General John Augustus Hulen
Palacios, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
General John Augustus Hulen Missourian John Augustus Hulen (1871-1957), citizen soldier and railroad executive, came to Texas with his family in the 1870s. He later attended Virginia's Staunton Military Academy and returned to Texas. He joined a militia unit and later served in the Spanish-American War and then in the Philippines. There he earned a Silver Star and a Congressional Citation. In World War I, he earned a French Croix de Guerre and a U.S. Distinguished Service Medal. After the war, he was instrumental in establishing Camp Palacios in 1925, renamed Camp Hulen in 1930 in his honor. In 1935, he retired from service a Lieutenant General, the highest rank in the militia. (2002)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Missouri-born John Augustus Hulen came to Texas as a boy and rose from a militia unit into a long military career, serving in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines, where he earned a Silver Star. In World War I he won a French Croix de Guerre and the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal. He helped establish Camp Palacios in 1925—renamed Camp Hulen in his honor—and retired a lieutenant general in 1935.
Why it matters
Hulen's career traces the American citizen-soldier across the nation's turn-of-the-century overseas wars and the training camps that prepared Texans for global conflict.
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Related people
- · John Augustus Hulen
Related events
- · Spanish-American War
- · World War I
Themes & tags
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