Greble was born at
West Point on June 24, 1859. When he was two, his father First Lieutenant
John Trout Greble was killed in the
Battle of Big Bethel during the
American Civil War, the first graduate of the
United States Military Academy to die in battle during the conflict. The younger Greble graduated sixth in a class of 53 cadets from the United States Military Academy in 1881. Greble was commissioned into the Second Artillery, and he subsequently served in the field artillery. He graduated from the
Infantry and Cavalry School in 1884, and from the Coast Artillery School at
Fort Monroe in 1892. Greble served as an aide to
Oliver Otis Howard from 1885 to 1889. He participated in the
Spanish–American War, serving in
Cuba from 1898 to 1900. After serving as the Adjutant General of the Second Division, he was the assistant Adjutant General of the Department of Havana. He also organized the Department of Charities and oversaw the evacuation of buildings by the Spanish. Greble taught in West point's Tactics Department from 1901 to 1904. He returned to Cuba in 1906 as part of the
Second Occupation of Cuba, remaining there until 1909. He worked as the supervisor of the Secretary of the interior during this time. Greble served on the General Staff in 1910, and he was on the border with Mexico between September 13, 1914, and August 22, 1917. Greble was promoted to the rank of
brigadier general on October 13, 1916, and to
major general on August 5, 1917. From August 25 to September 18, 1917, and again from December 6, 1917, to July 8, 1918, he commanded the
36th Infantry Division. Because of disabilities he developed on the line of duty, Greble retired in October 1918. Greble lived in
Washington, D.C., as a retiree. He died in
West Orange, New Jersey on September 30, 1931. He is buried at
Arlington National Cemetery. ==Personal life==