James Franklin Bell | |
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Born | Shelbyville, Kentucky, U.S. | January 9, 1856
Died | January 8, 1919 New York City, U.S. | (aged 62)
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1878–1919 |
Rank | Major General |
Commands | Department of the East 77th Division Department of the West 4th Division Philippine Department Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Colleges and Schools, Fort Leavenworth 3rd Brigade, Luzon Department 1st District, Luzon Department 4th Brigade, 2nd Division 36th U.S. Volunteer Infantry |
Battles / wars | Indian Wars Spanish–American War Philippine–American War World War I |
Awards | Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal |
Signature |
James Franklin Bell (January 9, 1856 – January 8, 1919) was an officer in the United States Army who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1906 to 1910.
Bell was a major general in the Regular United States Army, commanding the Department of the East, with headquarters at Governors Island, New York at the time of his death in 1919. He entered West Point in 1874, and graduated 38th in a class of 43 in 1878, with a commission as second lieutenant of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, a black unit.
Bell became notorious for his actions in the Philippine–American War, in which he ordered the detainment of Filipino civilians in the provinces of Batangas and Laguna into concentration camps, resulting in the deaths of over 11,000 people.[1]