George Percival Scriven (February 21, 1854March 7, 1940) was the seventh Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army (1913–1917). In this position he commanded the Aeronautical Division (1913–1914), and later the Aviation Section (1914–1917) of U.S. Signal Corps, the forerunner of the United States Air Force.
Scriven was first Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (1915–1916), the forerunner of NASA.
Military career George Percival Scriven was born on February 21, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Chicago for one year, studied civil engineering for two years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, then enrolled at the United States Military Academy. Scriven graduated fifth in his class in 1878.
Scriven was commissioned a second Lieutenant on June 14, 1878, and served with the Eighth Infantry, then returned to teach modern languages at West Point. In 1885, Scriven was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to the Third Artillery. Delegated to the Adjutant General's Office, in 1890, Scriven was placed on duty with the State Department within the Army's Signal Corps.
In 1894, Scriven was promoted to captain and directed to serve as military attaché in the U.S. legation in Mexico. Later that year, he was appointed as military attaché in Rome, Italy. In 1896, Secretary of War Daniel S. Lamont directed Maj. Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook (ret.), and Scriven to be the official US delegates to the coronation of Nicholas II of Russia. In April, 1897 Scriven requested to observe the Turkish army in their war with Greece. Where he was soon appointed military attaché to the US Embassy I'm Constantinople. In May 1898, Scriven was promoted to major. Later, in 1898, Scriven was named Chief Signal Officer of the Gulf during the Spanish–American War. He served in numerous military posts and roles over the next decade, including Chief Signal Officer and Military Secretary in Cuba in 1899; Chief Signal Officer as part of the China Relief Expedition from August to November 1900;
In 1902, Scriven, acting as Chief Signal Officer of the Army, contracted the Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company for the September Long Island army navy maneuvers, setting up wireless telegraphy stations at Block Island, Gardiner's Island, and Army headquarters at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut. Scriven was Chief Signal Officer of the Department of the East from 1904 to 1909; and as Chief Signal Officer of the Philippines Division from 1909 to 1911. In January 1913, Colonel Scriven was promoted to brigadier general and appointed as the seventh Chief Signal Officer of the Army by President William Howard Taft. At the time of the appointment, it was noted that Scriven "has had a career of remarkable activity, having been attached at different times to three branches of the military service, and having seen service in all parts of the world and participated in the front of every campaign which has been waged since his graduation from the Military Academy ... "
He held the position of chief signal officer until 1917. During this period, Scriven was also appointed chairman of the newly formed National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1915 and served until 1916.
In February 1917, after 42 years of service, Brigadier General Scriven retired from the Army. He was asked to continue service under the status of "active service in case of war." Accordingly, in September 1917 after the United States had entered World War I, Scriven was assigned to the embassy in Rome as military attaché by direct appointment of the Secretary of War and Secretary of State. While in Rome, he served as military advisor to the Italian army.
Scriven received multiple honors throughout his career, including recognition for gallantry in action against Chinese Boxer forces at Yang Tsun on August 6, 1900, and at Peking on August 14–15, 1900. He also received badges for his service during the Spanish–American War, the Philippines Invasion, the Army of Cuban Occupation, the China Relief Expedition, and the Mexican Expedition. In 1918, he was awarded the decoration of Grand Officer Crown of Italy for his service during World War I.
George P. Scriven and Aviation in the United States
Aeronautical Division U.S. Army Signal Corps Wilbur and Orville Wright's first successful airplane flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, generated tremendous public enthusiasm for aeronautics. Following this event, though, aviation pursuits in the United States centered on recreational exhibition meets, at the cost of serious aeronautical research. In research, the United States lagged far behind Europe, where many countries recognized the importance of concentrated research and continued development in the field of aeronautics. While national aeronautical libraries existed throughout the European continent by the turn of the twentieth century, university research in the United States "was virtually non-existent."
Additionally, the U.S. military delayed in taking aviation seriously as an increasingly important military field. Aviation's military applications were regarded as limited to reconnaissance and other passive support functions, and the federal government did not consider making significant military appropriations for aviation research. The first major advance in military aeronautics in the United States came on August 1, 1907, when the Chief Signal Officer of the Army announced the creation of an Aeronautical Division within the Army's Signal Corps, which had been created in 1891. Particularly well suited to promote the study of aeronautics, the Division was charged with responsibility for all issues related to "military ballooning, air machines, and all kindred subjects."
The Division was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in the world and the precursor to the United States Air Force. Led by Captain Charles deForest Chandler, a Signal Corps officer with interest in military aeronautics, the Division was established with three officers and ten enlisted men, all from the Signal Corps. It soon became clear that the newly formed Aeronautical Division was limited by both a lack of funding and inadequate staffing. In the Division's first year, the War Department submitted a request to Congress for a $200,000 appropriation for aeronautical equipment and instruction, but the item was struck from the final bill. The Board of Ordnance and Fortifications stepped in, appropriating enough funding for the War Department to purchase an airplane from A.M. Herring of New York, and another from the Wright Brothers. The first regular appropriation for aeronautics in the military services was not made until 1911, and while annual reports of the Chief Signal Officer repeatedly stated that funding was insufficient to keep pace with aeronautical development in other countries, appropriations granted by Congress remained small. Another major problem facing the Aeronautical Division was a lack of personnel within the Signal Corps devoted to aeronautics. Between 1908 and 1910, repeated attempts were made to secure legislation that would authorize a personnel increase, but none were successful.
These issues received more serious and focused discussion with the introduction of a bill to create an Aviation Corps within the Army. Introduced by Representative James Hay (Virginia) on February 11, 1913, the Hay Bill (H.R. 28728) ultimately failed to pass, but it succeeded in instigating serious and necessary discussion regarding the current and future state of aeronautics within the U.S. military. It was the first bill to propose separating aviation from the Signal Corps, and it engendered serious debate due to that provision. The House Committee on Military Affairs held lengthy hearings on the Hay Bill beginning on August 12, 1913. The bill was opposed both by the War Department and by most Signal Corps officers called to speak before the Committee. Among the most vocal were Acting Secretary of War Henry Breckinridge, General Billy Mitchell, and Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General Scriven, who had recently been promoted to his position.
These men welcomed the attention finally being paid to the issue of military aeronautics, but Scriven in particular believed strongly that it would be a mistake to remove aviation from the Signal Corps, because it had the technical information and machinery necessary to perform the work, as well as experienced personnel.
He noted the scientific progress made by the Corps and stated that such knowledge was more valuable to aviation than pure flying experience. Scriven argued that personnel numbers should be increased and that aviation should be assigned permanently to the Signal Corps.
In the fall of 1913, while the House Committee on Military Affairs continued with its consideration of the Hay Bill, Brigadier General Scriven continued his campaign to both promote aviation and to keep it within the Signal Corps. Scriven released a public statement on the topic in 1913. The New York Times published the piece, entitled "Asks Trained Men for Army Aviation; Head of the Signal Corps Appeals for a Strengthening of That Branch of the Service." Describing the statement as "in a way an appeal to Congress," the article noted that "it is rather bluntly stated that the flying situation in the United States viewed strictly from a military standpoint, is in a critical condition." Emphasizing that aerial navigation was on the verge of assuming significant consequence, Scriven stated" ... aviation, which may be considered a sport by the people of the country at large, is to the army a vital necessity. The time for serious effort in this new military science is at hand." Scriven, noting the situation as "critical," called for an increase in funding to support trained personnel for aeroplane and reconnaissance work. Acknowledging the efforts of the Signal Corps in compiling data and information on the strength of materials, the use of radio-telegraphy in aeronautics, and other topics, Scriven concluded that "the Signal Corps officials give the opinion that the work of aeronautics in the United States Army should be carried out along its present lines of development, and that the work should receive every reasonable aid and encouragement by Congress."
His outspoken views on aviation would establish the Signal Corps' policy in the crucial years before World War I. As a result of the hearings and the work of interested men including Scriven, several revisions were made to the Hay Bill in the following months. Finally, the House Military Affairs Committee substituted a new bill, H.R. 5304, which, instead of creating an aviation corps within the Army, established an Aviation Division within the Signal Corps, with 60 officers and 260 enlisted men. In presenting the bill to Congress, the Military Affairs Committee recommended a $300,000 appropriation for the Aviation Section, stating that while it would not try to place the Aviation Service on the same plane as those found in European countries, it would try to put U.S. aviation in a position to "enable it to keep up with the experiments being made in aviation." On July 12, 1914, the Senate Military Affairs Committee agreed, stating "If this branch of the military service is to be made effective every opportunity must be given for its development."