John William Kilbreth (February 18, 1876 – July 24, 1958) was an American

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 ...

who served 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 ...

. He received 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 accomplishments as Director of the Department of Firing at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

United States Army Field Artillery School The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develop ...

Early life

John William Kilbreth, often referred to as J. William Kilbreth, was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on February 18, 1876, the son of John William Kilbreth Sr. and Mary (Culbertson) Kilbreth. His family included his father's brother,

James Truesdell Kilbreth James Truesdell Kilbreth (March 12, 1841 – June 23, 1897) was a lawyer, judge and political figure who served as Collector of the Port of New York, an important federal government post in pre- Sixteenth Amendment times,Buenker, John D. 1981"The ...

, an attorney who served as Collector of the Port of New York. He attended the

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2019, its population rose to an estimated 11,027. The village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a p ...

, then began attendance at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. He graduated from Harvard with a

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1898. While in college, Kilbreth was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club.

Start of career

On September 9, 1898, Kilbreth was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

. Assigned to the 4th Artillery Regiment, Kilbreth performed

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 ...

coast artillery duty with Battery M at Fort Delaware,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He served in the Philippines from March 1899 to August 1901, 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 ...

, and was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in May 1901. Kilbreth attended the

U.S. Army Artillery School 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

at Fort Monroe,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

from August 1901 to August 1902. After graduation, he was assigned to the 7th Field Artillery Battery at Fort Riley,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. In August 1903, he was assigned to the 51st Coast Artillery Company with duty at Fort Hamilton,

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in April 1904, and assigned to command the 23rd Coast Artillery Company at Fort McKinley,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. In 1907, Kilbreth was assigned to command Battery F, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, which was stationed at Fort Riley. In 1911, he was assigned to temporary duty as inspector general of National Guard units in the 2nd Inspection District, which included

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In March 1912, Kilbreth was court-martialed, accused of failure to pay three minor debts totaling $22.65 (about $670 in 2022). In addition, he was charged with neglect of duty for allegedly failing to visit units at remote locations beyond the

area. Kilbreth was prosecuted by

John F. Madden John Fitz Madden (March 30, 1870 – May 19, 1946) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the U.S. response to the Garza Revolution, Spanish–American War, United States Military Government in Cuba, Philippine–American W ...

and found guilty of disobeying orders for failing to respond to the Adjutant General of the United States Army's inquiries about the debts, and reduced several places on the captain's seniority list, but was not otherwise punished.

Continued career

In 1912, Kilbreth was assigned to the

Mounted Service School The United States Army Cavalry School was part of a series of training programs and centers for its horse mounted troops or cavalry branch. History In 1838, a Cavalry School of Practice was established at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, which i ...

at Fort Riley, where he was the commander of the Training School for Bakers and Cooks. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Kilbreth was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii with the 9th Artillery. He was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in May, and temporary

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

the following August. From August 1917 to May 1918, Kilbreth was director of the Department of Firing at the

, and he was promoted to temporary

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in February 1918. In May 1918, Kilbreth was assigned to duty in France as chief of operations for

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

Artillery, and he was subsequently assigned as First Army Artillery's chief of staff. In October, he was promoted to temporary

and assigned to command the 55th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit of the 30th Division. He remained in command through the end of the war in November 1918, and in December was assigned to staff duty at the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters. In March 1919, he ended his post-war occupation duty and returned to the United States. Kilbreth received the

to recognize his wartime service. The citation for the medal reads: Kilbreth demobilized at Camp Shelby,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and was assigned to command the post. In May 1919, he was assigned as deputy commandant of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill and returned to his permanent rank of major. In July 1919, he received promotion to permanent lieutenant colonel. From 1920 to 1921, Kilbreth was a student at the General Staff College (now the United States Army Command and General Staff College), and in 1921 he was assigned to staff duty in the office of the Chief of Field Artillery. Kilbreth retired from the Army in 1922.

Retirement and death

On December 15, 1922, Kilbreth married Gertrude O. Barclay (d. 1961), the widow of Julien Stevens Ullman. They had no children, but with her first husband, Mrs. Kilbreth was the mother of three sons and a daughter. In 1930, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

enacted a law permitting World War I general officers to retire at their highest rank, and Kilbreth was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list. Kilbreth died in Southampton, New York on July 24, 1958. He was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

References

United States Army generals 1876 births 1958 deaths Harvard University alumni United States Army generals of World War I United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel Military personnel from Manhattan 19th-century United States Army personnel Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery {{US-military-bio-stub American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War