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 ...

John Eugene McMahon (December 8, 1860 – January 28, 1920) was a

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 ...

officer who served in numerous conflicts, most notably in

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 ...

, where he commanded the 5th Division. He also was the father of John E. McMahon Jr. (1890-1971), a career Army officer who attained the rank of

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 ...

Early life

McMahon was born on December 8, 1860, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, to Colonel John E. McMahon and Esther Bryan McMahon. He graduated from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1880 with an A.B. degree, and he entered 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 ...

(USMA) at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, and graduated number eleven of seventy-seven in the class of 1886. Several of his fellow classmates included men who would, like McMahon himself, eventually rise to

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

rank, such as

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

Charles T. Menoher Major General Charles Thomas Menoher (March 20, 1862 – August 11, 1930) was a U.S. Army general, first Chief of the United States Army Air Service from 1918 to 1921, and commanded the U.S. Army Hawaiian Department from 1924 to 1925. Early life ...

Walter Henry Gordon Major General Walter Henry Gordon (June 24, 1863 – April 26, 1924) was a decorated officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Philippine–American War, he is most noted for his service as commanding general (CG) of the 6th Division, ...

Edward Mann Lewis Major General Edward Mann Lewis, KCMG, (December 10, 1863 – July 27, 1949) was a highly decorated United States Army officer who served his nation for 46 years. During the First World War, he led the 30th Infantry Division when they broke the Hi ...

Mason Patrick Mason Mathews Patrick (December 13, 1863 – January 29, 1942) was a general officer in the United States Army who led the United States Army Air Service during and after World War I and became the first Chief of the Army Air Corps when it was c ...

Julius Penn Julius A. Penn (February 19, 1865 - May 13, 1934) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of brigadier general during World War I, and commanded 170th Infantry Brigade, 85th Division and 76th Infantry Brigade, 3 ...

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George B. Duncan Major General George Brand Duncan (October 10, 1861 – March 15, 1950) was a United States Army officer who served in numerous conflicts, most notably World War I, where he commanded the 82nd Division, now the 82nd Airborne Division. Military ...

Ernest Hinds Ernest Hinds (August 18, 1864 - June 17, 1941) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, and World War I, he attained the rank of major general and was notable for his ser ...

William H. Hay William Henry Hay (July 16, 1860 – December 17, 1946) was a United States Army officer who attained the rank of Major general (United States), major general as the commander of the 28th Infantry Division (United States), 28th Division in the fi ...

James McRae James McRae (born 27 June 1987) is an Australian former representative rower. He is a national champion, world champion, three time Olympian, Olympic medallist and record holder. In the Australian men's quad scull he won a silver medal at the ...

Lucien Grant Berry Lucien Grant Berry, Sr. (November 29, 1863 – December 31, 1937) was a brigadier general in the United States Army who served in three wars. Early life He was born on November 29, 1863 in Caton, New York to Samuel Spicer Berry and Olive El ...

and

Jesse McI. Carter Jesse McIlvane Carter (April 12, 1863 – June 23, 1930) was a United States Army Major general (United States), Major General who served as Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Chief of the Militia Bureau. Early life Jesse McI. Carter was born ...

Military career

McMahon was commissioned in the Fourth Artillery. From 1891 to 1895, he was an aide to General

Alexander McDowell McCook Alexander McDowell McCook (April 22, 1831June 12, 1903) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. Early life McCook was born in Columbiana County, Ohio. A Scottish family, the McCooks were prominent i ...

. During 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 ...

, he was the adjutant general of Second Brigade, Provisional Division, from June to July 1898. He was in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

in 1898 and 1899, and served 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 ...

. He served in the Spanish-American War and was promoted again, this time to captain, in May 1898, and was also made an assistant adjutant general. That same year saw him graduate from the Artillery School. In July 1899 he became a major in the 31st Infantry and, following the end of the

which he briefly participated in, McMahon was mustered out in June 1901, after having been made a captain of Artillery in January of that year. In January 1907 he was promoted to a major of Artillery before being assigned to the newly created Field Artillery Branch. While serving on the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

from 1911 to 1914 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in May 1911, before being made a colonel in June 1916. In late August 1917, almost five months 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 ...

, McMahon was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and was assigned to command the 167th Field Artillery Brigade, part of the 92nd Division, at

Camp Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He was in command of the brigade until December when he took command of the newly activated

5th Division In military terms, 5th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *5th Division (Australia) * 5th Division (People's Republic of China) *5th Division (Colombia) *Finnish 5th Division (Continuation War) *5th Light Cavalry Division (France) *5th Moto ...

, then being formed and organized at

Camp Logan Camp Logan was a World War I-era army training camp in Houston, Texas named after U.S. Senator and Civil War General John A. Logan. The site of the camp is now primarily occupied by Memorial Park where it borders the Crestwood neighborhood, n ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As a result of his new command he received another promotion, this time to the temporary rank of major general, in February 1918. Under his direction, the division, created from

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

units stationed around the United States, began to depart for service overseas with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

(AEF) in France, with the first units stepping foot in France in March. In order to ready itself for combat against the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

, the division began training in the

Anould Anould (; german: Alhausen) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. See also * Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 507 communes of the Vosges department of France. The commune ...

and Saint-Dié sectors, near the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

. When this was concluded it then took part in the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against ...

in mid-September 1918. With the battle over, the division rested for a while before being called upon to take part in the

Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along th ...

, where McMahon was relieved of his command of the 5th Division in mid-October, with the division by now badly disorganised and suffering from low morale. Major General

Hanson Edward Ely Major General Hanson Edward Ely (November 23, 1867 – April 28, 1958) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in several conflicts, including the Spanish–American War and World War I, and he receive ...

took his place. He was then very briefly assigned to command the 41st Division. He retired as a colonel due to disabilities in 1919 and he died the following year. His rank of major general was restored posthumously in 1930.

Personal life

He married Caroline Bache on May 12, 1888 and was a modern languages instructor at the

from 1890 to 1891. He died in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, at the age of 59 on January 28, 1920. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in

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, ...

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, John E. 1860 births 1920 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel Military personnel from New York City United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army generals of World War I American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army generals United States Military Academy faculty Military personnel from Buffalo, New York Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Fordham University alumni