William C. Rivers | |
|---|---|
.jpg) National Archives photo of Rivers in October 1927. | |
| Born | (1866-01-11)January 11, 1866 |
| Died | July 10, 1943(1943-07-10) (aged 77) |
| Buried | |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1887–1930 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | 0–168[1] |
| Unit | U.S. Army Cavalry Branch U.S. Army Inspector General Department |
| Commands | Philippine Constabulary 18th Cavalry Regiment 76th Field Artillery Regiment 5th Field Artillery Brigade 12th Cavalry Regiment Sub-District ofNew Mexico 3rd Cavalry Regiment Inspector General of the United States Army |
| Wars | Spanish–American War Philippine–American War World War I |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal Croix de Guerre (France) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relations | Tiemann Newell Horn (brother-in-law) |
William C. Rivers (11 January 1866 – 10 July 1943) was a career officer in theUnited States Army. An 1887 graduate of theUnited States Military Academy at West Point, he was a veteran of theAmerican Indian Wars, theSpanish–American War, thePhilippine–American War, andWorld War I. Rivers served until 1930 and attained the rank ofmajor general. He served asInspector General of the United States Army from 1927 until his retirement and was a recipient of theArmy Distinguished Service Medal and FrenchCroix de Guerre.
A native ofPulaski, Tennessee, Rivers graduated from theUnited States Military Academy (West Point) in 1887 and began his career in theCavalry. Rivers served in the western United States during theAmerican Indian Wars, and in Cuba during theSpanish–American War. During thePhilippine–American War, he served for several years with thePhilippine Constabulary, which he commanded from 1912 to 1914. DuringWorld War I, he commanded a Field Artillery regiment, and later a brigade. After the war, he served asInspector General of the United States Army.
Rivers retired in 1927. He died inFletcher, North Carolina on 10 July 1943. Rivers was buried atArlington National Cemetery.
William Cannon Rivers was born inPulaski, Tennessee on 11 January 1866, a son of William Rivers and Julia (Flournoy) Rivers.[2] Among his siblings wasTyree Rodes Rivers (1862–1923), a career army officer who attained the rank ofbrigadier general.[2] In addition, his sister Myra was the first wife of Brigadier GeneralTiemann Newell Horn.[3] Rivers was raised and educated in Pulaski, and in 1883 he competed for an appointment to theUnited States Military Academy.[4] He finished first of 10 applicants and received the appointment from U.S. RepresentativeJohn Goff Ballentine.[5] He graduated in 1887 ranked 24th of 64 and received his commission as asecond lieutenant ofCavalry.[2]
Many of Rivers's classmates became general officers during the First World War, includingFrank Herman Albright,[6]Marcus Daniel Cronin,[7]Alexander Lucian Dade,[8]James Theodore Dean,[9]Charles S. Farnsworth,[10]George Washington Gatchell,[11]Charles Gerhardt,[8]Herman Hall,[12]Thomas Grafton Hanson,[13]Mark L. Hersey,[14]Ernest Hinds,[15]Michael Joseph Lenihan,[16]Ulysses G. McAlexander,[17]Nathaniel Fish McClure,[18]George Owen Squier,[19]Charles Brewster Wheeler,[20] andEdmund Wittenmyer.[21]
After receiving his commission, Rivers was assigned to the1st Cavalry Regiment, which was serving atCamp Sheridan, Wyoming.[22] In June 1889, the regiment was posted toFort Custer, Montana.[23] During his service in Montana, Rivers took part in theGhost Dance War of 1890–1891.[24]
In October 1891, Rivers was assigned to West Point as assistant quartermaster. In December 1893, he rejoined his regiment in Arizona.[25] In August 1894, he was promoted tofirst lieutenant in the3rd Cavalry Regiment.[25] From 1895 to 1897, he was in charge of operations atFort Apache Indian Reservation, and in November 1897 he was transferred back to the 1st Cavalry.[25] During the April to August 1898Spanish–American War, Rivers served with the 1st Cavalry in Cuba until he became ill at the end of June.[25] After convalescing inTampa, Florida for six weeks, he rejoined the 1st Cavalry during its mid-August demobilization atCamp Wikoff, New York.[25] From September 1898 to January 1899, he performed temporary detached duty inNew York City, after which he rejoined the 1st Cavalry atFort Robinson, Nebraska.[25]
In 1897, Rivers married Mary Dancey Battle.[2] They were the parents of two sons, James B. Rivers and William F. Rivers.[2]
From 1899 to 1903, Rivers was assigned as West Point's adjutant,[26] and he was promoted tocaptain in February 1901.[27] In July 1903, Rivers was assigned toPhilippine–American War duty inManila, where he served in the office of the Military Information Division.[28] In April 1904, he was assigned as adjutant of thePhilippine Constabulary, and in September he was appointed as the constabulary's inspector general.[29] In October 1906, Rivers was appointed assistant chief of thePhilippine Constabulary with the temporary rank ofcolonel, and he served in this post until 1913.[29] He was transferred to the12th Cavalry Regiment in November 1909.[30] In June 1910, he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry, and he was promoted to permanentmajor in March 1911.[29] In May 1912, he was promoted to chief of the constabulary as a temporarybrigadier general, and he served until March 1914.[29]
Upon returning to the United States, Rivers was assigned to thePresidio of Monterey, California as amajor in the 1st Cavalry,[31] and in August he was transferred to the2nd Cavalry atFort Ethan Allen.[32] On 1 July 1916, Rivers was promoted tolieutenant colonel andcolonel.[29] With the army expanding for US entry intoWorld War I, in May 1917 he was assigned to command the newly-organized 18th Cavalry Regiment.[29] Rivers led his regiment during organization at Fort Ethan Allen, then during subsequent training atCamp Shelby, Mississippi andCamp Merritt, New Jersey.[29] When the army determined that Cavalry regiments would not be needed in France, existing Cavalry units were reorganized asField Artillery; the 18th Cavalry became the76th Field Artillery Regiment, which Rivers continued to command.[29]
Rivers led the 76th Field Artillery to France, and they arrived in May 1918.[29] He commanded the regiment until October, when he was promoted to temporarybrigadier general and assigned to command the 5th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit of the5th Division.[29] He remained in command of the brigade until theArmistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war.[29] After the end of hostilities, Rivers remained in command at the start of theOccupation of the Rhineland.[29] He returned to the United States in April 1919, and in August he returned to the permanent rank of colonel.[29] For his wartime service, Rivers was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal and FrenchCroix de Guerre.[29]
Distinguished Service Medal citation:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General William Cannon Rivers, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As Commander of the 76th Field Artillery, 3d Division, Colonel Rivers was a material factor in stemming the tide of the enemy’s advance during the second Battle of the Marne. Subsequently, upon being promoted to the grade of Brigadier General, he displayed marked leadership and high military attainments in command of the 5th Field Artillery Brigade, 5th Division, in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
Service: United States ArmyRank: Brigadier GeneralUnit: 5th Field Artillery BrigadeDivision: 5th Division, American Expeditionary ForcesAction Date: World War IOrders: War Department, General Orders No. 89 (1919)
After his return to the United States, Rivers was assigned to command the12th Cavalry Regiment and the sub-district ofNew Mexico.[29] In March 1920, Rivers was assigned to command the3rd Cavalry atFort Myer, Virginia.[33] In April 1923, Rivers was detailed to duty with theU.S. Army Inspector General Department and assigned as inspector general of theSecond Corps Area, which was based atFort Jay onGovernors Island, New York.[34] In September 1927, Rivers was appointedInspector General of the United States Army and promoted tomajor general.[34] He served in this post until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64 in January 1930.[34]
In retirement, Rivers resided in New York City and spent winters in Florida.[35] In 1933, he wrote aNew York Herald Tribune article in which he opposed a federalanti-lynching law.[36] The article was widely republished, and included Rivers's use of examples from his North Carolina childhood to opposelynching, but defend local control andstates' rights.[36] In 1937, he became head of a national committee that supported passage of theLudlow Amendment, which would have required a national referendum to ratify a congressional declaration of war.[37] In the years leading up toWorld War II, Rivers opposed U.S. military preparations, arguing that American possessions in the Pacific, including thePhilippines andGuam, were too far away from the U.S. mainland to be effectively defended.[38]
Rivers later moved toWarrenton, North Carolina, and his civic and professional memberships included theSons of the Revolution,Huguenot Society of America,Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba, andAmerican Academy of Political and Social Science.[39] He died inFletcher, North Carolina on 10 July 1943, after experiencing a heart attack while traveling in western North Carolina.[40] Rivers was buried atArlington National Cemetery.[41]