Samuel Dickerson Rockenbach (27 January 1869 – 16 May 1952) was an American Brigadier General and father of the United States Tank Corps.

Biography

Rockenbach was born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

on January 27, 1869, the son of Frank J. Rockenbach and Jane Nicolson Rockenbach. He attended the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

, where he graduated third in the class of 1889 and was designated a distinguished graduate. In 1898, Rockenbach married Emma Baldwin, who was the daughter of Theodore Anderson Baldwin. Rockenbach was the commander of Kemper Military School and also served in the Missouri Militia. He received a commission in the United States Cavalry in 1891. He served repeatedly with Brigadier General John J. Pershing, including serving as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

during the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

. In 1912, Rockenbach graduated 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 ...

During World War I

In December 1917, eight months after the

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

, he was appointed by Pershing, now the Commander-in-Chief 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) on the Western Front, to command the AEF's Tank Corps. In 1918, Rockenbach organized, trained, equipped, and deployed the first American

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

units to the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an Western Front 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 ...

After World War I

He remained chief of the Tanks Corps until 1920. He directed the tank school at

Fort Meade, Maryland Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,324 at the 2020 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command an ...

until 1924. From 1928 to his retirement in 1933, he commanded the Second Artillery Brigade at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Rockenbach died on May 16, 1952.

Awards

Rockenbach received 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. ...

. The citation for the medal reads: In addition, he was a recipient of the French

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 ...

and Officer of the

Legion of Honor 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

awards, and the Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Legacy

His papers are held by the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockenbach, Samuel 1869 births 1952 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals Military personnel from Lynchburg, Virginia