Edmund Louis "Snitz" Gruber (November 11, 1879 – May 30, 1941) was an artillery officer and general in the United States Army who also gained popularity as composer of military music. He served as Commandant of the Command and General Staff College from October 1940 to May 1941. Life and career Edmund Louis Gruber was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His family had a musical background. His ancestor, Franz Gruber, composed the music to the classic Christmas song "Silent Night." Promotions Edmund Gruber attended the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, from June 19, 1900 to June 15, 1904. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Artillery Corps. He was promoted to first lieutenant on January 25, 1907; to captain on July 1, 1916; to lieutenant colonel (temporary) on August 5, 1917; and to colonel (temporary) on July 30, 1918. He resigned from the Regular Army on October 28, 1919 and was reappointed as a major of Field Artillery on July 1, 1920. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on January 7, 1929, to colonel on August 1, 1935, and to brigadier general (temporary) on October 1, 1940. Service He first served with Field Artillery units at Fort Riley at Junction City, Kansas; Fort Douglas, Utah; and the first Fort D.A. Russell (later called Fort Francis E. Warren) at Cheyenne, Wyoming, from 1904 to 1906. In February 1906 he sailed for the Philippine Islands where he served until April 1908. Returning to the United States, he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth at Leavenworth, Kansas, until the summer of 1908, when he was ordered to Fort Riley, Kansas, as a student officer at the mounted Service School. He was graduated in the summer of 1909, when he again was ordered to the Philippine Islands where he served at Fort William McKinley until April 1910. Upon his return from the Philippine Islands, he was stationed for several months at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. He was then ordered to Germany as a student officer at the Imperial Military Riding School at Hanover. He served on that assignment until August 1912, when he was graduated. Returning to the United States, he was detailed to duty as an instructor in equitation at the Mounted Service School at Fort Riley, Kansas, until December 1912, when he joined the 5th Field Artillery at Fort Sill at Lawton, Oklahoma, with which regiment he served