LEONARD WOOD was born in Winchester, New Hampshire, on 9 October 1860; was educated in local schools and at Pierce Academy in Middleboro, Massachusetts; attended Harvard Medical School and received his doctor of medicine degree via internship at Boston City Hospital, 1884; received an interim appointment as contract surgeon with the Army, 1885; received an appointment as assistant surgeon in the regular establishment and served in Arizona as a medical and provisional troop officer in the final Apache operations, 1886; was later awarded the Medal of Honor for distinguished conduct in the Geronimo campaign; served as staff surgeon at department headquarters in Los Angeles and in the field in Arizona, 1887-1889; married Laura Condit Smith, 1890; was promoted to captain, January 1891; was assigned to Army headquarters in Washington, D.C., as assistant attending surgeon, 1895, with responsibility for the care of senior government officials including the president; was appointed colonel of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry (Roosevelt's "Rough Riders"), May 1898, and led it in the Cuban operations at Las Guasimas and San Juan Hill, June 1898; for his gallant services, was promoted to brigadier general (July 1898) and major general (December 1898) of volunteers; was successively military governor of the city of Santiago, Santiago Province, and Cuba, 1898-1902, receiving reappointments to brigadier general (April 1899) and major general (December 1899) of volunteers; was promoted to brigadier general in the regular service, February 1901, and major general in August 1903; was transferred to the Philippines and served as governor of Moro Province, 1903-1906; commanded the Philippines Division, 1906-1908; commanded the Department of the East, 1908-1910; served as special ambassador to Argentina for its centennial celebration, 1910; was chief of staff of the United States Army, 22 April 1910-20 April 1914; was a leading advocate of national preparedness, initiated the Plattsburg (New York) officer training camps, streamlined Army staff and administrative procedures, and pressed for increases in officer strength; commanded the Department of the East, 1914-1917; organized the new Southern Department, 1917; commanded the 89th Division and Camp Funston, 1917; visited Europe to observe allied operations, 1917-1918; trained the 10th Division at Camp Funston, 1918; was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for president, 1920; commanded the Central Division (Sixth Corps Area), 1919-1921; served on a special mission to the Philippines, 1921; retired from active service, October 1921; was governor general of the Philippines, 1921-1927; died in Boston, Massachusetts, on 7 August 1927.


The Artist

Charles J. Fox is the pseudonym of Leo Fox, a New York City entrepreneur who for many years commissioned portraits of leading figures in government, business, society, and the professions. The portraits, signed C. J. Fox, have been executed for the most part by New York artist Irving Resnikoff (1897-1988) during a forty-year association with Fox. Mr. Resnikoff was born in Russia and studied art at the Imperial Art Academy in St. Petersburg. He left his native land after the revolution and came to the United States in 1923 to settle in New York City and embark upon a career as a portraitist. In fulfillment of C. J. Fox commissions Resnikoff also painted the portraits of Secretaries of the Army Wilber M. Brucker, Elvis J. Stahr, Jr., and Stephen Ailes. His portrait of Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood is reproduced from the Army Art Collection.

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Painting:  Leonard Wood.  By Charles J. Fox.
Leonard Wood
By Irving Resnikoff [signed C. J. Fox]
Oil on canvas, 401/4" x 301/4", 1974

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Last updated 24 February 2006