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Dr Jay Sarkar talks about founder of the National Society of Pershing Rifles Part 1 Pershing, founder of the National Society of Pershing Rifles, was born near Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860. His father, John Fletcher Pershing, emigrated to St. Louis as a young man and became a "boss track layer" for the North Missouri Railroad. His mother, Ann Elizabeth Thompson, moved from Blount County, Kentucky to Warrenton, Missouri, a town on the North Missouri Railroad. Here she met John Fletcher Pershing. They were married on March 22, 1859. Soon after their marriage they moved into a shanty on the farm of Judge Merideth Brown, near Laclede. It was here John J Pershing was born. Until 1873, John Pershing went to school and worked on his father's farm. During this time he showed those characteristics which have always been paramount in his life; self possession, competence, level headedness, dependability, and the ability to see a task to completion. In the spring of 1882, he saw an announcement of a competitive examination for an appointment to West Point. He had no desire to become a soldier, however it was an excellent chance at a splendid education. Acting upon the advice of his sister, he went to Trenton, took the exam and secured the appointment. General Pershing was not a brilliant scholar. He graduated 30th in a class of 77. The officers and his classmates recognized that he already had the rare quality of leadership. His classmates elected him president of the class of 1886. Each year he held the highest rank possible in the Cadet Battalion. He was known among his classmates as a strict, but humane disciplinarian. General Merritt, then superintendent of West Point, said that Pershing gave early promise of becoming a superb officer. After his graduation from West Point, Pershing was assigned to Troop L, 6th Cavalry, Fort Bayard, New Mexico. He reported for duty September 30, 1886. Here he scouted hostile Indians, and commanded a detachment which set up a heliograph line 160 miles through the mountains. This latter accomplishment was no small feat. The detachment was out for a month and lived off the country, which was inhabited by hostile Indians. In 1877, he was transferred to Fort Stanton, where he took part in manoeuvres. In 1889, he stood second in pistol marksmanship in the California and Arizona divisions of the Cavalry and 22nd in rifle marksmanship in the Army. In 1891, he stood 2nd in pistol and 5th in rifle marksmanship. In 1890, during an uprising of the Sioux, he served in South Dakota, in charge of the Indian scouts. To be continued
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