Quartermaster General of the United States Army

The Quartermaster General of the United States Army is a general officer who is responsible for the Quartermaster Corps, the Quartermaster branch of the U.S. Army. The Quartermaster General does not command Quartermaster units, but is primarily focused on training, doctrine and professional development of Quartermaster soldiers. The Quartermaster General also serves as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School, Fort Lee, Virginia and the traditional Quartermaster Corps. The office of the Quartermaster General was established by resolution of the Continental Congress on 16 June 1775, but the position was not filled until 14 August 1775. Perhaps the most famous Quartermaster General was Nathanael Greene, who was the third Quartermaster General, serving from March 1778 to August 1780. The first Quartermaster General to serve in the U.S. Army was Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania.

Quartermaster General of the United States Army
Incumbent
COL Michelle K. Donahue

since May 29, 2020
FormationJune 16, 1775
First holderMG Thomas Mifflin
WebsiteOfficial website

History

18th Century

The position of Quartermaster General originated in the Continental Army, under order of Congress. On 16 June 1775, 2 days after the birth of the Army, Congress ordered the creation of both a Quartermaster General and a Deputy Quartermaster General. During this period Quartermaster Generals would be act like chiefs of staff for the commanders of the Continental Army, acting as the prime supplier and businessmen for dealing with civilians, operated and repaired supply lines, which included the roads which they traveled upon, was responsible for transporting troops and furnished all the supplies needed to establish camps when the troops got there.[1]

Upon the establishment of the position, Congress authorized George Washington to appoint the first Quartermaster General. He picked a man from amongst his aides-de-camp, Maj. Thomas Mifflin. Mifflin, an experienced merchant from Philadelphia, proved to be a prime choice, being reappointed several times to the position. They eventually promoted Mifflin to a Colonel in order to retain him in his position.[2]

19th Century

Fifteen officers held the office of quartermaster general in the United States Army in the nineteenth century. The first, John Wilkins Jr., was a major general. Two colonels, James Mullany and George Gibson, jointly held the office between April 29, 1816 and April 14, 1818. On May 8, 1818 Thomas Jessup became the Quartermaster General, and he remained in the position until 1860. As a combat veteran, Jessup understood the importance of support to front line soldiers and instituted many enduring practices and policies. Because of his reforms, historians often call Jessup the "father of the Quartermaster Corps". From 1860 to the end of the century, the quartermaster general office was held by officers who served in the American Civil War.

Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston held the position from June 28, 1860 until his resignation on April 22, 1861. Johnston was appointed a full general in the Confederate States Army on August 31, 1861. Adhering to the ideology of states' rights, quartermasters of each Confederate state exercised considerable autonomy from their national quartermaster general. Within their jurisdictions, these Confederate officers exercised powers equivalent to the Union quartermaster general. Georgia quartermaster general Ira Roe Foster is, perhaps, the best example of a Confederate quartermaster exercising considerable power over both production and supply within his state. Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs succeeded Johnston on May 15, 1861. Meigs was born in Augusta, Georgia but his family was from Philadelphia and he adhered to the Union during the Civil War. Meigs served throughout the war and retired on February 6, 1882. Contemporaries such as U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and many historians have given Meigs's work in keeping the Union Army adequately and timely supplied considerable credit for the Union victory.

From February 13, 1882 to February 23, 1882 Daniel H. Rucker was quartermaster general, an appointment intended to honor his many years of military service. At the end of his brief tenure, Rucker retired. Rufus Ingalls, a brevet brigadier general and quartermaster for all Union Army forces during the Siege of Petersburg succeeded Rucker. Ingalls also had a brief tenure in office, serving between February 23, 1883 and July 1, 1883, when he also retired. Samuel B. Holabird, who was chief quartermaster of the Union Department of the Gulf during much of the Civil War, succeeded Ingalls and served from July 1, 1883 to June 16, 1890. Richard Napoleon Batchelder, quartermaster for II Corps of the Union Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor, succeeded Holabird. He held the office between June 26, 1890 and July 27, 1896.

Another brevet brigadier general who had served as quartermaster for II Corps, Charles G. Sawtelle, succeeded Batchelder. He served between August 19, 1896 and February 16, 1897. George H. Weeks, who served as quartermaster with the III Corps of the Union Army, held the office between February 6, 1897 and his retirement on February 3, 1898.

The last quartermaster general of the 19th century was Marshall I. Ludington, who assumed the office on February 3, 1898, three months before the Spanish–American War. Ludington had served as a division quartermaster for the Army of the Potomac. He was criticized for the general unpreparedness of the U.S. Army for the Spanish–American War but he had inherited the general state of unpreparedness of the army, which had been given meager funds and kept small during the long period of relative peace that followed the Civil War. Ludington succeeded in improving the supply situation of the U.S. Army to an adequate state in a matter of months after the start of the war. He was promoted to major general on April 12, 1903, and retired the next day.

20th Century

Quartermaster General Maj Gen Gregory discusses Army nurses' clothing with Lt. Alice Montgomery, Lt. Josephine Etz, and Lt. Leophile Bouchard, of Walter Reed Hospital. The Quartermaster General is responsible for supplying all branches of the Army.

On July 30, 1999, Major General Hawthorne L. Proctor was named the 46th Quartermaster General. He was the first African-American to hold the position.[3]

21st Century

Colonel Gwen Bingham became the Army's first female Quartermaster General when she assumed command of the Quartermaster Corps from Brigadier General Jesse Cross on November 23, 2010.[4] Bingham was promoted to brigadier general in April 2011.[5]

List of Army Quartermaster Generals

NamePhotoTerm beganTerm ended
1.MG Thomas MifflinAugust 14, 1775May 16, 1776
2.COL Stephen MoylanJune 5, 1776September 27, 1776
1.MG Thomas MifflinOctober 1, 1776November 17, 1777
3.MG Nathanael GreeneMarch 2, 1778August 5, 1780
4.COL Timothy PickeringAugust 5, 1780July 25, 1785
5.Samuel HodgdonMarch 4, 1791April 19, 1792
6.James O'HaraApril 19, 1792May 1, 1796
7.MG John Wilkins, Jr.June 1, 1796June 1, 1802
8.BG Morgan LewisApril 3, 1812March 2, 1813
9.BG Robert Swartwout March 21, 1813June 5, 1816
10.COL James MullanyApril 29, 1816April 14, 1818
11.COL George GibsonApril 29, 1816April 14, 1818
12.BG Thomas S. JesupMay 8, 1818June 10, 1860
13.BG Joseph E. JohnstonJune 20, 1860April 22, 1861
14.BG Montgomery C. MeigsMay 15, 1861February 6, 1882
15.BG Daniel H. RuckerFebruary 13, 1882February 23, 1882
16.BG Rufus IngallsFebruary 23, 1882July 1, 1883
17.BG Samuel B. HolabirdJuly 1, 1883June 16, 1890
18.BG Richard BatchelderJune 26, 1890July 27, 1896
19.BG Charles G. SawtelleAugust 19, 1896February 16, 1897
20.BG George H. WeeksFebruary 16, 1897February 3, 1898
21.BG Marshall I. LudingtonFebruary 3, 1898April 12, 1903
22.BG Charles F. HumphreyApril 12, 1903July 1, 1907
23.MG James B. AleshireJuly 1, 1907September 12, 1916
24.MG Henry G. SharpeSeptember 16, 1916July 21, 1918
25.MG Harry Lovejoy RogersJuly 22, 1918August 27, 1922
26.MG William H. HartAugust 28, 1922January 2, 1926
27.MG B. Frank CheathamJanuary 3, 1926January 17, 1930
28.MG John L. DeWittFebruary 3, 1930February 3, 1934
29.MG Louis H. BashFebruary 3, 1934March 31, 1936
30.MG Henry GibbinsApril 1, 1936March 31, 1940
31.LTG Edmund B. GregoryApril 1, 1940January 31, 1946
32.MG Thomas B. LarkinFebruary 1, 1946March 21, 1949
33.MG Herman FeldmanMarch 21, 1949September 28, 1951
34.MG George A. HorkanOctober 5, 1951January 31, 1954
35.MG Kester L. HastingsFebruary 5, 1954March 31, 1957
36.MG Andrew T. McNamaraJune 12, 1957June 12, 1961
37.MG Webster AndersonJune 12, 1961July 31, 1962
38.MG Harry L. Dukes, Jr.July 15, 1981March 29, 1984
39.MG Eugene L. Stillions, Jr.March 29, 1984June 4, 1987
40.MG William T. McLeanJune 15, 1987July 14, 1989
41.MG Paul J. VanderploogJuly 14, 1989June 3, 1991
42.BG John J. CusickJuly 24, 1991August 3, 1993
43.MG Robert K. GuestAugust 3, 1993June 21, 1996
44.MG Henry T. GlissonJune 21, 1996June 10, 1997
45.MG James M. WrightJune 10, 1997July 30, 1999
46.MG Hawthorne L. ProctorJuly 30, 1999July 11, 2001
47.MG Terry E. JuskowiakJuly 11, 2001May 16, 2003
48.BG Scott G. WestMay 16, 2003August 11, 2005
49.BG Mark A. BelliniAugust 11, 2005October 26, 2007
50.BG Jesse R. CrossOctober 26, 2007November 22, 2010[6]
51.BG Gwen BinghamNovember 22, 2010August 30, 2012
52.BG John E. O'Neil IVJune 14, 2013June 9, 2014
53.BG Ronald KirklinJune 9, 2014June 10, 2016
54.BG Rodney D. FoggJune 10, 2016June 12, 2018
55.BG Douglas M. McBride JrJune 12, 2018May 29, 2020[7]
56.COL Michelle K. DonahueMay 29, 2020Present

See also


References

  1. Risch 30
  2. Risch 30-31
  3. "Notable Alumni: Hawthorne "Peet" Proctor '77." Notable Alumni. Alumni Association. Central Michigan University, no date, accessed 2013-06-16; "Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Hawthorne L. 'Peet' Proctor Joins Turn Key Office Solutions." Press release. Turn Key Office Solutions. March 6, 2006.
  4. Perry, Amy. "Lee Welcomes First Female Quartermaster General." Army.mil. November 24, 2010. Accessed 2013-06-16.
  5. Slayton, Jeremy. "Bingham to Receive Promotion to Brigadier General." Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 22, 2011. Accessed 2013-06-16.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-23. Retrieved 2008-10-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) List of Quartermaster Generals of the United States Army
  7. Bell, Terrance (June 2, 2020). "Col. Michelle Donahue becomes 56th Quartermaster General". U.S. Army. Retrieved 2020-11-22.

Sources

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