John Philip Wisser (July 19, 1852 – January 20, 1927) was a

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 ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Biography

He was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and graduated from Central High School of St. Louis in 1870. In 1874, 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

. Receiving an assignment to the 1st Artillery, he served on garrison duty in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

until May 1876, when he was ordered to the U. S. Artillery School at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

. After 1878, he was connected almost continuously with the academic staff of instructors at the U. S. Military Academy, chiefly in the department of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. On 13 January 1880, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant. During 1884, he studied at the

Freiberg, Saxony Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...

, school of mines, and at the agricultural experiment station at

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 ...

. He was requested to investigate and report upon the system of instruction at the military schools of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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, and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and to attend and report upon the maneuvers of the 17th Corps of the French army in 1884. Lieut. Wisser was aide-de-camp to Gen.

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...

during the Chinese troubles in Washington territory in 1886, but in August of that year he returned to the U. S. Military Academy. He was a member of the Chemical Society of Berlin and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was the

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...

of the Hawaiian Department of the

from November 6, 1915 to May 12, 1916 and again from September 14, 1917 to May 19, 1918. He died on January 20, 1927.

Publications

* ''Chemical Manipulations'' (Fort Monroe, 1883) * ''Short Historical Sketch of Gunpowder'' (New York, 1883) * ''Compressed Gun-Cotton for Military Use'' (1886) * ''Report on the Manœuvres of the 17th Corps of the Army of France'' (Vancouver Barracks, W. T., 1886) * ''Practical Instruction in Minor Tactics and Strategy'' (New York, 1888) * ''Report on the Military Schools of Europe: I., Austria'' (1889)
The tactics of coast defense
(1902)
A military and naval dictionary
with Henry Colford Gauss (1905)

Legacy

*Wisser Road at

Fort Shafter Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, F ...

References

External links

Publication list
at

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisser, John Philip 1852 births 1927 deaths Military personnel from St. Louis Writers from St. Louis United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery