Peter Charles Harris

Major General Peter Charles Harris (November 10, 1865 – March 18, 1951) was an officer in the United States Army who served as Adjutant General of the U.S. Army from 1918 to 1922.

Early life and education
Harris was born on November 10, 1865, in Kingston, Georgia. He attended the United States Military Academy and graduated in the class of 1888. Among his classmates there were several men who would, like Harris himself, eventually attain the rank of general officer, such as James W. McAndrew, William M. Morrow, William Robert Dashiell, Robert Lee Howze, Peyton C. March, Eli Alva Helmick, Henry Jervey, William Voorhees Judson, John Louis Hayden, Edward Anderson, William H. Hart, Charles Aloysius Hedekin and William S. Peirce.

Military career
He received a commission for the 13th Infantry Regiment. He also served with the 9th Infantry, the 10th Infantry, and the Twenty-Fourth Infantry.

In June 1895, Harris was an honor graduate of the Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

He participated in the Battle of San Juan Hill and the Siege of Santiago de Cuba, during the Spanish–American War.

He served in the Philippines from 1899 to 1900, from 1905 to 1907, from December 1912 to March 1914 and again from August 1914 to October 1915.

In 1908, Harris graduated from the Army War College. In March 1911, he was promoted to major.

In August 1914, he started service with the Adjutant General's Corps in the Philippines. In September 1914, his transfer from the infantry became official. In 1916, he joined the Adjutant General's Office in Washington, D.C.. Harris was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1916 and colonel in May 1917. He was appointed adjutant general on September 1, 1918. Harris accepted promotions to brigadier general in February 1918 and major general in October 1918.

He retired from service on August 31, 1922.

Awards
He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal due to his services during World War I. The citation for the medal reads:

"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Peter Charles Harris, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. During his service in the Adjutant General's Department, General Harris' zeal, energy, and judgment have been made manifest by the reforms accomplished in record keeping systems in the War Department and in the Army."

His other awards and honors included Commander in the Legion of Honour from France and Commander in the Order of the Crown of Italy.

Personal
Harris was the son of physician Dr. Charles Hooks Harris and his wife Margaret Ann (Monk) Harris. He had four brothers and five sisters. Among his brothers were U.S. Senator from Georgia William J. Harris and Alabama physician Dr. Seale Harris.

On October 6, 1894, Harris married Mary Guthrie at Fort Reno, Oklahoma Territory. They had three sons, all of whom died young: Bayard Guthrie (1895–1909), Charles Dashiell (1897–1918) and John Guthrie (1898–1899). Captain Charles D. Harris was an August 1917 West Point graduate and military engineer who was mortally wounded in action at Clairs Chênes Wood near Cunel, France in October 1918, earning the Distinguished Service Cross.

Death and legacy
Harris lived in Washington, D.C. after retirement and died at Walter Reed Medical Center on March 18, 1951. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey.