Federal Bar Council Quarterly
June/July/August 2011
www.federalbarcouncil.org
Vol. XVIII, No. 4
Provocative, Human, Eclectic
Legal History
George Patton and the
Law
By C. Evan Stewart
Just as General George S.
Patton, Jr. was completing what
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
wrote would be studied as “a
model of swift conquest by future classes in the War College in
Leavenworth” – leading the
Seventh Army to victory in Sicily,
liberating Palermo, and beating
British General Montgomery into
Messina – Patton self-destructed,
not once, but twice; and it almost
ended his military career.
On August 3, 1943, Patton
visited the 15th Evacuation Hospital, near Nicosia, Sicily. There,
among many wounded men, who
were “brave and cheerful,” sat
Private Charles H. Kuhl, who had
no visible wounds. When Patton
asked Kuhl what he was doing in
the hospital, the soldier stammered: “I guess I can’t take it.”
Patton called Kuhl a coward and
ordered him out of the hospital
tent, but when Kuhl sat frozen in
fear, Patton became even more
irate and slapped his face with a
glove and pushed him out of the
tent with a “kick in the rear.” In
his diary that night, Patton wrote
that Kuhl was “the only arrant
coward I have seen in the Army,”
and that such men “should be tried
for cowardice and shot.”
Ten days later, Patton visited
the 83rd Evacuation Hospital.
Greeting one wounded man after
another, Patton came upon
Private Paul G. Bennett, who was
shivering on a cot. Responding to
the General’s question as to what
he was suffering, Bennett choked
out: “It’s my nerves. I can’t take
the shelling anymore.” Patton,
who did not believe in “combat
fatigue,”
thundered:
“Your
nerves, Hell, you are just a
goddamned coward, you yellow
son of a bitch. Shut up that
goddamned crying. I won’t have
these brave men here who have
been shot seeing a yellow bastard
sitting here crying.... You’re a
disgrace to the Army and you’re
going back to the front to fight,
although that’s too good for you.
You ought to be lined up against
a wall and shot. In fact, I ought to
shoot you myself right now, God
damn you!”
Patton then pulled out one of
his revolvers and waved it in
front of the terrified soldier. After
ordering the hospital commander
to banish Bennett (“I won’t have
these brave boys seeing such a
bastard babied.”), Patton slapped
Bennett twice, the second time
knocking the private’s helmet
liner to the ground.
After leaving the hospital,
Patton encountered his deputy
commander, General Omar Bradley. He told Bradley that he had
just come from a hospital where
he had slapped a malingerer “to
make him mad and put some
fight back in him.” The next day,
Bradley received a report from
the hospital staff about Patton’s
visit. And while Bradley put the
report in his safe, a second copy
found its way to Eisenhower’s
chief surgeon, who presented the
report to Ike.
The matter did not stay there.
The American press corps covering Sicily got wind of the “slapping incidents” and turned them
into a cause célèbre. One reporter
presented a written report to
Eisenhower’s chief of staff,
General Walter Bedell Smith, and
his naval aide, Captain Harry C.
Butcher, stating (“if I am correctly informed”) that Patton had
June/July/August 2011
committed a court-martial offense
by striking an enlisted man. The
press corps, which had grown to
dislike Patton wholly independent
of the “slapping incidents”—they
believed that there were “at least
50,000 American soldiers on Sicily who would shoot Patton if they
had the slightest chance”—actually tried to go further and force
Eisenhower to can Patton.
Federal Bar Council Quarterly
What Was the Legal Case
Against “Old Blood and Guts”?
The war correspondents’ assumption (which has widely been
adopted by histories and biographies since) was perhaps not well
grounded. A Manual for CourtsMartial U.S. Army applicable to
that period did not list as a specific offense an officer striking an
General George Patton in Bavaria in 1945. Photo courtesy
Charles M. Province, The Patton Society, www.pattonhq.com.
enlisted man (although Article 64
does specifically provide that it
was an offense to assault a superior officer). The closest hook for
bringing on a case against Patton
would appear to have been Article 65 (“Conduct Unbecoming
an Officer and a Gentleman”),
which lists as one of the sanctionable indicia the “cruel treatment
of soldiers.” But even if that had
been an appropriate legal basis
for proceeding against Patton,
there would have been a significant procedural hurdle to such a
court-martial – there was not a
sufficient number of ranking
generals in the European Theatre
to try Patton.
More telling perhaps is that
none of the key individuals –
George Marshall (the Army’s
Chief of Staff), Eisenhower, Patton, or Bradley – ever wrote of
the slappings as a court-martial
offense. When this was first
brought to Eisenhower’s attention
by his chief surgeon, Ike’s only
reaction was that he would have
“to give George Patton a jacking
up.” Upon further reflection,
Eisenhower knew the real danger
was a media/political maelstrom:
“If this thing ever gets out, they’ll
be howling for Patton’s scalp, and
that will be the end of Georgie’s
service in this war.” Accordingly,
Eisenhower devised a twopronged strategy for dealing with
the problem as he now understood
it: first, he had to save Patton
from himself by scaring him to
death; and second, he had to use
all of his political skills to co-opt
the press.
Federal Bar Council Quarterly
Eisenhower’s Political
Brilliance
As to the former, Ike dispatched a letter to his oldest and
closest friend in the Army (encaptioned “Dear General Patton”),
enclosing the report and “strongly
advis[ing]” that Patton apologize
to the “individuals concerned;” he
also demanded a written response
“sent to me personally and
secretly.” Informing Patton that
the report had made Eisenhower
“seriously question your good
judgment and your self-discipline,
as to raise serious doubt in my
mind as to your future
usefulness,” Ike ended with: “No
letter that I have been called upon
to write in my military career has
caused me the mental anguish of
this one, not only because of my
long and deep personal friendship
for you but because of my admiration for your military qualities;
but I assure you that conduct such
as described in the accompanying
report will not be tolerated in this
theatre no matter who the offender
may be.” A deeply chastened
Patton not only apologized to the
soldiers and the hospital staffs, he
also “apologized” to every division in the Seventh Army.
With respect to the second
prong, Eisenhower invited the
press into his office, let them rant
and vent against Patton, and then,
while giving them the famous Ike
grin, said: “You men have got
yourselves good stories, and as
you know, there’s no question of
censorship involved.” Having
opened the trap door, Eisen
June/July/August 2011
hower then told them if they did
publish their stories Patton – who
was “indispensable to the war
effort. One of the guarantors of
victory.” – would be destroyed.
At that point, the correspondents
blinked; not wanting to damage
the war effort, they pledged not to
break the story. One correspondent even went so far as to
say they “were not only going to
kill the story but deny it if any of
the correspondents broke it.”
braiding as Patton gave during the
campaign, the skulkers are forced
to fight. Ike said Patton’s method
was deplorable but his result was
excellent.”
In Butcher’s second excerpt,
he recorded: “To me Ike cited
history to show that great military
leaders had practically gone crazy
on battlefields in their zeal to win
the fight. Patton is like this....
[T]he truth is that soldiers love
and respect a successful leader.
Nothing breeds confidence like
Was Patton Really Outside the success, Ike said.... The United
Mainstream?
Nations have not developed another battle leader as successful as
As inexcusable as Patton’s Patton, Ike thinks.”
behavior seems today, in the crucible of a life and death struggle is
As inexcusable as
there a different way to consider
Patton’s behavior? Interestingly,
Patton’s behavior
in Eisenhower’s eyes the answer
seems today, in the
seems to have been “yes.”
crucible of a life and
While he was pondering what
death struggle is
to do about his Patton problem,
there a different way
Eisenhower unburdened himself to
to consider Patton’s
his naval aide, Captain Butcher.
Two excerpts from Butcher’s dibehavior? Interestary are revealing; and these comingly, in Eisenhowments have to be understood as
er’s eyes the answer
coming from a commander who
seems to have been
had suffered a humiliating rout in
“yes.”
the U.S. Army’s first encounter
with the Germans at Kasserine
Pass in Tunisia (which Ike thought
might have caused him to be ca- Slapping Redux
shiered by General Marshall). In
Unfortunately for Patton (and
the first excerpt, Butcher wrote:
Eisenhower),
although Ike’s deal
“Ike makes a point that in any
army one-third of the soldiers are with the war correspondents did
natural fighters and brave; two- not crack, somehow Drew Pearthirds inherently are cowards and son of The Washington Post got
skulkers. By making the two- hold of the story and it became
national news. Now it was Secthirds fear the possible public up
June/July/August 2011
Federal Bar Council Quarterly
retary of War Henry Stimson (see  Patton’s “apologies” to the
Seventh Army’s divisions met
Federal Bar Council Quarterly
with varied responses. Some
April 2009) and General Marshall
groups sat in silence. Others
who stood by Eisenhower’s deciwere more supportive. One
sion to keep Patton. Stimson, in
division would not even let
fact, publicly challenged a Senate
Patton
speak,
chanting
committee looking into the matter,
“Georgie,” “Georgie,” until
declaring that Patton would be
“Old Blood and Guts” started
needed for his “aggressive,
crying and left. In front of anwinning leadership in the bitter
other division, Patton started
battles which are to come before
off with: “I just thought I’d
final victory.” Privately, Stimson,
stand up here and let you sola long time Patton friend and mendiers see if I am as big of a
tor, rebuked Georgie, expressing
son of a bitch as you think I
his “disappointment that so brilam.” As recorded by Captain
liant an officer should so far have
Butcher: “The GIs practically
offended against his own tradiraised the roof with their
tions;” at the same time, however,
cheers. You can’t keep a felthe Secretary of War told Patton
low like that down.”
that Mrs. Patton’s “wonderful tact  Besides Stimson’s critical
and devotion... did much to forintervention, support for Patward the favorable result.” The
ton at various points in his
“favorable result” was that the
turbulent career came from
Pearson publicity blew over and
other Second Circuit lawyers,
did not change public opinion (80
as well. John J. McCloy, for
percent of those polled by Gallup
example, who was the Assisbelieved Patton should remain on
tant Secretary of War during
active duty); Patton would not
WWII, backed up Eisenhowhave to go home in disgrace.
er’s decision to save Patton, 
saying “Lincoln’s remark
Postscripts
when they got after Grant
comes to mind when I think of
Patton — ‘I can’t spare this
 Patton went on to command
man — he fights.’” Even
the Third Army in Europe,
more important support came
leading that army on an hisfrom FDR, who called Patton
toric charge through France,
“our greatest fighting general,
Belgium, Luxembourg, Gerand sheer joy.”
many, and Czechoslovakia. In
perhaps his most famous  Patton’s battlefield skill was
not only admired by Hitler
campaign, Patton broke the
(“that
crazy
cowboy
back of the German offensive
general”/“the most dangerous
in the Ardennes (the Battle of
man [the Allies] have”) and
the Bulge) by relieving the
Stalin, but also by his German
surrounded American forces
counterparts: Oberstleutnant
in Bastogne.
Horst Frieheer von Wagenheim (“General Patton is the
most feared general on all
fronts. [His] tactics are daring
and unpredictable.... He is the
most modern general and the
best
commander
of
[combined] army and infantry
forces.”); General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt (“We
regarded Patton... as the most
aggressive Panzer-General of
the Allies. A man of incredible initiative and lightninglike action.”); Field Marshall
Gerd von Rundstedt (“Patton,
he is your best.”). When General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff
for the German Armed Forces
(Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) heard reports during
the war that Patton might be
cashiered because he had
slapped two enlisted men, he
believed that it was merely
Allied
disinformation—the
Allies would never take out of
operation their most effective
battle commander.
The “slapping incidents”
played a role in one of John
Wayne’s most famous movies: “Sands of Iwo Jima.” In
the film, Wayne’s character –
Sergeant Stryker – gets into a
fist fight in boot camp with
one of his troops (played by
Forrest Tucker). The U.S.
Marine Corps objected to the
scene, but relented when
another scene was added in
which Stryker teaches fighting footwork to another soldier by dancing with him.
(This is the only movie in
which the “Duke” danced
Federal Bar Council Quarterly
20
June/July/August 2011
him: “General Patton, you will
with another man.)
have an army command in the
 After the “slapping incidents,”
great Normandy operation.”
Patton was on double secret
Patton thereupon stepped into
probation (à la “Animal
an empty room and burst into
House”), unsure of whether he
tears.
would play any role in the
battles to come in Northwest  The best biography of George
Patton is Carlo D’Este’s PatEurope. President Roosevelt,
ton: A Genius for War (Harper
stopping over in Sicily on his
Collins 1995). Patton’s diaries
return from the Teheran Conare wonderfully edited by
ference, made a specific point
Martin Blumenson: The Patton
of reaching out to his favorite
Papers (Houghton Mifflin,
“fighting general” and telling
Vol. I 1972; Vol. II 1974).
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