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This memorandum details the poor conduct and inefficiency of Colonel William F. Stewart of the Coast Artillery Corps in the United States Army using the testimony of a variety of witnesses. Brigadier General Murray recommends relief from command or retirement upon Stewart’s own application.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-16
President Roosevelt feels that it is the duty of military officers to set an example for the men under their command of temperance and clean living. In doing so, he will help soldiers avoid “the inevitable misery and disaster which follow upon intemperance and upon moral uncleanliness, and vicious living.” This draft of the speech shows a large number of handwritten edits and rearrangements of the text.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902
Theodore Roosevelt feels that his writings will have the most usefulness in the United States. He has “contemptuous dislike” for the Wilson administration and is especially distressed at the handling of the European war and Mexico. Roosevelt regrets to hear that Frederick Courteney Selous’s troop of frontiersmen was not sent to the front. He approves of thorough training for soldiers but also believes that ordinary generals do not realize the possibilities of men like the frontiersmen, or Rough Riders, who can perform “very great feats.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-11-14
President Roosevelt informs Dan T. Moore that he does not know anything about Clarence Northrup Jones’s case. Roosevelt had already signed his commission when he got Moore’s letter, and doubts if anything can now be done about it. He asks Moore to send any information indicating that Jones has acted poorly in the past year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-04
President Roosevelt instructs the War Department to forward the proceedings of the case against Clarence Northrup Jones to him. Roosevelt has heard of Jones’s poor moral character, and thinks he should be out of the army.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-31
President Roosevelt regrets to inform Algernon Edward Sartoris that he is unable to appoint Sartoris as he had discussed. Secretary of State Elihu Root has made complaints against the appointment, stemming from Root’s investigation into Sartoris’s resignation from the army and his personal conduct. Roosevelt is not willing to disregard Root’s protests in this matter, since Sartoris would serve under Root.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-24
President Roosevelt has forwarded Francis J. Heney’s letter to the War Department with a request that they comply with his suggestion regarding Raymond W. Briggs.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-14
President Roosevelt sends Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte an excerpt of a speech from Japanese admiral Heihachirō Tōgō, which he would like inserted in a general order. The speech discusses the importance of maintaining military readiness and keeping soldiers trained and ready for combat at all times.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-21
President Roosevelt sends Secretary of the War Taft an excerpt of a speech from Japanese admiral Heihachirō Tōgō, which he would like inserted in a general order. The speech discusses the importance of maintaining military readiness and keeping soldiers trained and ready for combat at all times.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-21
President Roosevelt informs Secretary of War Taft that James Roscoe Day “intends to make a fuss” about a controversy surrounding the appointment of George S. Richards in the army. Roosevelt believes that Richards was appointed under false pretenses, and that they should prepare to “stand up to the punishment and give punishment” if Congress makes a fuss. He advises Taft to emphasize that although Day stated that he could not trust Richards with more than a dollar at a time, he insisted that Richards be retained.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-06
Fitzhugh Lee tells President Roosevelt a great deal about his experience studying and training at the French cavalry school at Saumur. He updates Roosevelt on the number of other foreign officers there, the training schedule, and what he is learning. He also discusses the social and moral conditions of the school. Finally, he thanks Roosevelt for his friendship and support, and sends his good wishes for the family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-15
Dan T. Moore does not believe that President Roosevelt looked at the report of the board regarding the promotion of Clarence Northrup Jones and updates him on his conduct. Jones sought a divorce from his wife in return for paying her $1,000. During and after the divorce proceedings, Jones lived with his wife in Washington. Jones’s wife has since remarried.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-07
Dan T. Moore writes President Roosevelt about a first lieutenant, Clarence Northup Jones, who has twice been denied promotion on moral grounds. Jones is appealing the decision, and Moore asks Roosevelt to review the case himself and deny Jones the promotion. Moore does not want Jones to be promoted because he would then be assigned to Moore’s regiment, and he does not want Jones associating with his family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-28
General Duvall informs Acting Secretary of War Oliver that Colonel William F. Stewart of the Coast Artillery Corps is unfit to exercise command in his present office due to the testimony of five general officers under whom he served. Duval and several other general officers recommend that Stewart be transferred to an ungarrisoned post while he awaits retirement and ask that this proposed action be submitted to President Roosevelt for his approval.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-16
In Detroit, Michigan, President Roosevelt addresses a crowd of veterans of the Spanish-American War, telling them Mayor William C. Maybury’s invitation to speak to them was the first Roosevelt had accepted that fall. After joking that in the Spanish-American War “there was not enough war to go around,” Roosevelt notes with seriousness that veterans of that conflict hope they showed the same spirit and worthiness as the “men of Appomattox.” Using anecdotes from their military service, Roosevelt reminds them that as with soldiers, good citizens come from all walks of life and that the drudgery of hard work comes before heroism in battle. He urges the testing of oneself and one’s neighbors by “the essential instead of the non-essential qualities in each man.” He also highlights the need for modern military training and weapons but emphasizes that the character of the soldier is even more important. Finally, Roosevelt praises the United States’ actions and motives in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and pledges the best results for the people of the Philippines in particular.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-22
President Roosevelt has read the enclosed article and will look into the matter concerning Major Robert Lee Howze in the Philippines, although he believes the language used by Oswald Garrison Villard’s correspondent suggests that the assertion made in the article may not be accurate. Philippines Governor William H. Taft has written to Roosevelt “in a manner condemnatory in the highest degree of [General Nelson A.] Miles and [G. J.] Hunter.”
1903-03-31