Pershing House facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pershing House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Pershing House Fort Sam Houston
Pershing House Location in Texas Show map of Texas Pershing House Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Staff Post Rd., Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas  United States
Architect	Alfred Giles
Part of	Fort Sam Houston (ID75001950)
NRHP reference No.	74002058
Added to NRHP	July 30, 1974

The Pershing House is a historic building located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1974. Even though the house was built in 1881, it got its current name because John J. Pershing lived there in 1917.

The house was designed by architect Alfred Giles. It is a large, two-story home, about 10,830 square feet (1,000 square meters) in size. Over the years, the house has been updated. It now has electricity and air conditioning. The front porch has been enclosed, and the plumbing has been improved.

A Home for Army Leaders

At one time, Fort Sam Houston was the biggest Army base in the United States. Many important Army leaders lived in Pershing House. These leaders were some of the most successful in the United States Army. Many of them had even received the Medal of Honor, which is a very special award for bravery. Almost half of the base commanders who lived here are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

General Pershing's Stay

John J. Pershing moved to Fort Sam Houston from Fort Bliss. He had just finished helping with the Pancho Villa Expedition. He only stayed at Fort Sam Houston for two months. After that, he was given command of the American forces in Europe during World War I. Pershing reached the highest rank ever given to an American army officer. He also helped create the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.

Remembering the Residents

A special plaque at Fort Sam Houston lists the names of all the important commanders who have lived in Pershing House. This plaque was given to the fort by Julia Cotton White. She was the wife of General Isaac D. White, who was also a base commander. The plaque is still updated today to keep a record of everyone who has lived in this historic home.

Commanders of Pershing House

Many famous and important military leaders have lived in Pershing House. Here is a list of some of the commanders who called this house home:

Fort Sam Houston commandants who lived at Pershing House

Years Lived Here	Name	Image	Born–Died	Burial Place	Key Facts
1881–83	Brigadier General Christopher C. Augur		(1821–1898)	Arlington National Cemetery	Veteran of the American Civil War.
1883	Brigadier General Ranald S. Mackenzie		(1840–1899)	West Point Cemetery	Fought in the Red River War.
1883–84	Lieutenant General John M. Schofield		(1831–1906)	Arlington National Cemetery	Received the Medal of Honor. Later served as U.S. Secretary of War.
1884–1892	Brigadier General David S. Stanley		(1828–1902)	United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery	Received the Medal of Honor.
1892–95	Major General Frank Wheaton		(1833–1903)	Arlington National Cemetery	Veteran of the American Civil War.
1895–97	Major General Zenas R. Bliss		(1835–1900)	Arlington National Cemetery	Received the Medal of Honor.
1897–98	Major General William Montrose Graham, Jr.		(1834–1916)	Congressional Cemetery	American Civil War veteran and nephew of George Meade.
1899–1901	Brigadier General Chambers McKibbin		(1841–1918)	Arlington National Cemetery	American Civil War veteran.
1902–1904	Brigadier General Frederick Dent Grant		(1850–1912)	West Point	Veteran of the Spanish–American War.
1904–1906	Brigadier General Jesse M. Lee				Served in the Philippines.
1906–1907	Brigadier General William S. McCaskey		(1843–1914)	San Francisco National Cemetery	Informed George Armstrong Custer's widow about the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
1907–1910	Brigadier General Albert L. Myer
1910–1911	Brigadier General Ralph W. Hoyt
1911–1912	Brigadier General Joseph Wilson Duncan		(1853–1912)	Arlington National Cemetery	Participated in the capture of Mount Dajo, Philippine Islands.
1913–1915	General Tasker H. Bliss		(1853–1930)	Arlington National Cemetery	U.S. Army Chief of Staff.
1915–1917	Major General Frederick Funston		(1865–1917)	San Francisco National Cemetery	Received the Medal of Honor.
1917	General of the Armies of the United States John J. Pershing		(1860–1948)	Arlington National Cemetery	Highest rank ever given to an American army officer.
1917	Major General James Parker		(1854–1934)	Saint Marys Episcopal Churchyard	Received the Medal of Honor.
1917–1918	Major General John Wilson Ruckman		(1858–1921)	West Point	Received the Distinguished Service Medal for service in World War I.
1918	Major General Willard Ames Holbrook		(1860–1932)	Arlington National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal.
1918–1919	Major General DeRosey Carroll Cabell, Sr.		(1861–1924)	San Francisco National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal.
1919–1921	Major General Joseph T. Dickman		(1857–1927)	Arlington National Cemetery	Many awards; a ship was named after him.
1921–1922	Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army John L. Hines		(1868–1968)	Arlington National Cemetery	Featured on a U.S. postage stamp.
1922–1924	Major General Edward Mann Lewis		(1863–1949)	San Francisco National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal.
1924, 1925–1928	Major General Ernest J. Hinds		(1864–1941)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	A ship was named after him.
1924–1925	General Charles Pelot Summerall		(1867–1955)	Arlington National Cemetery	Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
1928	Major General Thomas Quinton Donaldson, Jr.		(1864–1934)	Arlington National Cemetery	Served as Inspector General.
1928–1930	Major General William Lassiter				Received the Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star.
1930–1933	Major General Ernest B. Winans		(1869–1947)		Received the Distinguished Service Medal for World War I.
1933–1934	Major General Johnson Hagood		(1873–1948)	Magnolia Cemetery	World War I veteran.
1936	Major General Frank Parker		(1872–1947)		Commander of the 8th Corps Area.
1936–1940	Lieutenant General Herbert Jay Brees		(1877–1958)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star.
1941–1942	General Walter Krueger		(1881–1967)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commander in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.
1942–1943	General Courtney Hodges		(1887–1966)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commander in Northwest Europe during World War II.
1944	General William Hood Simpson		(1898–1990)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commander in northern Europe during World War II.
1944–1945	General John P. Lucas		(1890–1949)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commander during the Italian Campaign of World War II.
1945	Lieutenant General Alexander Patch		(1889–1945)	West Point Cemetery	Commanded forces during the Guadalcanal Campaign and Operation Dragoon.
1946–1947	General Jonathan M. Wainwright		(1883–1953)	Arlington National Cemetery	Received the Medal of Honor.
1947–1949	4-star General Thomas T. Handy		(1892–1982)	Arlington National Cemetery	Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army.
1949–1952	General LeRoy Lutes		(1890–1980)	Arlington National Cemetery	Served on Dwight D. Eisenhower's General Staff.
1952–1953	General William M. Hoge		(1894–1979)	Arlington National Cemetery	Directed the building of the ALCAN Highway.
1953	General John E. Dahlquist		(1896–1975)	Arlington National Cemetery	World War I division commander.
1953–1955	General Isaac D. White		(1901–1990)	Unknown	Commander, U.S. Army Pacific.
1955–1958	Lieutenant General John Howell Collier		(1899–1980)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Commander of 2nd Armored Division units in World War II.
1958–1959	General Guy S. Meloy, Jr.		(1903–1964)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commander of all U.S. forces in Korea during the Cold War.
1959–1961	Lieutenant General Edward Thomas Williams		(1901–1973)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Chief of artillery for the Third United States Army in Europe during World War II.
1961–1962	Lieutenant General Donald Prentice Booth		(1902–1993)	Arlington National Cemetery	Commanding General of Fourth Army.
1962–64	Lieutenant General Carl H. Jark		(1905–1984)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal.
1964–66	Lieutenant General Robert Wesley Colglazier, Jr.		(1904–1993)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Received multiple Distinguished Service Medals.
1966–1967	Lieutenant General Thomas W. Dunn		(1908–1983)	West Point	Received the Distinguished Service Medal for service in Vietnam.
1967–1968	Lieutenant General Lawrence J. Lincoln		(1909–2000)	Arlington National Cemetery	Received three Distinguished Service Medals.
1968–1971	Lieutenant General Harry H. Critz		(1912–1982)	Fort Sill Post Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Medal for the Vietnam War.
1971	Lieutenant General George G. O'Connor
1971	4-star General George V. Underwood, Jr.		(1913–1984)	Fort Bliss National Cemetery	Received the Army Distinguished Service Medal for service in Vietnam.
1971–1973	Lieutenant General Patrick F. Cassidy		(1915–1990)	Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery	Received the Distinguished Service Cross.