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Johnson Hagood (United States Army officer)

Major General Johnson Hagood (June 16, 1873 – December 22, 1948) was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1896,[2] was commissioned in the artillery, and served in France in World War I, where he created the Services of Supply. He retired in 1936 after publicly criticizing New Deal funding.[1]

Early military career

During World War I

From left to right: Major General Francis J. Kernan, Major General James W. McAndrew, General John J. Pershing, Major General James Harbord and Brigadier General Johnson Hagood in Tours, France, July 1918.

After World War I

Major General Charles P. Summerall, commanding the 2nd Corps Area, and Brigadier General Johnson Hagood, commanding the 2nd Coast Artillery District, during an anti-aircraft day, May 1925.

Inventions

Among his inventions were the Hagood tripod mount, mortar deflection board, and other apparatus connected with sea-coast defense.

Political controversy

Toward the end of the career, Hagood was embroiled in political controversy when he criticized President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, saying their funding was "stage money". Soon after his comments became public on February 10, 1936, he was relieved from command of the Eighth Corps Area (headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas).[2] Hagood requested a meeting with Roosevelt to explain himself, and was granted three months leave. Hagood's friends in the U.S. Congress pressured Roosevelt to give him a new command, however, and less than half the leave had elapsed before he was given command of the Fifth Corps Area, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.[3] Just one day after assuming command May 1, he asked for and was granted immediate retirement. After one month of leave, he officially left the U.S. Army on May 31, 1936.[4]

Awards

Hagood's decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Commander of the Legion of Honor (French), Commander Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japanese).[5] Hagood also received the Spanish Campaign Medal, Philippine Campaign Medal and World War I Victory Medal.

In 1927, General Hagood was admitted as an hereditary member of the South Carolina Society of the Cincinnati.

Distinguished Service Medal citation

Brigadier General Johnson Hagood, U.S. Army. (General Orders No. 12, War Department, 1919.) As Chief of Staff of the Services of Supply of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, his ability for organization, his energy, and his sound judgement were factors in the efficiency of this important branch. By his marked zeal and aggressiveness he greatly added to the successful administration of the Services of Supply.

Personal life

His homes were in Charleston, S.C., and San Antonio, Texas.[5]

Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest: "The name, peculiar to the South, is pronounced in a southern way. During all the years of my boyhood in South Carolina, I never knew there was anything unusual about it, for I never heard it in any other way than as haig'-wood. The name was originally spelled Haguewood, and is still properly so pronounced."[6]

Hagood was the nephew of Confederate Brigadier General Johnson Hagood who commanded the troops at Fort Wagner during the attack by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and served as Governor of South Carolina from 1880 to 1882.

Hagood died on December 22, 1948.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Memorial – Johnson Hagood 1896". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b "South Carolina Historical Society Recently Processed Manuscripts". The South Carolina Historical Magazine. 107 (3): 259–260. July 2006. JSTOR 27570837 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ "Hagood restored; McCoy comes here", The New York Times. April 14, 1936. Page 1.
  4. ^ "Hagood quits Army after a day's duty", The New York Times. May 5, 1936. Page 1.
  5. ^ a b c Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Pentland Press, Inc. pp. 156–157. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 40298151.
  6. ^ Funk, Charles Earle. What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.

Bibliography