Henry Jervey (June 5, 1866 – September 30, 1942) was an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

who served as director, Operations Division, General Staff, during

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 ...

. In 1917, he wrote the book ''Warfare of the Future''. At the outbreak of

, Jervey was appointed brigadier general and served both as brigade and division commander. Later, he became assistant to General

Peyton C. March General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplish ...

, chief of staff in Washington. He was promoted to major general and made director, Operations Division, General Staff. He filled this position until September 1, 1921. Jervey was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

of the Army for his services as director of operations, General Staff. He also received foreign decorations from Great Britain, France, Italy and Belgium.

Early life and education

Jervey was born in Dublin, Virginia, June 5, 1866, and was the oldest of the six sons of Dr. Henry Dickson Jervey, originally of Charleston, South Carolina, and Helen Louise Wesson Jervey of Summit Plantation, North Carolina. As a young man, Henry went to the home in Charleston of his uncle, Eugene Postell Jervey. Through his uncle's aid, he attended Charleston High School. Having completed his work at the Charleston school, he entered the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

at Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating in 1884 with the highest academic honors and with the degree of Civil Engineer. He later gained an appointment to 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 ...

in 1884, graduating first in the class of 1888.

Military career

Three years after graduating from USMA, Jervey graduated from the Army Engineering School of Application. Following that, he worked in various civil engineering roles with the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, improving the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

from 1898 to 1899, and managing rivers and harbors on the west coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from 1899 to 1900. From 1901 to 1903, Jervey served in the Philippines during 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 ...

in an undocumented capacity. Afterwards, he was an instructor at USMA from 1903 to 1905. Jervey returned to engineering work in 1905, managing rivers, harbors, and defenses of the Mobile District.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 288 In 1910 he was assigned to river duty in Cincinnati. He returned to instruction in 1915, serving as an instructor at the Army War College. In 1917, after the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

, 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 ...

and assigned to the 66th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit in the 41st Division. Shortly after, he assumed command of the entire division from September 20, 1917, to January 8, 1918. Following that, he did a brief stint as the commandant of the

U.S. Army Engineer School The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that ...

(the former Army Engineering School of Application). In February 1918, he was moved to the War Department General Staff, where he was made director of operations (G-3). This led to his promotion to

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 ...

in October 1918. He was decorated with the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

for his service as director of operations. The citation for the medal reads: Following the end of the war in November 1918, he was reverted to his previous rank of brigadier general and assumed command of the 11th Field Artillery Brigade in Hawaii. Jervey retired from the army on April 10, 1922. During his service, he wrote one book, '' Warfare of the Future'', which was published in 1917, prior to the U.S. entry into

and his promotion to brigadier general. In it, he states that the US would not be likely to send expeditionary forces to another country if drawn into a conflict with a "first-rate" power, a prediction that would be proven false only a few months later. Jervey's major general rank was restored by an Act of Congress in 1930.

Personal life

Jervey was married twice; first to Katharine Erwin of Elkhart, Indiana, on November 14, 1895. Katharine died in 1929. To this marriage was born a son, William Wesson Jervey. Wesson Jervey would go on to graduate the

in 1919 and serve in the United States Army as a colonel in the Signal Corps. Henry's second wife, whom he married on March 19, 1930, was Henrietta Postell Jervey, daughter of Eugene Postell Jervey of Charleston, South Carolina.

Death and legacy

Jervey died on September 30, 1942, in Charleston, South Carolina. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

alongside his first wife and son. After Jervey's death, General

, chief of staff, U.S. Army during the greater part of the first World War, wrote:— ''"Henry Jervey was not only my classmate, but in later years my warm personal friend. When I returned from France in 1918 to become Chief of Staff of the Army, I found him serving on the General Staff. I made many changes in personnel, but Jervey stayed and became more and more valuable. As Chief of Operations, he had work of the most important character to do, and in spite of some physical weakness, he never missed a day,—and the days lasted until 12 o'clock at night, every day including Sunday. He had an unusually good mind, a wonderful devotion to duty, and gave all he had, every day, all day. My classmate friendship warmed into a rare affection for one of the finest characters as well as one of the ablest officers, with whom it was my good fortune to serve. He was so modest he never received the public notice his work deserved, and he passed on respected by all who knew him''." (sig.) Peyton C. March, General.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jervey, Henry Military personnel from Virginia Sewanee: The University of the South alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty 1866 births 1942 deaths American military personnel of the Philippine–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Dublin, Virginia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals United States Army War College faculty