Clement Alexander Finley Flagler
Major General, U.S. Army

Clement Alexander Finley Flagler was born on 17 August 1867 in Augusta, GA, the son of Brigadier General Daniel Webster Flagler, for whom Fort Flagler, WA, was named.

Flagler was named for his maternal grandfather, Army Surgeon General Clement Alexander Finley. His full name was Clement Alexander Finley Flagler. Known as Clement Flagler, Clement A.F. Flagler, and C.A.F. Flagler, he grew up in Iowa, where he moved with family in 1871 after his father was assigned as Commander of Rock Island Arsenal at Rock Island, IL.

In 1885, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Griswold College. He later accepted an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy, where he graduated with the Class of 1889. While at West Point, Flagler was nicknamed "Sioux" as a testament to his dark eyes, hair and complexion, his having been raised in Iowa, and his self-professed Native American heritage, and his classmates used it with him for the rest of his life. Flagler was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.

As an Engineer, he specialized in lighthouse and harbor construction and maintenance, served as an Instructor in Civil and Military Engineering at West Point, and was an Engineer Officer at Chickamauga, GA; Charleston, SC; and other locations.

During the Spanish-American War, he was temporarily promoted to Major and assigned to the staff of the U.S. Army commander in Puerto Rico.

Following the Spanish-American War, Flagler continued to carry out Engineer assignments, including serving as Officer in Charge of the Federal Lighthouse District based in Philadelphia, PA, and a posting as Chief Engineering Officer for the Army's Department of the East. Flagler also played a role in choosing the route for enlarging the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal.

In 1914 he graduated from the Army War College. After his War College graduation, Flagler served as Engineer Officer for the District of Columbia Engineer District.

During the Mexican border skirmishes of 1914-16, he served on General Frederick Funston's staff during the Vera Cruz Expedition.

During World War I, Flagler successively commanded the 7th Engineer Regiment, 5th Infantry Division Artillery, III Corps Artillery, and 42nd (Rainbow) Infantry Division, receiving temporary promotion to Major General.

After World War I, he served as Commandant of the Army Engineer School at Camp Humphreys, VA, and then Chief Engineer in Honolulu, HI. In 1921, Flagler was serving as Chief Engineer of the Eastern Division in Baltimore when he died.

Death and Burial

Major General Clement Alexander Finley Flagler died on 7 May 1922 at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.