Guy H. Preston

Guy Henry Preston was born in Medford, Massachusetts on May 29, 1864, the son of Reverend George M. Preston and Aurelia B. (Leadbetter) Preston. He was raised and educated in Medford, Lanesboro, and Cheshire, and attended Worcester Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1883, Preston was a candidate for an appointment to the United States Military Academy. Among Preston's classmates who also attained general officer rank were Henry Jervey, Charles Hedges McKinstry, William V. Judson, George Washington Burr, John Louis Hayden, William S. Peirce, John S. Winn, Peyton C. March, James W. McAndrew, Charles Aloysius Hedekin, John Daniel Leinbach Hartman, Robert Lee Howze, Edward Anderson, Peter Charles Harris, William Robert Dashiell, and Eli Alva Helmick. Preston's initial assignment was as an additional second lieutenant with the 1st Cavalry Regiment, but he was almost immediately assigned to the 9th Cavalry Regiment and posted to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. ==Start of career==

Preston remained with the 9th Cavalry at Fort Robinson until October 1890, when he performed temporary detached service at Fort Myer, Virginia. From December 1890 to March 1891, he took part in the Ghost Dance War against the Lakota people, including the Battle of Wounded Knee and the Drexel Mission Fight. He requested reassignment from the adjutant's post in September 1897, and performed duty with the Department of the Columbia until February 1898. Preston was in charge of pack trains organized to take part in the 1898 Yukon Relief Mission, which was organized to provide food and other supplies to gold miners stranded in a remote area of Alaska. In February 1898, Preston sailed to Alaska with the pack trains that he had organized. After completing the relief mission, he spent several months with an army contingent that explored Prince William Sound. In July 1898, he sailed from Alaska to Puerto Rico for Spanish–American War duty, and was in charge of army pack trains that supplied soldiers in the field. In September 1898, he was again assigned to duty at the War Department. ==Continued career==

From July to October 1899, Preston served as aide-de-camp to Major General Nelson A. Miles, the Commanding General of the United States Army. In August 1899 he was promoted to temporary major in the 41st U.S. Infantry, a unit of United States Volunteers raised for service in the Philippines. In February and March 1907, he performed temporary duty at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, where he was a member of the Automatic Pistol Board that considered specifications and designs for the procurement and fielding of a new army service pistol. From March 1909 to March 1911, he served with the 13th Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas. From March 1911 to October 1912, he performed Mexican Border War duty in Arizona and New Mexico, first with the 13th Cavalry, and later with the 8th Cavalry Regiment. In February 1912, he was promoted to major in the 4th Cavalry Regiment. ==Later career==

From October to December 1912, Preston was a student at Fort Riley's Riding School for Cavalry officers. He was then posted to Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, where he served with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. In April 1918, Preston was promoted to temporary brigadier general and in May he was assigned to command the 4th Field Artillery Brigade, which he organized and trained at Camp Greene. He was then assigned to Camp Travis, Texas, where he commanded the 2nd Division Trains and the 23rd Infantry Regiment. In March 1921, he was assigned to command the Eighth Corps Area General Depot in El Paso, Texas. In December 1922, he was assigned to Fort Mason, California, where he commanded the San Francisco General Intermediate Depot. Preston remained in this post until May 1928, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 64 and left the army. He retired at the rank of colonel; in 1930, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation permitting World War I general officers to retire at their highest rank, and Preston was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list. ==Retirement and death==

In retirement, Preston was a resident of Palo Alto, California. He died in Palo Alto on December 12, 1952. Preston was buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto. ==Family==

In November 1899, Preston married Frances Elizabeth Hacker. She died in 1930, and he did not remarry. Preston was the father of two children, son John Beverly, an army aviator, and daughter Helen Howard, the wife of Major General Ray T. Maddocks. ==Awards==

Awards Preston received the Citation Star for heroism at the December 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee. ==Legacy==

Preston Branding One of Preston's lasting contributions to army operations was the Preston Branding System, which he created in 1925 so the army could keep track of its inventory of horses and mules. On the day of purchase, each animal was branded on the left side of the neck in characters two and one half inches high and one and one half inches wide. The kit included two mess pans or plates that fit together in clamshell pattern, eating utensils, and canteen. ==Effective dates of promotion==

• Additional Second Lieutenant, June 11, 1888 • Second Lieutenant, July 16, 1888 • First Lieutenant, February 25, 1896 • Major (United States Volunteers), August 17, 1899 (terminated June 30, 1901) • Captain, February 2, 1901 • Major, February 20, 1912 • Lieutenant Colonel, July 1, 1916 • Colonel, May 15, 1917 • Brigadier General (National Army), May 15, 1917 • Colonel, July 15, 1919 • Colonel (Retired), May 29, 1928 • Brigadier General (Retired list), June 21, 1930 ==References==