Johnson Hagood (general)

Early military career

Garrison service in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and South Carolina from 1896–1901.

Instructor in the department of philosophy, U.S. Military Academy, 1901–04.

Assistant to chief of artillery, Washington, D.C., 1905–07.

Member of the General Staff Corps, 1908.

Aide de camp to Maj. Gen. J.F. Bell, 1908–10.

Assistant to Major General Leonard Wood, re-detailed to General Staff Corps until 1912.

Commander Fort Flagler, Washington, 1912–13.

Overseas service in the Philippines, 1913–15.

Various commands, Coastal Defense, 1915–17.

During World War I

Commander, 7th Regiment, 1st Expeditionary Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps, July 16, 1917.

He arrived in France on Sept. 11, 1917, and fought near Soissons, September to October.

He organized and commanded the advance section Line of Communications, A.E.F.

He served in command Neufchateau, Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, and as Chief of Staff, Line of Communications, Dec. 2. He was assigned to the General Staff, A.E.F., on Jan. 10, 1918.

He served as President of the board that reorganized the A.E.F. staff and created the Services of Supply (S.O.S.). He served as chief of staff S.O.S. until Armistice.

He was in battle sectors along American, French, and British fronts, June–July 1918 and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Oct. 1918.

He was appointed commander 20th C.A. Brigade and was transferred to the 66th F.A. Brigade.

He represented the American Army in replying to address of Marshal Joffre, Paris, May 12, 1918.

On Dec. 31, 1918, he crossed the Rhein River and established headquarters at Hohr, Germany.

Commanded army artillery of Third Army and corps artillery of 3d Corps.

Served in the Army of Occupation until May 16, 1919, when he sailed for the U.S.

After World War I

He was assigned to command 30th Brigade (Ry.), C.A.C., and Camp Eustis, Va., Nov. 24, 1919.

Commanded South Atlantic Coast Artillery District., Nov. 1920 to Sep. 1921.

Commander, Fort Stotsenburg, P.I., Feb. 1, 1922.

Commander, 2d Coast Art., Dist., Ft. Totten, N.Y., August 1924.

Commander, 45th; Corps Area, Oct. 5, 1925 to March 1927.

Commander Philippine Division, April 1927 to June 1929.

Commander, 7th Corps Area August 1929 to October 1933.

Commander, 4th Army Area 1932–33.

Commander, Third Army and 8th Corps Area, 1933–36.

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). 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. 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.

Awards

Hagood's decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Commander of the Légion d'honneur (French), Commander Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japanese).

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.

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 spelt Haguewood, and is still properly so pronounced."

Death and legacy

He died December 22, 1948.