. After high school, Irons began attendance at 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 ...

. He graduated in 1879 ranked 49th of 67.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 282

Military career

After graduation from West Point, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 20th Infantry at

Fort Brown Fort Brown (originally Fort Texas) was a military post of the United States Army in Cameron County, Texas, during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Established in 1846, it was the first US Army military ...

, Texas. He performed frontier duty from 1879 to 1883. He graduated from the Infantry and Cavalry School at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, in 1885. This was followed by more frontier duty until 1887. 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 ...

, he participated in the

Battle of El Caney The Battle of El Caney was fought on July 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. 600 Spanish soldiers held for twelve hours, until they ran out of ammunition, against Henry W. Lawton's 5th US Division, made up of 6,899 men. This action temp ...

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill (), also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Span ...

, and the

Siege of Santiago The siege of Santiago, also known as the siege of Santiago de Cuba, was the last major operation of the Spanish–American War on the island of Captaincy General of Cuba, Cuba. Santiago campaign The primary objective of the American Fifth Ar ...

. In 1899, he sailed with his regiment to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. From 1901 to 1902, he was inspector general of the Department of Colorado. From 1903 to 1905, he served on the General Staff. From 1907 to 1910, he served as the military attache to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. From 1914 to 1917, he had a tour of duty in China. In 1917, he returned to Tokyo and was military attache to the Imperial Japanese War Mission. He was promoted to brigadier general with the National Army on August 5, 1917. He commanded the 166th Depot Brigade at Camp Lewis, Washington. In December 1917, he commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade, camp Greene, North Carolina. In February and March 1918, he commanded the Third Infantry Division. Irons retired as a colonel in 1920.

Awards

For his service in Japan, Irons was awarded that country's

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

( Third Class). After his death, Irons was officially cited twice for heroism, once for gallantry while fighting at El Caney on July 1, 1898, and once for bravery while fighting Filipino insurgents in

Cainta Cainta, officially the Municipality of Cainta (, ), is a municipality in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 376,933 people. It is one of the ...

on March 16, 1899. In 1930, the U.S. Congress passed legislation allowing World War I general officers to retire at the highest rank they had held. This law included a provision for officers who had died since the war, and Irons' rank of brigadier general was posthumously restored.

Personal life

Irons married Florence Farrell on June 7, 1888. Florence Farrell's sister Frances was the wife of Brigadier General George Henson Estes.

Death and legacy

Irons died on July 20, 1921, in Sant'Agnello di Sorrento,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, James Anderson 1857 births 1921 deaths Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals United States military attachés Military personnel from Philadelphia 19th-century United States Army personnel American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army Infantry Branch personnel