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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1889

Vol. III
p425
3293

(Born Ind.)

William G. Haan

(Ap'd Ind.)

12

Born Crown Point, IN.​a

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, June 14, 1885, to June 12, 1889, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Second Lieut., 1st Artillery, June 12, 1889.

Served in garrison at the Presidio of San Francisco, Cal., Sep. 30, 1889, to –––––.

Vol. IV
p477
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — Served: At San Francisco, Cal., to May 8, 1890;

(Transferred to 5th Artillery, Jan. 29, 1891)

at Fort Columbus, N. Y., to Feb., 1892; at Fort Mason, Cal., to Nov. 18, 1893; at Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.,

(First Lieut. of Artillery, 5th Artillery, Aug. 27, 1896)

(Transferred to 3d Artillery, Oct. 10, 1896)

to Oct., 1896; at Alcatraz Island, Cal., to Jan. 6, 1897; Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the North Illinois Normal School, Dixon, Ill., Jan. 19, 1897

(Captain and Quartermaster, U. S. Volunteers, Oct. 17, 1898)

to April, 1898; garrison duty at Fort Baker, Cal., to Jun. 6, 1898; with battery en route to and in Philippines to Sept. 2, 1898; in command of Company A, Engineer Battalion, in Philippines, to March 11, 1899; Depot Quartermaster at Iloilo, P. I., also Brigade and District Quartermaster, March 25, 1899 to ––––

Vol. V
p432
[Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History. — Served: Depot Quartermaster at Iloilo, P. I., also Brigade and District Quartermaster, March 25, 1899 to July, 1900; Assistant Secretary to the Military Governor, Philippine Islands, Aug., 1900 to July 4, 1901.

(Captain, Artillery Corps, Feb. 2, 1901)

— Returned to U. S. from Philippine Islands, Oct., 1901; commanded 28th Company, Coast Artillery, Presidio, San Francisco, Cal., Oct., 1901 to April, 1903; assigned to General Staff Corps, Aug. 13, 1903 to Aug. 13, 1906; confidential duty in Panama, Nov. 1, 1903 to April 1, 1904; Army War College, May 1, 1904 to Aug. 1, 1905; Acting Chief of Staff, Pacific Division, April 18, 1906 to July 15, 1906, while army was employed in relief work, following great earthquake and fire; Chief of Staff, Maneuver Camp at American Lake, Washington, July 15 to Sept. 30, 1906; Military Secretary, Army of Cuban Pacification, Havana, Cuba, Oct. 1, 1906 to March 1, 1907.

(Major, Coast Artillery, April 9, 1907)

— In Office Chief of Artillery, as member of Land Defense Board, March 18 to present time, April, 1908; at Fort Wadsworth, N. Y., to –––––.

Vol. VI
p514
[Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

(William George Haan, Born Oct. 4, 1863.)

Military History. —

Major, Artillery Corps, April 9, 1907.

At Fort Wadsworth, N. Y., to Jan. 27, 1911; at Washington, D. C., Member Land Defense Board, Jan. 28 to Feb. 16, 1911; at Galveston, Texas, commanding 2nd Battalion, 3rd Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery, Feb. 23 to June 15, 1911; at Fort Wadsworth, N. Y., commanding post, June 23, 1911, to

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Coast Artillery Corps, Dec. 6, 1911)

May 8, 1912; (detailed to General Staff Corps, May 1, 1912); at Governor's Island, N. Y., Assistant to Chief of Staff, Eastern Division, May 9, 1912, to Feb. 14, 1913, and Chief of Staff, Eastern Department, Feb. 15, 1913, to Sept. 15, 1914, when he was relieved from General Staff; at Washington, D. C., in office of Chief of Staff, Sept. 16 to Oct. 5, 1914; at Fort Warren, Mass., commanding Coast Defenses of Boston, Oct. 5, 1914, to Nov. 24, 1915; at Fort Totten, N. Y., commanding Coast Defenses of Eastern New York, Nov. 26, 1915, to

(Colonel, Coast Artillery Corps, July 1, 1916)

Aug. 3, 1917;​b

(Brigadier-General, National Army, Aug. 5, 1917)

at Camp MacArthur, Texas, commanding 57th Field Artillery Brigade, Aug. 23, 1917, to Dec. 10, 1917, and commanding 32nd Division, Dec. 11, 1917, to

(Major-General, National Army, Dec. 17, 1917)

Jan. 14, 1918; en route to France and in France in command of 32nd Division, from Jan. 15, 1918; commanded 32nd Division in following major operations; Aisne-Marne Offensive; Oise-Aisne Offensive; Argonne-Meuse Offensive; assigned to command of 7th Corps, Nov. 20, 1918, which formed part of the American Army of Occupation in Germany;

 p515  (Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Nov. 30, 1918)

(Major-General, U. S. A., July 3, 1920)

Awarded

Distinguished Service Medal

Jan. 17, 1919,

"For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services. This officer, in command of the Thirty-second Division, took a prominent part in the Argonne-Meuse offensive and in the brilliant and success­ful attack against the Cote Dame Marie, covering several days, which deprived the enemy of the key point of the position. His clear conception of the tactical situations involved showed him to be a military leader of a superior order."

Vol. VII
p283
[Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920‑1930]

Military History: —

Distinguished Service Medal

Colonel, Coast Artillery Corps, July 1, 1916.

Major-General, National Army, Dec. 17, 1917.

Assigned to command of 7th Corps, which formed part of the American Army of Occupation in Germany, Nov. 20, 1918;

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Nov. 30, 1918.

in Germany commanding 7th Corps to Apr. 26, 1919; en route to U. S. to May 12; at Washington, D. C., Assistant Chief of Staff and Director, War Plans Division, General Staff, June, 1919, to

Major-General, Recess Appointment, July 3, 1920.

Major-General, U. S. A., Mar. 8, 1921.

Aug., 1921; on leave of absence and on temporary duty at Washington, D. C. to Mar. 31, 1922.

Major-General, U. S. A., Retired, Mar. 31, 1922,
At His Own Request, After Over 36 Years' Service.

Awarded French Croix de Guerre, with Palm; made Commander of the Legion of Honor and cited by the President of the French Republic as follows:

"He brilliantly commanded the 32nd Division during the operations that resulted in the recapture of the Chemin des Dames, near Laon. Thanks to his tactical sense, to his conception of maneuver, to his indomitable tenacity, to the magnificent courage of his troops which put their absolute trust in their Chief, he gained several miles of ground. He took the important positions about Juvigny which the enemy defended with desperation."

Commander of the Crown, Italy.

Cited "for gallantry in action against insurgent forces near Manila, Feb. 5, 1899."

Died, Oct. 26, 1924, at Washington, D. C.: Aged 61.

Portrait and obituary in Annual Report, Association of Graduates, for 1926.

Buried, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.


Thayer's Notes:

a Gen. Haan's birthplace is from his AOG obituary.

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b And see Turnbull & Lord, History of United States Naval Aviation, p77.


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