My Life before the World War, 1860–1917

A Memoir

John J. Pershing, John T. Greenwood

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780813141978
• eBook ISBN: 9780813141985
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Few American military figures are more revered than General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (1860–1948), who is most famous for leading the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The only soldier besides George Washington to be promoted to the highest rank in the U.S. Army (General of the Armies), Pershing was a mentor to the generation of generals who led America's forces during the Second World War. Though Pershing published a two-volume memoir, My Experiences in the World War, and has been the subject of numerous biographies, few know that he spent many years drafting a memoir of his experiences prior to the First World War. In My Life Before the World War, 1860–1917, John T. Greenwood rescues this vital resource from obscurity, making Pershing's valuable insights into key events in history widely available for the first time. Pershing performed frontier duty against the Apaches and Sioux from 1886–1891, fought in Cuba in 1898, served three tours of duty in the Philippines, and was an observer with the Japanese Army in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. He also commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition to capture Pancho Villa in 1916–1917. My Life Before the World War provides a rich personal account of events, people, and places as told by an observer at the center of the action. Carefully edited and annotated, this memoir is a significant contribution to our understanding of a legendary American soldier and the historic events in which he participated.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Maps and Illustrations
• Editor’s Note
• Introduction
• 1. Ancestry and Boyhood
• 2. Youth—Its Happy Days and Others
• 3. West Point—Its Grind and Its Pleasures: 1881–July 1886
• 4. The Army—With the Sixth Cavalry in New Mexico: September 1886–November 1890
• 5. The Sioux Campaign and Commanding Indian Scouts: November 1890–August 1891
• 6. New Assignments, New Challenges, New Friends: September 1891–April 1898
• 7. The Spanish-American War to the San Juan Heights: April–30 June 1898
• 8. The Spanish-American War—Victory in Cuba and Its Consequences: 1 July–20 August 1898
• 9. The Division of Customs and Insular Affairs and My First Assignment to the Philippines: August 1898–November 1899
• 10. Duty in the Philippines—Manila, Mindanao, and Iligan: November 1899–April 1902
• 11. Dealing with the Hostile Moros around Lake Lanao: April-September 1902
• 12. Military Operations against the Lake Lanao Moros and the Routine of Governing: September-December 1902
• 13. Finishing the Campaign against the Lake Lanao Moros: January-May 1903
• 14. Return to the United States, Duty with the General Staff, and Romance and Marriage: June 1903–January 1905
• 15. Off to See a Modern War as the Military Attaché in Tokyo and Observer with the Imperial Japanese Army: February 1905–December 1906
• 16. Brigade Commander, Fort McKinley, Philippines: January 1907–August 1908
• 17. A Long Journey Home, Taft’s Inauguration, Sick Leave, New Orders, and a Son Arrives: August 1908–October 1909
• 18. My Return to Mindanao: November 1909–December 1913
• 19. Disarming and Taming the Moros: September 1911–June 1913
• 20. The Last Military Governor of the Moro Province: 11 November 1909–14 December 1913
• 21. Diplomatic Missions, Our Return to the United States, and Commanding the Eighth Brigade at the Presidio of San Francisco: June 1911–April 1914
• 22. On the Mexican Border with the Eighth Brigade: April 1914–March 1916
• 23. The Expedition into Mexico: March 1916–February 1917
• Epilogue
• Appendices A-J
• Biographical Appendix
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index