United States Army General. Born at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, he was the son of Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General George Bell. An 1880 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, he was posted to assignments throughout the country, including a term serving as Professor of Military Science at Cornell University. In 1894 he received a law degree from Cornell and passed the New York bar exam. He served in the Spanish-American War's Santiago Campaign and the Samar Campaign of the Philippine Insurrection. In 1907 he was appointed to the Infantry Equipment Board, taking part in the design of many items that were later used in World War I. At the start of the war George Bell, now a Brigadier General, was promoted to Major General and assigned to command the Illinois National Guard's 33rd Division. He commanded throughout the war, with the 33rd attaining distinction as the only American Expeditionary Force division to fight while organized with both French and British forces as well as fighting under its own flag. After the war he commanded Sixth Corps with headquarters in Chicago until reaching mandatory retirement at age 64. General Bell's awards included the Distinguished Service Medal, and his foreign honors included the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and the Legion of Honor, as well as appointment as a Knight Commander of England's Order of St. Michael and St. George. Illinois' Bell Bowl Prairie and Chicago's Bell Park and George Bell American Legion Post are named for him.
United States Army General. Born at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, he was the son of Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General George Bell. An 1880 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, he was posted to assignments throughout the country, including a term serving as Professor of Military Science at Cornell University. In 1894 he received a law degree from Cornell and passed the New York bar exam. He served in the Spanish-American War's Santiago Campaign and the Samar Campaign of the Philippine Insurrection. In 1907 he was appointed to the Infantry Equipment Board, taking part in the design of many items that were later used in World War I. At the start of the war George Bell, now a Brigadier General, was promoted to Major General and assigned to command the Illinois National Guard's 33rd Division. He commanded throughout the war, with the 33rd attaining distinction as the only American Expeditionary Force division to fight while organized with both French and British forces as well as fighting under its own flag. After the war he commanded Sixth Corps with headquarters in Chicago until reaching mandatory retirement at age 64. General Bell's awards included the Distinguished Service Medal, and his foreign honors included the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and the Legion of Honor, as well as appointment as a Knight Commander of England's Order of St. Michael and St. George. Illinois' Bell Bowl Prairie and Chicago's Bell Park and George Bell American Legion Post are named for him.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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