Harry Taylor – Major General, United States Army

Courtesy of the United States Army

Major General Harry Taylor
Chief of Engineers (June 19, 1924-June 26, 1926)

Born June 26, 1862, in Tilton, New Hampshire, Harry Taylor graduated from the Military Academy in 1884 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers.   After serving in engineer offices in Wilmington, North Carolina, and New York City, Taylor served from 1891 to 1900 on fortifications and rivers and harbors construction work in Oregon and Washington.

Later he pursued similar work in New England and New York. Transferred to the Philippines, he supervised all fortification work there in 1904-05.   Taylor was district engineer in New London, Connecticut, in 1906-11. He then headed the River and Harbor Division in the Office of the Chief of Engineers for five years.

During World War I he served as Chief Engineer, American Expeditionary Forces in France (mid-1917 to mid-1918), and received the Distinguished Service Medal.   He then served for six years as Assistant Chief of Engineers, before assuming the top office in the Corps. Wilson Dam was completed while he was Chief. He was a member of the French Legion of Honor.

General Taylor retired June 26, 1926. He died January 27, 1930, in  Washington, D.C., and was buried in 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