Major General Johnson Hagood (June 16, 1873 – December 22, 1948) was born in Orangeburg,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1896, was commissioned in the artillery, and served in France in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he created the

Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...

. He retired in 1936 after publicly criticizing

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

funding.

Early military career

* Garrison service in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and South Carolina from 1896 to 1901. * Instructor in the department of philosophy, U.S. Military Academy, 1901–04. * Assistant to chief of artillery, Washington, D.C., 1905–07. * Member of the General Staff Corps, 1908. * Aide de camp to Maj. Gen. J.F. Bell, 1908–10. * Assistant to Major General Leonard Wood, re-detailed to General Staff Corps until 1912. * Commander Fort Flagler, Washington, 1912–13. * Overseas service in the Philippines, 1913–15. * Various commands, Coastal Defense, 1915–17.

During World War I

* Commander, 7th Regiment, 1st Expeditionary Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps, July 16, 1917. * He arrived in France on Sept. 11, 1917, and fought near Soissons, September to October. * He organized and commanded the advance section Line of Communications, A.E.F. * He served in command Neufchateau, Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, and as chief of staff, Line of Communications, Dec. 2. He was assigned to the General Staff, A.E.F., on Jan. 10, 1918. * He served as President of the board that reorganized the A.E.F. staff and created the Services of Supply (S.O.S.). He served as chief of staff S.O.S. until Armistice. * He was in battle sectors along American, French, and British fronts, June–July 1918 and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Oct. 1918. * He was appointed commander 20th C.A. Brigade and was transferred to the 66th F.A. Brigade. * He represented the American Army in replying to address of Marshal Joffre, Paris, May 12, 1918. * On Dec. 31, 1918, he crossed the Rhein River and established headquarters at Hohr, Germany. * Commanded army artillery of Third Army and corps artillery of 3d Corps. * Served in the Army of Occupation until May 16, 1919, when he sailed for the U.S.

After World War I

* He was assigned to command 30th Brigade (Ry.), C.A.C., and Camp Eustis, Va., Nov. 24, 1919. * Commanded South Atlantic Coast Artillery District., Nov. 1920 to Sep. 1921. * Commander,

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS), 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 2 ...

, P.I., Feb. 1, 1922. * Commander, 2d Coast Art., Dist., Ft. Totten, N.Y., August 1924. * Commander, 4th Corps Area, Oct. 5, 1925 to March 1927. * Commander Philippine Division, April 1927 to June 1929. * Commander,

Seventh Corps Area The Seventh Corps Area was a Corps area, effectively a military district, of the United States Army active from 1920 to 1941. It initially was responsible for army forces in Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri (but not Jefferson Barracks), North Dakota, S ...

August 1929 to October 1933. * Commander, 4th Army Area 1932–33. * Commander, Third Army and 8th Corps Area, 1933–36.

Inventions

Among his inventions were the Hagood tripod mount, mortar deflection board, and other apparatus connected with sea-coast defense.

Political controversy

Toward the end of the career, Hagood was embroiled in political controversy when he criticized President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, saying its funding was "stage money". Soon after his comments became public on February 10, 1936, he was relieved from command of the Eighth Corps Area (headquartered at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

, Texas). Hagood requested a meeting with Roosevelt to explain himself, and was granted three months leave. Hagood's friends in the U.S. Congress pressured Roosevelt to give him a new command, however, and less than half the leave had elapsed before he was given command of the Fifth Corps Area, headquartered in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Just one day after assuming command May 1, he asked for and was granted immediate retirement. After one month of leave, he officially left the U.S. Army on May 31, 1936.

Awards

Hagood's decorations include the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

, Commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

(French), Commander

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

, Grand Officer

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(Japanese). Hagood also received the

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish ...

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 and 1913. Although a single service medal, the Philippin ...

and World War I Victory Medal. In 1927, General Hagood was admitted as an hereditary member of the South Carolina

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

Distinguished Service Medal citation

Personal life

His homes were in Charleston, S.C., and San Antonio, Texas. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current Opinion''. ...

'': "The name, peculiar to the South, is pronounced in a southern way. During all the years of my boyhood in South Carolina, I never knew there was anything unusual about it, for I never heard it in any other way than as ''haig'-wood''. The name was originally spelled ''Haguewood'', and is still properly so pronounced." Hagood was the nephew of Confederate Brigadier General

Johnson Hagood Johnson Hagood may refer to: *Johnson Hagood (governor) (1828–1898), American Civil War soldier and Governor of South Carolina, 1880–1882 * Johnson Hagood (1873–1948), American World War I general See also *Johnson Hagood Stadium Johnson ...

who commanded the troops at

Fort Wagner Fort Wagner or Battery Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston Harbor. Named for deceased Lt. Col. Thomas M. Wagner, it was the site of two American Civil War ba ...

during the attack by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and served as

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

from 1880 to 1882. Hagood held a romanticized view of the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

South, claiming that his family recovered "after Sherman's March through their plantations, all without one penny of outside help." Hagood was a staunch defender of white supremacy and segregation, claiming that they were a primary law of nature and necessary for preserving the United States. However, he rejected

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, saying that

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

"are a very fine people, and what would we have done without them?" He claimed that antisemitism was motivated purely by the economic success of Jews. Ironically, his praise of Jews still mentioned the concept of race; Hagood admired Jews for having maintained "their race pride, their prejudice against other races and survived," and thus remaining "true to their blood and their faith." Hagood died on December 22, 1948.

References

Bibliography

* Association of Graduates, ''U.S.M.A. Register of Graduates and Former Cadets''. Cullum no. 3691. * Hagood, Johnson. ''The Services of Supply: A Memory of the Great War'', 1927. * "R.O.T.C. – Key to National Defense". CavJrnl 40 (Sep–Oct 1931) p. 5. * ''We Can Defend America'', 1937 * ''Soldiers Handbook'', 1946 * ''Meet Your Grandfather'', 1946 * "Closing the Gap in National Defense". ''Saturday Evening Post'' * "I Had a Talk with the President". ''Saturday Evening Post'' * United States. ''American Decorations''. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1927. p. 711. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagood, Johnson 1873 births 1948 deaths American segregationists 19th-century United States Army personnel United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure United States Army generals Military personnel from South Carolina United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals of World War I Neo-Confederates