Major General Robert Emmet Callan (March 24, 1874 – November 20, 1936) was a distinguished

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Coast Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

officer who served in the United States and overseas in places such as

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and 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 ...

. He saw frontline action in 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

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 career

Callan was born on March 24, 1874, in

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, but his family moved to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

in 1877. He attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

from 1888 to 1891. Before graduating from this school, he entered the

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at West Point and graduated there, fourth in a class of 73, in June 1896. After graduating from West Point, Callan became a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

of the United States Army. He was a Second Lieutenant in the Fifth U.S. Artillery. He was in camp at Port Tampa, Florida, from May to June 2, 1898. He participated in the Puerto Rican Campaign of the Spanish–American War and was in action at

Hormigueros, Puerto Rico Hormigueros (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 barrios and Hormigueros Pueblo (th ...

on August 10, 1898. He also served in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Callan became a

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 March 2, 1899, while serving in the Fifth U.S. Artillery. Callan was an

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at West Point from 1899 to 1903. He then served in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he met Margaret Valentine Kelly, a senior employee of the United States Mint who had served as acting

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for a time. On October 10, 1912, they were married in her hometown of

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. In 1917, he became

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of the

Philippine Department The Philippine Department (Filipino: ''Kagawaran ng Pilipinas/Hukbong Kagawaran ng Pilipinas'') was a regular United States Army organization whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On 9 April 1942, duri ...

World War I

During World War I, Callan served as a temporary colonel from August 1917 to August 1918 and temporary brigadier general from August 1918 to May 1919. He was on duty in

and was Chief of Staff of the 1st Army Artillery,

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the 33rd Artillery Brigade and participated in the Montdidier-Noyon Defensive and in the Aisne-Marne Offensive. He was awarded 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 his service during World War I. The citation for the medal reads:

Later career

After World War I, Callan reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel. He was soon promoted to colonel in June 1920. After graduating from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

in June 1921, Callan was promoted to brigadier general. He served in

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Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

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before his promotion to major general in April 1931. General Callan was Assistant Chief of Staff in the

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from 1931 to 1935. He commanded the Third Corps Area in Baltimore, Maryland, until retiring at his own request in January 1936 after almost forty years of service.

Death and legacy

General Callan died on November 20, 1936, at his home in Washington, D.C., at age 62. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

three days later.

Awards and honors

In addition to receiving the Distinguished Service Medal, Callan was honored by the military in several other ways.

Camp Callan Camp Callan was a United States Army anti-aircraft artillery replacement training center that was operational during World War II. It was located on the southern West Coast of the United States, in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. ...

, a

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 ...

artillery training center, was named in his honor. He was also memorialized by the

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

. France made him an officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Italy recognized him with the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

References

Additional reading

The Coast Artillery Journal December 1924
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callan, Robert Emmet 1874 births 1936 deaths Military personnel from Baltimore Military personnel from Knoxville, Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 19th-century United States Army personnel