Henry Pinckney McCain

Henry Pinckney McCain (January 23, 1861 – July 25, 1941) was an American military officer who was Adjutant General of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918. He held the rank of Major General.

Early life McCain was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, on January 23, 1861, the son of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. McCain. He was born during the brief period of time between Mississippi's secession from the United States and its joining the Confederate States of America shortly before the beginning of the American Civil War. McCain's relatives included William A. McCain (1878–1960) and John S. McCain Sr., who were his nephews.

He graduated, 20th in a class of 37, from the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, in June 1885. Among his classmates there included several men who would later rise to the rank of brigadier general or higher in their military careers, such as Joseph E. Kuhn, Charles H. Muir, John D. Barrette, Robert A. Brown, John M. Carson, Willard A. Holbrook, Robert Michie, Robert L. Bullard, Daniel B. Devore, Beaumont B. Buck, and William F. Martin. Upon graduating, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at Fort Shaw, Montana.

Military career From March 1889 to August 1891, he was Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Louisiana State University.

He was stationed in Alaska when the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898. McCain sailed with his regiment to the Philippines in May, and was present for the Battle of Manila. He served as the acting assistant adjutant general for U.S. forces in the Philippines, but had to return to the United States in September due to illness. He held various staff positions in the Department of the Columbia and was promoted to captain in March 1899.

In June 1920, McCain reverted to his permanent peacetime rank of colonel and served as adjutant of the Sixth Corps Area until his retirement in July 1921. He served as governor of the United States Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C. from May 1927 to April 1936. He died in Washington on July 25, 1941, shortly before the United States was to enter World War II, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He also received the following service medal during his long military career: Spanish Campaign Medal Philippine Campaign Medal World War I Victory Medal

Legacy Camp McCain, an Army mobilization site near Grenada, Mississippi, was established in 1942 and named for General McCain. It was later used as a Mississippi Army National Guard training facility.

Personal life He married Emiline DeMoss on November 14, 1888.