John T. Prout

John T. Prout (1880 – 1969) was an American and Irish soldier. He served in the United States Army in the First World War, a training officer in the guerrilla Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and held one of the senior commands in the National Army during the Irish Civil War (1922–23).

Prout was born in County Tipperary in 1880, but emigrated to the United States while still young. After the United States entry into the First World War in 1917, he enlisted with the United States 69th Infantry Regiment. He spent five months attached to the French command staff and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

After the war he returned to Ireland, where he became involved in the agitation for Irish independence and joined the Irish Republican Army. He served as a training and intelligence officer to the Third Tipperary Brigade, based at Galtee Castle.

When the IRA split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922, he sided with the Treaty. He subsequently joined the new National Army, where he was given the rank of Commandant General and given command of the southeast, based in Kilkenny. The Civil War, between pro- and anti-Treaty factions, broke out in June 1922.

In July 1922, with a command of 450 men, and an 18 pounder field gun, Prout re-took the city of Waterford from anti-treaty forces after a three-day battle (see Irish Free State offensive). There he recruited 200 more soldiers into the National Army, and received a large shipment of arms by sea from Dublin. His troops also had to keep order in the city in the absence of any other civil power.

...
Wikipedia