AN OHIO ARMY OFFICER OF WORLD WAR I:
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH T. DICKMAN
by SISTER MARY CLEMENT STUEVE, C.PP.S.*
The various political and economic
upheavals which invariably
follow major wars often tend to obscure
the history of the men
who were personally engaged in the
conflicts. And men who gave
their entire life to a military career
and who are necessarily absent
from boyhood surroundings are sometimes
quickly forgotten by
their native localities. Joseph
Theodore Dickman, born and reared
in Ohio, gave forty years of his life
to the service of his country.
Ohioans should be the first to recall
the labors and achievements
of their native soldier-son, Major
General Dickman, who climaxed
his career with distinguished service
in World War I.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, on October 6,
1857, Joseph Theodore
Dickman was the eldest son of Theodore
Dickman and Mary
Weinmar. Soon after the outbreak of the
Civil War in 1861, when
her husband was called to service, Mrs.
Dickman, together with her
two small sons, Joseph and John, and an
infant daughter, Mary,
left for Minster, Ohio, in Auglaize
County. Friends in that village
welcomed Mrs. Dickman and her little
ones, and there the family
continued to reside even after Captain
Dickman's release from
service. There the children attended
the village school, and upon
the completion of the elementary grades
Joseph was sent to St.
Mary's Institute, now the University of
Dayton, where he studied
for one year. In 1873 the elder Dickman
was elected sheriff of
Auglaize County, and the family moved
to Wapakoneta, Ohio, the
county seat. Joseph graduated with
honors from the Wapakoneta
public high school in 1874.
Following his graduation, Joseph taught
for one year in a little
country school near Minster. In April
1875 he left for the United
States Military Academy, West Point,
after taking the competitive
* Sister Mary Clement Stueve, C.PP.S.,
teaches at Regina High School, Norwood
Ohio. Her article is based on a master's
thesis done at the University of Notre Dame
in 1943.
34
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 35
examination and receiving an
appointment through General A. V.
Rice, a member of congress from the
Lima, Ohio, district.
A series of reforms had been introduced
at West Point at this
time which placed stern restrictions on
hazing. Balancing himself
on a chair in his room and peering
through the transom at the
initiation in the hall below was
considered sufficient cause for
suspension, and Joseph Dickman,
suspended for such conduct, re-
turned to Ohio and to teaching for
another year in a red brick
schoolhouse north of Wapakoneta. In
1877, however, he resumed
his studies at West Point and was
graduated on June 11, 1881,
with the assignment of second
lieutenant, 3d Cavalry.
After two months of service beginning
in September 1881 at
Fort Sanders, Wyoming, Dickman was
selected by his regimental
commander to attend the
infantry-cavalry school at Fort Leaven-
worth, Kansas. He graduated with honors
on September 30, 1883.
During this assignment at Fort
Leavenworth, Dickman married
Miss Mary Rector of Fort Smith,
Arkansas, on September 26, 1882.
Two sons and two daughters were born to
them. The younger son
died in infancy, but Frederick Tibault,
the elder son, graduated
from West Point in 1906. Though he met
a tragic death in an
airplane crash in 1919, the military
tradition of the family con-
tinues in the person of his son, Joseph
Lawrence, who was graduated
from West Point in 1940. The two
Dickman daughters followed
their mother's lead by marrying
military men.
After his graduation from the
infantry-cavalry school at Fort
Leavenworth, Lieutenant Dickman served
at Forts Grant and
Thomas in Arizona and at Fort Davis,
Texas, from 1883 to 1885.
While stationed at the Arizona forts he
joined in the famous chase
for the renowned Apache chief Geronimo,
who had aroused the
Indians against the federal government.
In his diary for the year
1885 Lieutenant Dickman recorded the
total distance personally
marched and scouted on the Geronimo
campaign as 443 miles.1
1 Extracts from the Diary of Second
Lieutenant Joseph T. Dickman, 3d Cavalry, for
the Year 1885. General Dickman's papers
are the property of his daughter, Mrs.
Charles W. Foster of San Francisco,
California. They are at present in the hands of
the author. All manuscript and similar
materials cited hereafter are in the Dickman
papers.
36
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Assignments at various posts in Kansas
and western Texas oc-
cupied Dickman until the summer of
1891, when he was detailed
by General D. S. Stanley to assist in
the annual military encampment
at Hyde Park near Austin, Texas. Then
followed a few months on
regimental recruiting service in Texas,
but in January 1892 he
asked to be relieved in order to join
his troop in the field at
Los Angeles, Texas.
In this vicinity Caterino E. Garza with
his band of outlaws had
become a menace to the inhabitants.
Garza was the son-in-law of
Alejandro Gonzales, another dangerous
bandit, also sought by the
United States troops. Their home, the
Palito Blanco Ranch, was
the objective of a march in which
Dickman participated in February
1892. The result was the capture of
Gonzales and two other members
of the band, Manuel Canales and his
son, but Garza was still at
large. An attempt to pursue him proved
unsuccessful, because
Garza and his brother, assisted
financially by Gonzales and Canales,
escaped to New Orleans, where they seem
to have disappeared.
A rumor circulated later that Garza was
killed in South America.
Dickman placed the blame for the
unsuccessful Garza campaign
on the lack of knowledge of the lay of
the land and the lack of
directness of purpose. Most of all, he
said that there was no chief
in the field to issue orders to troops
operating in the area.2
Within a few months other Mexican
bandits led by General
Francisco Benavides and Colonel
Prudencio Gonzales crossed the
Rio Grande into Texas, where they
committed several outrages.
The 3d Regiment of cavalry was called
to the area and Lieutenant
Dickman's Troop K engaged in scouting
and policing the roads
and country. As time wore on and
nothing happened, knowledge
of the country seemed the only gain.
The two bandits, however,
were gathering forces evidently in
preparation for a raid. One of
Dickman's squads came upon two mounted
Mexicans who gave
him their names--Benavides and
Gonzales. On the following day,
January 25, 1893, Dickman himself
captured a bandit who gave
his name as Juan Guerra, but who was
identified by Benavides as
2 Personal
Memoirs.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
1 37
Cecilio Eschevarria, one of the worst
desperadoes in the whole
country.3
Twenty-five years later First
Lieutenant Dickman, as major
general, was commanding the I Corps of
the American First Army
in France. After successes at the
Marne, St. Mihiel, and Sedan,
Colonel Edward B. Clark, who had been
with the 3d Cavalry along
the Rio Grande in the 1890's,
approached the general to recall the
early days: "General, you do not
seem half as elated with all this
battle accomplishment as you did when,
as a First Lieutenant, you
brought in three marauding ruffians in
Texas." Dickman's answer
was: "No, those were the days of
youth."4
Assignments 1894-98
In 1894, when business depression and
labor difficulties had
spread into various sections of the
United States, the American
Railway Union, on behalf of the four
thousand members of the
union employed by the Pullman Palace
Car Company at Pullman,
Illinois, near Chicago, sought to
submit the case of a cut in wages
to arbitration. When the company
refused to arbitrate, the union
placed a boycott on Pullman cars in
twenty-seven states and
territories, making Chicago the center
of the strike. Governor Altgeld
of Illinois was ready to send state
troops whenever necessary, but
no Chicago authorities appealed to him.
President Grover Cleveland,
however, was persuaded by the attorney
general in Washington to
rush federal troops to Chicago. Among
them were two trains of
artillery and cavalry from Fort Riley,
Kansas, which proceeded to
Chicago on July 8, 1894. Lieutenant
Dickman was an officer on
the second train.
In his "Comments" on the
Pullman strike Lieutenant Dickman
cited some unpleasant situations which
arose in Chicago. He stated
that the language of the women and boys
directed against the
presence of the federal troops aroused
pity or laughter rather than
anger and not a single soldier showed
resentment. A smile or joke
baffled the offenders. The command
displayed a sense of power
3 Report to the Commanding
Officer, Camp on the Arroyo Baluarte, January
23, 1893.
4 The Watch on the Rhine (November, 1927).
38
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
which would not permit any trifling on
the part of the populace.
"We shall cease to be efficient as
a scarecrow," wrote Lieutenant
Dickman, "unless some evidence of
power is occasionally pro-
duced."5 Nevertheless,
the conservative-minded people of Chicago
welcomed the troops and the protection
which they afforded. In
the lieutenant's mind, however,
participation in the Chicago Pullman
strike did not rate very highly. Here
is his summary of the results
professionally speaking:
Military service, nil
Instruction, nil
Experience in camping, limited.
Show of force, afterwards spectacular
displays,
pleasant social affairs, unlimited
newspaper gush.6
When Lieutenant Dickman's period of
service ended in Chicago
in the fall of 1894, he was transferred
to Fort Ethan Alien,
Vermont, where he would spend a busy
year until November 1895.
He was appointed post adjutant and
assistant to Major Lewis T.
Morris, with whom he had been
associated in Texas, Kansas, and
Chicago. In addition to this work he
was occupied with his pen.
The Boston Herald had printed an
article in December 1894 on
"Injustice to the Cavalry
Officers," to which Dickman wrote an
answer to the editor. He pointed out
the work of the cavalry as
especially important in the area west
of the Mississippi River where
they had engaged in campaigns against
Indians and bandits and
had scouted more country than the
artillery and infantry combined.
He included a defense of the officers
in the Civil War who should
have been advanced to a higher grade
than captain before retire-
ment. He also predicted an increase in
the usefulness of the cavalry
in a few years: "Those who imagine
that the usefulness of the
cavalry has diminished or that they
will be but little needed in
future will be undeceived within a few
years; even now the delegate
5 Comments, "Chicago Riot."
6 Ibid.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 39
from Oklahoma (Mr. Flynn) is calling
for them in the halls of
Congress."7
About the same time, the Burlington
Free Press printed an article
announcing that the German Kaiser had
decided to abolish the
cavalry in the German army. When a
denial of this decision was
later reported, the Vermont paper
printed Dickman's letter to the
editor on January 17, 1895:
After the Franco-Prussian War the Germans
greatly increased their
cavalry. They take part in all the
maneuvers and are simply indispensable.
I know that there has been some talk
about the wonders to be accomplished
on bicycles. But let a rain come up,
covering the plains with puddles of
mud and water, and softening the soil;
or let them be required to pass over
stretches of sandy country, or over
fields of snow, and you will soon see
where they are. The same way for
balloons for reconnaissance. The weather
is foggy, wind tears up the balloon and
then there is only one thing left to
do, fall back on the cavalry for
information.
Some day about the year 2,000 when
aerial navigation shall have been so
developed that armies shall fight each
other in the clouds; when Captain
Lightflyer, aide-de-camp, shall be sent
to General Breezey with orders to
come out from behind his nimbus and
advance to the attack, we shall begin
to discuss the propriety of abandoning
cavalry in warfare, but not before.
These points in addition to those
already covered will furnish the lay
reader with the idea of the manner in
which the cavalry is regarded by
military authorities in the United
States.8
An appointment to the staff of the
infantry-cavalry school at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as head and
instructor of the depart-
ment of military art, necessitated
another move in November 1895.
This work enabled the future general to
make practical use of his
experiences since he left West Point
and to prepare himself better
by the study of military art and
history for successive assignments.
The Occupation of Cuba
At the outbreak of hostilities with
Spain in 1898 the 3d Cavalry
was ordered to Chickamauga, Tennessee,
where Lieutenant Dickman
7 Clipping from the Boston Herald,
December 21, 1894.
8 Clipping in the Dickman papers.
40
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
was attached to his original Troop K.
Soon after, the regiment
left for Tampa, Florida, arriving there
on May 13, 1898. General
Joseph Wheeler asked him to take a
position as adjutant general
of the division of regular cavalry,
which Dickman accepted without
hesitation. Wheeler also recommended
him for higher grade in the
service and permanent assignment as
adjutant general of the cavalry
division. News of his promotion to
captain reached him late in
July when he was at work in Cuba, where
he had joined General
Wheeler's headquarters at Sevilla,
acting as chief commissary, bring-
ing in rations, and directing pack
trains and supply wagons for the
command. When the American troops
advanced to El Caney and
El Poso Hill on June 30, 1898, Dickman
was among them. San
Juan Hill fell and soon after Santiago
surrendered, for the dis-
mounted cavalry had done its work well.
In a letter to his friend
Captain William Manning, Dickman wrote
that he had lost twenty
pounds, but was in "fine
trim." His horse had been slightly wounded
and his mule had his leg broken.9
On July 20, accompanying General Joseph
C. Breckinridge, Dick-
man sailed for the States. After a
brief visit with his family in
Kansas, Captain Dickman returned to
Cuba for occupation duty.
From November 1898 to August 1899 he
scouted more than one
thousand miles of the interior of Cuba
with troops of the 8th
Cavalry. In correspondence from Puerto
Principe, Cuba, in January
1899 with his brother-in-law, the late
Judge Clement A. Stueve of
Wapakoneta, Ohio, he gave many
observations of the people in-
habiting the island, as well as
conditions generally. He went on to
say that the army officers would have
liked to see Puerto Rico, the
Philippines, and Cuba given up by the
American government, be-
cause they entailed years of service
for army men in semi-barbarous
tropical countries away from home and
friends. So long as they
were retained, the service man must
accept these burdens and
duties.10
Promotion to the rank of major, 26th
Infantry, U. S. Volunteers,
resulted from his faithful service in
Cuba, and with this promotion
9 Joseph Dickman to William Manning,
July 11, 1898.
10 Joseph Dickman to Clement A. Stueve,
January 25, 1899.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 41
orders came for his return to the
United States in August 1899.
On August 5, 1899, after a very short
visit with his wife and
children, the major joined his regiment
at Plattsburg, New York,
where on September 13 he received
another promotion to lieutenant
colonel, 26th Infantry, U. S.
Volunteers, and almost immediately
departed with his volunteer regiment
for an indefinite period of
service in the Philippines.
The Philippine Insurrection
Before the outbreak of the
Spanish-American War, General
Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the
Philippine insurrectionists, had
been exiled, making his home for a time
in Hongkong, where he
eventually made contact with Admiral
Dewey. Aguinaldo hoped to
establish an independent Philippine
government with the help of
the United States. Supported by Dewey,
he returned to the islands
and took an important part in the
Spanish defeat, but his hopes
were dashed when he learned that the
United States intended to
keep the Philippines. He then turned
his insurgents against the
United States control.
As soon as the volunteer regiments from
the United States began
to arrive in the Philippines, the
commanding officer, General
Robert P. Hughes, divided his command
into three parts, sending
a defensive column of two battalions
under Lieutenant Colonel
Dickman to hold the towns of Jaro,
Molo, and Iloilo on the southern
part of the island of Panay. Unable to
reach his objective, Dickman
decided to take the offensive against a
strong enemy position on
the Jaro River. With determination he
pushed his line forward
against the insurgents until their line
finally gave way and was
completely disorganized. Dickman's
account of the battle in a
letter to William Manning is
interesting:
Left a company to occupy position. The
remainder of the command got
back in time for breakfast. My dear
William, I have planned and conducted
many exercises in Minor Tactics, but
never had one to work out as well as
this one. It was a model operation.
Colonel Quintin Salas, the rebel com-
mander, says I am no gentleman for I
don't fight fair. His diary, corre-
42
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
spondence, wardrobe, and breakfast fell
into our hands. If I have no other
opportunities, I have at least
initiated, planned, commanded, and won one
battle. My loss was one man killed and
five wounded.11
In the ensuing months Dickman led his
forces in successive cam-
paigns against the insurgents at Jaro,
Sara, and especially at Pototan.
A difficult task was that of hunting
out the insurgents in the
mountains and in secret hiding places
where they were keeping up
a semblance of revolution.
Following a brief respite, fighting was
resumed in June with
skirmishes in various areas. Atrocities
committed against the Amer-
ican soldiers were promptly and effectively
avenged. Annoyed by
one of these attacks, Dickman cleared
out the natives and burned
the town in which insurgents had
mutilated the body of a corporal
which had been buried the day before.
Later, Dickman burned the
town of Dumangas on Panay and all the
suburbs within a radius
of five miles, which action cleared out
the insurgents under the
notorious leader Quintin Salas. Then
Lieutenant Colonel Dickman
set to work to establish civil
governments in the conquered towns.
A dispatch from General Hughes on July
26, 1900, discontinued
this work, for he received orders to
report to Major General Adna
Chaffee in China. Two days later the
lieutenant colonel was on
his way.12
The China Relief Expedition
The voyage from Manila to Nagasaki, Japan,
took five days. A
six-day delay in the Japanese port
afforded opportunity to visit
interesting places in that city and the
vicinity. Then on a "slow
tub," the Indiana, he
continued his journey to Taku, a distance of
seven hundred miles. From Taku, a large
lighter, Foochow, took
passengers and cargo the last ten miles
on the Pei-ho River to
Tong-Ku. Proceeding by rail to
Tientsin, a large city of one million
inhabitants, Dickman saw plentiful
evidences of the attack made
against the city by the
"Boxers."
In the spring of 1899 the
"Ih-hwo-chuan," a group of fanatic
11 Joseph Dickman to William Manning,
December 22, 1899.
12 Joseph Dickman to William Manning,
August 22, 1900.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 43
revolutionists, more generally known as
the "Boxers," encouraged
by the dowager empress, had begun a
period of bloody lawlessness
in North China. Native Christians were
the principal victims of
their attacks, but, as time passed,
European missionaries were
murdered and others were forced to take
refuge in foreign con-
cessions or in Peking. Failure on the
part of the Chinese govern-
ment to provide protection for the
diplomatic body led to further
tragedies, and in Tientsin the foreign
consulates had been destroyed
with great loss of life before help
came from Taku. There followed
a series of atrocities climaxed by the
murder of Baron von Ketteler,
the German minister to China.
As the British legation was most
strongly fortified, all the foreign
diplomats took refuge there. Attempts
by European nations to
break through to Peking were futile
until late in July, when re-
inforcements came in, and General
Chaffee, who had assumed
command of the American troops, called
for a conference of the
generals of the other nations. As a
result of this conference on
August 1, a march on Peking with about
fourteen thousand troops
of the allied forces began on August 5.
Various encounters on the
way delayed the march; furthermore, the
lack of a commander for
the whole force was felt.
When he arrived at the walls of Peking
on August 23, Lieutenant
Colonel Dickman reported immediately to
General Chaffee's head-
quarters. At the meeting of the generals
of the allied armies of
August 25, 1900, Dickman was introduced
as the American chief-of-
staff. Although he had arrived too late
for most of the operations
connected with the Boxer Rebellion, he
was convinced that he had
not missed much. He was able to visit
the various allied head-
quarters making particular notes on the
information acquired
at each.
General Hughes requested that Dickman
return to the Philippines,
and that request induced Dickman to
reject General Chaffee's in-
vitation to remain as chief-of-staff.
Accordingly, he left Peking on
November 19, 1900. A pamphlet, Experiences
in China,13 and his
13 Joseph Dickman, Experiences
in China (n.p., n.d.).
44
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
correspondence with Captain Manning
contain criticisms and im-
pressions of the people as well as the
military operations.
Upon his return to Manila on December
9, 1900, Lieutenant
Colonel Dickman was made chief-of-staff
of the military infantry
division for the Philippine department.
He was also in charge of the
captured records until March 1901, when
he and his regiment were
ordered back to the United States.
While crossing the Pacific on
board the Garonne, he wrote a
regimental history of the 26th In-
fantry, U. S. V.14 Upon
arrival the regiment was mustered out in
San Francisco and Lieutenant Colonel
Dickman, 26th Infantry, U. S.
Volunteers, reverted to his former
grade, captain of cavalry in the
regular army.
Various Assignments
The years from 1901 to 1917 are not
well covered in General
Dickman's personal papers. The only
available sources are a letter
to the editor of the New York Sun on
"Army Reserves" and
correspondence with his brother-in-law,
Clement A. Stueve of
Wapakoneta, Ohio.
In 1902-3 Captain Dickman was again at
the infantry-cavalry
school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as
instructor. His students
found him to be a close observer and an
excellent judge of men.
Basing his judgments on human values as
well as intellectual
ability, Dickman could discern an
officer's capacity and special talent
with accuracy. His special capability
was recognized when he was
chosen a member of the first general
staff; he also saw duty in
the war department, and graduated from
the war college in
Washington in 1905. During the years
1903-5 and on into the early
part of 1906 he was engaged in some
controversial writing in de-
fense of the regular army.
A bill presented in the senate was
intended to promote the
establishment of a reserve force. Again
Captain Dickman took up
his pen, writing to the editor of the New
York Sun defining a
reserve:
A reserve is composed of regularly
enlisted men previously trained and
14 Writings of Colonel J. T. Dickman, 2d
Cavalry.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 45
disciplined, who in time of peace are
on indefinite furlough and pursue
their usual occupation in civil life,
but who are bound by their oath of en-
listment and the law of the land to
respond to a call made by the govern-
ment in time of actual or threatened
war.15
Then Dickman proceeded to explain the
need of a reserve, which
was not in existence at the time of the
Spanish-American War.
As a result three months elapsed before
enlisted men were ready
for service. This situation would occur
again unless the emergency
were foreseen. Another question would
be the money appropriated
by congress to cover expenditures.
The question of economy had led all the
great countries of the
world to adopt the reserve system. The
United States stood alone
as the only great nation without a
reserve army. The mobilization
of a military force is its transition
from a peace to a war-time
footing. Everything needed for war
operations is ready and no
delay is experienced. But the regular
army could not be mobilized
because there was no reserve.
Experience in the Spanish-American
War had proved that recruiting is a
doubtful procedure.
It is desirable to have both the
regular army and the National Guard in
a high state of efficiency in time of
peace; but the prize object of these
institutions, after all, is efficiency
in time of war. . . . Within one month
after landing in Cuba the regular army
was a wreck and it did not recover
from this short campaign for several
years....
The condition of the Volunteer Army as
to equipment, armament, and
health, and its degree of fitness for
the field service in the latter part of
August, is not yet ancient history. No
further argument is required to con-
vince the thoughtful reader of the
necessity of trained reserves, both for
the regular army and for the organized
militia.
Furthermore, Captain Dickman stated in
the same letter that the
regular army was so weak numerically at
the time, that in case of
war, regiments of organized militia or
volunteers would have to be
used to fill the ranks. No general
would consider forming a reserve
of militia or volunteers unless they
were equal to, or better than,
the regulars. The militia or
"National Guard" would not be effi-
15 Clipping from the New York Sun, February 22, 1906.
46
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
cient as national troops so long as
they were "commanded by forty-
five Governors or neglected by as many
changing legislatures."
Three days after the publication of
this letter in the New York
Sun, the secretary of war, William Howard Taft, gave an
address
to the Union League Club in Chicago.
His address, said the Sun,
"practically writes the approval
of the War Department on Captain
Dickman's article in the Sun of
February 22."16
After his promotion to major, 13th
Cavalry, in March 1906
Dickman went to Fort Myer, Virginia,
where he was in command
until December 1908. The Chicago
Evening Post of February 22,
1907, printed an article, "At the
Right of the Line," in which Major
Dickman's ability and career were
highly praised:
This fighting soldier is in command of
a squadron of the Thirteenth
Cavalry, as fine a body of horsemen as
the army holds. It is the troops of
Dickman's squadron that perform weekly
the drill feats that are the wonder
of Washington. Major Dickman has had an
active field career and his
service life has been of the kind that
people call picturesque. . . . For
several years he was a member of the
general staff and it is more than
probable, in fact, one possibly won't
go astray in making the statement,
that many of the plans that will be of
service to this country in case of
future wars were in considerable part
the work of Dickman's head and hand.
Again to the Philippines
The peaceful life with his family at
Fort Myer was not to con-
tinue long, because early in 1909 he
left for a second term of
service in the Philippines.
The two years spent as inspector
general of cavalry in Manila
and Zamboanga were busy ones. He made
an inspection of the
American Gibraltar, the defensive works
of Corregidor. "By the
time Uncle Sam puts in twenty-five
millions on fortifications and
the Naval Base the prospect for
immediate independence will be
remote," he wrote his
brother-in-law.17
The major's headquarters were at
Zamboanga on the island of
Mindanao. The inspection of
fortifications in and around Manila
16 New York Sun, February 25, 1906.
17 Joseph Dickman to Clement A.
Stueve, May 13, 1909.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 47
occupied four months; then a trip to
Fort Pikit in the southern part
of Mindanao enabled him to inspect the
fortifications in that area.
He expressed the opinion that
independence would cause this part
of the archipelago to revert to piracy,
and it would be necessary for
Germany, Britain, and Japan to police
the territory. But since he
considered independence as far away as
the second coming of
Christ there was no use in giving it
further thought.18
Early in February 1910 Dickman left
Zamboanga for maneuvers
at Manila. As his work progressed he
visited many recently es-
tablished stations for troops. He was
eager to finish his inspection
so he could leave for home in March
1911. The offer of a position
under the civil government did not
tempt him, because he felt that
duty to his family required his return
to the States.19 Accordingly,
with the completion of his work in
March 1911, he and his family
enjoyed a visit to Japanese cities and
on May 20 they sailed on the
Sherman from Nagasaki for the United States.
The Years 1911-18
Assignments for Major Dickman in the
years 1911 to 1914 in-
cluded that of inspector general of the
department of Missouri
and the central division with
headquarters at Chicago; the 12th
Cavalry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska; the
cavalry board and a tour
of inspection of the cavalry in Russia,
Germany, Italy, Austria,
France, and England; and finally the 2d
Cavalry at Fort Ethan Allen,
Vermont, upon his return from Europe.
He had been promoted to
lieutenant colonel of cavalry on
February 29, 1912, and in December
1914 he received the rank of colonel.
On February 12, 1915, he
was placed in command of the fort.
The time spent at Fort Ethan Allen was
replete with professional
and social activities. Colonel
Dickman's popularity earned for him
the honor of commander of the Vermont
Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion; and
in 1917 the University of
Vermont conferred upon him the honorary
degree of doctor of laws.
18 Joseph Dickman to Clement A. Stueve,
September 15, 1909.
19 Joseph Dickman to Clement A. Stueve, November 10, 1910.
48 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
The war which had begun in Europe in
August 1914 furnished
him with subject matter for publication
in the Burlington Free Press,
in which he made some predictions about
the war and its con-
duct. Having so recently returned from
the tour of inspection of
cavalry in the warring powers, his
knowledge of conditions was
valuable. He compared contending forces
in the past with the fifteen
millions of soldiers of the modern
nations, and he predicted that
there would be fighting in the air,
underground sieges, and sub-
marine warfare. He believed that the
main theaters of the war
would be the open fields of eastern
Prussia and the north of France.
Regarding the financial resources of
the European nations he wrote:
The financial resources of the Triple
Entente are greatly in excess of
those of the Dual Alliance. France and
England are the wealthiest countries
of Europe, and Russia is in good
financial condition, thanks to its enormous
territory and population. Austria is a
financial cripple and the German war
chest will not reach far in this titanic struggle.20
Colonel Dickman was promoted to
brigadier general in May
1917, one month after the United States
entered World War I.
When he was advanced to the rank of
major general in the same
year, he was placed in command of Camp
Custer, Battle Creek,
Michigan. Consultations and physical
examinations to determine
his fitness for service abroad soon
followed, and in November he
had telegraphic orders to proceed to
Camp Greene, North Carolina,
and to assume command of the 3d
Division. These happenings
indicated early service in France.
In France
The 3d Division arrived in France late
in April. Intensive train-
ing in trenches occupied the soldiers
during May, while the general
was busy reviewing the troops and
directing affairs, visiting all
the sections and making preparations
for the advance to the front.
He himself took part in daily gas mask
drills.21
20 Burlington Free Press, August 3, 1914.
21 Joseph Dickman to his wife, May 12,
1918. General Dickman's letters to his
wife and his relatives in Ohio; a
personal diary which he began on February 1, 1918;
and his book, The Great Crusade, which
D. Appleton & Company published in 1927,
furnish a full and vivid account of the
twenty-eight months he spent in Europe.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 49
The reputation which the 3d Division
acquired even at army
headquarters afforded General Dickman
much pleasure and satis-
faction. He tried to instill into his
men sound principles of courage,
honesty, and uprightness, and he
expected his men to show off to
advantage at the front. Following a
field exercise display, General
Pershing expressed himself as well
pleased.
Since the Germans at this time were
making their great drive
toward Paris, the 3d Division was
ordered to prepare for imme-
diate field service and advance to
Chateau-Thierry.22 Late in the
afternoon of June 1 units of the
division, under French command,
launched attacks against the Germans
and stopped them north of
the town. This performance pleased the
French and effected more
cordial relations with them than had
heretofore existed. General
Dickman for his part was given the
unique honor, never before
granted an American general, of
commanding French troops, who,
together with some American units,
composed the reserve of a
French corps. He wrote to his wife that
the American soldiers put
the European troops to shame.23
The American generals in France were
greatly dissatisfied with
French management of the American troops.
They objected to the
American units being distributed among
the French and the glory
of a victory being attributed solely to
the Allies. They reasoned
that the American soldiers could do
better work independent of
the French. The officers had been trying
to have the American
army separated for some time. The Diary
entry for June 27, 1918,
states:
Colonel P. Brown C. of S. 2d Division
says our secret service has written
evidence that the reason English and
French try to prevent us from having
Corps and Army organization is that a
victorious American Army would
have too much influence in the peace
negotiations. I asked Gen. [Hunter]
Liggett whether the time had come for
us to speak out a little. He said
wait. Corps and Army organization for
the Americans can only be a question
of time. As our divisions go on the
line in greater numbers, we must be
put on our own, away from apron strings
and condescension. All our
generals are talking that way and the
press will take it up before long.--I
22 The Great Crusade,
47.
23 Joseph Dickman to his wife, June 15, 1918.
50
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
am asserting two facts: 1. That the
Americans are the best soldiers in
Europe. 2. That their respect for
women, protection of property, sanitation,
and general discipline are in marked
contrast with most of the European
troops.24
In an address at a Fourth of July
celebration General Dickman
had said that the Americans had come to
deliver powerful blows
against the invading hordes, and eleven
days later the first of the
great blows fell.
The Second Battle of the Marne
A great German offensive was expected
to fall on July 9, accord-
ing to the report of a deserter,25
and from that date there was a
continuous round of daily inspections
of trenches and visiting vari-
ous detachments until July 14, when the
big clash finally came.
At midnight July 14 the enemy crossed
the Marne and early in the
morning started a powerful attack with
their best troops. They tried
desperately to break through the lines
but they were repulsed.
In the Diary and The Great Crusade and
a letter on August 5
to Clement A. Stueve, are detailed
accounts of this Second Battle
of the Marne. All the German artillery
had opened fire at 12:10 A.M.
of July 15, and continued for two hours
and forty minutes. Then
the Germans began to cross the river,
but in the 3d Division area
American machine guns prevented their
advance. All who did make
any advance were either killed or taken
prisoner.26 The Diary
gives a vivid account of the events of
July 15:
125th Fr. Division on our right quit
early. Their art'y hitched up and
retreated 55 minutes after firing
commenced, followed soon by Inf. & M. G's.
One Co L of 55' Brig 28' Div U. S. held
hill at Varennes for a while but
followed the French. Enemy offered a
beautiful target advancing across
open carrying their machine guns but
nobody tried to stop them. Our right
was thus in the air early in the game.
McAlexander [commanding Dickman's
38th Infanty Regiment] did not shift
until midnight[,] his right flank
being exposed for over 12 hours, with
nothing behind him for about 6 km.
24 Diary, 32.
25 Ibid., 34.
26 Joseph Dickman to
Clement A. Stueve, August 5, 1918.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 51
The 3d division with a front of 11 km
and no flank protection put up a
wonderful fight against Germany's best
troops. Their artillery is very good,
but in a rifle fight our men can beat
them 2 to 1. At 6 p.m. Fr had not
started counterattack, but at 8:00 p.m.
it was under way proceeding very
slowly towards N. E. from Conde.27
General Dickman wrote later that had it
not been for the resolute
stand of the 3d Division at
Chateau-Thierry, the war might have
been won by the Germans in their final
drive for Paris.28
On July 30 General Dickman and his 3d
Division went into
a much-needed rest period south of the
Marne. His casualties were
more than 5,000, and many good officers
had fallen. He had written
to Mrs. Dickman on July 26 that his
division had defeated two
German divisions and that he would
receive the croix de guerre
in recognition of his services. At the
time of writing he was ex-
pecting a German counterattack, in the
face of which he feared his
troops would collapse from exhaustion.
As for himself, he wrote:
I sleep from two to four hours a day
and don't expect to have my clothes
off for a month. I bathe one foot at a
time so as to be able to respond quickly
in case of alarm, and always sleep in
clothes and boots. I feel that I am
living at the rate of a month a day.29
After the rest period General Dickman
was given command of
the IV Corps with headquarters at Toul.
He took command on
August 18.
I was sorry [he wrote his wife] to
leave my old division, the 3d, to which
I had become attached. My job now is
about four times as big. I hope my
good luck will continue. In six weeks I
shall be 61, about old enough to
quit and rest awhile.
We have many capable young generals in
the army and as soon as the
old ones pass out there are others
equally as good to take their places.30
The St. Mihiel Salient
Plans for the St. Mihiel salient were
advancing, and on the
27 Diary, 38-39.
28 Joseph Dickman to Clement A.
Stueve, August 5, 1918.
29 Joseph Dickman to his wife,
July 26, 1918.
26 Joseph Dickman to Clement A.
Stueve, August 5, 1918.
52 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
afternoon of September 11 the general
attended a conference of
generals to arrange the final details
for the big battle. Despite
the bad weather on the morning of
September 12 the bombardment
by eight hundred guns opened at 1:00 A.M. At five
o'clock the
infantry jumped out of the trenches and
began a steady advance.31
It may be interesting to know just what
a general, with the
responsibility of one hundred thousand
or more lives on his hands,
does during an operation such as the
St. Mihiel. General Hunter
Liggett wrote in his book A. E. F. that
the hour after an attack
begins is a trying time at
headquarters. If the commanding officer
has done his duty, everything for the
attack has been arranged that
could be; whereas, if he has not, it is
now too late to be concerned.
The nervous strain is difficult.
I have learned [he says] to have two
packs of cards by me and to lay
them out in double solitaire positions
when an attack has started. This is
as good an anodyne as I know. It saves
you from nail-biting and pacing the
floor until your nerves are shot.
General Dickman is a fellow addict of
this narcotic.32
As the enemy did not expect the attack
at that time, they lost
control under our heavy artillery fire
and were driven out of their
caves and trenches, where they had
lived for four years.
He [the enemy] had gardens, log cabins,
officers' clubs, macadam roads,
bridle paths, moving picture theaters, target ranges
and children. In the
town of Vigneulles there were said to be 200 children
with German
fathers. . . .
The morale of the German army is very
low. Another good blow or two
will cause them to crumble rapidly.33
The successful battle ended on
September 16. The greatest result
was that it raised the morale of the
Allied forces, while the Germans
31 Diary, 53.
32 Hunter Liggett, A. E. F., Ten Years Ago in France (New York,
1928), 174-175.
General Dickman had several solitaire
problems worked out and pasted in one of his
scrapbooks. They are dated 1895 and
1905--the years when he was a first lieutenant
and a captain.
33 Joseph Dickman to his wife, September
15, 1918.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 53
were correspondingly discouraged and
began to realize that they
would be defeated.34
Although the St. Mihiel salient was a
decisive victory for the
Allies, the orders issued by Marshal
Foch prevented as great a
gain as might have resulted. General
Dickman said that he would
always regard the failure to push
forward as a strategical blunder,
for which Marshal Foch and his staff
were responsible. It was an
example of the "fallacy of the
policy of limited objectives."35
The Meuse-Argonne and Sedan
On September 26 another great operation
was begun--the Meuse-
Argonne. Dickman's corps was not in the
heavy fighting at first,
but he awaited orders at any time.
Daily he made automobile trips
among his troops. The following entry
in his Diary for September 30
indicates the anxiety experienced
during those days:
News from Argonne front not so
favorable. Definite decision as to forma-
tion of 6th Corps expected. 60
casualties in Dieulovard bombardment by
Germans as balloons saw streets filled
with soldiers. Expensive lesson, but
preaching is useless.36
Another interesting story is found in
the entry for October 5, in
which he tells that he had lunch with
Generals Pershing and Petain
on the former's private train on that
day. All seemed satisfied with
American progress, which was holding
many German divisions
from other fields. Attacks were
continuing all along the line. Yet
General Dickman's dissatisfaction with
the French is evident from
the October 5 comment in the Diary:
General Petain displeased with Pres't
Wilson's refusal to let the Japs
go across Siberia. American Army
appears to be under Petain's command.
It should be on the same footing as the
British, and must be so eventually. . . .
Eventful day--10:00 p.m. report in
detail that Germany had sued for
peace, acceding to all of Mr. Wilson's
principles. Should this be favorably
considered, there will be great
disappointment among the French who are
34 The Great Crusade, 158.
35 Liddell
Hart, Through the Fog of War (London, 1938), 340.
36 Diary, 59.
54
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
thirsting for a chance to do a little
looting and devastating on the other
side of the Rhine.37
Even though news of a possible
armistice was spread, the
American headquarters did not
discontinue plans for fighting. On
October 11 General Dickman received
orders to assume command
of the I Corps, which assignment placed
him on combat duty again
with living quarters in a dugout. Late
in October he was informed
by General Pershing that terms of an
armistice had been sent to
the Germans, but all were keen to go in
for a "final push" to
capture Sedan.38
The great attack before Sedan opened on
November 1 with the
I Corps in the lead. Advance was slow,
but on the second day
results were better. About noon a
report came in that the Kaiser
had abdicated. On November 3 the
general wrote to his wife that
he had celebrated her birthday
(November 1) with a big battle;
they were still pursuing the Germans
and would continue to do
so until either an armistice or a
strong defense would stop them.39
The following incident of the campaign
can hardly be over-
looked because of the importance it had
in the life of General
Dickman. The area which was assigned to
the I Corps (Dickman's
command) was cut off on the north from
Sedan by that of the
Fourth French Army. As a result
American troops could not be
first to enter Sedan; nevertheless,
General Dickman received the
following orders:
Received, 18:30, Nov. 5, '18
MEMORANDUM FOR COMMANDING GENERALS 1ST
CORPS, 5TH CORPS.
Subject: Message from the
Commander-in-Chief.
1. General Pershing desires that the
honor of entering Sedan
should fall to the 1st American Army.
He has every confidence that
the troops of the 1st Corps, assisted
on their right by the 5th Corps,
will enable him to realize this desire.
2. In transmitting the foregoing
message your attention is in-
vited to the favorable opportunity now
existing for pressing our
37 Ibid., 60.
38 Ibid., 68.
39 Joseph Dickman to his wife, November 3, 1918.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 55
advance throughout the night. Boundaries
will not be considered
as binding.
By command of Lieutenant General
Liggett:
H. A. Drum,
Chief of Staff40
Since General Dickman did not consider
the help of the V
Corps necessary in this advance, he did
not send word to General
Summerall, who was in command. Also,
General Dickman and the
other generals assumed that the Fourth
French Army, which cut
off the I Corps from Sedan on the north,
had been informed of
the movement by the French high command.
But such orders had
not been issued--or, at least, not
received--as events proved later.
Early in the evening General Drum
visited General Dickman's
headquarters, urging the advance to
Sedan regardless of bound-
aries.41 But the 1st Division of the V
Corps was crossing the I Corps
lines, and with urging on his right and
protesting on his left, the
action was becoming decidedly
interesting. Evidently, the V Corps
had orders directly from the
commander-in-chief. The Diary nota-
tions give details of the movements on
November 6:
Advance continues N. At 4 p.m. our
troops are reported entering Foret de
la Haye, W of Raucourt. French liaison
officer here, 10hr. to protest by
4th Fr. Army against encroachment on its
area. Orders from Gen Liggett
directed us to proceed to Sedan saying
"Boundaries will not be considered
as binding".--At 16:30 airplane
reports us as passing Chehery, Bulson, and
Haracourt. Chehery 3 km out of our
bounds. Ordered 42d Div to get back
into limits, 16:30 Gen. Brewster I. G.
drops in at 4:00 p.m. 80th Div is
out of line assembling in back area.
18:50 orders again rec'd to make Sedan
regardless of bounds--from Col. Grant.
Gen. Drum arrives 7 p.m. Re-
iterates orders for advance on Sedan, regardless of
bounds. Lt. Blanquet,
liaison Fr. army, says Gen. Petain was
at 9th Corps, Fr. Hq and they are
all much worried by our encroachment on
their sector.
First Division crossed our Corps area in
five columns, bound for Sedan.
Its orders must have come from C-in-C.
This is most extraordinary and
some day is bound to create disaster, especially as he
[Pershing] did not
notify me.42
40 The Great Crusade, 181.
41 Diary, 71.
42 Ibid., 71.
56 Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
A veritable hornet's nest existed at I
Corps headquarters when
General Liggett arrived. Immediately
orders were dispatched in
all directions in an effort to prevent
a possible mistaken identity
which might draw fire on the Americans.
Fortunately, the Germans
did not make a counterattack. In The
Great Crusade General
Dickman expresses his opinion more
fully, attributing the escape
to the staff, to the good sense of the
junior officers, "and, perhaps,
as Colonel A. L. Wagner used to say in
the Spanish-American War,
to the fact that there is a Providence
which looks after the United
States."43
Involved in the confusion of orders was
Brigadier General
Douglas MacArthur. In his book entitled
A. E. F. General Liggett
relates that MacArthur, then commanding
the 42d Division, affected
a peculiar cap similar to those worn by
German officers. He and
some of his staff were studying a map
on this particular night when
some members of the 1st Division burst
in and captured him and
his party, mistaking them for a German
division command.44 General
Dickman notes: "Our Staff officers
had a hard time to clear up the
tangle. Gen. MacArthur was arrested at
the point of a pistol by
patrol of 1st Div."45
In the final check-up on the Memorandum
Order, General
Pershing stated that the march resulted
from a "misconception in
the Fifth Corps of the exact intent of
the orders."46 And then
General Pershing decided to let the
French have Sedan!47
General James Harbord relates this
incident in his account of the
World War, The American Army in
France, 1917-1919, and ex-
presses himself as thinking that
General Liggett and General Dick-
man were justified in their anger:
The test of an order is not can
it be understood but can it be mis-
understood? By this test the Memorandum Order of November 5th is
bound
to be condemned. Yet it was drawn by
experienced officers and issued to
43 P. 191 et seq.
44 P. 229.
45 Diary, 72.
46 James G. Harbord, The
American Army in France, 1917-1919 (Boston, 1936),
459.
47 Diary, 73.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 57
others equally experienced--all of them
supposed to be familiar with at
least the elementary principles of
warfare. They knew each other. They
had been taught in the same schools.
Generals Liggett and Dickman were
much incensed and outraged by what had
happened. Dickman went to his
grave embittered and unforgiving.
Liggett, with his fine mind clouded by
remorseless age, cannot be heard. He
was not aware of the existence of
the Memorandum Order of November 5th
until about noon November 7th.
Rumors were current at the time and
still run as to what lay behind the
Memorandum Order. History will find it
difficult in deciding why the Fifth
Corps was included in the Memorandum
Order, if only military con-
siderations governed. General Pershing
by his statement quoted above prac-
tically repudiates any mandate in the
Order to justify the march of the First
Division--but within two weeks he so
forgave it as to praise the Division
from G. H. Q. in a highly eulogistic
order.48
The command of the Third Army was
Dickman's next order on
November 8, and he hoped that
nomination as lieutenant general
would soon follow. Two days later the
news of the armistice came,
with orders to cease operations at
11:00 A.M. on November 11.
General rejoicing followed; the war was
actually over! Dickman
wrote to his brother-in-law49 and
later to his wife that he was glad
that the war was over. He seemed quite
pleased that he would
command the American army on the Rhine.50
He was glad too
because it was his last war.
After the Armistice
At a conference at Chaumont on November
13 Major General
Dickman was given command of the Third
Army, consisting of six
divisions. This was the army which
would be the American army
on the Rhine. Its duties were to follow
the retreating German
forces; to see that the terms of the
armistice were observed; and to
occupy the bridgeheads on the east bank
of the river. The divisions
selected were those which had performed
conspicuous service in the
war. This was a reward for valor during
the hard weeks of fighting.
Early in the morning of November 17 the
Third Army started
on the first lap of the long march to
the Rhine. It was an im-
48 Pp. 459-460.
49 Joseph Dickman to Clement A.
Stueve, November 12, 1918.
50 Joseph Dickman to his wife,
November 15, 1918.
58
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
pressive spectacle, each soldier
feeling that he was participating
in a great historical event. Along the
way at Longuyon a delegation
awaited the general and after an
expression of welcome and grati-
tude for deliverance presented him with
a laurel wreath.51 He
always treasured the tri-colored ribbon
which had adorned the
wreath. After reviewing the troops at
Longuyon, General Pershing
expressed his pleasure with the
progress of the army. Dickman
wrote to his wife that these were great
days.52 In Luxembourg the
grand duchess met Dickman at the
palace.
The esteem with which his men regarded
General Dickman is
illustrated in a simple incident which
happened along the way. The
army was plodding along a rutted road
in a cold December rain,
when from the rear a cry rang out,
"Way to the right!" The men
moved to the right and prepared
themselves to receive another mud
shower as another staff car would whiz
by. But this time the car
with the flag of a major general kept
well to the left as its driver
steered it slowly along the marching
38th Infantry without splash-
ing one of the column. Then a mighty
cheer came rolling up the
lines from the rear, and a roar of
acclaim was given the smiling
officer in the rear seat. "Such an
ovation could have been given the
American Commander-in-Chief,"
thought a young private near the
head of the column. A lower rank
officer would not have been so
considerate. A sergeant on the youth's
right then informed him:
"We didn't cheer him for
that," declared the old timer. "He could've
splashed us plenty, an' we'd take it.
But he ain't that kind of hombre,
soldier. If you wasn't a replacement who's
just joined us, you'd know. That
was our old skipper. The man who
brought this division overseas from
Camp Greene and led us at the Marne in
July. That was "Uncle Joe,"
soldier, General Joseph T. Dickman--a
soldier's soldier!53
Difficulties with the French arose
because Marshal Foch was at-
tempting to mix French troops with the
American army. In an
interview on his train at Luxembourg
station, General Pershing
told General Dickman that he (Pershing)
was opposed to having
51 Diary, 75.
52 Joseph Dickman to his wife,
November 20, 1918.
53 Herbert Smith, "Uncle Joe," Ohio Guardsman, V (1939),
2.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 59
any French troops joined to the
Americans in Germany. Pershing
tnought that if this happened the
American army would go back
with bitter feelings toward the French army. He also said
that
Foch had tried to break up the
American army and to scatter the
divisions among the French corps, but
Pershing had opposed bitterly
and refused saying that he would
appeal to President Wilson.54
Dickman went on to note in his Diary
previous and current
differences with the French:
It is stated the G. H. Q. has original
letter of instructions from Foch to
hold Americans down to command of
divisions. King Albert assumed
command of his army & dismissed
DeGoutte. Fr. tried to force DeGoutte
on us as C. of S. Reported that Foch
ordered all American troops back of
post line to begin reconstructing
French roads and villages. Gen. Pershing
says Fr. 48th Div & D. C. P. are not to form part of
3rd Army. They
the Divs) say they have orders
assigning them to us, but we have nothing
from G.H.Q. On acct of difficulty in
supply and because 48th Div. Colonials
are 1/3 colored, Sen[e]galese, we do
not wish to be associated with them.
Unpleasant incidents are likely to
arise because of their treatment of women
and children. In case of mistreatment in
their presence American soldiers
could take prompt summary action. We
hope also that our 90th Div. will
be taken away from the French on our
right.
Feeling at G. H. Q. appears to be
bitter against the French and nearly
11 officers feel the same way. When
they get back to the U. S. will tell
some truths as to how Uncle Sam has
been used. Octroi taxes have been
paid on the same rations three
times--each time they were moved to another
town. Sec'y Baker's brother reported
this to him.55
While marching through the German
villages, the American
soldiers noticed no traces of
hostility on the part of the German
civilian population and the returned
soldiers. The burgomaster at
??rier told General Dickman that the
Germans placed absolute con-
fidence in the Americans, who, he
thought, were their only hope.56
But with the French the situation was
quite different. A French
captain acting as an interpreter at
the Bitburg headquarters, had
pulled the ears of a German civilian
mail carrier and struck him.
Since this was an open violation of
American orders, the French
54 Diary, 78, 79.
55 Ibid.,
79, 80.
56 Ibid., 80.
60
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
officer was immediately dismissed.57
Accordingly, Major Kann, the
French liaison officer, retorted that
the position of the French on
duty with the Third Army had become
intolerable. Apparently the
French wanted to see the Germans
oppressed and mistreated, and
they were greatly disappointed that the
Germans received friendly
treatment from the American soldiers.58
General Dickman insisted
on this policy and even wrote to
General Pershing urgently recom-
mending no change, since this policy
was proving so successful with
the Third Army.59
Seemingly, as a result of the
difficulty with the French, all the
American plans for the occupation of
the bridgehead at Coblenz
were changed by the French. The American
army lost about half
of the territory originally assigned to
it. Resentment among the
American divisions was universal and
appeal to the president was
threatened.60
Again in his entry in his Diary for
December 13 General Dickman
refers to the increasing indignation
and resentment in the American
Army against treatment by the French.
He devoted three pages to
this summary of grievances which the
Americans had against the
French:
1. Assumption by Fr. that Americans
were volunteers or conscripts, hence
ignorant of things military. Not aware
to date that American Army is nothing
but expanded regular army--command and
staff nearly all regulars.
2. Apparently did not know about W. P.,
service schools at Riley, Ft.
Worth and Monroe, and War College,
& started to instruct us on that
basis. Were ignorant of our service
text books.
3. False doctrine as to trench warfare,
use of grenades and abandonment
of rifle instruction as paramount basis
of infty efficiency.
4. Insistence on keeping American units
down to a division and scatter-
ing our troops among the French. We
have received a copy in writing of
such instructions.
5. Putting of American troops into the
most difficult and disagreeable
areas.
6. Assigning of our troops to positions
of greatest danger (Argonne).
57 Ibid., 82.
58 Ibid., 82.
59 The Great Crusade, 218
et seq.
60 Diary, 83.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 61
7. Instructions to Fr. press to minimize
participation of U. S. troops in
operation reports.
8. Many news reports and signed articles
in Fr. papers, claiming Fr.
victories in operations where Fr. failed
and the successful work was done
by our troops.
9. Habitual hanging back on the flanks
with American troops in a salient
pushing the enemy.
10. Rushing up of Fr. troops &
claiming the victory as soon as U. S.
troops had cleared an area or forced enemy retreat.
11. The 3d Div after losing 6500
casualties on the Marne, Vesle, &
Ourcq was assigned a rest area
consisting of graveyards, battlefields and
ruined villages, just S of Marne E. of
Chateau-Thierry, small area including
but little of plateau with farms &
villages.
12. Embargo on railroad after advance to
Rhine was underway.
13. Attempt to force 48th colonial Fr
& 2d Cav Div on foot into
American sector of occupation, the
former being 1/3 colored troops.
14. Cutting down to almost half of the
American sector assigned on the
Rhine at the last hour after all
arrangements were made.
15. 90th Div assigned to 4th Fr. Army
for occupation. Changed under
our protest.
16. Attempt to force un-American
restrictions as to our treatment of non-
combatants, women & children in
occupied territory.
17. Maj. Kann liaison officer said
position of his detachment was in-
tolerable because of liberality of
Americans toward German women and
children. He has not left though we would
be glad to see him go. We
applied for relief of all interpreters,
liaison, etc., except one at Corps &
Army Hqrs.
If selfish, ungenerous attitude of
French Army & gov't continues a break
is inevitable. Maj. Geiger, Br. officer
with us says he realizes the situation
and fears the Americans will feel more
friendly to the Germans than to
the French. When the 2,000,000 Americans
get back they will tell many
hard truths. There is danger that France will lose the
affection of the
Americans unless a change is made and
she stops hogging the whole thing.
18. On the Marne the 3d Div occupied 11
kilo-meters of front, facing
the enemy. In the present occupation of
400 kilometers of Rhine front, the
Army of 2,000,000 Americans hold 30
kilometers, about 1/13 instead
of 1/4.61
The headquarters of the Third Army was
moved to Coblenz on
December 15. General Dickman was
billeted in the home of a
61 Ibid., 84-87.
62
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
multimillionaire. On the same day he
received the croix de guerre
and he was told that he had been
recommended for the Legion
of Honor.
Apparently in an effort to relieve the
situation further, the French
general, Mangin, invited Dickman to
Mayence for lunch on the
day after Christmas. Dickman was met by
a guard of honor. During
the lunch and entertainment General
Mangin toasted the Third
Army, expressing the hope that no
difference would disturb the
good feeling between the armies.
Dickman replied in French re-
assuring Mangin that our affection for
France could not be broken
by slight causes.62
New Year's Day was spent in pleasurable
entertainment, with a
dinner, a reception for all officers,
and a dance for Lieutenant
General Robert L. Bullard at the club.
On this occasion Bullard
told Dickman that promotions had been
reopened for the latter's
benefit.63
These were weary months of waiting, but
the general and his
staff tried to arrange the program of
training, drill, and work to
end at noon, so that the afternoon
could be given over to various
diversions. One of the most popular
places was the bulletin board,
where schedules of departing divisions
were posted from time to
time. In March General Pershing made an
extended tour of in-
spection of the Third Army. On this
occasion General Dickman
received the Distinguished Service
Medal. He had already been
decorated with the Belgian decoration
of Grand Officer of the
Order of Leopold I, and in April 1919
he received the English
honor Knight Commander of the Bath.
Lieutenant General Liggett was
appointed to succeed Major
General Dickman as commanding officer
of the Third Army. Notice
of this change reached Dickman on April
13 and became effective
on April 28. He was then detailed at
Chaumont as president of a
board of officers on the lessons of the
war, and his report became
the basis for reorganization of the
army.64 He felt that since con-
62 Ibid., 91-92.
63 Ibid., 94.
64 Joseph Dickman to his wife, April 19,
1919.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 63
ditions in the Third Army were at the
peak of excellence this was
a good time for the new detail.
Furthermore, the delay in peace
negotiations, weariness of the long
occupation, and homesickness
among the soldiers tended toward future
difficulties in manage-
ment. He could go without regrets, for
he felt there was nothing
more to do unless war operations were
resumed.65
On his way to Chaumont on April 28
Marshal Petain conferred
on General Dickman the French Cross of
Commander of the Legion
of Honor at Trier. The scope of his
work on the board of officers
led the general to think that the work
would be completed in about
one month and then he hoped to go home.
Late in May he was
obliged to move again-this time to
Trier, where he lived in General
Pershing's house, which the latter
turned over to Dickman for use
during sessions of the board. At
Chaumont on June 6 Dickman
received the decoration of Grand
Officer of the Crown of Italy.
Board work continued until July 1, when
the commander-in-chief
was informed that the report on
"tactics and organization" in con-
nection with the lessons of the war was
completed.66 Then Dickman
awaited orders to return home.
When the treaty of peace was signed and
the report completed,
there was nothing more for General
Dickman to do in Europe.
On July 8 he received orders to return
to America, and soon after,
he left for Brest, France, from which
port he sailed on the Aquitania
on July 14, arriving in New York on
July 20. He immediately re-
tired with his family to Burlington,
Vermont. His "Great Crusade"
was finished.
The long-anticipated vacation and rest
was of short duration,
for it came to an abrupt end on July
27, six days after his return,
when General Dickman was called to
Washington for a conference
with the secretary of war, Newton
Baker, and the chief-of-staff,
General Peyton March. Dickman was
ordered to the southern de-
partment with headquarters at San
Antonio, Texas. So back to San
Antonio he went after an absence of
twenty-six years, and on
August 11 he assumed command of the
department.
65 Joseph Dickman to his wife, April 25, 1919.
66 Diary, 117.
64
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Border trouble was soon settled, and
then Dickman proceeded
to make tours of inspection throughout
the southern department.
After he had made a visit to Del Rio,
Texas, the West Texas News
carried the following item:
The work of General Dickman as one of
the famous division commanders
of the A. E. F. will always be
remembered. He is a man of large frame
with a square jaw and a face that
suggests power and determination tempered
with kindliness. Hindenburg has the
face of a great soldier; so has Dickman;
but whereas Hindenburg excites
repulsion, Dickman attracts. After all, it
is a pity that Hindenburg never came
under the humanizing influence of
American institutions.67
Similar tours of inspection took
Dickman into New Mexico and
Arizona. Armistice Day 1919 was
celebrated in San Antonio with
a parade led by General Dickman and the
2d Division.
Rumors of promotion were spread again,
but the final outcome
was Dickman's nomination to the
permanent rank of major general,
which was approved by the senate on
December 19, 1919. During
1920 the general was not engaged in any
outstanding military tasks,
but his duties obliged him to travel
extensively in his department.
General and Mrs. Dickman made visits to
various parts of the
country just before his retirement in
October 1921. Starting early
in September, their tour extended from
California to West Point
to Charleston, South Carolina, to Ohio
and Arkansas, and finally
back to San Antonio in November. In
June 1922 the Dickmans
moved East and settled in Washington,
D. C., in the fall.
After retirement General Dickman served
as a member of the
army elimination board until January
1923. In June 1923 he de-
livered the commencement address at the
University of Dayton
and at the same time he received the
honorary degree of doctor of
laws. In the address to the graduates
he gave expression to the
idea that the United States should keep
free from the cunning of
European diplomacy, which might
eventually destroy our liberty
He warned against European
propagandists who were trying to
convince America to join the League of
Nations. That modern
67 August 29, 1919.
An Ohio Army Officer of World War
I 65
inventions had brought the United
States in closer proximity to
Europe was not a forceful argument.
"And if there is anything in
the saying, 'If you want to lose a
friend, lend him money,' are our
relations likely to be more cordial
with the nations who have
borrowed huge sums from us and are
making no effort to pay
even the interest?"
The general continued with an
explanation of our strategical
position and then spoke of the internal
situation in this country.
He was very conscious of the millions
of dollars which Russia was
spending to spread communist propaganda
while her own people
were starving. Societies were at work
to undermine the patriotism
of the people and the authority of the
government of these United
States.
I do not wish to spoil any illusions
that some of you may be harboring as
to everlasting peace, if we consider
the World War as but under the law
of averages, even a double-header, most
of the young men in this audience
will live to see another war. . . . You can add greatly to our national
security by insisting on the reduction
of our national debt, thus building up
a tower of reserve strength, beyond the
reach of accidental crop failures,
industrial disturbances and temporary
hard times, which the most powerful
enemy would hesitate to attack.68
In The Great Crusade he wrote
that every reduction of the
national debt added to our financial
reserve strength; and that at
the rate of debt reduction (1927) in
twenty years our financial
strength would be a bulwark against any
combination of nations.
Yet in spite of this possible strength
it was necessary to maintain
an efficient navy and adequate army for
national policy purposes.69
During the years after retirement
General Dickman's pen was
busy. The Great Crusade was his
crowning task. Its publication in
1927, just a few months before his
sudden death, told the story of
the World War as he had lived it. He
does not seem to have in-
dulged in much controversial writing as
he did in the early 1900's,
but he was ready to give his opinion
whenever it was asked. In
68 Address at the University of Dayton, June, 1923.
69 The Great Crusade, 276.
66
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
January 1923 a Washington, D. C.,
newspaper printed his fears for
Germany under communist influence.
There was at that time possi-
bility of a coalition with Russia, and
unless French pressure was
modified, he feared that another war
with Germany would result.
England would try to influence France,
but she would certainly not
have joined France against the
coalition. This Franco-German diffi-
culty naturally resulted from the
bitterness of the French toward
the German people and the French policy
to impose regulations
restricting civilian affairs. "The
breaking point certainly cannot be
far away. If the break comes--well--I
fear France will lose all she
has gained or stands to gain."
Conformable to an army rule during the
war, reports from the
battlefronts in France gave divisions
engaged but not the names
of the commanders. The rule was a
necessity then, but not after the
war. At the time of General Dickman's
retirement, the war depart-
ment said only a few words about his
excellent record, and the press
recorded that he had withdrawn from
active service, and that was
all. High French and British military
authorities held that General
Dickman was the foremost American
soldier who saw service on
European soil. An edition of the Chicago
Post in 1921 stated:
"Dickman commanded a division, a
corps, and an army, in suc-
cession, and yet, he was never made a
lieutenant general as nearly
everybody, war department officials
included, knew should have
been the case."
Final taps for General Dickman sounded
at his home on the
morning of October 23, 1927, following
a heart attack. A large
delegation of the 3d Division attended
the funeral of their wartime
leader, "Daddy Dickman," as
his Marnemen called him. Full
military honors were accorded him, his
funeral being one of the
most impressive ever conducted in
Arlington cemetery.