Summary Information
Charles King Papers
1840-1930
Wis Mss KW; Micro 257; Micro 479
1.4 c.f. (4 archives boxes and 1 volume) and 2 reels of microfilm (35 mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Incomplete papers of soldier and novelist Charles King of Milwaukee, composed of correspondence, diaries, memorandum books, and articles. The correspondence deals briefly with King's services in the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines, and with his literary career. A large part of the papers concerns the role of the Wisconsin National Guard in World War I and there is extensive correspondence with Adjutant General Orlando Holway concerning tactical matters and problems of organization and cooperation with the regular army during and after the war. Several letters from Arthur MacArthur are present as is one letter from Theodore Roosevelt. The memoranda books contain notes on inspection reports of the Wisconsin National Guard made by King, 1905-1921.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000kw ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Scope and Content Note
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.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Primarily presented by the King estate, 1939. The 1898-99 diary was loaned for microfilming by D.C. Steffens, Racine, Wisconsin, 1962; and a photocopy of that diary was presented by George Gilkey, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1977. A photocopy of an 1898 diary was presented in 1997 by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum which holds the original. Items in Box 4, Folder 1 were placed on deposit by Rufus King, undated. Most of the diaries were presented by Captain Rufus King, Newport, Rhode Island, July 19 and November 16, 1972. Accession Number: M72-245, M72-444
Contents List
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Wis Mss KW/Micro 479
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Correspondence
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Box-Folder
1-1
Reel
1
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1840-1897
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Box-Folder
1-2
Reel
1
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1898-1913
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Box-Folder
1-3
Reel
1
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1914-1915
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Box-Folder
2-1
Reel
1
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1916-1917
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Box-Folder
2-2
Reel
1
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1918-1920
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Box-Folder
2-3
Reel
1
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1921-1932
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Box-Folder
3-1
Reel
1
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Articles and Biographical Sketches
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Box-Folder
3-2
Reel
1
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Genealogical Papers
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Box-Folder
3-3
Reel
1
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Miscellaneous
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Wis Mss KW
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Notebooks
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Box
3
Volume
1
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1905
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1906
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Box
3
Volume
2
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Inspections
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Box
3
Volume
3
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Camp
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1907
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Box
3
Volume
4
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Inspections
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1908
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Box
3
Volume
3
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Inspections
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Box
3
Volume
5
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Camp Inspections, etc.
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1909
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Box
3
Volume
6
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Inspections and Camp
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1910
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Box
3
Volume
7
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Inspections
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Box
3
Volume
5
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1st Infantry with Notes on all Commands
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1911
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Box
3
Volume
8
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Camps
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1914
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Box
3
Volume
5
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Brigade Camp
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1915
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Box
3
Volume
9
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Camp
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Box
3
Volume
3
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Lecture Tour
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1918-1919
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Box
3
Volume
10
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Camps
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1921
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Box
3
Volume
11
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Camp Douglas
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1923
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Box
3
Volume
12
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Camp Douglas
: Also scattered entries, 1917-1918.
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Wis Mss KW/Micro 479
Volume
13
Reel
1
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Scrapbook: Telegrams, Clippings, and Letters, 1898-1899
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Wis Mss KW
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Diaries
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Box
4
Volume
14
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1872
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Box
4
Volume
15
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1879
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Box
4
Volume
16
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1880
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Box
4
Volume
17
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1881
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Box
4
Volume
18
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1882
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Box
4
Volume
19
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1883
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Box
4
Volume
20
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1884
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Box
4
Volume
21
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1885
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Box
4
Volume
22
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1886
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Box
4
Volume
23
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1887
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Box
4
Volume
24
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1888
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Box
4
Volume
25
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1889
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Box
4
Volume
26
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1890
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Box
4
Volume
27
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1891
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Box
4
Volume
28
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1892
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Box
4
Volume
29
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1893
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Box
4
Volume
30
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1894
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Box
4
Volume
31
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1895
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Box
4
Folder
2
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, 1898 (Photocopy)
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Micro 257
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1898-1899
: Concerning the readying of King's brigade for fighting in the Philippines, his interval as Commanding General of the District of Hawaii, and fighting against the insurgent Filipinos after hostilities with Spain ended.
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Wis Mss KW
Box
4
Folder
3
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Photocopy
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Box
4
Volume
32
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1903
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Box
4
Volume
33
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1904
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Box
4
Volume
34
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1905
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Box
4
Volume
35
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1906
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Box
4
Volume
36
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1907
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Box
4
Volume
37
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1908
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Box
4
Volume
38
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1909
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Box
4
Volume
39
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1910
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Box
4
Volume
40
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1911
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Box
4
Volume
41
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1912
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Box
4
Volume
42
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1913
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Box
4
Volume
43
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1914
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Box
4
Volume
44
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1915
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Box
4
Volume
45
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1916
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
46
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1917
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
47
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1918
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
48
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1919
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
49
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1920
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
50
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1921
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
51
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1922
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
52
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1923
: Missing (January 1993)
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Box
4
Volume
53
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Account Book, 1894
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Box
4
Folder
1
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Appointment of King as Major General of the Wisconsin National Guard; and Citation for Seventy Years of Distinguished Service, 1931 July 19
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