Edward Mann Lewis

Major General Edward Mann Lewis, KCMG, (December 10, 1863 – July 27, 1949) was a United States Army officer who served in the Spanish–American War and the First World War. In 1917, he commanded the U.S. forces in Paris, and in 1918 he led the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division at Chateau-Thierry. He then led the 30th Infantry Division starting 18 July 1918, when the division was the first to break the Hindenburg Line.

Biography
Edward Mann Lewis was born December 10, 1863, in New Albany, Indiana, the son of William Henry and Julia Frances (Snlvely) Lewis. He entered the United States Military Academy in September 1881 and graduated in July 1886, a classmate of John J. Pershing. He commissioned into the Infantry and served in the Spanish-American War and the Moro Rebellion in the Philippines while assigned to the 20th Infantry Regiment.

During World War I, Lewis commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry, and later the 30th Infantry Division. Following World War I, he commanded the Hawaiian Department from 1925 to 1927.

Early Life
Edward Mann Lewis was born on the 10th of December in 1863, along side the river in New Albany, Indiana. His father, a Railroad executive, told him stories of the Lewis family history in the military, going back to colonial times. He was able to secure an appointment to West Point in 1881, where he excelled in the classroom and on the athletic field. He was made a cadet lieutenant in his first year, but ran into trouble with mathematics. His potential was recognized however, so he was granted a "turnback", joining the class of 1886 and becoming a friend of classmate John J. Pershing - a friendship that would last for over 40 years serving together in The Philippines, San Francisco, Mexico and in The Great War. Called 'Sep' by his friends, they stood in honor to welcome the funeral train of General Ulysses S. Grant before graduation in 1886.

Frontier Duty
Commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry, he joined the 11th Infantry Regiment in the west, at Fort Yates in the Dakota Territory. After about a year on the border, they were shipped to Fort Wood, Liberty_Island in New York harbor where the newly installed Statue of Liberty stood proud, welcoming all to the new world. His son, a future Major General in WWII was born there, the first child born at the base hospital. Packing up the new family, they traveled to Fort Huachuca in the Arizona Territory for their next duty station. His attention to detail and outstanding performance led to regimental duties and post staff assignments unusual for one so young. He was then detached from his regiment, and assigned to teach Military Science at DePaw University in his home state. Being assigned to the 9th Infantry at this point, he assisted in putting down the railroad strikes in Chicago in 1894.

Finishing up his duties at DePaw, he was assigned to the 20th Infantry Regiment in 1896, joining them at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. He would spend twelve years with the 'Sykes Regulars' serving as the Regimental Adjutant in the Spanish American war, and the Moro War in the Philippines.

Spanish American War
The 20th Infantry Regiment fought in the Cuban Campaign, taking El Caney and helping to lift the siege of Santiago. Lewis was cool under fire, and was cited for Gallantry at the Battle_of_El_Caney. He met Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba, and made a lifelong friend who later helped muster troops in Indiana before WWI.

The Moro War
The Moro_Rebellion required that the 20th ship overseas again, with Lewis serving in the north of the country. Between 1899 and 1901 they opened the Pasig River and fought in many battles there. Lewis personally accepted the surrender of General Aglipay at Llocos Norte in 1901, bringing relative peace to the north. He was then transferred back to Chicago to help the recruiting effort, returning to the Philippines with the 20th in 1904 for two more years of occupation duty. In early 1906 the 20th Infantry was called home, to the Presidio in San Francisco, just in time to save that city from disaster.

The San Francisco Earthquake
When the San_Francisco_Earthquake struck, the city turned quickly to the Army for help. A few years earlier, while Pershing was in the Philippines a fire consumed the generals house at the Presidio, killing his wife and young children. In an effort to avert such a tragedy in the future, the first dedicated 'fire departmen't was created on station, and they would prove valuable in fighting the fire that swept the city after the earthquake. Lewis served in the city during the relief, at the Army command post established downtown. in 1908 he was detached again from his unit, to serve as a professor of military science and tactics at the University of California. In 1912 he was selected to attend the Army War College (then called the Field Officers Course) at Fort Leavenworth, graduating in 1913.

Vera Cruz
After graduation, Lewis was assigned to the 19th Infantry at Fort Meade, South Dakota. As the crisis in Mexico worsened, the 19th was moved to Galveston, Texas to take up border duty. They marched to Vera Cruz in support of General Funston, with Lewis later serving as the Treasurer of the Military Government during the United_States_occupation_of_Veracruz.

Mobilization
In 1915, Lewis served as Inspector-Instructor of the National Guard in Springfield, Illinois and was the senior mustering officer for the state. The next year, he was promoted to Brigadier-General to heard a brigade of National Guard troops, and was deployed to Texas, to command the Llano Grande District. His 13th Provisional Brigade was composed of guardsmen from Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Louisiana and Oklahoma. As they mustered out in preparation of the war, he served as Officer in charge of Military Affairs at Headquarters, Northeastern Department.

World War I
Early in the war, Lewis was promoted to Brigadier-General in the National Army, taking Command of the 76th Brigade, and later the 38th Division (the Cyclones) at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. As they trained and prepared for departure for Europe, General Lewis was selected to lead all US Forces in Paris. He brought order to chaos, creating the rules and regulations that governed all Army units in the city, and those rotating through to the front. On May 5th, 1918 he was assigned to Command the Third Brigade of the Second Division in Verdun, later stopping the German advance just outside Chateau-Thierry during the Hundred_Days_Offensive, and captured the important town of Vaux.

In July 1918 he was promoted to Major General, and was assigned to Command the 30th Infantry Division. The 30th served under British Command as part of the bargain Pershing struck with General Haig and Marshall Foch to bolster the Allied front in the south. "Old Hickory" fought with the First, Second, Third and Fourth British Armies, lastly serving under General Rawlinson. With the 4th, they broke through the Hindenburg Line on September 29, 1918 at Bellicourt in the Battle_of_St._Quentin_Canal winning the praise of General Pershing, and The King of England. Lewis would lead the 30th Division until it's return to the United States in 1919, staying behind to lead the Infantry Board to learn the lessons of the war, and to forge an alliance that would be needed in World War II.

The After War Years
In July 1919, General Lewis Commanded the 5th Division and Camp Gordon in Georgia, then the Douglas Arizona District, then the 3rd Division (rock of the Marne) at Camp Pike in Arkansas. He was then placed in Command of his much loved "Indianhead" Second Division at Camp Travis in Texas, and helped give birth to Army Aviation there. In December 1922, he was promoted to Command the 8th Corps Area, the largest Army in the United States at that time.

In 1924 General Lewis was selected to Command the newly formed Hawaiian Division until January 1925, when he was placed in charge of the Hawaiian Department. He served in that capacity until his retirement in December, 1927 culminating 46 years of distinguished service to his nation. Major General Edward Mann Lewis was laid to rest in the San Francisco National Cemetery on July 29th, 1949