Black Jach Pershing
and other notable names



 

Pershing (lower right facing forward) was a First Lt. when stationed at
Fort Assinniboine.



            Another notable name to serve at Fort Assinniboine was Lt. William H. Hart.  Hart was a cavalry officer at Fort Assinniboine before being transferred to the 4th Calvary in Arizona.  He later rose to the rank of Major General and served as the 26th Quartermaster General from 1922-26.


            William Carey Brown served as commanding officer of Troop C, 1st U.S. Cavalry, at Fort Assinniboine from 1890-91.  Brown would later rise to the rank of Brigadier General and serve in Europe during WW I.
            From 1895-1898, Lt. Samuel D. Rockenbach served as the Engineer officer at Fort Assinniboine.  Rockenbach is notable for his role in the establishment of the U.S. Army Tank Corps during WW and his postwar work in the development of tank warfare.  Rockenbach’s letters, papers, and photographs have also been invaluable in documenting the early career of George S. Patton, Jr., who served under him during WW I.  Other correspondents also aided in documenting the lives of John J. Pershing, Leonard Wood, and Douglas MacArthur.
            Perhaps most well known of all officers assigned to Fort Assinniboine was John J. Pershing, a brash young First Lieutenant, who came to the post in 1895.  Pershing already had experienced Indian fighting in Arizona where he had proved himself to be tenacious and a good leader of men.  He also demonstrated a belief in stern discipline while assigned as an instructor at the University of Nebraska.  He probably accepted the assignment as an officer of the 10th Cavalry at Fort Assinniboine because it came with a promotion to First Lieutenant.  It was not uncommon at the time for white officers to refuse assignments commanding Black troops.
            Peacetime made promotions slow and difficult and dispite his ability, Pershing had found it difficult to rise above the rank of Second Leutenant.   Most promotions at that time were based on seniority and patronage.  Senior officers would serve well into their golden years making the entire promotion system was sluggish at best.   While it’s likely Pershing only accepted his assignment at Fort Assinniboine for the rank, the move proved advantagious for two primary reasons -- he impressed visiting dignitary, Major General Nelson Miles, and he laid the foundation for his future nickname “Blackjack.”
             In 1897, Pershing, thanks mostly to the patronage of General Miles, was assigned to teach tactics at West Point.  It was during his tenure there that his students, who didn’t like his strong disciplinary tactics and knew of his former 
            Pershing would eventually serve gallantly in the Philippines and later in Japan and Manchuria before finally being promoted to captain.  Amazingly, Pershing’s outstanding record and proven leadership would eventually get him promoted from the rank of captain directly to Brigadier General.  His promotion, as well as the promotion of several other officers at that time, was partly the result of the efforts of President Theodore Roseavelt to side step the sluggish promotion system after the Spainish-American War. 
            Pershing would eventually rise to command American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during WW I and obtain the unprecedented rank of General of the Armies – a rank he actively held until his death at Walter Reed Hospital on July 15, 1948.