Harry Gore Bishop (November 22, 1874 – August 31, 1934) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

artillery general and author. He is most noted for his service as a Chief of Field Artillery branch of the Army between years 1930–1934.

Early life and education

Bishop was born November 22, 1874, in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. Bishop attended 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, graduating with the class of 1897.

Career

In 1916, during the Mexican Revolution, Bishop served on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1917, attempting to fly as a passenger in an airplane from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

Calexico, California Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

, he was forced to land in Mexico and was lost for nine days before being recovered by a search party. On the entry of the United States into

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 ...

, Bishop 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 ...

. Serving in France, he commanded the 159th Field Artillery Brigade and later the 3rd Artillery Brigade. He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

for his service. The citation for his Army DSM reads: Following the conclusion of the war, Bishop was made Chief of the Philippine Department. In 1925, he returned to the United States and commanded the 15th Field Artillery at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...

in Texas. Other appointments included Chief of the Hawaiian Department. While stationed in Hawaii, he commanded the 8th Field Artillery at Schofield Barracks. In 1930, Bishop was promoted to major general and made Chief of Artillery, subordinate only to the

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and ...

, and relocated to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Davis, Henry Blaine. ''Generals in Khaki''. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, 1998.

Family

Bishop's wife was Ella Van Horn Foulois, who had earlier divorced Maj. Gen.

Benjamin Delahauf Foulois Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (December 9, 1879 – April 25, 1967) was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achi ...

, Chief of the Army Air Corps.

Retirement and death

On August 31, 1934, after suffering for a year from painful

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases. In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification ...

, Bishop was notified that he was being retired for disability, with 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 ...

. He returned to his residence on 16th Street in Washington, and shot himself in the head. He was buried at

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 ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

Writings

As a young man, Bishop wrote several short stories, some of which would now be considered

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

. These were: * ''On the Martian Way'', November 1907 in ''The Broadway Magazine''. This story is notable for being one of the earliest to feature an imagined future society in which space travel is commonplace. It was reprinted in

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

(February, 1927) and in ''Star Magazine'' (July, 1931). * ''Congealing the Ice Trust'', December 1907 in ''The New Broadway Magazine'' * ''Mogul'', January 1912 in ''Everybody's Magazine''.Stories, Listed by Author
Later works were purely military in character: * ''Elements of Modern Field Artillery – U.S. Service'' (1914, 2nd ed. 1917) * ''Operation Orders, Field Artillery: A Study in the Technique of Battle Orders'' (1916) * ''Field Artillery: The King of Battles'' (1935)

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Harry Gore 1874 births 1934 suicides United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel People from Grand Rapids, Michigan American science fiction writers American short story writers United States Army generals American military personnel who committed suicide Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Suicides by firearm in Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American male short story writers American male novelists United States Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Michigan