Johnson Hagood
Major General, U.S. Army

Johnson Hagood was born on 16 June 1873 in Orangeburg, SC.

Hagood graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1896 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery. He served in France in World War I, where he created the Services of Supply. He retired in 1936 after publicly criticizing New Deal funding.

Career Highlights:

Garrison service in RI, CT, and SC from 1896-1901.

Instructor in the Department of Philosophy, U.S. Military Academy, 1901-04.

Assistant to Chief of Artillery, Washington, DC, 1905-07.

Member of the General Staff Corps, 1908.

Aide-de-Camp to Major General J.F. Bell, 1908-10.

Assistant to Major General Leonard Wood, re-detailed to General Staff Corps until 1912.

Commander Fort Flagler, WA, 1912-13.

Overseas service in the Philippines, 1913-15.

Various commands, Coastal Defense, 1915-17.

Commander, 7th Regiment, 1st Expeditionary Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps, 16 July 1917.

Arrived in France on 11 September 1917, and fought near Soissons, September-October.

Organized and commanded the advance section Line of Communications, A.E.F.

Served in command Neufchateau, 1 November-1 December, and as Chief of Staff, Line of Communications, 2 December. Assigned to the General Staff, A.E.F., on 10 January 1918.

Served as President of the board that reorganized the A.E.F. staff and created the Services of Supply (SOS). Served as Chief of Staff SOS until Armistice.

Represented the American Army in replying to address of Marshal Joffre, Paris, 12 May 1918.

In battle sectors along American, French, and British fronts, June-July 1918 and participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, October 1918.

Appointed Commander 20th C.A. Brigade and was transferred to the 66th F.A. Brigade.

On 31 December 1918, crossed the Rhine River and established headquarters at Hohr, Germany.

Commanded army artillery of Third Army and corps artillery of 3d Corps.

Served in the Army of Occupation until 16 May 1919, when he sailed for the U.S.

Assigned to Command 30th Brigade (Ry.), C.A.C., and Camp Eustis, VA, 24 November 1919.

Commanded South Atlantic Coast Artillery District, November 1920 to September 1921.

Commander, Fort Stotsenburg, P.I., 1 February 1922.

Commander, 2d Coast Art., Dist., Ft. Totten, NY, August 1924.

Commander, 45th; Corps Area, 5 October 1925 to March 1927.

Commander Philippine Division, April 1927 to June 1929.

Commander, 7th Corps Area August 1929 to October 1933.

Commander, 4th Army Area 1932-33.

Commander, Third Army and 8th Corps Area, 1933-36.

Among his inventions were the Hagood tripod mount, mortar deflection board, and other apparatus connected with sea-coast defense.

Toward the end of his Army career, Hagood was embroiled in political controversy when he criticized President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, saying their funding was "stage money." Soon after his comments became public on 10 February 1936, he was relieved from Command of the Eighth Corps Area (headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, TX). Hagood requested a meeting with Roosevelt to explain himself, and was granted three months leave. Hagood's friends in the U.S. Congress pressured Roosevelt to give him a new command, however, and less than half the leave had elapsed before he was given Command of the Fifth Corps Area, headquartered in Chicago, IL. Just one day after assuming command on 1 May, he asked for and was granted immediate retirement. After one month of leave, he officially left the U.S. Army on 31 May 1936.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Medal
Commander of the Légion d'honneur (French)
Commander Order of the Crown of Italy
Grand Officer Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japanese)

Name Pronunciation

Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest: "The name, peculiar to the South, is pronounced in a southern way. During all the years of my boyhood in South Carolina, I never knew there was anything unusual about it, for I never heard it in any other way than as haig'-wood. The name was originally spelt Haguewood, and is still properly so pronounced."

Death and Burial

Major General Johnson Hagood died on 22 December 1948. He is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, SC