Joseph Compton Castner

Joseph Compton Castner (November 18, 1869 – July 8, 1946) was a United States Army general. He commanded the Ninth Infantry Brigade in all its operations as a part of the Fifth Division, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during the final months of World War I.

Early years He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 18, 1869. His father, Cornelius W. Castner, served as captain of one of New Brunswick's first companies in the American Civil War. In 1891, Castner graduated from Rutgers College (now Rutgers University ) with a degree in civil engineering.

Career

On August 1, 1891, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the United States Army and assigned to the Fourth Infantry for duty. He was promoted as follows: first lieutenant, Fourth Infantry, April 28, 1898; captain, Squadron Philippine Cavalry, April 23, 1900; captain, Fourth Infantry, February 2, 1901; major, Twenty-first Infantry, August 27, 1913; lieutenant colonel, Sixth Infantry, May 13, 1917; colonel, Thirty-eighth Infantry, August 5, 1917; brigadier general, Ninth Brigade, April 12, 1918. He attended the Infantry and Cavalry School in 1895, and was in the War College in 1915. For his services with the Tagalog Scouts in the Philippines, he was promoted to a captaincy in the Philippine Squadron of Cavalry, which commission he held until receiving a captaincy in the Regular Army. Later he served as Constructing Quartermaster in both Honolulu and in Yellowstone National Park. While he was a captain, he commanded the Second Battalion, Fourteenth Infantry and under his training that battalion set an unequaled record in known distance firing. While a major, he was Adjutant General of the District of Columbia Army National Guard, which he developed to a high state of efficiency. As colonel of the Thirty-eighth Infantry, he instilled that fighting spirit which won for his regiment fame as the "Rock of the Marne."

He was cited in the Fifth Division Orders. While his brigade formed part of the army of occupation, Castner took the course of instruction at the Army Center of Artillery Studies at Trier, Germany.

From May 1926 - April 1929, Brig. Gen. Castner was the Commander, US Army Forces in China.

Castner retired while commanding the Third Division in the Western States.

Death and legacy He died on July 8, 1946. He was buried at San Francisco National Cemetery.

Mount Castner and the Castner Glacier, named in his honor, are both located in the area of Alaska that he explored in 1898. Castner Range and Castner Range National Monument, located in El Paso, Texas, are also named in his honor.

His son, Lawrence V. Castner, also later became an officer in the US Army.