John Twiggs Myers (January 29, 1871 – April 17, 1952) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

general who was most famous for his service as the American Legation Guard in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

Early life

The son of Marion Twiggs (daughter of General

David E. Twiggs David Emanuel Twiggs (February 14, 1790 – July 15, 1862), born in Georgia, was a career army officer, serving during the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and Mexican–American War. As commander of the U.S. Army's Department of Texas when the ...

) and West Point graduate and U.S. Army Officer, later

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Quartermaster General

Abraham Myers Abraham Myers (also Abram Myers; 14 May 181120 June 1889) was a military officer in the United States and Confederate States Armies. Personal life Abraham Charles Myers (also Abram) was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, on 14 May 1811. Mye ...

, J.T. Myers (known as "Jack" or jokingly, "Handsome Jack," to his friends) was born on January 29, 1871, in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany. He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1892 and was appointed an assistant engineer two years later. In March 1895 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marines Corps. The city of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

was originally named for J.T. Myers' father. In 1896 he became a Hereditary Companion of the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

by right of his father's service in the Mexican War. He was later eligible to become a Veteran Companion in the order by right of his own service in 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 ...

Philippine Insurrection The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

First World War 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 ...

Service in Asia

After studying at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, Myers was sent on active duty at the outbreak of the

. He led a detachment which participated in the

capture of Guam The Capture of Guam was a bloodless engagement between the United States and Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, , to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control. However, the Spanish garri ...

from its Spanish garrison, and sailed with the USS ''Charleston'' to the Philippines, then being attached to the USS ''Baltimore''. 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 led several amphibious landings against Filipino rebels in 1899, gaining recognition for his heroic conduct. He was promoted to captain sometime in 1899. In May 1900, Myers was sent to China aboard the cruiser USS ''Newark'' and put ashore with a detachment of 48 marines (including then Private

Daniel Daly Daniel Joseph Daly (November 11, 1873 – April 27, 1937) was a United States Marine and one of nineteen U.S. servicemen to have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice. He earned his first Medal of Honor during the Boxer Rebellion in 190 ...

) and 3 sailors to guard the US Legation in Peking, just as the

broke out. Myers' Marines occupied a wall defending the Legations, arguably the most vulnerable part of the defensive position, and led an attack (along with Russian and British troops) as part of a ferocious battle on July 3 which dislodged the main Boxer position near the wall. Myers was wounded in the leg by a spear; his attack was claimed by the British Consul, Sir

Claude Maxwell MacDonald Colonel Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald, (12 June 1852 – 10 September 1915) was a British soldier and diplomat, best known for his service in China and Japan. Early life MacDonald was born the son of Mary Ellen MacDonald (''nee'' Dougan) and Ma ...

, as "one of the most successful operations of the siege, as it rendered our position on the wall, which had been precarious, comparatively strong." As a result of his bravery in this action, he was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

major and advanced four numbers in rank. In 1921, Myers would also become one of only 20 living marines to be awarded the USMC

Brevet Medal The Marine Corps Brevet Medal, also known as the Brevet Medal, was a military decoration of the United States Marine Corps; it was created in 1921 as a result of Marine Corps Order Number 26. The decoration was a one-time issuance and retroactivel ...

when that decoration was created. Upon recovering from his wounds, he served as the provost marshal on

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

and was then transferred to the Marine barracks at

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

.''The Savage Wars of Peace'' by

Max Boot Max Alexandrovich Boot (born September 12, 1969) is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He worked as a writer and editor for ''Christian Science Monitor'' and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' in the ...

, Chapter 4, "Red Summer: Boxer Uprising, 1900"

Later services

Myers led the detachment of marines which accompanied the USS ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

'' to

Tangier, Morocco Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the ca ...

, during the

Perdicaris incident The Perdicaris affair, also known as the Perdicaris incident, refers to the kidnapping of Greek-American Ion Hanford Perdicaris (1840–1925) and his stepson, Cromwell Varley, a British subject, by Ahmed al-Raisuni and his bandits on 18 May ...

in 1904. After the incident was concluded, Myers held various other posts, both barracks commands and naval commands, including a time period commanding the Marine attachment of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

. He took part in expeditions to

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

(1912) and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

(1913), and 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 ...

served as the counter-intelligence officer of the Atlantic Fleet. Myers was made inspector general of the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of O ...

in 1921, serving in that post for three years, and from 1925 to 1928 commanded the 1st Marine Brigade, stationed in Haiti. He served various other posts, including, briefly, commander of the Department of the Pacific, before retiring a major general in 1934; after his retirement, in 1942, he was given the rank of lieutenant general. He relocated to Miami, Florida, after his retirement and died in

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

on April 17, 1952.

Fictional portrayals

While not actually portrayed on film, Myers has inspired characters in several films. In the historical epic ''

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, which took place in China from 1899 to 1901. It was produc ...

'',

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

portrayed Marine Major Matt Lewis, commanding the American Legation Guard in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. In ''

The Wind and the Lion ''The Wind and the Lion'' is a 1975 American epic adventure film written and directed by John Milius and starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, and John Huston. Made in Panavision and Metrocolor and produced by Herb Jaffe and Phil Ra ...

'', the fictional Captain Jerome (played by

Steve Kanaly Steven Francis Kanaly (; born March 14, 1946) is an American actor, best known for his role as Ray Krebbs on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas''. Early life and career Kanaly was born in Burbank, California, and grew up in the San Fernando ...

) took on Myers' historical role, commanding the Marines dispatched to Tangier during the Perdicaris incident.

Awards

General Myers' medals and decorations included:

References

: ;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

Arlington National Cemetery Article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, John Twigg United States Marine Corps generals United States Naval Academy alumni 1871 births 1952 deaths American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American people of British-Jewish descent Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American military personnel of the Banana Wars United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Naval War College alumni