Francis John Koester – Brigadier General, United States Army

Francis John Koester
Brigadier General, US. Army
Born in Pennsylvania June 2, 1863
Died in San Francisco September 23, 1932
Cadet, US. Military Academy 1884-88
Graduated as No. 3253, Class of 1888
2nd Lieutenant 1888
1st Lieutenant 1895
Captain 1901
Major 1911
Lieutenant Colonel 1916
Colonel 1917
Brigadier General 1918
Colonel 1919
Served with V Corps, Cuba 1898-99
Served at Fort Myer 1899-00
Squadron Adjutant, 3rd Cavalry Regiment 1899-01
Served in the Philippines 1902-03
Served at Fort Myer 1903-04
Served at Fort Ethan Allen 1904-05
With Subsistence Department 1905
On Charge of Training School for Bakers and Cooks, Washington Barracks
1906-09 Chief Commissary, Cuban Expedition 1906
Served with 5th Cavalry Regiment 1909-11
Served with 12th Cavalry Regiment 1911-13
Served with Office of the Adjutant General 1913-14
Adjutant, 2d Brigade, Laredo 1914-15
On leave of absence 1915-16
Post Adjutant, Fort William McKinley, Philippines 1916
Served with 9th Cavalry Regiment, Camp Stotsenburg 1916-17
Served at Fort D.A. Russell June-August 1917
Commander, Mobilization Camp, Fort W.H. Morrison, Montana 1917
Commanding Officer, 25th Cavalry Regiment, Fort D.A. Russell 1917
(Regiment formed into 83rd Field Artillery November 6, 1917)
Commanding Officer, 83rd Field Artillery 1917-18
Commanding General, 24th Artillery Brigade, Camp Knox 1918-19
Member Board for Examing Officer’s, Camp Zachary Taylor 1919
Commander, Post of Vancouver Barracks, Washington 1919-20
On Recruiting duty at San Francisco 1920-24
Recruiting Officer, 9th Corps Area 1924-27
Recruiting Officer, San Francisco 1927-28
Ret. as Colonel June 2, 1927
Promoted Brigadier General (Ret.) June 21, 1930

Francis John Koester of Pennsylvania
Appointed from Pennsylvania, Cadet, United States Military Academy, 15 June 1884 (15)
Second Lieutenant, 10th United States Cavalry, 11 June 1888
First Lieutenant, 3rd United States Cavalry, 8 August 1895
Captain, 15th United States Cavalry, 2 February 1901

GENERAL F. J. KOESTER DIES IN SAN FRANCISCO
Led Famous Tenth Cavalry, Which Assisted Theodore Roosevelt in War With Spain

Hackensack, New Jersey, September 28, 1932 – Brigadier General Francis J. Koester, USA, retired, died suddenly today of a heart attack in his home in San Francisco.  He was retired from the Army three years ago, when he moved to California to make his home there.

General Koester was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, sixty-eight years ago, and after attending the Alleghany Law School, entered the United States Military Academy at West Point.  He served in the Spanish-American and World Wars and in the former conflict he was head of the noted Tenth Cavalry, which went to the assistance of Theodore Roosevelt.

He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Mabel Koester, daughter of the late Colonel William Snow of this city; a brother, Captain Oscar W. Koester, USN, retired, of Bradford, Pennsylvania; a niece, Miss Nina G. Koester of this city, secretary to the Bergen County Jury Commission, and a nephew, Frederick E. Koester of Teaneck, New Jersey, Republican candidate of Freeholder.

After funeral services at his late home in California, his body will be taken to Washington for burial in Arlington Cemetery.

KOESTER, FRANCIS J
BRIG GEN USA
VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
DATE OF INTERMENT: 11/15/1932
BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SOU  SITE 4223-A
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

KOESTER, MABEL SNOW W/O FRANCIS J
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/25/1866
DATE OF DEATH: 09/17/1952
DATE OF INTERMENT: 01/02/1952
BURIED AT: SECTION 3  SITE 4223-A
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF FJ KOESTER – BRIG GEN USA

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard