George Oscar Cress (18 September 1862 – 8 May 1954) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

military officer. He mostly served in various departmental and staff capacities and also taught as a professor of Military Science and Tactics.

Early life and education

Cress was born on 18 September 1862 in

Warsaw, Illinois Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,793 in 2000. The city is notable for its historic downtown and the Warsaw Brewery, which operated for more than 100 years be ...

to George and Mary Cress. In 1884, he graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, where he was a classmate of generals DeRosey C. Cabell and

William L. Sibert Major General William Luther Sibert (October 12, 1860 – October 16, 1935) was a senior United States Army officer who commanded the 1st Division on the Western Front during World War I. Early life and education Sibert was born in Gadsden, A ...

, as well as

Isaac Newton Lewis Isaac Newton Lewis (October 12, 1858 – November 9, 1931) was a United States Army officer and the inventor of the Lewis gun. Lewis was born in New Salem, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1884 and was commis ...

, the inventor of the Lewis gun. Later in 1911, he graduated from the Army War College.

Military career

After graduating from the USMA, Cress was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry and from 1884 to 1889 served on the U.S. frontier. After his frontier duty, Cress was a professor of military science and tactics at Knox College in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

from 1889 to 1893. In 1891, he was transferred to the 4th Cavalry and, after his tenure as professor, was stationed at Fort Walla Walla in Washington state until 1897. Cress was then sent to

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

from 1897 to 1898, where he served in various commanding duties including as Quartermaster and Commissary and later as Acting Superintendent; after leaving Yellowstone, Cress was promoted to captain in 1899. Cress later served with the cavalry in the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

from 1899 to 1900 under the ill-fated General Henry Lawton. His distinction while in command of Troop G, 4th Cavalry earned him the nickname "Tiger of Luzon". After the Philippines, Cress acted as Constructing Quartermaster at the Cavalry School in

Fort Riley, Kansas Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gear ...

. He then returned to teaching Military Science and Tactics, this time at the

Michigan Military Academy The Michigan Military Academy, also known as M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by J. Sumner Rogers and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy. Some journalists hav ...

in Orchard Lake from 1904 to 1908. Cress later participated in the

Mexican Punitive 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 ...

as a member of General John J. Pershing's staff. He was also part of the Inspector General's Department from 1916 until in 1918, when the U.S. entered

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 ...

. Cress then organized the 49th Field Artillery Brigade and was promoted to brigadier general of the National Army on 1 October 1918, serving at that rank until 1 March 1919. After the war, Cress was in charge of militia affairs in the Southern Department and later became the commander of Columbus Barracks on 6 October 1919. He retired in September 1926 at the rank of colonel upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64. Cress was advanced to brigadier general on the retired list in June 1930.

Personal life and death

Cress was married to Donna Scott Dean (30 October 1859 – 27 March 1957) on 26 May 1886. They had one son, Major General James B. Cress, who was a 1914 West Point graduate, and one daughter, Cornelia Van Ness Cress (20 November 1894 – 30 July 1979), who served as a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

nurse during World War I and then operated a horse riding school from 1928 to 1954 at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Cress died at the

Oak Knoll Naval Hospital Naval Hospital Oakland, also known as Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, was a U.S. naval hospital located in Oakland, California that opened during World War II (1942) and closed in 1996 as part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure program. The site ...

in Oakland on 8 May 1954. He was interred at

San Francisco National Cemetery San Francisco National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with Golden Gate National Cemetery, a few miles south of the ci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cress, George Oscar 1862 births 1954 deaths People from Warsaw, Illinois United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Illinois Knox College (Illinois) faculty American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery