This collection of papers of distinguished soldier and popular novelist Charles King is far too fragmentary to give a complete record of his achievements. It consists rather of small groups of papers that show the types of activities in which he engaged, the persons with whom he corresponded, and some examples of his own writings. The correspondence and a few other portions of the collection are available in both original paper form and on microfilm.
A very few pieces touch upon the general's ancestry and the services of his father, General Rufus King who commanded the troops during the Civil War that were later known as the Iron Brigade. Only reminiscent sketches and letters give information on Charles King's cadetship at West Point, 1862-1866, and his participation in the reconstruction program at New Orleans and in the Indian wars in the west in the 1870s.
There is considerable discussion of plans in 1897 for the production of King's play, Fort Frayne, in New York and Chicago; a volume containing official and personal correspondence, photographs, and clippings for 1898 and 1899 when King commanded the First Brigade in the Philippines; a group of correspondence concerning the public welcome given to General Arthur MacArthur on his return to Milwaukee in 1901; recommendations presented at the time of King's appointment in 1904 as special inspector for the War Department of the Wisconsin National Guard and twelve small notebooks, 1905 to 1923, in which he recorded his observations on these inspections; numerous letters of comment on his biography of Ulysses S. Grant, published in 1914; and several letters from Wisconsin soldiers stationed on the Mexican border in 1916.
A large proportion of the papers deals with the period of the First World War. From the passage of the National Defense Act in 1916 until his death in 1923, the adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard, Orlando Holway, maintained a close correspondence with General King, discussing with him the many problems connected with the management of the National Guard during the war and the adjustments necessary at its close.
The remainder of the papers deals principally with the preparation of biographical sketches of departed comrades. A scattering of letters throughout the collection from military officers prominent in the regular army, the national guard, military training schools, and civilian affairs, attest to the widespread appreciation of General King's contributions to military science and the high esteem in which he was held.
The Arthur MacArthur letters are included in the boxed correspondence. A Theodore Roosevelt letter, August 23, 1898, is included in the scrapbook.
