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Charles M. Clement

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This article is about the World War I general from Pennsylvania. For the Wisconsin abolitionist politician, see Charles Clement (Wisconsin politician).
Charles Maxwell Clement
Born(1855-10-28)October 28, 1855
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
DiedSeptember 9, 1934(1934-09-09) (aged 78)
Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1877–1917
Rank Major general
UnitPennsylvania Army National Guard
Commands12th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
3rd Brigade, 28th Infantry Division
28th Infantry Division
Battles / warsSpanish–American War
Pancho Villa Expedition
World War I
Awards Spanish War Service Medal (First recipient)
Mexican Border Service Medal (First recipient)
Other workAttorney

Charles Maxwell Clement (October 28, 1855 – September 9, 1934) was a Pennsylvania attorney and Army National Guard officer who attained the rank of major general as commander of the 28th Infantry Division.

Early life

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Charles M. Clement was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania on October 28, 1855, the son of John Kay Clement and Mary S. (Zeigler) Clement.[1] He was educated at academies in Sunbury and Burlington, New Jersey, afterwards working as a clerk in the Northumberland County Prothonotary's office. He read law, attained admission to the bar, and commenced practice in Sunbury in 1878.[2][3]

Career

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Clement was also active in business, including serving as President of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania and attorney for or board of directors member of several utilities and other corporations.[4]

A Republican, he served in various local and county party positions, including Chairman of the Northumberland County Republican Committee. He also held local office, including member of Sunbury's City Council, Assistant Burgess, school board member, and City Solicitor. In the 1890s he served as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth.[5]

Military service

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Clement as commander of the 28th Division at the start of WW I.

Clement was an organizer of the Sunbury Guards, a unit which was incorporated into the National Guard as Company E, 12th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. Enlisting as a Private in 1877, he was soon commissioned as a Captain, and he commanded the company for several years.[6]

In 1896 he was promoted to major of the 12th Infantry. In 1898 he became the regiment's Lieutenant Colonel and second in command. He served in this position when the regiment was mustered into federal service for the Spanish–American War, and remained until the regiment was discharged in October, 1898.[7]

Remaining in the National Guard after the war, he was promoted to colonel as commander of the 12th Infantry.[8]

In 1910 he was promoted to brigadier general as commander of Pennsylvania's 3rd Infantry Brigade.[9]

Clement was promoted to major general in 1915 and assigned to succeed Charles B. Dougherty as commander of the 28th Infantry Division, then known as the 7th Division. He led the division during its service on the border with Mexico as part of the Pancho Villa Expedition.[10]

At the start of World War I Clement was still in command, though he was nearing retirement age. When the 28th Division was called to active duty, Clement traveled to France to observe front line combat and obtain information on trench warfare techniques so that he could incorporate them into the division's training.[11]

Clement returned to the United States and trained the 28th Division until shortly before it embarked for France. He retired for medical reasons in late 1917, completing over 40 years of military service.[12]

Awards

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When the United States Army created the Spanish War Service and Mexican Border Service Medals, Clement was designated as the first official recipient of each, in recognition of his status as the longest-tenured National Guard officer eligible for the medals at the time they were authorized.[13]

Retirement, death and burial

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Clement was active in the Masons, Sons of the American Revolution and other fraternal, civic and veterans organizations. In retirement he wrote several articles and gave many speeches on Pennsylvania history, military history and other topics.[14][15]

He died in Sunbury on September 9, 1934, and was buried in Sunbury's Pomfret Manor Cemetery.[16][17][18][19]

Family

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In 1879 Clement married Alice Virginia Withington (1855–1933). They had four sons, John Kay (1880–1971), Martin Withington (1881–1966), Charles Frances (1884–1963) and Theron Ball (1896–1965).[20][21]

John Kay Clement (Trinity College, 1901, Ph.D. in chemistry, University of Göttingen, 1904) was a career Army officer who served in the Spanish–American War, World War I and World War II, and retired as a colonel.[22][23]

Martin W. Clement (Trinity College, 1901) was a prominent railroad executive who served as President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was a veteran of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 12th Regiment. During World War I he was an advisor to the U.S. Railroad Administration, and he performed a similar function for the War Department during World War II.[24]

Charles F. Clement (Trinity College, 1905, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1908) was an attorney and business executive who served as President of Philadelphia's Winslow-Knickerbocker Coal Company and attained the rank of colonel as a Pennsylvania National Guard member, including commanding the 28th Infantry Division's Military Police Battalion and serving on the division staff during World War I.[25]

Theron B. Clement (Trinity College, 1917) served in the Pennsylvania National Guard and was a captain and assistant quartermaster with the 28th Infantry Division in World War I. He later pursued a business career, and was an executive with the International Mercantile Marine Company, Transcontinental and Western Air, Union Switch & Signal, and the General Grinding Wheel Corporation.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Pentland Press, Inc. p. 76. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 40298151.
  2. ^ Frederic Antes Godcharles, Freemasonry in Northumberland & Snyder Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 2, 1911, page 988
  3. ^ Henry Blaine Davis Jr., Generals in Khaki, 1998, page 76
  4. ^ L. R. Hamersly, Who's who in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries, Volume 2, 1908, page 148
  5. ^ Biographical Publishing Company, Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District of Pennsylvania, 1899, reprinted at US Gen Web.net, retrieved March 7, 2014
  6. ^ J. L. Floyd & Co., Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1911, pages 161–162
  7. ^ States Publications Society, Pennsylvania in the World War, Volume 2, 1921, page 798
  8. ^ Pennsylvania Adjutant General, Annual Report, 1906, page 5
  9. ^ Pennsylvania Adjutant General, Annual Report, 1914, page 434
  10. ^ American Bible Society, Bible Society Record, Volumes 61–62, January 1917, page 9
  11. ^ Journal of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, The Work and Experiences of the United States Engineer Troops in France, Charles M. Clement, February 1918, page 57
  12. ^ United States War Department, Annual Reports of the War Department, Volume 1, 1919, page 1171
  13. ^ Harrisburg Telegraph, Clement Gets Two Medals, June 24, 1919
  14. ^ Scottish Rite, Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction, Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1915, page 482
  15. ^ Sons of the Revolution, New Jersey Society, The Constitution of Sons of the Revolution, and By-laws and Register of the Society in the State of New Jersey, 1906, page 95
  16. ^ Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999, entry for Charles M. Clement, retrieved March 7, 2014
  17. ^ Pennsylvania and New Jersey Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, death entry for General Charles M. Clement, retrieved March 7, 2014
  18. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gen. C. M. Clement Dies of Stroke, September 10, 1934
  19. ^ Gettysburg Times, General Clement Dies on Sunday, September 10, 1934
  20. ^ Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, marriage record for Charles Clement and Alice Withington, retrieved March 7, 2014
  21. ^ Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, death record for Mrs. Alice Virginia Clement, retrieved March 7, 2014
  22. ^ Trinity College, Alumni News magazine, January 1940, page 11
  23. ^ Ravenna (Ohio) Ordnance Plant, ROP magazine: Col. John K. Clement Succeeds Colonel Franklin As Commandant, January 1943, page 15
  24. ^ John N. Ingham, Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, Volume 1, 1983, pages 170–172
  25. ^ Trinity College Alumni Magazine, Necrology: Charles F. Clement, March 1964, page 18
  26. ^ Trinity College Alumni Magazine, Necrology: Theron B. Clement, Fall 1965, page 40
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