The Making of a Leader:
The Women Behind Patton

It is easy to view leaders in isolation and assume that they were born with certain traits that helped them rise to the top. But, building a great leader is a collaborative process that touches on the cornerstones of leadership: values, teamwork, excellence, commitment and perseverance. Here is a look at three women who were instrumental in the development of General George S. Patton, his aunt, Susan “Nannie” Wilson, his sister, Annie “Nita” Patton, and his wife, Beatrice Banning Ayer Patton.

AUNT NANNIE

Susan Wilson, known as Aunt Nannie, lived with the Patton family and was a surrogate mother for young George S. Patton. She considered the protection and education of young Georgie as her duty and she was a force to be reckoned with in the family.

She read aloud to him from books including Plutarch’s Lives, The March of Xenophon, Alexander the Great, and Pilgrim’s Progress. By all accounts, Patton, who was later found to be dyslexic, listened with marked attention. He would draw on the lessons he learned about military history and leadership throughout his entire life.

Young George also formed important core values at that time. Patton and Aunt Nannie spent hours reading and discussing Bible stories. As a child reciting prayers with his mother, Patton assumed the pictures on the wall were God and Jesus. Imagine his surprise when he discovered the images were of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.

As Carlo D’Este wrote of Nannie’s influence in Patton: A Genius for War : Patton’s grandson would later observe that Nannie taught Georgie that the Bible was the most noble tale of man’s survival in the face of the oppression of both gods and evil men, and that Jesus emerged from the New Testament as the quintessential example of human courage: “Nannie’s religious reading made her nephew’s head swirl with alluring myths and legends that coalesced like a planet from a gaseous cloud into a world view all his own.” D’Este pointed out that throughout Patton’s life, whatever challenges he faced, General Patton looked to the Bible for guidance and solace and that he passed on these lessons in speeches and lectures that drew on his deep and abiding faith. When Patton turned 16, Aunt Nannie gave him a ring he would wear for the rest of his life. It was a coiled snake made of gold with ruby chips for eyes. Nannie continued to influence his education, even after he went to military school at Virginia Military Institute, which he attended in the 1903-1904 academic year before transferring to West Point. He was given Robinson’s Wellington’s Campaigns, Peninsula-Waterloo, 1808-1815 in 1907 when his aunt visited West Point in September of that year.

In 1908 he wrote to his mother: “I am awfully glad Aunt Nannie got those books ... they are very good books ... and convinced me of the value of book knowledge of war. It is the whole show and there are surprisingly few men who seem to realize its importance.”

Patton was attending the U.S. Army War College when his first teacher, Aunt Nannie, died in November 1931. He would tell his daughter Ruth Ellen, “I never knew, until I saw her in the majesty of death, what a noble face she had.”

NITA PATTON

Like most siblings Nita and George Patton spent many hours playing together, but their adventures foretold the future general’s path. They spent hours fighting with wooden swords and playing soldier. They wore blue coats with brass buttons. Nita claimed the title of major, while the future general took the rank of private because he thought it was the superior rank. They earned daily salutes from their father as he left home each morning. One of young George’s toy swords was engraved “Lt. Gen. G.S. Patton.”

The siblings remained close as they grew older. When Patton was stationed at Fort Bliss, Nita, then 29 and unmarried, met and formed a romance with Black Jack Pershing. George Patton became an aide-de-camp to General Pershing. D’Este noted that Patton was greatly influenced by Pershing’s sense of duty, discipline and efficiency, traits that would become hallmarks of Patton’s leadership style.

In a letter to his mother, written in November 1918, four days after the Armistice, from his hospital bed where he was recovering from wounds he suffered in an attack at St. Mihiel, Patton referenced his sister’s attachment to Pershing by writing: “Well it is over and I at least am not pleased. I had just perfected a new formation which I should have loved to have tried; also, I would like to have rescued a man under fire so as to get the Medal of Honor. Also at my present rate I might have gotten a star for which I should now have to wait a long time. But I have always looked at this war as a means for getting into position for the next one, for I have no desire that Nita should be the only four star member of the family.”

But the wedding was not to be. In the late spring of 1919, Nita received a letter from Pershing breaking the engagement. As Beatrice Patton saw it: General Pershing had been under a terrible strain for the war years and had done a fantastic job. As the war drew to its successful close he was wined and dined and flattered and praised by the great and near great and some of the most beautiful women in Europe, who were not above falling at his feet to gain something for their heart’s interests. He had a Caesar’s triumph. Nita with her blond Viking good looks and carriage and her predominately good sense, was just there and could more or less be propped in a corner until he had time to regroup and reconsider. Only, Nita removed herself with all flags flying.

BEATRICE PATTON

The challenges faced by Army wives include frequent moves, low pay and long absences from their husbands. Beatrice Patton formed the core of the family, offering unending support to George and doing double duty parenting their children.

After being raised as would befit a proper Boston lady, Beatrice took the challenges of a military wife in stride. Stationed at Ft. Bliss, outside of El Paso, Texas, in a time and place when men routinely wore side arms and chewed tobacco, Beatrice told her grandson Jamie Totten that a lady was expected to telegraph her progress as she walked by stamping or scraping her feet. This ensured that men would refrain from shooting their pistols or spitting tobacco juice out doors and windows until she had passed. A constant companion and intellectual peer of Patton, the couple enjoyed a shared life of the mind. Patton quoted Shakespeare and the Bible with ease. Beatrice was widely read and wrote poetry and music.

When the Pattons were stationed in Hawaii before W.W.II, Beatrice wrote a historical novel based on Hawaiian mythology, titled Blood of the Shark. The book was published in 1936, and has been translated into several languages.

The Pattons also shared a love of physical activity, including foxhunting and sailing. In the 1920's and 1930's, Beatrice won several sailing trophies in New England, racing small boats competitively around Boston, the North Shore, and Newport, RI.

She accompanied Patton on the schooner, Acturus, when he sailed from San Francisco to Hawaii for their first tour of duty there, a real act of faith, considering that they relied on celestial navigation. Patton had demonstrated more than once at West Point that his grasp of mathematics was tenuous at best.

When Patton commanded the 5th Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Myer, outside of Washington, DC in the 1930’s, he and Beatrice were co-masters of Foxhounds of the Cobbler Hunt in nearby Virginia. Later, they jointly designed their dream boat, the When and If, named for a list they had developed for “when and if we ever build a boat.”

Beatrice was also skilled at shining the spotlight on Patton’s accomplishments, including making sure the Treasury Department knew about an incident in 1923 when she and her husband rescued three young boys whose boats had capsized during a squall. In August 1926, Patton received the civilian Treasury Life Saving metal for his bravery.

Beatrice supported Patton's career with a fierce protectiveness. She assailed a man at the Sulgrave Club in Washington who had made a snide remark about her husband behind his back, but not hers.

She supported General Patton in the field as well. After W.W.I, when Patton was demonstrating a prototype tank to members of Congress, Beatrice drove the tank across country to demonstrate how easy it was to drive.

Her unflagging support continued after his death on December 21, 1945 from injuries sustained in an auto accident. After his death, Beatrice devoted herself to organizing her husband’s papers. She extolled his legacy at ceremonies to dedicate statutes, buildings, streets and parks that bore her husband’s name.

She even led the effort to establish a statue of Patton at West Point. It was Beatrice Patton who commissioned James E. Frazier to create the sculpture. Whatever his accomplishments, Patton was bolstered by these three strong women who served as teachers, confidants and friends. His life was forever changed by their love.

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On the Bookshelf:
Recommended Reading

Looking for a great read that will expand your knowledge of General Patton and military history? Some friends of the museum will offer some suggested reading each month. We begin by featuring the selections of Dick Chegar, Chairman of the Board of the Patton Museum Foundation.

The Patton Papers, 2 Volumes
Martin Blumenson

When the Patton family selected Martin Blumenson to edit and publish the many documents associated with General George Smith Patton, Jr., they opened the door for a superb historian to expose the mind of a legendary military leader. These two volumes, published in 1972 and 1974, are critical reading for any student of military history in general and George Patton in particular.

Patton: Ordeal and Triumph
Ladislas Farago

For many, George C. Scott is the George Patton they recognize as an iconic American hero based on the 1970 movie, produced by Frank McCarthy. What few viewers know is that the movie is largely based on Farago’s book, published in 1963.

Patton: A Genius for War
Carlo D’Este

This 1995 biography is quite clearly the most comprehensive and best overall biography of George Patton. Carlo D’Este’s meticulous research is exhaustive. His use of the then unpublished memoir by Ruth Ellen Patton Totten of her mother was seminal. Of the many questions I have fielded about General Patton, every answer could be found in D’Este’s biography.

The Soul of Battle
Victor Davis Hanson

Most treatments regarding Patton get far too deep into the weeds of his personality and personal failures without focusing on his unique contributions to military history. For this perspective, do not fail to include Hanson’s marvelous 1999 volume on three great liberators, Epaminondas, Sherman and Patton.

The Liberation Trilogy
Rick Atkinson

Probably the best military historian writing today, Rick Atkinson’s two published volumes on North Africa and Sicily/Italy combine anecdotal and sequential history with dazzling effect. General Patton is given balanced coverage.

The Button Box: A Daughter’s Loving Memory of Mrs. George S. Patton
Ruth Ellen Patton Totten

Brought to the public by Mrs. Totten’s son and Patton Museum Foundation Trustee, James Patton Totten in 2005, this is one of the most comprehensive views of any prominent American family. A must read!

Patton: A Soldier’s Life
Stanley P. Hirshon

While many authors are critical of George Patton for his many issues, this volume is clearly focused on discrediting him as a historical figure. Because Patton remains a subject of great interest, the patient reader is well advised to read several reviews before purchasing a new biography. Hirshon’s book is an excellent example of the principle!

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Director of the General George Patton Museum
Meet Christopher Kolakowski

For Chris Kolakowski heading up the General George Patton Museum is not just a job, it's a passion. He has been immersed in military history since his boyhood in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was born and raised. “My father was Army ROTC and both grandfathers served in the Army going back seven generations. I grew up with an interest in military history and Army values,” said Kolakowski.

Fredericksburg, a city associated with four major battles, three presidents and two naval heroes, home of the largest battlefield park in the nation, served as a perfect classroom for young Chris. In addition to seeing local sites, he often accompanied his father, who served as city manager, to speeches and dedications.

When he was eleven, his father gave him a copy of Combat: The European Theater, a series of first person accounts of battle, including the act of blowing up Erwin Rommel's supply dump. Later Kolakowski would go on to pen his own history book, The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass State, which came out in September of 2009. He is currently working on his second book, This Army Does Not Retreat: The Battles of Stones River and Tullahoma, about Civil War battles in Tennessee in 1862 and 1863. Kolakowski has written and spoken on the Civil War, American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and both World Wars.

He received his BA in History and Mass Communications from Emory & Henry College, while working for the National Park Service during the summers.

“Museums and battlefield parks are great places to study history. They put you there in the moment and allow you to see, hear and touch things you would never get to experience without their help. It is one thing to see a picture of General Patton wearing his helmet and leather jacket decorating generals after the Battle of the Bulge and another to come here and see that helmet and that jacket,” said Kolakowski.

He noted that lessons in leadership and values come alive in settings where history is interpreted, calling parks and museums “the best classrooms in the world.” Kolakowski went on to earn his MA in Public History from the State University of New York at Albany. He has spent his career interpreting and preserving American military history with the National Park Service, New York State government, the Rensselaer County (NY) Historical Society, the Civil War Preservation Trust, and Kentucky State Parks.

The work he has done has been multi-faceted. While at the Civil War Preservation Trust, his duties included historical interpretation, land preservation, and government relations.

During his tenure with Kentucky State Parks, he was Chief Preservationist for the Perryville Battlefield State Historic site and Executive Director of the Perryville Enhancement Project, a nonprofit organization. In those roles, he helped add 152 acres of preserved battlefield land to the group's holdings, open a new museum and develop a new driving tour of the site.

Kolakowski spent a year as Chief Curator of the National Museum of the Army Reserve in Fort McPherson, Georgia before becoming Director of the Patton Museum.

“General Patton has a great story. Fort Knox has a great story. It is not everyday that you get to help build a museum that will tell these kinds of great stories to the public,” said Kolakowski.

He noted that General Patton's life offers a “rich tapestry” from which to teach leadership and that the lessons of leadership reach across disciplines and endeavors. “When we interpret history we serve the people who visit the museum, those who came before us by keeping their stories alive and future generations by helping our children and grandchildren learn the lessons of history and build on them,” said Kolakowski.

“I look forward to working with partners on and off post to make the Patton Museum a great success.”

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Reflections
Readers Share Recollections on General Patton

KEEP EM MOVING

James J. Cowen of San Gabriel, California was pleased to find that Southern California has not forgotten its native son, General George S. Patton. Cowen shared the pictures seen here of a monument in Lacy Park in San Marino, close to the Patton family homestead, and a statue of the general facing the Church of Our Savior in San Gabriel.

Statue of General Patton located at San Gabriel, California

The General Patton monument in Lacy Park

He also shared his recollections of serving under Patton for two years during WWII in England, France, the Netherlands and Germany as a public information officer for the 6th Armored Division.

Cowen was one of six or seven public information officers who met regularly with the general to talk about the progress of the war before D-Day in England.

“General Patton believed in giving credit where credit was due. Whenever there was a river crossing or a town taken he would make sure we got the names of the lowest officers who were involved. He had a sense of the value of publicity that the other generals didn’t have,” said Cowen.

He noted that the general also had a sense of humor and empathy for the men who served under him. Cowen recalled being among 200 officers in his division assembled on a hillside waiting for the general to address the group. The troops waited around an hour, complaining to each other as they stood, but ready to stand at attention when the general appeared. “When General Patton showed up the first thing he said was ‘If you don’t mind getting your pants wet you can sit down.’ Not a single man sat down,” remembered Cowen.

Cowen was especially impressed by Patton’s superior training, hands-on approach to leading and emphasis on taking ground. “When the 6th Armored was ordered to attack the enemy, traveling down the western edge of Normandy, we went 250 miles through breakthrough country with few casualties and captured 5,000 prisoners in ten days. Not one of our 15,000 men, including General Grow, had ever had one day of combat, but our success from the first day was convincing evidence of the value of intensive training,” he observed.

Cowen said General Patton often moved with the troops, sometimes with map in hand, urging them to “keep moving.”

“He was just absolutely fearless. The troops operated well because he had trained everyone so well. Trench warfare was not in his vocabulary. He had to keep moving,” said Cowen.

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General George S. Patton led a life of leadership and service that remains an example for many today. The General George Patton Leadership Program was created to develop, foster and inspire in young people the legendary leadership skills demonstrated by General Patton and embodied in the American soldier. Here is an essay on leadership from Lauren Chilton, a member of Bluegrass Youth Challenge, and a graduate of the program.

Leadership Essay

Not only did I learn how to be a better leader, but I learned things that I never knew about myself. The legendary leader program was a good experience for me. I want to share with you the things that I learned and how I could use these techniques to be a better leader in the future, and how it could help the BCA.

The most important thing to me was the star. Each point represents a word that goes into leadership. Values provide boundaries, and they form a framework for self-respect, self-confidence, and self discipline. Teamwork, collaboration, communications, and other interpersonal skills are essential to effective leadership. passionate commitment and perseverance have also been recognized as leadership essentials. Leaders “make things happen” and that requires action.

There are four different leaders. Warriors are active and take charge, and are confident around others, but often don’t think things through. Explorers focus on people and relationships, they are creative and they are active, but they tend to lose task focus. Friends have good social skills, they're strong, and they have a strong sense of identity and values, but they are gullible and may be slow to act. Analysts are task focused, and are good planners, but are awkward in social situations.

Although I felt most comfortable in the friends corner because I felt I could relax and be myself and not worry about what other people think about me, I know I fit in more in the explorer corner because; I’m creative, and very observant. And I focus on people and relationships.

The program helped me to see and learn how I could become a better leader in the future; it helped me learn how I could learn to communicate better to help people in my team understand things better. Another thing is that if you have respect for others opinions, you’re likely to become more respectable to yourself and your own opinions, and I felt more trustworthy and more trusting. I learned that being more supportive makes a big impact on how your teammates perform. Also if you strive for excellence you are likely to do better, and trying new things can be interesting, and could teach you a lot. Be the best at what you can do, even if you don't succeed in your goal. Look at the positive side of everything. Taking responsibility shows you're a good leader. Following through shows that you don’t give up too easily. Stay positive and don’t give up, keeping a good positive attitude keeps you motivated. Be a better planner, keeping things planned out helps you become a better leader. To be a leader, you have to believe, envision and empower.

Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you make them feel.”

Thank you for your time!

Cadet Chilton
First Platoon Wolfpack

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