| Hunter Liggett | |
|---|---|
| March 21, 1857 – December 30, 1935 (aged 78) | |
 Liggett as a brigadier general |
|
| Place of birth | Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Place of death | San Francisco, California |
| Place of burial | San Francisco National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1879–1921 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | 41st Division I Corps First Army Third Army |
| Battles/wars | Indian Wars Spanish-American War Philippine-American War World War I |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Honor (France) |
Hunter Liggett (March 21, 1857– December 30, 1935) was a lieutenant general of the United States Army. His forty-two years of service spanned the period from the Indian campaigns to trench warfare.
Contents |
Biography
Liggett was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. After his graduation from West Point as a second lieutenant in 1879, he was assigned to the Fifth Infantry, where he served in both the Montana and Dakota Territories, as well as Texas and Florida, during which time he reached the rank of first lieutenant in June 1884.
His field service in the American West, the Spanish American War, and the Philippine-American War honed his skills as a troop leader.
In 1907, he assumed command of a battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Leavenworth. From 1909 to 1914, he served as student, faculty member, and president at the Army War College.
Liggett's services in the Philippines included setting up a Staff Ride in 1914 to study possible invasion sites on Luzon. He was assisted in this by his Aide de Camp, Captain George C Marshall. The Staff Ride established that the most likely invasion route would be through the Lingayen Gulf and that this would be all but unstoppable unless the US dramatically increased its Army and Navy forces in the Philippines. In 1941, the Japanese invaded through the Lingayen Gulf, as the US did in turn in 1945.
Success in brigade commands in Texas and in the Philippines led to his selection as commander of the 41st Infantry Division in France in 1917. When his division was disestablished, he took command of I Corps as a temporary lieutenant general.
Under Liggett's leadership, the corps participated in the Second Battle of the Marne and in the reduction of the Saint-Mihiel Salient. In October 1918, as commander of the US First Army, he directed the final phases of the Meuse-Argonne offensive and the pursuit of German forces until the armistice. After commanding the U.S. Third Army also known as the Army of Occupation on the Rhein bridgeheads, Hunter Liggett retired in 1921. Congress promoted him to permanent lieutenant general in 1930. He died in San Francisco, California in 1935 and is interred at the San Francisco National Cemetery.
Decorations
- Distinguished Service Medal, United States
- Legion of Honor, France
- Order of Leopold (Belgium)
- Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Italy
Tributes
Fort Hunter Liggett on California's central coast, as well as the United States Coast Guard's USS Hunter Liggett were named after him. Hunter Liggett Army Airfield, Fort Stewart GA is named in his honor.
References
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First |
I Corps Commander January - October 1918 November 1918 - April 1919 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Joseph T. Dickman |
Third Army Commander April 1919 - July 1919 |
Succeeded by none (unit was inactive) |
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