Campbell King
Major General, U.S. Army

Campbell King was born on 30 August 1871 in Flat Rock, NC.

King's early education included the Charleston High School, followed by the College of Charleston, then graduating from Harvard University. He studied law in Atlanta and by 1897 elected to enlist in the U.S. Army, which he did as a Private.

In 1898 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He served in Cuba as well as the Philippine Islands during the Philippine insurrection. During World War I, he served in France with the First Division taking part in the Montdidier-Noyon Offensive including the capture of Cantigny, the Aisne-Marne Offensive south of Soissons and the St. Mihiel Offensive.

He was temporarily promoted to Brigadier General in October of 1918 and was assigned to the Third Army Corps as Chief of Staff, serving as such during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, on the march to the Rhine after the Armistice and with the Army of Occupation in Luxembourg and Germany.

After WWI, King reverted back to his rank of Major and was sent to the General Staff College as an instructor and then to the War Plans Division of the General Staff. In 1923 he was sent to China to command the 15th U.S. Infantry at Tientsin. King was then promoted to Brigadier General and sent to the Philippines to assume command of the coast defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. Later he became Assistant Chief of Staff in Washington. He was promoted to Major General in 1932 and his last tour of duty was as Commandant of The Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA. Major General King retired in 1933.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Medal

Officer of the Legion of Honor (French)
Croix de Guerre with Palm and Silver Star (French)
Commander of the Order of the Crown (Italy)

Death and Burial

Major General Campbell King died in 1953 in Hendersonville, NC. He is buried at Saint John in the Wilderness Cemetery in Flat Rock, NC.