George S. Patton Was The Most Interesting Man In The World.
Published in
3 min readJul 28, 2015
He was born George Smith Patton, the son with an illustrious family tree that skeins back all the way to George Washington and the American Revolution. Patton listened to the stories told in his home about cavalry battles by John Singleton Mosby a cavalry officer who served with Jeb Stuart in the Confederate Army. Patton was the descendent of General Hugh Mercer who served in the Revolution, and he had a great uncle named Waller T. Patton who was killed at Gettysburg. Patton was born into affluence and lush historical splendor, baroque, and his lavish upbringing was complete with a thorough and proper education: the Classics, language and science. So many of his relatives were diplomats or soldiers that the family gatherings, church services and funerals were an endless series of panegyrics rich in story.
He had determined early on that he was meant to be a general. He was a man who had a deeply spiritual bend, he prayed, he was a devout Catholic, but he also believed embraced the concept of spirit in reincarnation.
In the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, George S. Patton represented the United States in a number of sports: Fencing, Pentathlon, Swimming, and Equestrian Steeple Chase. In Fencing, he was 4thout of 29 on the team. In the 300-meter freestyle swimming he was 7thout of 37 athletes. In the Pentathlon, he was fifth overall. He turned in perfect number at the Steeplechase but was ranked 6th.
In the Army, Patton became the Master of the Sword, the top sword wielding training officer. Patton knew how to use a sword and he taught other cavalry officers how to kill a man with a sword from a horse. Patton even studied in France under Adjutant Cléry, a French cavalry Fencing instructor, considered at the time to be the best in the world.
George S. Patton designed a cavalry sabre called the Patton Sabre. He learned from the French that they curved cutting blade is often not lethal. Instead, he developed a sabre that was made to pierce and that is what he taught as well.
He married Beatrice Banning Ayer, the heir of a textile magnate.
Patton wrote the Army doctrine on armor mobile warfare.
Originally published at civilianmilitaryintelligencegroup.com on May 30, 2012.
