Portrait of Major General John Pershing of the National Army, ca. 1917

Accession number:
2006.01

Maker:
Clinedinst Portrait Photographers
Washington, D.C.

Historical period:
1917

Miltary branch:

Wars and Conflicts:

Type:
,

Dimensions:
H x W: 20 in. / 17 in.

Acquisition date:
2006

Credit line:
Gift of Lloyd J. Lunceford, In Memory of His Father, Lt. Col. Roy L. Lunceford

Location:
,

Provenance:

From 2006: The Army and Navy Club, gift of Lloyd J. Lunceford, In Memory of His Father, Lt. Col. Roy L. Lunceford (1918-2006), WWII, Korea

Label:

At the start of the United States' involvement in World War I, President Woodrow Wilson selected Pershing as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) after his superior, Frederick Funston, died suddenly from a heart attack in February 1917.

Pershing was officially installed in the position on May 10, 1917 and held the post until 1918. On October 6, 1917, Pershing, then a major general, was promoted to full general in the National Army. He bypassed the three-star rank of lieutenant general and was the first full general since Philip Sheridan in 1888. As AEF commander, Pershing was responsible for the organization, training, and supply of a combined professional and draft Army and National Guard force that eventually grew from 27,000 inexperienced men to two Armies, with a third forming as the war ended, totaling more than two million soldiers.