A friend of mine purchased at a yard sale this past weekend an old ammo crate marked as follows on one end:

 

9 FIXED COM.

STEEL SHELL

75mm Field Gun

 

Across the front of the ammo crate is this additional marking:

 

TO: QM, Fort Bragg, NC

For Major H D Higley

 

The box is in good shape, rope handles intact, etc., but one part of one hasp is missing and the box is incredibly dirty.

 

As to its owner I have learned the following:

 

Harvey Douglas Higley, Brigadier General, US. Army was born July 16, 1882 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and he died February 26, 1963, and is buried in Arlington. He was a cadet, US. Military Academy 1904-08 and graduated as No. 4662, Class of 1908. His classmates included Simon Bolivar Buckner, Glen E. Edgerton (later Governor of Panama Canal Zone, 1940-44) and CMH winner John Thomas Kennedy. George Patton was a year behind him in the Class of '09.

 

Higley served with the Department of Tactics, US. Military Academy 1908

and then with 6th Field Artillery 1908-11. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1911 and returned to West Point, serving as an instructor in mathematics) and tactics from 1911-1915. Higley served with 2d Field Artillery, Philippines, 1915-17, being promoted to Captain in 1916 and then Major in 1917 and Lt. Colonel in 1918.

 

With the coming of the First World War he bounced around the army's artillery branch, serving with 16th Field Artillery in 1917; as an instructor at the School of Fire for Field Artillery, Ft. Sill in 1917; transferred to the 39th Division, Camp Beauregard in 1917; assigned Brigade Adjutant, 100th Field Artillery Brigade, 85th Division in 1917 and then to the same job with 167th Field Artillery Brigade of the 92nd Division ("the Negro Combat Division" as it was dubbed) from 1917-18.

 

Transferred to be Inspector-Instructor of Field Artillery Brigade's in 1918, he then went to the Senior Instructor's slot at the Field Artillery Replacement Depot, Camp Zachary Taylor later in 1918.

 

Higley served with the Operations Branch, Operations Division, Army General Staff, 1918-19, then with the Enlisted Personnel Section, Operations Division 1919-20. With the end of the war and the downsizing of the Army, Higley was initially reduced in rank to Captain and served as the CO of 2d Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, on occupation duty in Germany, 1920-22. During this time he was promoted back to Major.

 

After Higley returned from Germany he served as Chief of the Training Section, Office of Chief of Field Artillery from 1922-24 and then returned to a round of service schools:

 

Student, Field Artillery School, 1924-25

 

Student, Command & General Staff School, 1925-26

 

Instructor, Cavalry School, 1926-29

 

Student, Army War College, 1929-30

 

After the War College, Higley became CO of the 1st Battalion, 17th Field Artillery & Post Executive at Ft. Bragg, 1930-31. Fort Bragg was at the time the Army's largest artillery post:

 

"Because Fort Bragg was the only reservation in the United States with room enough to test the latest in long range artillery weapons, the Field Artillery Board was transferred here from Fort Sill, Oklahoma on February 1, 1922. From 1923 to 1926 Field Artillery regiments made considerable progress in learning how to operate in deep sand, heavy mud, swamps, streams and forests. For each type of Field Artillery weapon there was an organization stationed at Fort Bragg armed with that particular weapon. This made Fort Bragg a Field Artillery Laboratory where every new item of Field Artillery equipment could be given a practical field test." -- History of Fort Bragg.

 

 

Because Higley was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1931, this dates the box with pretty much certainty to the year 1930. Perhaps it was used to ship some of his possessions from the War College to Ft. Bragg during his change of station.

 

Higley's later service was solid, if undistinguished. He served as Chief of the Finance Branch, G-4 (Supply) Division, Army General Staff from 1931-35 and then another stint as a student at the Field Artillery School in 1935. Later that year he found himself once again commanding a battalion of artillery: 2nd Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, a post he held from 1935-38, being promoted to Colonel in 1936.

 

 

In 1938 Higley was made Chief of Staff, VIII Corps Area. Promoted to General in 1940, as retired as a Colonel on April 30, 1941. He did not reenter the Army with the outbreak of World War II and I have no other information on his post-Army career or why he did not return.

 

I have no idea how an ammunition box that once contained Higley's personal effects got from Ft. Bragg NC to Birmingham, AL, but I need advice on how best to clean the incredible amount of surface dirt from the box so as to expose other, currently indecipherable, markings on the rest of it. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?

 

Mike Vanderboegh

Pinson, AL

GeorgeMason1776@aol.com

The Command and General Staff College was (and is) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. It is more likely he acquired the ammunition box during one of his previous assignments with artillery. So it is possible you may find evidence that there were other addresses applied and painted over.

 

In 1941 the Army was begining the process of sorting out (physically and professionaly) unfit officers and NCOs. This was especially true of the federalized National Guard units activated in 1940-41. He may have retired voluntarily because of unfitness or disability. He was likely productively employed during the war in industries that were new to providing materials to the government.

 

Of all the methods of cleaning the box I can think of, warm water and mild soap would seem the logical first choice.

Fort Bragg was Camp Bragg until Sept 1922, he was already a LTC for four years when the name changed.

Fort Bragg was Camp Bragg until Sept 1922, he was already a LTC for four years when the name changed.

 

Here's the scoop on Higley's retirement -- straight from the 1950 Cullum Register of USMA graduates:

Fort Bragg was Camp Bragg until Sept 1922, he was already a LTC for four years when the name changed.

 

 

Most officers were demoted after the end of the Great War. The coincidence of Higley's return to the rank of Major and his stationing at Ft. Bragg does not happen until 1930. He reached LTC again the next year, ergo, the box dates from 1930.

Most officers were demoted after the end of the Great War. The coincidence of Higley's return to the rank of Major and his stationing at Ft. Bragg does not happen until 1930. He reached LTC again the next year, ergo, the box dates from 1930.

 

Demoted is not the operative word for the situation in 1919. Officers in the regular army had permanent ranks that were based on vacancies and merit. During WWI most if not all officers were promoted in the reserves to higher ranks in the A.E.F. based on allot of things like experience, but primarily competence. Naturally USMA graduates in the RA were relied upon to be the most qualified to receive higher rank in the reserves.

 

During the wars the promotion of RA officers continued based on then current policy. G.A. Custer may be a good illustration of this process. He graduated from USMA in 1861 as 2nd Lieutenant. By 1862 he had been commissioned a captain of volunteers (reserves) and promoted by bounds to major general volunteers. His promotions in the RA continued as per policy and procedure. At wars end with the expansion of the RA he was offered appointment to the colonelcy of the 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment but turned it down. He then accepted Lt. Colonel in 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment.

 

(During the Civil war there was three forms of officer rank, RA, volunteer/reserves and brevet. Brevet ranks only existed in the volunteers and were temporary. RA officers that remained in RA units held only their RA ranks. After the Civil War brevet ranks had no relation to RA ranks but were considered honorary for exceptional service. Officers in the RA were often addressed by their brevet ranks as an honorary to their war time service. As the volunteers were demobilized 24 U.S. volunteer infantry regiments were organized for service in the Philippines. RA and volunteer officers were appointed to these regiments. After the War with Spain and Philippine Insurrection the Army decided that U.S. volunteers was not functional and the reforms of 1903 did not provide for U.S. volunteer units. The Army also wanted no more brevet ranks. At the start of U.S. entry into WWI Theodore Roosevelt and others offered to raise U.S. volunteer units but was turned down.)

 

There is an interesting aspect of promotion to general officer rank. General officers were nominated by the President and appointed by Congress. Perhaps the most famous RA appointment was John Pershing's promotion, over more than 500 senior officers, from captain to brigadier general in 1916 and then to general in 1917.

 

During WWI RA officers held their permanent ranks and continued to be promoted in the RA. Most of the RA officers that served in the AEF were appointed to reserve rank based on the structure of the reserve army. For example George Patton was Colonel in the Tank Corps. At the end of the war he was assigned in the RA based on his RA rank of major.

 

None of these people could be said to have been "demoted" as they held rank in two systems. At the end of the war the reserve Army and rank went away (demobilized) and it is generally said that they "reverted" to their permanent RA rank.

 

There were RA NCOs appointed as officers in the reserve and at the end of the war reverted to their permanent RA enlisted rank. These enlisted soldiers were authorized to wear a blue cuff stripe to indicate former service as an officer.