Hunter Liggett was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on 21st March, 1857. He graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1879 as a second lieutenant in the Fifth Infantry. Over the next few years he served in Montana, Dakota, Texas and Florida and took command of Company D, 5th Infantry, in April 1896.
Liggett took part in the Spanish-American War and in June 1898 was promoted to the rank of major and placed in charge of volunteers recruited in Cuba. The following year he was sent by the United States Army to the Philippines with the 31st Infantry Volunteers.
Promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in June 1909, he became president of the Army War College in 1910. The following year he took command of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division at Texas City.
Liggett returned to the Philippines in 1916 to serve as commander of the Provisional Infantry Brigade and remained there until becoming commander of the Western Department in San Francisco in April 1917.
On the outbreak of the First World War Liggett took command of the 41st Division at Camp Fremont in California. Liggett took his troops to France and General John Pershing placed him in charge of the First American Army Corps fighting on the Western Front.
Liggett led his troops to victory at St Mihiel (12th September 1918) and Meuse-Argonne (26th September 1918). Promoted to commander of the First Army he helped to plan the attack on the southern section of the Hindenburg Line (October 1918) that helped to bring the war to an end in November.
After the war Liggett remained in command of the First Army until April 1919 when he was moved to take charge of the Third Army on occupation duty in Germany.
On his return to the United States Liggett commanded the IX Corps area headquarters in San Francisco. General Liggett, who retired in March 1921, died in San Francisco on 30th December 1935.
