Pershing, John Joseph (1860–1948)

US general. He served in the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philippines 1899–1903, and Mexico 1916–17. In World War I, he stuck to the principle of using US forces as a coherent formation, and refused to attach regiments or brigades to British or French divisions. He commanded the American Expeditionary Force sent to France 1917–18.

Born in Laclede, Missouri, Pershing graduated from West Point in 1886. His distinguished service as commander of the American Expeditionary Force in France earned him a newly created rank, general of the armies. This rank had been previously held by only four people: George Washington, Ulysses S Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Henry Sheridan. In 1921 Pershing became army chief of staff; he retired in 1924. His memoirs, My Experiences in the World War (1931), earned him the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1932.