Charles Maxwell Clement (October 28, 1855 – September 9, 1934) was a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

attorney and

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

officer who attained the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

as commander of the 28th Infantry Division.

Early life

Charles M. Clement was born in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...

on October 28, 1855, the son of John Kay Clement and Mary S. (Zeigler) Clement. He was educated at academies in Sunbury and

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

, afterwards working as a clerk in the Northumberland County

Prothonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

's office. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

, attained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, and commenced practice in Sunbury in 1878.

Career

Clement was also active in business, including serving as President of the

Central Railroad of Pennsylvania The Central Railroad of Pennsylvania was an attempt by the Central Railroad of New Jersey to avoid certain New Jersey taxes on their Pennsylvania lines. The attempt to reduce New Jersey Corporate taxes failed, and CRP operations were merged ba ...

and attorney for or board of directors member of several utilities and other corporations. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served in various local and county party positions, including Chairman of the Northumberland County Republican Committee. He also held local office, including member of Sunbury's City Council, Assistant Burgess, school board member, and City Solicitor. In the 1890s he served as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Military service

Clement was an organizer of the Sunbury Guards, a unit which was incorporated into the National Guard as

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

E, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

. Enlisting as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in 1877, he was soon commissioned as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and he commanded the company for several years. In 1896 he was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 12th Infantry. In 1898 he became the regiment's

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and second in command. He served in this position when the regiment was mustered into federal service for the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and remained until the regiment was discharged in October, 1898. Remaining in the National Guard after the war, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

as commander of the 12th Infantry. In 1910 he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

as commander of Pennsylvania’s 3rd Infantry Brigade. Clement was promoted to

in 1915 and assigned to succeed Charles B. Dougherty as commander of the 28th Infantry Division, then known as the 7th Division. He led the division during its service on the border with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as part of the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. At the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Clement was still in command, though he was nearing retirement age. When the 28th Division was called to active duty, Clement traveled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to observe front line combat and obtain information on

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

techniques so that he could incorporate them into the division's training. Clement returned to the United States and trained the 28th Division until shortly before it embarked for France. He retired for medical reasons in late 1917, completing over 40 years of military service.

Awards

When the United States Army created the Spanish War Service and

Mexican Border Service The Mexican Border Service Medal was a U.S. service medal established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918. It was awarded for service between May 9, 1916 and March 24, 1917, or with the Mexican Border Patrol between January 1, 1916 to April ...

Medals, Clement was designated as the first official recipient of each, in recognition of his status as the longest-tenured National Guard officer eligible for the medals at the time they were authorized.

Retirement, death and burial

Clement was active in the Masons,

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

and other fraternal, civic and veterans organizations. In retirement he wrote several articles and gave many speeches on Pennsylvania history, military history and other topics. He died in Sunbury on September 9, 1934, and was buried in Sunbury’s Pomfret Manor Cemetery.

Family

In 1879 Clement married Alice Virginia Withington (1855–1933). They had four sons, John Kay (1880-1971), Martin Withington (1881–1966), Charles Frances (1884–1963) and Theron Ball (1896–1965). John Kay Clement (

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, 1901,

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in chemistry,

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, 1904) was a career Army officer who served in the Spanish–American War, World War I and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and retired as a colonel.

Martin W. Clement Martin Withington Clement (December 5, 1881 – August 30, 1966) was the 11th President of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), from 1935 to 1948. Background Clement was born and raised in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Major General Ch ...

(Trinity College, 1901) was a prominent railroad executive who served as President of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. He was a veteran of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 12th Regiment. During World War I he was an advisor to the U.S. Railroad Administration, and he performed a similar function for the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

during World War II. Charles F. Clement (Trinity College, 1905,

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

, 1908) was an attorney and business executive who served as President of philadelphia's Winslow-Knickerbocker Coal Company and attained the rank of colonel as a Pennsylvania National Guard member, including commanding the 28th Infantry Division’s Military Police Battalion and serving on the division staff during World War I. Theron B. Clement (Trinity College, 1917) served in the Pennsylvania National Guard and was a captain and assistant quartermaster with the 28th Infantry Division in World War I. He later pursued a business career, and was an executive with the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

Transcontinental and Western Air Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

Union Switch & Signal Union Switch & Signal (commonly referred to as US&S) was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS (from 2015, Hitachi Rail ...

, and the General Grinding Wheel Corporation.Trinity College Alumni Magazine
Necrology: Theron B. Clement
Fall 1965, page 40

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Charles Maxwell 1855 births 1934 deaths People from Sunbury, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans Pennsylvania lawyers United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals National Guard (United States) generals American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of World War I Burials in Pennsylvania 20th-century American railroad executives American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Military personnel from Pennsylvania