Amazing personal military archive of the heroic General William M. Wherry, a prominent American soldier and author (1836-1918) who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Wilson's Creek and commanded the 2nd Infantry during the Spanish-American War, consisting mostly of various manuscripts, letters, and documents, several of which are signed by presidents and other prominent political and military figures. Highlights include: a partly printed document signed “William McKinley” as president and “R. A. Alger” as secretary of war, dated September 5, 1898, appointing Wherry as “Colonel of Infantry,” with affixed blue seal of the War Department; a partly printed document signed “Winfd S. Hancock” as president of the Military Service Institution, dated June 1, 1879, in part: “This Certificate…witnesseth that William M. Wherry Captain—6th Regt: Infantry, U.S.A. became a Member"; a partly printed document signed “Winfd S. Hancock” as president of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, dated November 30, 1884, in part: “William M. Wherry—Captain 6th Infantry—Bvt. Col. U.S. Army…was received as a Companion of the First Class"; a partly printed document signed “J.M. Schofield” as president of the Society of the Army of the Ohio, dated March 26, 1903, in part: “General Wm M. Wherry, U.S.A. served as Major & Aide-de-Camp in Brigade Division 23rd Corps, Army of the Ohio, and…is admitted to membership”; and a partly printed document stamped “Andrew Johnson” as president and “Edwin M. Stanton” as secretary of war, dated March 25, 1867, appointing William M. Wherry as “Lieutenant Colonel, By Brevet…for gallant and meritorious services during the war."
Also includes: a TLS signed “F.C. Ainsworth” as Chief of the Record and Pension Office of the Adjutant General's Office, Department of War, October 30, 1895; a set of six documents signed “Wm. M. Wherry” as Captain and Brevet Colonel, each one page, dated between April 25, 1871, and December 20, 1872, each headed “Headquarters Military Division of the Pacific"; sixteen manuscript letters signed "Wm M. Wherry" as Acting Assistant Adjutant General, each one page, headed "Headquarters, Department of West Point" or "Military Academy," dated between March and December, 1877; a partly printed document signed “Tho. O. Moore” as Governor of the Confederate State of Louisiana, dated March 1, 1862, concerning a $500 loan to Louisiana; a partly printed document signed “Jos. S. Wilson” as Commissioner of the General Land Office, March 5, 1867, with an attached land grant signed “James Buchanan” in another hand; a partly printed document stamped “H.R. Gamble” as Governor of Missouri, dated December 24, 1863, appointing Wherry as “Major in 11th Cavalry Mo. Vols.”; a 205-page brad-bound carbon manuscript entitled “Personal Recollections and Reminiscences of the Civil War by General Wm. M. Wherry, U.S.A."; and a 45-page brad-bound carbon manuscript, entitled “A Record of Family Descent Compiled from Authentic Records and Letters for the Children of William M. Wherry, III and Mary Abbott Wheery by Their Grandfather, William M. Wherry."
Also present is a massive leather-bound scrapbook belonging to “General William M. Wherry, U. S. A.,” consisting of 164 total pages, with each bearing one or more affixed mementos, including: a cloth insignia worn by Col. Wherry during the Santiago campaign in the 1898 Spanish American War; various period photographs and articles; forty-four unsigned typed pages from 1898 diary entries and personal letters by Col. Wherry; six ALSs in pencil signed "Wm. W. Wherry" and addressed to his daughter Julie, dated between May and August 1898; a manuscript copy of an 1899 letter from Gen. J. M. Schofield to Wherry upon his promotion to Brigadier General; an eight-page booklet entitled “Record of Services of Brevet Colonel William H. Wherry, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Second Infantry, April 1861 to July 1896, Fort Harrison, Montana”; a twenty-page booklet entitled “General Nathaniel Lyon and His Campaign in Missouri in 1861," dated December 3, 1890; a typed fifteen-page copy of Wherry’s speech "Delivered at Banquet of Society of the Cincinnati, Atlantic City July 4 1901”; a thirty-four page booklet entitled "In Memoriam Lieut.—General John M. Schofield, U.S. Army…Reprinted from the Third Volume of 'Personal Recollections of the Rebellion’”; and an ALS signed by novelist William D. Howells, dated September 4, 1915, addressed to Wherry concerning the publishing of an article. In overall very good to fine condition.
