BIOGRAPHY OF
HUGH A. DRUM
Maj. Gen., CO VI
Corp
From Sparta
Civilian Conservation Corps District, Sixth Corps Area, 1937 Annual
Major General Hugh A. Drum
Commanding
General Sixth Corps
Major
General Hugh A. Drum was born at
Philippine Service
At the age of eighteen, General Drum was commissioned a
Second Lieutenant of Infantry, from civil life. Shortly after receiving his
commission he joined the American forces in the Philippine Islands, where he
participated in the Philippine Insurrection campaigns on the
Mexican Service
His service on the Mexican Border and with the Vera Cruz
Expedition began in 1910 and ended in 1917.
During this period of his service, he
attended and graduated as an Honor Student from the Army Command and General
Staff Schools and Colleges and, from 1914 to 1916, was an instructor at these
schools.
During his service on the Mexican Border, he
commanded companies and battalions of the Twenty-third Infantry and was
Assistant Chief of Staff for both General Funston and General Pershing. It was
during this period that he organized the defense of our southern border and
directed the concentration and training of the Regular Army and National Guard.
He was both a Company Commander and
Assistant Chief of Staff for General Funston during the Expedition to Vera
Cruz. His preparation of training and defense plans, together with his special
instructions relative to combat against Mexican forces led to his selection as
an Aide-de-Camp by General Funston.
World
War Service
With the outbreak of the World War,
General Drum was selected, among others, to accompany General Pershing to
From time to time during this period, General
Drum served in the front lines with the British forces in
When General Pershing decided in July,
1918, to form the First American Army, General Drum was appointed its Chief of
Staff, and, under General Pershing’s direct command, proceeded
with the organization and preparation of the Army for independent action.
General Drum was Chief of Staff of the First American Army throughout its
existence, organizing 600,000 men for the battle of St. Mihiel
and 1,200,000 men for the Meuse-Argonne, two of
Service
After the World War
With the termination of the war,
General Drum was detailed as Chief of Staff of the Service of Supply in
Service
in
During his service as Deputy Chief of
Staff, he was actively engaged in the preparation of plans and their execution
for the mobilization and organization of the Civilian Conservation Corps and as
a member of the Joint Army-Navy Board. Immediately following this duty, he
assumed command of the Hawaiian Department. With the active support of the
Administration, he laid out and constructed several
strategic military roads, especially the well known
Summary
of Service
A brief resume of General Drum’s
service portrays an extraordinary career. Having been appointed a Second
Lieutenant at the age of eighteen, if he serves until the statutory age limit,
he will have had forty-six years of commissioned service; longer than that of
any other American officer. He has served successively in all grades from
Second Lieutenant to Major General and in 1937 has been a General Officer for
over seventeen years. With one exception, he will have had more service as a
General Officer than any other officer in the Army. He is the only living
officer who has been a Chief of Staff of an American Army in actual battle. He
has had all branches of the Army under his command.
He has been a leader in the
development of the American thought and teaching in both Tactics and Strategy,
having written many of the first texts used at the Service Schools. His
contribution to the Baker and Drum boards in their study of aviation in the
Citations
and Decorations
Spanish-American War
Philippine Insurrection with a
citation for gallantry in action
Mexican Border Service
Vera Cruz Expedition
Victory Medal with four campaign
bars
Belgian Order of the Crown
Italian Order of the Crown
French Legion de Honneur
French Croix de Guerre with two
palms
U.S. Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
His citation by Marshal Foch, Inter-allied Commander reads:
“Being called upon to act as Chief of
Staff, First Army, at the time the latter was constituted and having been
entrusted at the same time with the study of a series of major operations in
the St. Mihiel region, and between the Argonne and Meuse, he displayed exceptional faculties of tactical
understanding and sound judgment as well as unflinching energy. He shared
greatly in the success of the above operations.”
General Pershing’s citation of him is
as follows:
“Upon him as Chief of Staff of the
First Army devolved the important duty of organizing the headquarters of this
command and of coordinating the detailed staff work in its operations in the
St. Mihiel and Argonne-Meuse
offensives. His tact, zeal and high professional attainments had a marked
influence on the success that attended the operations of the First Army.”
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Submitted by Curator
Curator’s Note – Gen. Hugh Drum is the
namesake of the
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