Leonard Wood
191813
223912513
2008-07-06T13:55:27Z
217.197.61.52
{{Infobox Military Person
|name= Leonard Wood
|born= {{birth date|1860|10|9}}
|died= {{death date and age|1927|8|7|1860|10|9}}
|placeofbirth= [[Winchester, New Hampshire]]
|placeofdeath= [[Boston, Massachusetts]]
|image= [[Image:Leonard Wood 1903.jpg|250px]]
|caption= Major General Leonard Wood in 1903
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]]
|branch= [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears= 1885-1921
|rank= [[Major General (United States)|Major General]]
|commands= [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]
|unit=
|battles= [[Spanish-American War]]<br/>[[Philippine-American War]]
|awards= [[Medal of Honor]]
|laterwork= Governor General of the Philippines
}}
'''Leonard Wood''' ([[October 9]], [[1860]] – [[August 7]], [[1927]]) was a [[physician]] who served as the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]], Military Governor of [[Cuba]] and [[Governor General of the Philippines]]. Early in his military career, he was awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].
==Biography==
===Early life and career===
Born in [[Winchester, New Hampshire]], he attended Pierce Academy in [[Middleborough, Massachusetts]], and [[Harvard Medical School]], earning an [[M.D.]] degree in 1884 as an intern at [[Boston City Hospital]].
He took a position as an Army contract physician in 1885, and was stationed at [[Fort Huachuca, Arizona]]. Wood participated in the last campaign against [[Geronimo]] in 1886, and was awarded the Medal of Honor, in 1898, for carrying dispatches 100 miles through hostile territory and for commanding an infantry detachment whose officers had been lost.
While stationed at [[Fort McPherson]] in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in 1893, Wood enrolled in school at [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]], then known as the Georgia School of Technology, and became the school's first football coach and, as a player, its team captain. Wood led the team to its first ever football victory, 28 to 6, over the [[University of Georgia]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Joseph|last=Byrd|url=http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/techtopics/spr92/FOW.html|title=From Civil War Battlefields to the Moon: Leonard Wood|work=Tech Topics|publisher=Georgia Tech Alumni Association|date=Spring 1992|accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
Wood was personal physician to Presidents [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[William McKinley]] through 1898. It was during this period he developed a friendship with [[Theodore Roosevelt]], then assistant secretary of the [[United States Navy|Navy]]. At the outbreak of the [[Spanish-American War]], Wood, with Roosevelt, organized the 1st Volunteer [[Cavalry]] [[regiment]], popularly known as the [[Rough Riders]]. Wood commanded the regiment in a successful engagement known as the [[Battle of Las Guasimas]]. When [[brigade]] commander, [[Samuel Young|Samuel B. M. Young]] became ill, Wood received a field promotion to [[Brigadier General (United States)|brigadier general]] of volunteers and assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, V Corps (which included the Rough Riders) and led the brigade to a famous victory at Kettle Hill and [[Battle of San Juan Hill|San Juan Heights]].
[[Image:Theodore-roosevelt-and-officers.gif|thumb|250px|Staff of the 1st US Volunteer Regiment, the "Rough Riders" in Tampa - Wood is 2nd from right with LtCol Roosevelt far right.]]
After San Juan, Wood led the 2nd Cavalry Brigade for the rest of the war; he stayed in [[Cuba]] after the war and was appointed the Military Governor of [[Santiago, Cuba|Santiago]] in 1898, and of Cuba from 1899–1902. In that capacity, he relied on his medical experience to institute improvements to the medical and sanitary conditions in Cuba. He also ordered the incarceration of Dr. Manuel M. Coronado, director of La Discusión newspaper and [[Jesus Castellanos]], caricaturist of the newspaper because Jesus Castellanos drew a cartoon that was published on April, 12, 1901, in the Cuban paper La Discusión. The cartoon showed "The Cuban People" represented by a crucified Jesus Christ between two thieves, General Wood and American President William McKinley. Cuban public opinion was depicted by Mary Magdalene on her knees crying at the foot of the cross and Senator Platt, depicted as a Roman soldier, is holding a spear that says "The Platt Amendment" on it. Governor Wood, who saw in Castellanos's drawing an unfriendly gesture toward the United States, had both men arrested for criminal libel and held in the Vivac prison of Havana, and the offices of La Discusión newspaper were sealed (Wood was persuaded to release them on the following day). He was promoted to [[Brigadier General (United States)|brigadier general]] of [[regular army|regulars]] shortly before moving to his next assignment.
In 1902, he proceeded to the [[Philippines]], where he served in the capacity of commander of the Philippines Division and later as commander of the Department of the East. He was promoted to [[Major General (United States)|major general]] in 1903, and served as governor of [[Moro]] province from 1903–1906. During this period, he was in charge of several bloody campaigns against Moslem rebels, including the [[Moro Crater massacre]].
===Army Chief of Staff===
[[Image:Leonard Wood with horse.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
Wood had known Theodore Roosevelt well before the Spanish-American War. Wood was named [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff]] in 1910 by President [[William Howard Taft|Taft]], whom he had met while both were in the Philippines; he remains the only medical officer to have ever held that position. As Chief of Staff, Wood implemented several programs, among which were the forerunner of the [[Reserve Officer Training Corps]] (ROTC) program, and the [[Preparedness Movement]], a campaign for universal military training and wartime conscription. The Preparedness Movement plan was scrapped in favor of the [[Selective Service System]], shortly before [[World War I]]. He developed the [[Mobile Army]], thus laying the groundwork for American success in World War I. He created the [[General Staff|General Staff Corps]].
In 1914, Wood was replaced as [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff]] by [[William Wotherspoon]]. Wood was a strong advocate of preparedness, which alienated him from President Wilson. With the US entry into World War I, Wood was recommended by [[History of the United States Republican Party|Republican]]s, in particular [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], to be the U.S. field commander; however, War Secretary [[Newton Baker]] instead appointed [[John J. Pershing]], amid much controversy. During the war, Wood was, instead, put in charge of the training of the [[US 10th Mountain Division|10th]] and [[US 89th Infantry Division|89th]] Infantry Divisions, both at [[Camp Funston]]. In 1915, he published ''The Military Obligation of Citizenship'', and in 1916 ''Our Military History''.
[[Image:LeonardWood.jpeg|thumb|right|150px|Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood in later years]]
Wood was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the [[United States presidential election, 1920|election of 1920]]. He won the [[New Hampshire primary]] that year, but lost at the convention. Among the reasons why he did not become the candidate were rivals for the nomination, his obvious political inexperience, and the strong support he gave for the [[anti-Communist]] strategy of Democratic Attorney General [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] to defeat radical subversion . After the major candidates deadlocked, the nomination went to [[Warren G. Harding]].
He retired from the Army in 1921, and was made [[Governor General of the Philippines]], in which capacity he served from 1921 to 1927. He was noted for his harsh, unpopular policies.
Wood died in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] after undergoing [[surgery]] for a [[brain tumor]]. He had initially been diagnosed with a benign [[meningioma]] in 1910. This was successfully resected by [[Harvey Cushing]] at that time. The successful removal of Wood's brain tumor represented an important milestone, indicating to the public the advances that had been made in the nascent field of [[neurosurgery]], and extending Wood's life by almost two decades.
He is buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]].
==Legacy==
[[Image:Leonard wood A uniform SA war.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Wood's actual field jacket from the Spanish American War seen in above photo - on display at the [[National Museum of American History]]]]
Camp Leonard Wood in Missouri, now [[Fort Leonard Wood]], home of the [[United States Army]] Combat Engineer School, Chemical School, Military Police School, and USAF 366 TRS Det 7 was named in his honor, as was the [[USS Leonard Wood (APA-12)|USS ''Leonard Wood'' (AP-25/APA-12)]].
Leonard Wood Road in [[Baguio City]], Philippines was named in his honor.
Ft. Leonard Wood is also a major [[TRADOC]] post for [[Basic training|Basic Combat Training]] (BCT), home of the 10th [[Infantry]] [[Regiment]].
He is portrayed favorably in the 1997 [[miniseries]] ''[[Rough Riders]]'' by actor and former [[United States Marine]] [[Dale Dye]].
Leonard Wood was portrayed in a less favorable light by [[Mark Twain]] and others for his part in leading the [[Moro Crater massacre]] in 1906.
A plaque in Wood's memory is found in [[Harvard University]]'s [[Harvard Memorial Church|Memorial Church]].
==Medal of Honor citation==
[[Image:Congmedalhonor.jpg|90px|right|thumb|Medal of Honor]]
:Voluntarily carried dispatches through a region infested with hostile [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]], making a journey of 70 miles in one night and walking 30 miles the next day. Also for several weeks, while in close pursuit of [[Geronimo]]'s band and constantly expecting an encounter, commanded a detachment of Infantry, which was then without an officer, and to the command of which he was assigned upon his own request.
==See also==
*[[List of Medal of Honor recipients]]
*[[List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars#W|List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars]]
{{portal|United States Army|United States Department of the Army Seal.svg}}
==References==
===Citations===
<references />
===Other sources===
*[[Hermann Hagedorn]], ''Leonard Wood, a Biography'' 2 vol 1931
*Jack McCallum, ''Leonard Wood: Rough Rider, Surgeon, Architect of American Imperialism'' (2005)
*Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), "Comments on the Moro Massacre" 1906
==External links==
{{portalpar|Military of the United States|Naval Jack of the United States.svg|65}}
{{wikisource author}}
*[http://www.wood.army.mil/ Fort Leonard Wood's website]
*{{findagrave|1123}} Retrieved on [[2008-02-01]]
{{start box}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box |title=[[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech Head Football Coach]] |before=[[Casey Finnegan]] |years=[[1893]]-[[1894]]|after=[[Rufus B. Nalley]]}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|title=[[Governor of Cuba|Military Governor of Cuba]]|before=[[John R. Brooke]]|after=none|years=1899-1902}}
{{succession box|title=[[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]|before=[[J. Franklin Bell]]|after=[[William W. Wotherspoon]]|years=1910–1914}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Governor-General of the Philippines]]|before=[[Charles Yeater]]|after=[[Eugene Allen Gilmore]]|years=1921-1927}}
{{end box}}
{{US Army Chiefs of Staff}}
{{American Governors-General of the Philippines}}
{{GTFootballCoach}}
{{Persondata
|NAME= Wood, Leonard
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Army [[Medal of Honor]] recipient
|DATE OF BIRTH=
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Leonard}}
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:American physicians]]
[[Category:Military physicians]]
[[Category:Army Medal of Honor recipients]]
[[Category:Brain cancer deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Cuban-American relations]]
[[Category:Governors-General of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Colonial heads of Cuba]]
[[Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Philippine-American War]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish-American War]]
[[Category:United States Army Chiefs of Staff]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1916]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1920]]
[[Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches]]
[[Category:Georgia Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School alumni]]
[[de:Leonard Wood]]
[[es:Leonard Wood]]
[[fr:Leonard Wood]]
[[sl:Leonard Wood]]