Blanton C. Winship

Blanton C. Winship (November 23, 1869 – October 9, 1947) was an American military lawyer and veteran of both the Spanish–American War and World War I. During his career, he served both as Judge Advocate General of the United States Army and as the governor of Puerto Rico. An investigation led by the United States Commission on Civil Rights blamed him for the Ponce massacre, which killed 19 people. Early life and education Blanton Winship was born in Macon, Georgia, and graduated from Mercer University in 1889. He received a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1893, where he also played football for one year. Career Military service During the Spanish–American War, Winship joined the 1st Georgia Infantry, a volunteer force. After the war, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Winship to become a judge advocate in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps. His duties, through 1917, included teaching at the United States Military Academy and authoring, with John Henry Wigmore, the dean of Northwestern University's law school, the Army's first rules of evidence for courts-martial.