Bio
Cornelius Wendell Wickersham was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on 25 June 1884. The Harvard-educated lawyer enlisted in the New York National Guard (NYNG) on 1 July 1915, and was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant on 13 September 1916.
After being federalized for duty on the Mexican border in 1916, he deployed to France in February 1918. There, he attended the Army General Staff College before assignments in the 27th Infantry Division and as a Corps Operations and Training Officer.
During the interwar years he served in the Organized Reserves, including commanding the 153rd Infantry Brigade, 77th Infantry Division. On 20 January 1942, then-Colonel Wickersham was promoted to brigadier general (BG), Army of the United States.
In March 1942, he became the first Commandant of the School of Military Government at the University of Virginia. Wickersham pioneered the U.S. Army’s first professional Civil Affairs (CA) education and established an unbroken line of instruction perpetuated today by the U.S. Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School.
In January 1944, BG Wickersham deployed to Europe for CA positions on the European Advisory Commission, and as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Group Control Council (Germany). BG Wickersham, also a Lieutenant General in the NYNG, retired on 29 June 1948. He died on 31 January 1968.