Hunter Liggett
Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Born here March 21, 1857. A graduate of West Point, 1879. He held commands in the Philippines, 1899-1901 and 1915-17, and rose to the rank of Lt. Gen in 1918. On Oct. 16, 1918, he succeeded Gen. Pershing as head of the American First Army in Europe. Died, San Francisco, 1935.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
This Reading marker honors a soldier born here in 1857 who rose through the ranks after West Point to command troops in the Philippines and, in the closing weeks of World War I, to lead the American First Army in France. He took over that command from General John J. Pershing in October 1918, guiding it through the war's final offensives on the Western Front. He reached the rank of lieutenant general before his death in 1935.
Why it matters
It marks the birthplace of one of the top American field commanders of World War I, tying a Pennsylvania town to the nation's coming of age as a world military power.
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Related people
- ¡ Hunter Liggett
- ¡ John J. Pershing
Related events
- ¡ World War I
- ¡ American First Army in Europe
Themes & tags
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