Augustus Peabody Gardner

Augustus Peabody Gardner

Major Gardner in uniform.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 6th district
In office
November 4, 1902 – May 15, 1917
Preceded by William Henry Moody
Succeeded by Willfred W. Lufkin
Massachusetts Senate
Third Essex District
In office
January 1900 – 1901
Preceded by Charles O. Bailey
Succeeded by Harry C. Foster
Personal details
Born (1865-11-05)November 5, 1865
Boston, Massachusetts
Died January 14, 1918(1918-01-14) (aged 52)
Camp Wheeler, Macon, Georgia
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Constance Lodge (m. June 15, 1892)
Children Constance Gardner
Alma mater Harvard, A.B., 1886
Awards Distinguished Service Medal
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1898
1917–1918
Rank Captain and assistant Adjutant General
Colonel, Major
Unit Adjutant General's Department
31st Division
121st Regiment, United States Infantry
Battles/wars Spanish–American War
Battle of Coamo
World War I

Augustus Peabody Gardner (November 5, 1865 – January 14, 1918) was a Representative from Massachusetts. Gardner was the son-in-law of Henry Cabot Lodge.

Biography

Augustus Peabody Gardner in 1916.

Gardner was born on November 5, 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts to Joseph Peabody Gardner and Harriet Sears Amory.[1] He was the descendant of Thomas Gardner (planter) and nephew of John Lowell "Jack" Gardner II whose wife was Isabella Stewart Gardner. Jack and Isabella 'adopted' Augustus and his two brothers (Joseph and William) after the death of their father in 1875. Their mother had died in 1865.[2] He graduated from Harvard University in 1886. He studied law at Harvard Law School, but never practised, instead devoting himself to the management of his estate.

On June 14, 1892, Gardner married Constance Lodge, daughter of Henry Cabot Lodge, at Saint Anne's Church, Nahant, Massachusetts. After his death, Constance married Major General Charles Clarence Williams who served as U.S. Army Chief of Ordnance from July 1918 until April 1930.

Spanish–American War

Gardner served in the Spanish–American War as a captain and assistant adjutant general on the staff of Major General James Wilson and fought at the Battle of Coamo. He served from May 12 to December 31, 1898.

Political office

He was elected a member of the Massachusetts Senate in 1899 and served from 1900 to 1901. Gardner was elected, as a Republican, to the Fifty-seventh Congress by special election, after the resignation of United States Representative William H. Moody. Gardner was reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses (November 4, 1902 – May 15, 1917). Gardner was the chairman of the Committee on Industrial Arts and Expositions during the Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Congresses.

Rescue of the Lodges from France

At the beginning of World War I, Gardner's sister-in-law, Mrs. George Cabot Lodge and her children Henry, John, and Helene were stranded in France. In August 1914 Gardner traveled to France to extract them, and to bring them to safety in London.[3]

World War I

Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Gardner resigned from Congress to enter the Army on May 24, 1917 as a colonel in the Adjutant General's Department. He was first assigned to the headquarters of the Eastern Department at Governors Island in New York Harbor and later as adjutant of the 31st Division.

Desiring combat duty, he requested and accepted a demotion to the rank of major on December 8, 1917. He was then placed in command of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry, 31st Division at Camp Wheeler in Georgia.

Gardner died of pneumonia while on active duty at Macon, Georgia on January 14, 1918. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1923, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for meritorious service during World War I. His award citation states, "His entire service was characterized by untiring zeal, devotion to duty and marked success."[4] His other military awards were the Spanish Campaign Medal and the World War I Victory Medal.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Gardner, Constance Lodge (1919), Augustus Peabody Gardner, Major, United States National Guard, 1865–1918, Cambridge, MA: Constance Gardner, printed at the Riverside press, p. 1
  2. ↑ Gardner, Frank A MD [1933] Gardner Memorial: A Biographical and Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Thomas Gardner, Planter, Cape Ann, 1624, Salem ISBN 978-0-7404-2590-5
  3. ↑ Boston Evening Transcript (August 7, 1914), "Lodge and Gardner Safe: Families of Both now in London-Gardner Praises American Officials at Havre", The Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, p. 3
  4. ↑ American Decorations, 1862–1926. pg. 706.

Further reading

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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
William H. Moody		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district
November 4, 1902 – May 15, 1917 		Succeeded by
Wilfred W. Lufkin
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