Major General William Phillips Biddle (December 15, 1853 – February 24, 1923) was the 11th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.

Biography

Early life

William Phillip Biddle was born on December 15, 1853 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family was a part of the prominent

Biddle family The Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an Old Philadelphian family descended from English immigrants William Biddle (1630–1712) and Sarah Kempe (1634–1709), who arrived in the Province of New Jersey in 1681. Quakers, they had emig ...

. He was educated in private schools in the Philadelphia area, by touring and at the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined the prestigious fraternity Delta Psi AKA

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

as did a number of Biddle family men. Biddle was commissioned 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 ...

in the Marine Corps on 22 June 1875 and after short tours of duty in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia, made the first of his many tours of sea duty on which he passed nearly half of his active service. After three years on and , Biddle again went ashore for duty at Philadelphia and New York. He returned to sea duty on in March 1882, and was promoted to first lieutenant in February 1884. With a break of less than three years at the same stations as his previous shore duty, he again went to sea for three years on . He returned to Philadelphia for duty in February 1891, where 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 February 1894. He resumed sea duty on board in April 1895, and was shortly afterwards transferred to on which he served during the Spanish–American War and participated in the Battle of Manila Bay.

After war

Soon after the close of the war, Captain Biddle returned to Philadelphia for duty but was soon called to join the Fourth Battalion of Marines organized for duty in the Far East. With that battalion he arrived in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in time to take part in the US

China Relief Expedition The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted f ...

to Peking in 1900. After the affairs of 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 ...

had been somewhat adjusted, Capt. Biddle was transferred with his battalion to the First Brigade of Marines, Philippine Islands, where he served a little over two years, and then returned to the United States for duty at Headquarters. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 23 March 1903. In December of that year he was sent to Panama in command of the battalion of Marines on , which arrived in time to participate in affairs when the independence of that country was declared. He returned to the United States soon afterwards and served for short tours of duty in Philadelphia and at Headquarters, Marine Corps. Biddle was promoted to colonel in February 1905 and during the following year, returned to the Philippine Islands where he commanded the First Brigade of Marines for about two years. He reported for duty at Headquarters in May 1908, and was soon afterwards detailed in Philadelphia and sent to Panama to reinforce the troops protecting the construction of the Panama Canal, and for potential duty in Nicaragua. He returned to Headquarters in April 1910, where he continued to serve the remainder of his active duty. During the closing months of Major General Elliott's commandancy, Colonel Biddle acted as Commandant most of the time. Colonel Biddle was chosen as Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 3 February 1911. Colonel Biddle's tour of duty as Commandant was a comparatively quiet, short and uneventful one. He concerned himself primarily with the routine affairs of the Corps. Several minor expeditions took place, including the first intervention in Nicaragua. Under his administration, the Advance Base Force, forerunner of today's Fleet Marine Force, was also established in December 1913. After nearly three years in office, Major General Commandant Biddle applied for retirement on the ground of having completed more than thirty years' service, and he was retired on 24 February 1914. He was recalled for active duty during the World War and served primarily on

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

duty at San Diego, California.

Death

Major General Biddle died in Nice, France, on 24 February 1923 and was buried a month later in Arlington National Cemetery with

full military honors A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

Awards

Dewey Medal The Dewey Medal was a military decoration of the United States Navy which was established by the United States Congress on June 3, 1898. The medal recognizes the leadership of Admiral of the Navy George Dewey, during the Spanish–American War, an ...

* Spanish Campaign Medal * Philippine Campaign Medal * Victory Medal

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, William P. 1853 births 1923 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps Commandants American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Banana Wars William P. Cornell family