Alexander Wood Dillard – Major, United States Army

Alexander Wood Dillard was born on 23 December 1891.  He served as an Infantry Major,United States Army, and died on 4 May 1919.

MAJOR DILLARD KILLED AND WOMAN INJURED

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, May 4, 1919 – Major Alexander W. Dillard, U.S.A., was killed and Mrs. Lloyd Cregor, wife of an Army Captain now serving in France, was seriously injured when an automobile driven by Dillard crashed into a telephone pole here shortly after 3 o’clock Sunday morning.

The couple are reported to have left a dance about midnight and to have spent the next hour driving about the city at a high rate of speed.  Several automobile parties reported narrow escapes from collision with the Dillard car.

Swinging into Broad Street near the business section of the city, witnesses say Dillard had absolutely lost control of his machine.  His car shot across Broad Street, hitting a steel telephone pole on the opposite side.  The engine was crumpled up into the body of the car, pinning Dillard in his seat.  His skull was crushed in and both his legs broken at the hip.

Mrs. Cregor was thrown clear of the wreck.  The extent of her injuries has not been ascertained.

Major Dillard was a former Tennessean.  Before his parents moved to Brooklyn, New York, several years ago he resided at Bristol.  He entered the regular Army in October 1916.  After the outbreak of the war he was promoted to a Major and was among the first troops to go overseas.  He was with the First Army, being assigned to the unit shortly after completing his college course at the Virginia Military Institute.  His parents now reside at 1383 Dean Street, Brooklyn.

Major Dillard had been stationed in Nashville but a short while, having been assigned here by the War Department as a Military Inspector, with the headquarters, R.O.T.C., shortly after returning from France a few weeks ago.  His work was to inspect the training of students at the colleges in and around Nashville.

Mrs. Cregor lived with her sister, Mrs. Charles A. Robertson.  He husband is a Captain in the Army and now in France.  She is well known in Nashville.

DILLARD, ALEXANDER W
MAJOR US INF
DATE OF DEATH: 05/04/1919
BURIED AT: SECTION S DIV  SITE LOT 4174
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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