Veterans

George W. Geer encourages Theodore Roosevelt to accept the nomination and become the next president. Geer explains his ancestors were the earliest settlers in America, fighting in every war, including the Civil War where he and his two brothers were injured. Geer plans to get every veteran to vote for Roosevelt. In his postscript Geer mentions his son, J. Eugene Geer, who traveled with Roosevelt during his first presidential campaign in 1904.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-18

Creator(s)

Geer, George W. (George Wolfe), 1835-1914

President Roosevelt sympathizes with the Catholic War Veterans’ Benevolent and Memorial Legion, of which John D. McHenry is president. Roosevelt believes that every “good citizen” must sympathize with its goals of honoring those who have died with a proper memorial service.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt regrets that he cannot attend the reunion of Civil War veterans. He asks Senator Warner to extend his best wishes to the veterans, for without their service, “there would be neither country, nor President, nor flag—nothing for Americans to take pride in now.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt thanks General Wheeler for the touching letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt asks Assistant Secretary of War Sanger if he could locate the discharge papers of John A. Peterson so that he may be admitted to the Soldier’s Home for treatment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore C. Thomas writes to Theodore Roosevelt about his desires to move to and work in Mexico, and asks if Roosevelt would write a letter of recommendation to Francisco I. Madero so that he may get a head start on finding employment. Thomas describes all his connections from when he was a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-14

Creator(s)

Thomas, Theodore C.

Effie M. Record has just been elected as President of the National Auxiliary, Spanish War Veterans and is writing to Theodore Roosevelt to request help obtaining donations from wealthy Americans to meet the needs of the organization. Record provides many statistics and financial details.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-03

Creator(s)

Record, Effie M.

Sarah W. Loud expresses to Theodore Roosevelt her distress over her husband’s treatment and living conditions at the Soldiers’ Hospital, describing poor care, unsanitary conditions, and what she believes is an unjust separation from him, and appealing for Roosevelt’s help in bringing her husband home.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-14

Creator(s)

Loud, Sarah W., 1847-1914

William N. Freeman informs Theodore Roosevelt about New Jersey’s law requiring schoolchildren to salute the flag and asks for his support.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-14

Creator(s)

Freeman, William N. (William Neely), 1860-1925

Sarah W. Loud expresses to Theodore Roosevelt that her husband, Civil War veteran Thomas B. Loud, has been unjustly kept at the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea rather than allowed to live at home with her. She recounts his military service, declining health, and the actions of local officials that resulted in his pension being withheld and adequate aid denied, causing their prolonged separation. Loud appeals to Roosevelt for help in securing a pension sufficient to support him at home, describing her emotional and financial hardship and her faith in Roosevelt’s sense of justice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-12

Creator(s)

Loud, Sarah W., 1847-1914

Commissioner of Pensions Ware appeals to President Roosevelt to overturn a decision made by Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock. Ware wants to send the list of surviving Mexican War veterans to a reunion committee in Texas. Hitchcock refuses to allow it, on the basis that veterans’ information is never to be used except for the business of the Bureau of Pensions. Ware argues that the rule is in place to protect veterans from possible fraud, and that the use of the information for the reunion does not violate that purpose.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-07

Creator(s)

Ware, Eugene F., 1841-1911

Governor Brodie writes that he looks forward to a reunion in March 1905. Brodie congratulates President Roosevelt on the recent election results.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-16

Creator(s)

Brodie, Alexander O. (Alexander Oswald), 1849-1918

Mrs. Moore Murdock is planning a reunion of Mexican War veterans in Texas. She asks Commissioner of Pensions Ware to send a roster of veterans’ names to confirm records.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-15

Creator(s)

Murdock, Moore, Mrs., 1855-1922

On August 23, 1921, as part of its French tour, the American Legion delegation attended the ceremonies of laying the cornerstone for the Roosevelt Bridge, which was built to replace the bridge the Germans destroyed in 1918 over the Marne River in Château-Thierry, France. The bridge was named after Theodore Roosevelt and his son Quentin who was killed in action in France. Camera pans the town, the many French and American dignitaries and soldiers attending the event, and the Marne River; final sequence is long shots of the formal dedication ceremony. Identified on the extreme left of group are: Franklin D’Olier, former National Commander, and Major John G. Emery, current National Commander of the American Legion.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1921-08

Creator(s)

International News

Article includes a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to General Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar expressing regret that he is not able to attend the Grand Army of the Republic National Encampment. He commends those who served in the armed forces, especially Union soldiers in the Civil War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-17

Creator(s)

Unknown

Report on a gathering of the United Spanish War Veterans in Washington, D.C. Captain William E. English recounted what happened when Colonel Theodore Roosevelt was wounded in the arm by shrapnel in the charge at Las Guasimas during the Spanish-American War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-07

Creator(s)

Unknown

Benjamin R. Tillman, Joseph W. Bailey, and William E. Chandler appear as war veterans playing musical instruments and marching. Tillman carries a banner labeled “The Original Rate Bill” and Bailey’s drum is labeled “The White House Post No. 23.”

comments and context

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906-05-30

President Roosevelt greeting war veterans

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1903-07-28

Creator(s)

Underwood & Underwood

President Roosevelt responds to Representative Williams’s claim that he does not understand the South. Although Roosevelt is “greatly puzzled” by some difficulties he has encountered in the South, he has tried to treat the Southern States fairly. Roosevelt believes there are no issues with what he has done in the South but how he has been misrepresented in the South. The president is fine if people disagree with his policies, but he does not like when the facts are misrepresented. He mentions statements made by Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan and Williams himself that were incorrect. Roosevelt does not appreciate the application of base motives to the president of the United States, and believes if the people of the South have been misled, it is because Southern leaders have misled them. Roosevelt also does not appreciate white men in the South trying to get their vote to count more than those in the North, and believes African American men should be judged by the same tests as “ignorant, vicious and shiftless whites.” Roosevelt closes by saying that what the South “really needs” is for her leaders to tell the truth.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt sends a telegram to R. A. Ward to apologize for not being able to accept Ward’s and the Big Bend Veterans Association’s invitation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919