William Voorhees Judson (16 February 1865 – 29 March 1923) was an American Brigadier general, who served as a military aide with the Root Mission to the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

Early life and education

William Voorhees Judson was born to Charles E. Judson and Abby Cady Voorhees Judson in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the February 16, 1865. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for two years before being admitted into 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 ...

, from which he graduated third in his class in 1888.

James W. McAndrew James William McAndrew (June 29, 1862 – April 30, 1922) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and was most notable for his service as chief of staff of the American Expeditionary Forces during Wo ...

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, Edward Anderson,

William Robert Dashiell Brigadier General William Robert Dashiell (3 April 1863 – 16 March 1939) was a United States Army officer. He notably participated in the Philippine–American War and World War I. Early life and education Dashiell was born Mecklenburg Coun ...

William M. Morrow William M. Morrow (September 6, 1866 – July 21, 1944) was an American football player and soldier. He played college football at the University of Michigan in 1885 and 1886 and was the starting quarterback for the 1886 Michigan Wolverines ...

and

Eli Alva Helmick Major General Eli Alva Helmick (September 23, 1863 – January 13, 1945) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in World War I, among other conflicts, and received the Distinguished Service Medal. Mi ...

were among his fellow classmates who would, like Judson himself, ultimately attain

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.

Military career

Following his graduation from USMA, Judson then attended the Army Engineering School of Application, which he graduated from in 1891. Following that, he served as an assistant engineer in various postings; at

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

, on the upper

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, and in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. In July 1899, he was promoted to Chief Engineer and President of the Board of Public Works of Puerto Rico, where he served until August 1900. Following that, Judson served in a variety of engineering capacities until 1917. Notable postings included that as an instructor at the

U.S. Army Engineer School The United States Army Engineer School (USAES) is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It was founded as a School of Engineering by General Headquarters Orders, Valley Forge on 9 June 1778. The U.S. Army Engineer School provides training that ...

, as the Engineer Commissioner for

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, ...

, and as the Assistant Division Engineer for the Atlantic side of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. Judson also was sent as a military observer to the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

from 1904 to 1905, when he returned to the US as a result of the Russian defeat. From 1905 to 1909, he supervised maintenance and improvement of harbors and lighthouses on the western shore of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. In 1909, he was awarded a patent for a buoyant steel-reinforced concrete caisson for use in harbor construction. During this time, he also received an honorary M.A. from Harvard in 1911.''Who Was Who in American History'' – The Military (Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who, Inc., 1975) p. 297 On April 6, 1917, the day of 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, p ...

, Judson returned to Russia as part of Root Mission, headed by

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...

. Following Root's return to the U.S. three months later, Judson remained in Russia as head of the Root Mission itself before being detached as a military attaché to the American embassy in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and chief of the American military mission to Russia until Spring 1918. During this time, he conducted the first face-to-face meeting between a US diplomatic representative and a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

leader when he met with

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

on December 1, 1918. Upon his return, Judson was placed in command of the 38th Infantry Division at

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to s ...

until August 1918. From September to December 1918, Judson commanded the

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

. Judson spent the remainder of his career working as the district engineer in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, retiring in August 1922 due to disabilities.

Personal life

Judson married Alice Carneal Clay in 1891. They had one son, Clay Judson.

Death and legacy

Judson died on March 29, 1923. He is 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 ...

with his wife.Burial Detail: Judson, William V
– ANC Explorer Judson wrote many letters and documents as a military attaché in Petrograd, which are considered to be of historical value. A book, ''Russia in War and Revolution: General William V. Judson's Accounts from Petrograd, 1917–1918'' has been written on the basis of Judson's materials.

References

External links

valor.militarytimes.com

William Voorhees Judson Papers
a
Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judson, William Voorhees 1865 births 1923 deaths People from Indianapolis Harvard University alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Indiana People of the Russo-Japanese War 20th-century American inventors United States Army generals of World War I American military personnel of the Russian Civil War United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States military attachés