General of the Armies John J. Pershing occupied this residence from 1914 to 1917 after arriving in El Paso in 1914 to assume command of the El Paso Military District. From his base at Fort Bliss, he led the Punitive Expedition in Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa from March 1916 to February 1917. President Wilson then selected him to command the American Expeditionary Forces in France during the First World War. He later served with distinction as Army Chief of Staff from 1921 until his retirement in 1924.