John Bradbury Bennet (December 6, 1865 – September 2, 1930) was an American army officer and

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 ...

active 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 ...

Early life

Bennet was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated from 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 ...

number twenty-eight of sixty-five in the class of 1891.

Career

Upon graduation, Bennet was commissioned in the Seventh Infantry which was stationed at

Fort Lupton, Colorado The City of Fort Lupton is a Statutory City located in southern Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 7,955 at the 2020 United States Census. Fort Lupton is a part of the Greeley, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

. During the Spanish–American War, Bennett was aide to General Henry Merriam, and during the

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 ...

, he commanded a company of the 16th Infantry. Later, he was assistant commandant and inspector of the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

under General Henry T. Allen. He organized a school for the constabulary in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. In 1917, he was assistant chief of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, as a lieutenant colonel. He was in command of embarkation at

Camp Merritt, New Jersey Camp Merritt was a military base in Dumont and Cresskill, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, that was activated for use in World War I. It had a capacity for 38,000 transient troops and was one of three camps directly under the contro ...

. In France he commanded the 11th Infantry. On October 1, 1918, Bennett became a brigadier general and commanded a casual officers' detachment and Base Section Number 4 at LeHarve. After the war, Bennet operated the demobilization camp at Camp Meade, Maryland, then served on the

War Department General Staff The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

. He graduated in 1921 from the Army War College and in 1930 from the General Staff School at

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

. In 1925, he retired as a colonel and was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list in 1930.

Awards

Bennet was made an

officer of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

from France.

Death and legacy

John Bradbury Bennet died at the age of sixty-four on September 2, 1930.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. ''Generals in Khaki''. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, 1998. and is buried in

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 ...

in Section: 7, Site: 9025

References

Bibliography

*Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. ''Generals in Khaki''. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press, 1998.

External links

Find A Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, John Bradbury 1865 births 1930 deaths United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni People from New Brunswick, New Jersey United States Army generals of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from New Jersey