The Story of General Pershing Part 1

The Story of General Pers.h.i.+ng.

by Everett T.(Everett t.i.tsworth) Tomlinson.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE writer gratefully acknowledges the aid he has received in the preparation of this book. To President Greene and Mr. J. E. Bell of William Jewell College, Missouri, he is under special obligations. Mr.

Bell in order to aid the writer spent several days in Linn County, Missouri, verifying and obtaining facts. To Mr. Herbert Putnam of the Library of Congress, Mr. John Cotton Dana of the Newark, New Jersey, Public Library, and to Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick of the St. Louis Public Library he owes a special debt of grat.i.tude for bibliographies and carefully prepared suggestions as to sources of information. From Cas.h.i.+n's "Under Fire with the 10th U. S. Cavalry," Missouri State Historical Review, Reports of the War Department and other publications, selections and citations have been made and from the facts contained in dispatches from France, particularly the very excellent reports in the New York _Times_ and New York _Sun_, the writer has obtained valuable information. The direct aid of United States Senator Frelinghuysen in obtaining data from the War Department and the suggestion of United States Senator Warren have been most helpful. Replies to questions sent to friends and relatives of the General have a.s.sisted in verifying certain facts and figures. Many who personally knew the great commander in his younger days have very kindly given the writer such help as lay within their power. He gladly recognizes his indebtedness, especially to the following persons: Mr. Charles Spurgeon, Brookfield, Mo.; Judge O.

F. Libby, Bigger, Mo.; H. C. Lomax, Esq., Laclede, Mo.; S. E. Carothers, Waco, Tex.; Mr. Robert S. Huse, Elizabeth, N. J., whose father was the "splendid old Caleb" of the Highland Military Academy; Hon. E. W.

Stephens, Columbia, Mo.; Mrs. Louisa D. Warren, Meadville, Mo., and Mr.

Wesley L. Love, Brookfield, Mo. Major James E. Runcie, Librarian of the United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., and General P. C.

Harris, acting the Adjutant General, have both been exceedingly kind in providing and verifying certain items of information which otherwise it would have been difficult if not impossible to obtain. The writer wishes to thank all these good people who have helped to make even the gathering of data an inspiration. Articles appearing in many current magazines and newspapers have provided interesting items, but the writer has quoted from them only after verification of certain details.

PREFACE

THE purpose of the writer of this little book is merely to tell the story in outline of the career of the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. The modesty of General Pers.h.i.+ng has kept his name out of print to a greater extent than in the case of many of our prominent men. His advancement also came rapidly in these recent years. As a result of these two conditions many of the fellow countrymen of the General are not familiar with the story of his early life or his successful work in the Philippines. This they not only have a right to know, but they ought to know.

The writer has endeavored to tell the story briefly as it has been told him, or as it has been kept in the records of the War Department and elsewhere. The complete biography and the a.n.a.lysis of General Pers.h.i.+ng's personality and military career he leaves to later writers. The simple story of the struggles and achievements of a more or less typically successful American is presented, with the hope that others also may find in the record the inspiration and interest which the writer has found. Sometimes fighting against obstacles that appeared almost insurmountable, struggling to obtain an education in the schools, not faltering when tragic sorrows came, his determination succeeding in military campaigns where previous centuries of fighting had failed--the career of General Pers.h.i.+ng has been a continuous overcoming. Confidence in a great leader is an essential condition of victory and the writer has tried to present facts to show that the trust of the American people in their military leader is well founded.

Some years ago a certain tight-fisted denizen of the United States inquired sneeringly of a young man from his village, who was working his way through college, "What do you expect to make of yourself anyway?"

Instantly came the reply, "A man." Cause and effect, aim and incentive, object and motive alike are all slimmed up in that response. Behind the General is the man whose story the writer has tried to tell just as he has found it.

THE STORY OF GENERAL PERs.h.i.+NG

CHAPTER I

A HISTORIC MOMENT

THE morning of June 13, 1917, was one of the historic mornings in the history of the world. On the landing dock at Boulogne, France, a detachment of French infantry was drawn up in line. The men were clad in the uniform of battle. Their faces confirmed the report that recently they had seen hard service in the trenches--as they had. Not a young soldier was in the lines--they were all middle-aged men, perhaps made older by the fearful experiences through which they recently had pa.s.sed. This morning, however, there was an air of eagerness and expectancy in the expressions on their faces; and the eyes of all, with an intentness that was at once pathetic and tragic, were watching a boat that was drawing near the landing stage.

In the a.s.sembly on the dock an observer would have seen certain of the great men of France. There were Brigadier General Pelletier; Rene Bernard, Under Secretary of State for War; General Dumas; General Dupon, representing General Petain; and the military governor of Boulogne.

Representatives of other nations and forces also were in the midst of the eager throng. There, too, were Sir George Fowke, representing General Sir Douglas Haig; and Captain Boyd, Military Attache of the American War Department. Men, resplendent in their uniforms and decorations, who represented the British and French navies, also were in the a.s.sembly, all as deeply interested as were their military comrades.

The nearby streets were filled with people waiting and subdued, and yet in a state of mind that at any moment would have carried the great a.s.sembly into the wildest enthusiasm.

The cause of the excitement was to be found in a little group of men a.s.sembled on the deck of a steamer that was slowly approaching the dock.

In the center of the group stood a man in the uniform of the United States Army. He was six feet in height, broad shouldered, trim-waisted, muscular and wiry. His hair was gray and his closely cropped mustache was also tinged with gray. His dark eyes were glowing, though every nerve and muscle was under the control of his will--a will that was as strong as his prominent chin and nose indicated. It was the first time in the history of the world that an American soldier was landing in Europe, there to fight for his own country and for the liberty of the world. There is slight cause for wonder that a murmur ran from one to another in the expectant crowd: "Truly here comes a man!" And the man was to be followed by millions, clad in the uniform of the land from which he came.

We may be sure that when this soldier, General John Joseph Pers.h.i.+ng, stepped ash.o.r.e and General Dumas greeted the American in the words, "I salute the United States of America, which has now become united to the United States of Europe," there was a cause for the deep emotion that manifested itself in Pers.h.i.+ng's dark eyes. It was, as he said, "a historic moment." As he greeted the French colors, the detachment of brave men that had recently come from the firing line stood immovable like men of steel, and the American general slowly pa.s.sed down the line, his face alone still betraying his feeling over the deep solemnity of the moment. And what a moment it was! Their dead had not died in vain, their heroic struggle against barbarism, all the sorrows and losses the devoted French people had borne were now focused on the coming of an American general and his staff. For behind him was America, and she was coming too.

And this American general, with his staff of fifty-three officers and one hundred and forty-six men, including privates and civilian attaches, stood before the beholders as the fore-runners of a mighty host which was determined to help clear the world of the German menace to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. General Pers.h.i.+ng, the fifth full general of the United States, is the successor to Was.h.i.+ngton, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. So modest has been his career, so great his reluctance to appear in print, that many, even in his own nation, are not familiar with the deeds he has done. He has not sought promotion, but promotion sought him. Apparently, at times, in far away provinces, he has been banished to obscurity. Seven years pa.s.sed before he was raised from the rank of a second lieutenant to a first lieutenancy, and yet the year 1917 found him in command of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, the first leader of American troops to land with drawn swords on the soil of Europe. The record is marvelous and it is also inspiring. What manner of man is this commander? What is the story of his life? Who were his father and mother? Where did he come from? How did he develop the powers that led one American President to advance him eight hundred and sixty-two points at one time and caused another President to select him as the one man to command the soldiers of the United States in France? What are his qualifications--mental, moral and physical?

This story is an attempt to answer these questions in such a manner that the people of his own land may be able to understand a part at least of the career of the man behind the general. It does not try to a.n.a.lyze critically the military career of General John Joseph Pers.h.i.+ng, nor does it primarily portray the development of the soldier. It is rather a modest recital of the leading events in the life of Pers.h.i.+ng, the man, who became Pers.h.i.+ng, the General.

CHAPTER II

BIRTH AND EARLY HOME

FROM this, the time of our greatest war, we must drop back approximately half a century to the time of our second greatest war. It is noteworthy that General Pers.h.i.+ng, our leader in the war for the world's freedom, was born in the early days in the war for the negroes' freedom.

The future general first saw the light September 13, 1860, in or near the little village of Laclede, Missouri. The lad was "from Missouri" and the current semi-slang expression has certainly been true in his case.

One had to "show him," for he made up his mind, mapped out his own plans and conducted his own studies and investigations. This characteristic has remained with him to this day. The accepted date of his birth and the house in which he was born are still matters of mild dispute among the good people of the little village of Laclede. A friend of his boyhood days says, "He was born in a section house about 3,000 yards from the site of the old depot. The foundation is still there." But the people of Laclede and Meadville, a nearby hamlet, are not a unit in this detail, though all are heartily agreed and proud in their recollection of the lad who since has made the little hamlet famous.

"Grandma" Warren (Mrs. Louisa D.) through her daughter sends the following contribution to this mooted question:

"My mother states that in the spring of 1859, the General's father and mother, then recently married, came to board with her father, Meredith Brown, who resided about two and one-half miles east of Meadville, Mo. My mother, then a widow, was living at the home of her father and was a.s.sociated with the Pers.h.i.+ngs that summer.

"In the fall of the year the Pers.h.i.+ngs moved to a house of their own about a half mile west of the Brown home and this is the place where the General was born. The tract of land on which the house stood is now owned by John Templeman and is the north of Sec. 5, T'wp 57, range 21, Linn Co., Mo. The house in which the General was born was destroyed by fire during the Civil War. Mother was present at the General's birth and dressed him in his first suit.

"From the house where the General was born they moved to what was known as the 'Section House,'--a house built for the section foreman of the railroad. This house was located about two miles west of Meadville on the Hannibal and St. Joseph R. R., now the Burlington.

"During the time from 1859 and a few years later, the senior Pers.h.i.+ng was section foreman on this road. At the last mentioned place of residence the second child was born.

"After a few years' residence at the section house, the family moved to Laclede, Mo., seven miles east of Meadville. At this place the father engaged in mercantile business, continuing in the business for a number of years. My mother visited at the Pers.h.i.+ng home at this place frequently.

After leaving Laclede, mother lost communication with them.

"The citizens of Meadville and vicinity have in the course of construction at the present time a large sign to be erected at the birthplace of the General. My mother is now in her 85th year.

"The place of the General's birth is near a small stream known as Hickory Branch and the community along this stream is known as the Hickory Branch Community. In closing, I wish to pay my respects to the General: John J. Pers.h.i.+ng, the baby, belongs to Hickory Branch. John J. Pers.h.i.+ng, the man, belongs to the world.

"Yours truly, "E. S. WARREN."

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Home of the Pers.h.i.+ngs, Laclede, Missouri.]

It is not strange if seven cities contended with one another for the honor of being the birthplace of Homer that two small villages in Missouri are divided in their claims for a similar honor in the case of the present foremost American soldier. As to the merits of the contest it is impossible to p.r.o.nounce judgment at this time. The General himself has only hearsay evidence of the exact locality of his birth, though there is no question as to its having taken place in Linn County, Missouri, and that his boyhood was pa.s.sed in the village of Laclede.

The General's father, John P. Pers.h.i.+ng, a short time before the birth of his oldest child (the general), came from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and went to work as a section foreman on the Hannibal and St. Joe Railroad. He was a forceful man, of energy and ambition, and it was not long before he was running a general store and at the same time was postmaster of the village. A man now living, who worked for the General's father in both the general store and post office, has this tribute to pay to his one time employer: "He was a very active business man with wonderful energy, strictly honest, never stooped to a dishonest trick; a p.r.o.nounced man in the community; the leading business man. He liked to make money. He lost two fortunes on the Board of Trade, Chicago. He traveled several years out of St. Joseph, probably one of the best paid men. He later left St. Joe for Chicago, where he was traveling salesman for another firm. He made many business ventures--was something of what to-day is called a promoter.

"He was a man of commanding presence. He was a great family man, loved his family devotedly. He was not lax and ruled his household well."

The older Pers.h.i.+ng was insistent that his children should be able to meet the difficulties in life that must be overcome before success can be won. The value of regular habits of appreciation of the things worth while, was his hobby and he taught by example as well as by precept.

Hard work was essential. Therefore hard work must be undertaken and done, and he began early to train his three boys and three girls, who of the nine that were born to him grew to maturity. His creed included the precept that it is well to learn to bear the yoke in one's youth. Every Sunday the Pers.h.i.+ng family were seen on their way to the little Methodist church of which the father and mother were members, Mr.

Pers.h.i.+ng at one time being superintendent of the Sunday School. He is reported also to have been a local preacher. He was one of the founders of his church.

A neighbor writes, "When the Civil War broke out, the elder Pers.h.i.+ng left the railroad and became the regimental sutler of the old 18th Mo.