Oliver Lyman Spaulding (general)

Oliver L. Spaulding Jr. was born in St. Johns, Michigan on June 27, 1875, He graduated from Washington, D.C.'s Central High School in 1891, then began attendance at the University of Michigan. ==Start of career==

With the United States Army expanding for the Spanish–American War, in 1898, Spaulding applied for an army commission. Spaulding subsequently took part with his regiment in the 1900 China Relief Expedition. In 1903, he graduated from the Artillery School at Fort Monroe, and was promoted to captain. From 1903 to 1904 he commanded the 100th Coast Artillery Company at Fort Terry, New York. He was a 1905 graduate of the United States Army Staff College. In 1906, he assumed command of the 1st Coast Artillery Company at Fort De Soto. After another assignment as an instructor at the command and general staff college, he attended the United States Army War College, from which he graduated in 1911. In November 1912, he was assigned to command the 4th Coast Artillery Company at Fort Mott, New Jersey. In the years immediately prior to World War I, Spaulding served as assistant commandant of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill. ==Continued career==

Spaulding was promoted to major and lieutenant colonel in 1917. In 1918, he was promoted to colonel, and he performed temporary duty as inspector of artillery units preparing to depart for combat in France. During the First World War, Spaulding served in France, Luxembourg, and Germany as commander of the 161st, 55th, and 165th Field Artillery Brigades with the temporary rank of brigadier general. After the war, he was chief of the historical section on the American Expeditionary Forces staff with the temporary rank of brigadier general. He was professor of military science at Harvard University from 1929 to 1935, and received his M.A. degree from Harvard in 1932. Spaulding taught again at the war college from 1935 to 1939. He retired in June 1939 after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 64. Legislation passed in 1930 permitted general officers from World War I to retire at their highest wartime rank, and at retirement Spaulding was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list. ==Later years and death==

In retirement, Spaulding lectured on history at the Lowell Institute and at George Washington University. In 1909, Spaulding was one of the founders of the United States Field Artillery Association; he served on the organization's first executive council, and subsequently held the position of secretary-treasurer. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Theta Pi, and Phi Delta Phi. In addition, he joined the American Legion at its founding, and was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States as a result of his father's Civil War service. As a result of his service in the Philippines, he belonged to the Military Order of the Carabao. ==Published works==

Spaulding's books included: Notes on Field Artillery (1918); Warfare: A Study of Military Methods From the Earliest Times (1925); The United States Army In War and Peace (four volumes) (1937); Pen And Sword In Greece and Rome (1937); The Second Division A.E.F. in France 1917–19 (1937); and Ahriman, A Study In Aerial Bombardment (1939). ==Awards==

For his World War I service, Spaulding received the Army Distinguished Service Medal from the United States and the Order of the Black Star (Commander) from France. For his service during World War II, Spaulding was a recipient of the Legion of Merit. In 1938, Spaulding received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the University of Michigan. ==Family==

On December 29, 1902, Spaulding married Alice Chandler (1874–1957). They were married until his death, and were the parents of a son, Edward Chandler Spaulding (1912–1975). ==Notes==