Francis Henry French


Major-General Francis Henry French served in three wars: American Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, and World War I.

Early and personal life

He was born on 27 September 1857 in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Rufus M. French and Maria C. Rudisill. He married Amelia Maud F. Wright on 24 January 1894 in Detroit, Michigan.

Military career

He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1875, and graduated in 1879.
He served frontier duty from 1879 to 1889 in the American Indian Wars.
During his career, he served in and or commanded the 2nd, 11th, 12th, 16th, 21st and 28th Infantry Regiments. He was appointed Brigadier general in September 1916.
He served at Camp Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina during World War I. In 1917 he was in Europe, inspecting the US and Allied forces in France.
He retired in January 1920.
He died on 10 March 1921 at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, District of Columbia. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.