Henry W. Baird

Henry Welles Baird (August 13, 1881 – October 9, 1963) was a United States Army officer. Serving from 1904 to 1942, he rose from the rank of private to major general. Before his retirement, he commanded the U.S. Army's 4th Armored Division.

Early career He began his army career in September 1904 as a private in Troop E of the 5th Cavalry under Captain William Johnston Jr.. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on February 28, 1907. While stationed at Fort Apache, Arizona, he participated in the 1908 Black Mountain expedition against the Navajo Indians in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Baird went on to serve with the 5th Cavalry at Fort Yellowstone in Wyoming, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. An accomplished horseman, he rode in the 1915 Madison Square Garden Horse Show. By October 1916, now with the 15th Cavalry, he became captain of cavalry while serving at Camp Stotsenberg in the Philippines. In 1923, he graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Later military service

Instructor and training administrator, Organized Reserves From 1923 to 1935, Baird served in various training roles, including as Instructor with the Organized Reserves in Kansas City from 1924 to 1925; as Duty Office Chief of Cavalry, in Washington D.C. from 1926 to 1928; and as Executive Officer for Organized Reserve Affairs for the State of Florida from 1929 to 1934. In these capacities, he trained candidates in the Officers Reserve Corps, the Enlisted Reserve Corps and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Mechanized Cavalry Following the 1934 Fort Riley Maneuvers, which focused on the potential tactical effectiveness of combined operations of horse and mechanized cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel Baird served as Executive Officer under General Bruce Palmer, the newly appointed commander of the 1st Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized) at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This regiment later become part of the 7th Cavalry Brigade. By August 1935 Baird had been named a colonel of cavalry. center|frame|l - r: Henry Baird, Daniel Van Voorhis and Adna Chaffee, Jr. on maneuvers in 1939

4th Armored Division Command at Pine Camp The new Armored Force required officers familiar with the deployment of mechanized forces and skilled both in establishing new training programs and in developing new training facilities.

His command duty with the division focused on overseeing a site development program at the Pine Camp facility funded largely by the Military Appropriations Act of 1941 and the Military Appropriations Act, 1942. While at Pine Camp, he developed and administered a training program for some 9,800 recruits. It was not until the end of 1941 that Pine Camp was supplied with tanks fully suitable for combat training. His leadership role with the program extended to the subsequent relocation of the 4th Armored Division to Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, Tennessee to participate in the I Corps Tennessee Maneuvers. This operation was held in the spring and summer of 1942 in the Tennessee Maneuver Area near the town of Carthage. Now approaching retirement age, Major General Baird, with some reluctance, handed over command of the 4th Armored Division to Major General John Shirley Wood in May 1942. Upon his retirement in the fall of 1942, his temporary one and two-star general ranks were administratively rescinded, and his rank reverted to colonel. On October 28, 1948, his rank was restored to major general. During the years 1946 to 1951, he served as a Director of Civilian Defense for Dade County Florida, and was mayor of Opa-locka from 1942 to 1948.