Lytle Brown
Lytle Brown | |
---|---|
Born | November 22, 1872 Nashville, Tennessee |
Died | May 3, 1951 Nashville, Tennessee | (aged 78)
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1898−1936 |
Rank | Major General |
Service number | 0-588 |
Commands | 2d Battalion of Engineers Chief of Engineers Panama Canal Department |
Wars | Spanish–American War Mexican Expedition World War I |
Awards | Distinguished Service Medal, Order of the Bath, Officer of the Legion of Honour |
Lytle Brown (November 22, 1872 – May 3, 1951) was a U.S. Army officer who fought in the Spanish–American War and participated in the Mexican Expedition of 1916. Brown served as Chief of Engineers from 1929 to 1933.
Early life
Born November 22, 1872, in Nashville, Tennessee, Lytle Brown was the son of James Trimble Brown (1842-1878) and Jane Foster Nichol Brown (1845-1916). His father had been a first lieutenant in the Confederate Army and a post-war attorney in Nashville. Lytle Brown was a grandson of Neill S. Brown, an antebellum governor of Tennessee. Brown graduated fourth in the United States Military Academy (West Point) class of 1898 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.[1]
Military career
Brown served with engineer troops in Cuba in 1898 at the Battle of San Juan Hill and the siege of Santiago before being made Engineer of the Department of Northern Luzon in the Philippine Islands in 1900. After completing his tour in the Philippines, he served an instructor at West Point from 1903 to 1907. Brown oversaw river improvement projects in 1908–12 as Louisville District Engineer.[1]
While commanding a battalion of engineers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1911, General Brown made Douglas MacArthur, future General of the Army, his Adjutant. When General MacArthur was Chief of Staff, he placed Brown in charge of the Panama Canal district. Brown commanded the 2d Battalion of Engineers and served as engineer of Pershing's 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico. In 1917, he was promoted to colonel, and then in 1918 to the rank of wartime brigadier. Brown headed the War Plans Division of the War Department General Staff from May 1918 to June 1919,[1] addressing important Army policy issues during and immediately after World War I, and was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
Brown oversaw construction work at the Wilson Dam hydroelectric project in 1919–20. He was assistant commandant of the Army War College and a brigade commander in the Canal Zone before becoming Chief of Engineers, from 1929 to 1933. He concluded his military career as commander of the Panama Canal Department (1935–36). General Brown retired November 30, 1936.[1]
Awards
- Army Distinguished Service Medal[2]
- Order of the Bath[1]
- Officer of the Legion of Honour[1]
In politics
In Huey Long's posthumous book, My First Days in the White House, Brown was to have been his nominee to be Secretary of the Interior.[3]
During his retirement, he was active as a member of the National Capital Planning Commission.[1]
Death and legacy
Brown died in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 3, 1951, at the age of 78.[1] He was buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Pentland Press, Inc. pp. 52–53. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 40298151.
- ^ "Valor awards for Lytle Brown".
- ^ Long, Huey Pierce (2013). My first days in the White House. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9781787200364.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Mount Olivet Cemetery". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
External links
- This article contains public domain text from "Major General Lytle Brown". Portraits and Profiles of Chief Engineers. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2005.
- New York Times, May 4, 1951, p. 27 obituary (PDF)
Bibliography
- Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, North Carolina: Pentland, Press Inc. pp. 52–53. ISBN 1-57197-088-6.
External links
- Media related to Lytle Brown at Wikimedia Commons
- 1872 births
- 1951 deaths
- Military personnel from Tennessee
- United States Army generals
- American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
- United States Military Academy alumni
- People from Nashville, Tennessee
- United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel
- Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)
- United States Army generals of World War I