Colden Ruggles

Colden L'Hommedieu Ruggles was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on March 18, 1869, the son of Brigadier General George D. Ruggles and Alma Hammond ({{nee}} L'Hommedieu) Ruggles (a daughter of Stephen S. L'Hommedieu).{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Henry Blaine Jr. |date=1998 |title=Generals in Khaki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fJvvAAAAMAAJ |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |publisher=Pentland Press |page=317 |isbn=978-1-5719-7088-6 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|Generals in Khaki}}}}

Ruggles was educated at various Army posts as the Ruggles family traveled during George Ruggles' career, including Omaha and Saint Paul, Minnesota.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=1880 United States Federal Census, Entry for George D. Ruggles Family |date=June 8, 1880 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, MN |access-date=August 8, 2020 |url-access=subscription}} In 1886, he began attendance at the United States Military Academy.{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/3335*.html |title=Colden L'H Ruggles in Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, Volumes III–VIII |last=Thayer |first=Bill |website=Bill Thayer's Web Site |publisher=Bill Thayer |location=Chicago, IL |date=May 5, 2015 |access-date=August 8, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|"Biographical Register"}}}} He graduated in 1890 and was ranked fifth in his class of 54.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} Ruggles received his commission as a second lieutenant of Field Artillery, and was assigned to the 1st Artillery Regiment at Fort Columbus, New York.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

Ruggles remained with the 1st Artillery until August 1891, when he was assigned to the 3rd Artillery at Fort Monroe, Virginia.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He remained at Fort Monroe until December 1893, and was on detached duty as an instructor at the Artillery School beginning in September 1892.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} Ruggles was promoted to first lieutenant on December 18, 1893, and assigned to the Ordnance Corps.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

After his assignment to Ordnance, Ruggles became an acknowledged expert in the design, production, and quality control inspection of artillery, small arms, and ammunition.{{cite book |last=Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy |date=June 11, 1934 |title=Sixty-Fifth Annual Report |url=http://digital-library.usma.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/aogreunion/id/21016/show/20884/rec/3 |location=Newburgh, New York |publisher=Moore Printing Company |pages=179–183 |via=West Point Library Digital Collections |ref={{sfnRef|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}}}} He served at Frankford Arsenal, Pennsylvania from January to October 1894 and at Sandy Hook Proving Ground, New Jersey from October 1894 to October 1896.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He was on duty at Frankford Arsenal again from October 1896 to February 1900.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

During the Spanish–American War, Ruggles was offered promotion to temporary major in the United States Volunteers, which he declined in order to remain on duty at Frankford Arsenal.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} During the war, Ruggles was assigned to inspect the manufacture of ammunition by civilian corporations including the United States Cartridge Company (Lowell, Massachusetts), Union Metallic Cartridge Company (Bridgeport, Connecticut), and Winchester Repeating Arms Company (New Haven, Connecticut).{{cite news |date=January 25, 1899 |title=News and Gossip from the Department of the Gulf: First Lieutenant Colden L'H. Ruggles |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57111039/news-and-gossip/ |work=The Constitution |location=Atlanta, GA |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} He was promoted to captain on April 22, 1899.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

File:RUGGLES, COLDEN. GENERAL LCCN2016860253.tif

Ruggles served as an Ordnance inspector at the Bethlehem Steel Company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from February 1900 to July 1903.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} In 1903, he graduated from Lehigh University with an E.E. degree (electrical engineering).{{cite book |last=Alumni Association of the Lehigh University |date=June 1, 1923 |title=Directory of the Alumni and Students of Lehigh University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5BPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA172 |location=Bethlehem, PA |publisher=Lehigh University |page=172 |via=Google Books}} He was an inspector at Watertown Arsenal, Massachusetts, from July 1903 to August 1908 and was promoted to major on June 25, 1906.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He served as professor of Ordnance and Gunnery at the United States Military Academy from August 1908 to June 1911, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 13, 1911.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} In 1910, Ruggles published Stresses in Wire-Wrapped Guns and in Gun Carriages, a technical work which was used by Army Ordnance and Artillery officers.{{cite book |last=Ruggles |first=Colden L. |date=1910 |title=Stresses in Wire-Wrapped Guns and in Gun Carriages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cUqAAAAYAAJ |location=West Point, NY |publisher=Military Academy Printing Office |page=1 |via=Google Books}}

From June 1911 to July 1913, Ruggles was assigned as Ordnance officer for the Army's Western Department and commander of Benicia Arsenal, California.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He served in the Philippines from September 1913 to October 1915, assigned as Ordnance officer of the Philippine Department and commander of the Manila Ordnance Depot.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} From December 1915 to March 1918, Ruggles commanded Sandy Hook Proving Ground, New Jersey, and he was promoted to colonel on May 15, 1917.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

File:Colden Ruggles (US Army brigadier general).jpg

While serving as commander of Sandy Hook Proving Ground, Ruggles planned and oversaw construction of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, which he commanded from October 1917 to March 1918.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} From March 1918 to January 1919, Ruggles served at the Ordnance Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C., first as Chief of the Supply Division, then as Chief of the Inspection Division.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He was promoted to temporary brigadier general on August 8, 1918.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

From October to December 1918, Ruggles served on temporary inspection and observation duty with the American Expeditionary Forces in England and France.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} At the end of the war, he received the Army Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of his efforts to create Aberdeen Proving Ground.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} The citation for the medal reads:

{{Quote|For especially meritorious and distinguished service. The conception and construction of the Aberdeen Proving Ground and its operation during the early and most difficult period of its history are a monument to his sagacity and unremitting labor.}}

After the war, Ruggles was assigned as Chief of the Ordnance Department's Technical Staff.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He served in this position from January 1919 to July 1921.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} In March 1919, he reverted to his permanent rank of colonel.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He was a student at the United States Army War College from August 1921 to June 1922 and after graduating he returned to his post as Chief of the Technical Staff at the Ordnance Department.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

From August 1923 until retiring in August 1930, Ruggles served as Chief of Ordnance Department's Manufacturing Division and Assistant Chief of Ordnance.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} On March 28, 1927, Ruggles was again promoted to brigadier general.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} From April to June 1930, Ruggles served as acting Chief of Ordnance.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

In retirement, Ruggles was a resident of Charleston, South Carolina.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He was a member of the American Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Association.{{sfn|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}} He was a member of the General Society of Colonial Wars, The Huguenot Society of America, and American Legion.{{sfn|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}} He was also a hereditary member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.{{sfn|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}}

In November 1894, Ruggles married Mary Appleton Miller (1870–1950), the daughter of Brigadier General Marcus P. Miller (1835–1906).{{sfn|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}}{{sfn|Generals in Khaki}} They were the parents of a daughter, Colden (1898–1967), the wife of Eustace L. Florance of Baltimore, Maryland.{{sfn|Sixty-Fifth Annual Report}}{{sfn|Generals in Khaki}}

Ruggles died in Charleston on April 2, 1933.{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}} He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdydWdnbGVzEgZjb2xkZW4-/ Burial Detail: Ruggles, Colden L (Section 3, Grave 1857)] – ANC Explorer{{sfn|"Biographical Register"}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Colden Ruggles}}

• [https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdydWdnbGVzEgZjb2xkZW4-/ Colden L. Ruggles] at Arlington National Cemetery
• [https://engineering.lehigh.edu/alumni/colden-ruggles Colden L'Hommedieu Ruggles] at Lehigh University, P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science Alumni

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Category:1869 births

Category:1933 deaths

Category:Military personnel from Omaha, Nebraska

Category:19th-century United States Army personnel

Category:United States Military Academy alumni

Category:United States Army War College alumni

Category:Lehigh University alumni

Category:United States Army generals of World War I

Category:United States Army generals

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)

Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

Category:United States Army Ordnance Corps personnel