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OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Title: William Babcock Hazen Papers

Collection Date(s): 1855-1909

Extent and Forms of Material: 4 cubic feet; includes photographs (11 boxes)

Creator: William Babcock Hazen

Abstract: Papers document General William Babcock Hazen’s military career, primarily through correspondence, photographs, and publications.

Repository: Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.archivescenter@si.edu 202-633-3270 www.americanhistory.si.edu/archives

Collection Number: AC0427

Processing Note: Processed by Robert Ageton (volunteer), September 2004, and Katrina Schoorl (intern), 2010; supervised by Craig Orr and Alison Oswald, archivists.

INFORMATION FOR USERS OF THE COLLECTION

Conditions Governing Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use: Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.

Preferred Citation: Title and date of item, William Babcock Hazen Papers, 1855-1909, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, box number X, folder number XX, digital file number XXXXXXXX

IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Administrative/Biographical History: General William Babcock Hazen was born September 27, 1830 in West Hartford, Vermont. Four years later, the family moved to a farm outside Hiram, Portage County, Ohio where he attended school with James A. Garfield. Hazen’s goal was service in the Army, and he wrote his congressman for admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hazen graduated in 1855, twenty-eighth out of a class of thirty-four.

After graduation, General Hazen was assigned as Brevet Second Lieutenant, Company D, Fourth Infantry, Redding, California. After arriving in California, he was ordered to Fort Lane in the Oregon Territory. Lieutenant Hazen was authorized to establish a command at Grand Ronde and build a blockhouse that became the post Fort Yamhill, located west of Portland, Oregon. On April 20, 1857, he was transferred to Fort Jones, California, and then ordered to join the Eighth Infantry, Fort Davis, Texas. Hazen was transferred to Fort Inge, Texas, to protect a road from San Antonio to Eagle Pass. During a chase, Hazen was wounded by a bullet that was not removed. The lingering effect of the bullet wound would cause him frequent pain.

During the period of service in Texas, Hazen reportedly gained leadership experience, practical military knowledge, and considerable confidence in his own abilities. Following twelve months of convalescence, Hazen was nominated assistant instructor of military tactics at West Point on January 28, 1861. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on April 1861 and captain on May 14, 1861. Colonel James A. Garfield influenced the appointment of Hazen as colonel in command of the newly organized forty-first Ohio Volunteer Regiment. Hazen quickly transformed the regiment’s inexperienced personnel into a firmly disciplined body. The intensive training paid large dividends later in the war, and he always held the regiment in high regard.

As brigade and division commander, General Hazen led troops in many important battles and campaigns: Shiloh (Place of Peace), Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, Resaca, Picketts Mill, Jonesboro, Fort McAllister, and Bentonville. On December 13, 1864, Hazen was appointed a major general of volunteers in recognition of long and faithful service and the capture of Fort McAllister. It was after the performance of his troops at Fort McAllister that a friendly relationship developed with General William T. Sherman. With the capitulation of the Confederate armies in spring of 1865, Hazen’s division and the Army of the Tennessee left North Carolina where they saw their last fighting. The destination was Washington, D.C., site of a two-day grand review of the victorious Union Armies. On May 19, 1865 Hazen was elevated to commander of the Fifteenth Corps. After a thirty day furlough, he held command of the District of Middle Tennessee until the following summer. In July 1866, Hazen returned west.

In August 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant granted Hazen indefinite leave to observe the Franco-Prussian War. He viewed several battles and personally interviewed Otto von Bismarck and General Helmut von Moltke. Observations and research convinced Hazen that the United States Army was mismanaged and lacked tactical and logistical organization.

Before returning to the Sixth Infantry command, Hazen married Mildred McLean, the twenty-one year-old daughter of prominent Cincinnati Enquirer owner Washington McLean. A son John was born in 1876, but died at the age of twenty-two in 1898.

In June 1877, Hazen was appointed military attaché to the United States Legation in Vienna,Austria, and assigned as military observer of the Russo-Turkish War that had started in April 1877.

In 1878 Colonel Stanley accused Colonel Hazen of perjury and cowardice in the Civil War and requested a court-martial. Colonel Hazen retaliated by formally requesting that Stanley be arraigned by a court-martial on charges of publishing and circulating libelous material against him. On March 19, 1879, General Sherman reluctantly recommended that both generals be arraigned by the same court-martial. The New York Tribune reported “inasmuch as by the decisions of the court-martial Hazen has secured a substantial vindication.” Hazen returned to Fort Buford.

While on detached service in Washington, D.C., Hazen actively campaigned for James A. Garfield for president. On August 24, 1880, General Albert James Myer, Chief of the Army Signal Corps, died, opening up a staff position subject to presidential appointment. President Rutherford B. Hayes, after consulting with President-elect Garfield, announced the promotion of Hazen to the rank of brigadier general and appointment as chief signal officer. One of Hazen’s lasting legacies in this new role was advancing the development of meteorological science in the Army Signal Corps.

In May 1880, Lady Franklin Bay in northern Canada was chosen as the site for a signal service polar station, one of several conducted by eleven nations for the first International Polar Year (1882-1883). The initial two-year expedition set out in 1881 under the command of Regular Army First Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely, a Civil War veteran from Massachusetts. The twenty-five man party did not get relief from the long winter in 1882, and a second rescue attempt was disrupted by ice. In September 1883, Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln, decided it was too late to send another relief party and they were left to spend a third winter in the Arctic. The demoralized party was forced to march south in search of supplies and landed at Cape Sabine, spending the next eight months in desperate circumstances. In June 1884, rescuers finally reached them and found only Greely and seven others alive. The remaining expedition members froze or starved to death.

Hazen never forgave Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln for his inaction with the Greely Arctic Expedition, and in 1884 Lincoln censured Hazen for his criticism. Hazen replied to Lincoln by letter, which was returned with a warning to keep the matter private. Hazen went to the press and stated in a published account that he wrote such a letter. He immediately found himself ordered before another court-martial, resulting in a reprimand by President Chester A. Arthur for “unwarranted and captious criticism.” Greely supported Hazen’s position. In 1885, Hazen produced A Narrative of Military Service, a report devoted to the defense of his Civil War record and personal reputation.

Health problems-diabetes and recurring pain from his bullet wound-forced Hazen to obtain a 12-month leave of absence from his military service. On January 13, 1887, he attended a White House reception where he caught a cold. He died on January 16, 1887, at the age of fifty-six.

Scope and Content: The General William Babcock Hazen Collection, 1856-1905, consists of approximately four cubic feet of material. Collection materials include biographical, correspondence (military and family), documents on the Greely Arctic Expedition, photographs, stereographs, and material on General Hazen’s book, A Narrative of Military Service.

Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1885-1867

This series includes Hazen’s West Point Academy Diploma, commission as Colonel of Ohio Volunteers, and commissions signed by Presidents Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln.

Series 2, Correspondence and Forms, 1856-1886

This series is divided into nineteen subseries:

Subseries 1, Military Posts and Civil War Battles, 1856-1870 and undated
Subseries 2, Military Posts, 1869-1880
Subseries 3, Inspections by Generals Ruling and Hazen, January 19, 1867
Subseries 4, Indian Tribes, 1869-1871
Subseries 5, Old Soldiers, 1869-1886
Subseries 6, General Hazen in Europe, 9/1887-6/24/1868
Subseries 7, Hazen-Garfield “Post Traders” 1871-1882
Subseries 8, Civil War Charges – Court Martial (Re: General Stanley), 1879-1886
Subseries 9, Selected Correspondence, 1842-1885
Subseries 10, Weather Service and Proteus Court of Inquiry, 1880-1883
Subseries 11, Signal Corps, 1880-1885
Subseries 12, Hazen Court Martial (Re: Secretary of War, 1885), 1882-1885
Subseries 13, Greely Expedition/Cape Sabine, 1881-1884
Subseries 14, A Narrative of Military Service, 1885
Subseries 15, Memory of General McPherson, 1865
Subseries 16, Miscellaneous Letters and Forms (Freedmen Funds), 1862-1882
Subseries 17, Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, 1869
Subseries 18, United States Senate, 1866-1871
Subseries 19, Hazen Stones River Monument, 1864-1870

Series 2, Correspondence and Forms, 1856-1886

This series covers General Hazen’s career from graduation at West Point to service in California, Oregon, Texas, the Civil War, military post inspections, Indian tribe affairs, observations of two European battles, court martials, his appointment as chief signal officer, the Arctic expedition, military forms, a book, A Narrative of Military Service, and the first Civil War monument at Stones River, Tennessee.

Series 3, Correspondence to General William Babcock Hazen, 1861-1887

This series contains many forms: voucher, muster roll, list of stores transferred ( Stones River Monument), monthly return of clothing, mustering out of service, ordnance and ordnance storage. Also included are a letter withdrawing charges and orders for new duties.

Series 4, Correspondence of Hazen Family, 1858-1909

These letters relate to family matters involving relationships, health, farm activities, and land purchases and sales.

Series 5, Photographs, 1864, 1881

The photographs include one of Fort McAllister, Mrs. Hazen and son John, father and mother of General Hazen, and subjects in Greenland, Florida, Central America, Colorado, Washington State, California, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Washington, D.C.

Series 6, Publications, 1865-1886

These records include General Hazen’s statement to soldiers of the Fifteenth Army Corps at the end of the Civil War; impressions on battles in Europe resulting in a book of ideas for reform in the U.S. Army; inspections westward with General Ruling; problems with management and the efficiency of the Signal Corps and attempts to transfer the Weather Service from the War Department; presentation book in French on lights applicable to rescue at sea; leather bound book of press sketches of the life and services of General Hazen; and a ledger book of ideas that may be related to writing “The School and the Army in Germany and France.”

System of Arrangement: This collection is divided into six series.

Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1885-1867
Series 2, Correspondence and Military Forms 1856-1886 and undated
Subseries 1, Military Posts and Civil War Battles, 1856-1870 and undated
Subseries 2, Military Posts, 1869-1880
Subseries 3, Inspections by Generals Ruling and Hazen, January 19, 1867
Subseries 4, Indian Tribes, 1869-1871
Subseries 5, Old Soldiers, 1869-1886
Subseries 6, General Hazen in Europe, 1887 September-1868 June 24
Subseries 7, Hazen-Garfield “Post Traders” 1871-1882
Subseries 8, Civil War Charges – Court Martial (Re: General Stanley), 1879-1886
Subseries 9, Selected Correspondence, 1842-1885
Subseries 10, Weather Service and Proteus Court of Inquiry, 1880-1883
Subseries 11, Signal Corps, 1880-1885
Subseries 12, Hazen Court Martial (Re: Secretary of War, 1885), 1882-1885
Subseries 13, Greely Expedition/Cape Sabine, 1881-1884
Subseries 14, A Narrative of Military Service, 1885
Subseries 15, Memory of General McPherson, 1865
Subseries 16, Miscellaneous Letters and Forms (Freedmen Funds), 1862-1882
Subseries 17, Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, 1869
Subseries 18, United States Senate, 1866-1871
Subseries 19, Hazen Stones River Monument, 1864-1870
Series 3, Correspondence to General William Babcock Hazen, 1861-1887
Series 4, Correspondence of Hazen Family, 1858-1909
Subseries 1, Hazen Family Tree
Subseries 2, Mrs. Mildred McLean Hazen (Wife of General Hazen) Letters
Subseries 3, John Hazen [Son of General Hazen], 1891-1896
Subseries 4, Emeline L. Hazen [Sister?], 1865-1882
Subseries 5, Other Family Members, 1865-1886
Subseries 6, Farm, 1871-1881
Subseries 7, Real Estate 1860-1890
Series 5, Photographs, 1864-1881
Subseries 1, Civil War, 1864
Subseries 2, Greenland, July-August 1881 G.W. Rice, 1881
Subseries 3, Miscellaneous, 1880-1897
Series 6, Publications, 1865-1886

Acquisition Information: In 1985, the Smithsonian received from the Estate of Fredrick McLean Bugher, grandnephew of General Hazen’s wife Mildred McLean Hazen, manuscripts and letters concerning General Hazen. Part of the collection was rescued by a private individual from a Lorton, Virginia land fill and sold to the Smithsonian in 1987 in two sections. The first section contained material about the career of General William Babcock Hazen as chief signal officer of the United States Army. The second section contained manuscript materials related to Hazen’s duties on the frontier and Indian tribes covering the period of 1855 to 1860, and from 1866 to 1880. Also included are family letters and land holdings in the Midwest.

Custodial History: The collection was transferred to the Archives Center from the Armed Forces History Division on August 20, 1987.

Access Points:

Subject /Names:
Belknap, William W.
Lincoln, Abraham
Lincoln, Robert Todd

Subject/Topical:
United States-History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Arctic regions--Discovery and exploration-1880-1890

Geographic:
Greenland -- Exploration

Form/Genre:
Cartes-de-viste
Correspondence--1850-1900
Diplomas
Legal documents
Military commissions

CONTAINER LISTING

Box	Folder
		Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1855-1867
1	1	West Point Diploma 1855 June
	2	Commissions by Andrew Johnson, 1856-1867
	3	Commissions by Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1863
	4	Commission as Colonel of Ohio Volunteers, 1861 August
2	24	Mercantile Bill Holder
		Series 2, Correspondence and Forms, 1856-1886 and undated
		Subseries 1, Military Posts and Civil War Battles, 1856-1870 and undated
2	1	Military Posts and Civil War Battles location map, undated
	2	Fort Yamhill, Oregon, 1856
	3	Fort Inge, Texas, 1858–1859
	4	General Orders 19 th Brigade, Wickleff, Kentucky, 1862
	5	Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, 1864–1867
	6	Fort McAllister, Georgia, 1864
	7	Hancock Barracks, Maryland, 1865-1867
	8	Lafayette Barracks, Maryland, 1865
	9	Louisville, Kentucky, 1865
	10	New Bern, North Carolina, (W.E. Hazen), 1866–1868
	11	Columbia, South Carolina, 1868
	12	Atlanta, Georgia, 1868
	13	Newberry, South Carolina, 1868
	14	Garrettsville, Ohio, 1869
	15	Medicine Creek, Kansas, 1869
	16	Letters to General Hazen, Fort Scott, Kansas, 1869–1870
		Subseries 2, Military Posts, 1869-1880
	17	Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1869-1870
	18	Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, 1869-1870
2	19	Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1869-1874
	20	Fort Larned, Kansas, 1871
	21	Summons to Military Committee, Fort Hayes, Kansas, 1872
	22	Fort Buford, North Dakota, 1872-1880
	23	Subseries 3, Inspection by Generals Rusling and Hazen, January 19, 1867
		Small book August 29, 1881 to December 9, 1881 Larger book December 7, 1884 to May 30, 1885 Largest book June 11, 1885 to January 7, 1886 Loose cancelled checks - October 20, 1868 - January 8, 1887 Hamburg letter dated December 14, 1878 regarding the Union Bank London Small book of accounts of travel and listing of Indian Tribes
		Subseries 4, Indian Tribes, 1869-1871
3	1	Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1869-1870
	2	Correspondence, Indian Affairs, 1869-1871
	3	Military Forms, 1869-1871
	4	Wichita Agency, 1869-1871
		Subseries 5, Old Soldiers, 1869-1886
	5	Old Soldiers—Requests for Jobs/References, 1869-1883
	6	Old Soldiers—Pension Requests and Payments/ War Damage, 1879-1885
	7	Old Soldiers—Army Reunions, 1869–1886
		Subseries 6, General Hazen in Europe, 1870-1882
	8	Observer, 1870 September-December, Franco-Prussian War
	9	Military Attaché at Vienna-Passports, 1873
		Observer, 1877, Russo-Turkish War
	10	( England’s Land Forces in a Continental War in Europe by the I.R. Captain Julius Debalack)
	11	Subseries 7, Hazen-Garfield “Post Traders” 1871-1882
	12-13	Subseries 8, Civil War Charges-Court Martial (Re: General Stanley)/R. B. Hayes, 1879 May 21–1886
		Subseries 8, Selected Correspondence, 1842-1885
4	1	Daniel Webster, 1842
	2	James A. Garfield, 1861-1882 and Mrs. Garfield, 1885
	3	Abraham Lincoln, 1863
	4	General W. T. Sherman, 1865-1883
	5	General Philip H. Sheridan, 1869, 1872
	6	Subseries 9, Weather Service and Proteus Court of Inquiry, 1880-1883
	7	Subseries 10, Signal Corps, 1879-1885
	8	Subseries 11, Hazen Court Martial (Re: Secretary of War, 1885), 1882 - 1885
	9	Subseries 12, Greely Expedition/Cape Sabine, 1881-1884
	10	Greely Expedition, Hazen draft brief, undated
	11	*Subseries 13, A Narrative of Military Service, 1885*
5	1	Subseries 14, Memory of General McPherson, 1865
	2-3	Subseries 15, Miscellaneous Letters and Forms (Freedmen Funds), 1864 - 1886
	4	Subseries 16, Secretary of War William W. Belknap, 1869
	5	Subseries 17, U.S. Senate, 1866–1880
	6	Subseries 18, Hazen Stones River Monument, 1864–1870
		Series 3, Correspondence to General William Babcock Hazen, 1861-1887
	7	Letters and Miscellaneous Material, 1862-1895
	8	Cincinnati/Cleveland Ohio, 1870-1873
	9	Washington, D.C., 1870-1886
	10	Home expense [Washington, D.C.], 1879-1887
	11	Clothes, 1882-1884
	12	Military Forms (subsistence), 1882–1886

		Series 4, Correspondence of Hazen Family, 1858-1909
	13	Subseries 1, Hazen Family Tree, undated
	14	Subseries 2, Mrs. Mildred McLean Hazen [Wife of General Hazen] Letters, undated
	15	Blank letter and envelope forms, undated
6	1	Jack and Jill Party at the White House, undated
	2	Letters from Sally R. Hitt (S.R.H.), 1892; 1894; 1895; undated
	3	Addressed envelopes, 1871 March-1895 May
	4	Dated letters (sketch by John Hazen), 1883–1897
	5	Stephen A. Douglas, 1858
	6	General and Mrs. Grant, 1883–1890
	7	General Hazen to Mrs. Hazen, 1872 and 1885
	8	President and Mrs. Harrison, 1892
	9	President William McKinley, 1897
	10	As Mrs. George Dewey (second Marriage to Admiral Dewey) Mrs. Helen A. Taft, 1909
	11	President Franklin Pierce, 1866
	12	Mrs. William Henry Harrison, undated
		Mrs. Washington McLean (mother of Mrs. Mildred McLean Hazen)
		Subseries 3, John Hazen [Son of General Hazen], 1891-1896
	13-14	To John Hazen, 1891 – 1896
	15	John Hazen to his Mother, Mildred Hazen, 1891-1895
	16	Mrs. Hazen to son John Hazen, 1891-1894
	17	Subseries 4, Emeline L. Hazen [Sister?], 1865–1882
		Subseries 5, Other Family Members, 1865-1886
7	1	Brother, 1865-1886
	2	Cousin, 1865-1883
	3	Nieces, 1869-1886
	4	Nephew, 1865-1869
	5	Stillman Hazen [Father of General Hazen], 1865
	6	Minnie M. Hazen [Cousin?](about bridge burners), 1865
	7	Subseries 6, Farm, 1864-1887
		Subseries 7, Real Estate, 1860-1890
	8	Warrants of Land in Ohio (1855); Note of Land Transaction in Mississippi (1861); Insurance on Land in Ohio (1865)
	9	Warrant 8359 Nebraska signed by President James Buchanan, 1860
	10	83152 Nebraska signed by President Abraham Lincoln, 1861
	11	2648-2650 Nebraska signed by President Grant, 1871
	12	Mortgage Deed and Warranty Deed - William B. Hazen to Stillman Hazen, March 5, 1866
	13	Miscellaneous Land Transactions, 1870-1879
	14	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Nebraska, 1880
	15	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Kansas and Nebraska, 1881
	16	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Kansas and Nebraska, 1882
	17	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Nebraska, 1883
	18	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Kansas, 1884
	19	Miscellaneous Land Transactions in Kansas, 1885, and Nebraska, 1886 (Probate Reference, 1887, 1888, and 1890)
		Series 5, Photographs, 1864, 1881
		Subseries 1, Civil War, 1864
9	1	Fort McAllister, Georgia, 1864
		Subseries 2, Greenland, July-August 1881 G.W. Rice, 1881
	2	Coal Mining, 1881
	3	Dog and Sled, 1881
	4	Eskimo Families, 1881
	5	Eskimo Kayaks and Skinboat, 1881
	6	Greenland, August, 1881
	7	Greenland (Diso Island), 1881
	8	Icebergs, 1881
	9	Ship, 1881
8	5	Unknown list of names, undated
		Subseries 3, Miscellaneous, 1880-1897
9	10	Freddy Bugher, 1880-1886
	11	Cathedral and Three Churches in Guatemala, Central America, undated
	12	Captains - One Union Captain (unknown) and two Captains, Post Civil War (unknown), undated
	13	Colonels - Fredrick A. Bastteson 100 th Illinois Vol., Col. Catton, Col. McKee Colonel J.E.Peyton, April 30,1897
	14	Europe, [Mrs. Hazen?, Franz Joseph 1, Palais de Justia?]
10	1	St. Augustine, Florida, undated
	2	Girl in Afghan Coat and Hat, undated
	3	General Hazen (4); Father and Mother of General Hazen, undated
	4	Mrs. Hazen, [John Hazen?], 1881 Mausoleum-W. McLean, undated New Year Card Greeting, undated
	5	National Soldiers Home (stereoscopic views), undated
	6	Artistic Series of Rocky Mountain Scenery (stereoscopic views), undated
		On The Trail To Pike’s Peak, undated
	6	Scenes on the line of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, undated
	7	Santa Barbara, California, undated
		[Bank Building?], undated
		Bathing Grounds and Wharf, undated
		Elwood Hotel and Presbyterian Church, undated
		El Capitan, undated
		General View, undated
	8	Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial “Grief”, undated
	9	Miscellaneous (Stereoscopic), undated
		Frost Work on Railway, Mount Washington, undated
		Fort Sill by W.S. Soule, undated
		The Moon - J.W. Love, Portage, Wisconsin, undated
		Mountains, J. and Sheridan (From Signal Station), undated
		Yosemite (Three Brothers-4480 feet.), undated
	10	Sculptress, undated
	11	Two Masted Schooner, undated
	12	Lady With Medals, undated
	13	Four unknown men and one boy, undated
	14	Eighteen quarters at Fort Buford, [North Dakota?], undated
	15	Photographs made in Washington, D.C. (young John Hazen and Mrs. Hazen, and home?), undated
11	1	General Hazen home, 1601 K Street N.W., Washington, D.C., undated
	2	General Sherman and officers including General W.B. Hazen, undated
	3	General Hazen (portrait), 1885 May

		Series 6, Publications, 1865-1886
7	20	General Hazen – End of Civil War – Louisville, Kentucky, July 4, 1865
	21	The School and the Army in Germany and France, 1872
	22	Our Barren Lands, 1875 “A Narrative of Military Service,” 1885

	23	“Pamphlets, W.B. Hazen” with hand numbered selected Federal Reports, three Resolutions and Comments on the Signal Service of the Army, and no Table of Contents.
		Copies of official letters with respect to the Signal Corp and Fort Myer concerning the detail of officers deemed necessary to the Signal Corp but not approved, 1881

		State Weather Service—proposed by the Chief Signal Officer along with a specimen “act” of the State of Iowa, 1882

		A BILL Senate 691. & H.R. 2253. To Increase The efficiency of the Signal Corps of the Army, undated

		Memoranda on International Scientific Co-operation In Meteorology, Magnetism, ETC., Washington, D.C., Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1882

		A Bill Against the Efficiency of the Signal Service (Introduced by Senator John A. Logan) from the Maritime Register, December 27, 1882 [A bill to transfer to the Interior Department relating to the business of the Signal Service as relates to meteorological observations]

		Opinions of the Enlisted Men of the Signal Corps Upon Its Military Status in summary, “We believe that the transfer of the Weather Service to one of the civil departments will greatly impair its present efficiency ...” 1882

		The Necessity of A Permanent Organization for the Signal Corps. Washington, D.C. Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1882. Argument-In the Appendix Testimony by General W.T. Sherman February 13, 1882 before subcommittee of the Senate Committee On Military Affairs, to which was referred Senate Bill 691: “There is no doubt but a military organization ... .”

		To Whom It May Concern Washington City, January 16, 1883. Referring to a printed circular entitled “An Answer to General Hazen’s circular criticizing Secretary Lincoln’s right and competency to judge what is for the best interest of his department,” issued by some ... person not in any way connected with the Signal Corps ...”

		An Answer To The Recommendation of the Secretary of War (In his current annual report) That The Weather Bureau of the Signal Corps Be Separate from the Army. (About June 1, 1883 written note). Neither the Smithsonian nor the Agriculture Department desired to undertake the duties according to General Hazen.

		Copy of Letter to Senator Maxey, Washington City, July 20 th, 1883, by General Hazen regarding reorganizing of the Signal Corps and referring to the Army Register for his Army record.
		Note: A clipping from the Washington Sunday Herald, January 28, 1883 “A Forgery And A Slander” regarding the argument in favor of a transfer of the Weather Service to the Interior Department.

		War Department, Signal Service, U.S. Army, History of the Propositions To Transfer The Signal Corps To The Interior Department, Washington, Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1883.

		Insert relative to the Army appropriation bill that contains a provision to the effect that no officer shall remain absent from the regiment on duty in Washington for a longer period than three years, 1883

		The Necessity of a Completed Organization For the Signal Corps., Washington City 1884. Summary of reasons supporting the need for military discipline to maintain the work of the Signal Corps for work done during the war and for weather observations and reporting with testimonials appended.

		Extracts from the United States Statutes-at-Large Affecting the Signal Corps of the Army, 1860–1884, Washington City: Signal Office. 1884

		Extracts ... Affecting the Signal Corps of the Army 1884-1885, Washington City: Signal Office, 1885

		Extracts from the evidence before the Commission Upon Certain Bureaus Referring to the Signal Corps, Washington City, 1886. “This is the system of volunteer observers that was organized by the Smithsonian in 1850 and of which General Myer took charge in 1873.” Four appendixes of which the last two deal with the future of the Signal Corps. Appendix III Letter from the Chief Signal Officer to Hon. W.B. Allison, ... detailed statement of the management of the Signal Service and the advantages which the military system affords ... . And Appendix IV Letter of Secretary Lincoln to Congress Opposing A Permanent Military Organization for the Signal Corps.

		Inserted copy of typewritten pages entitled “Statement by General Hazen before the Joint Commission and included in its published report.” Essentially a history of problems the Chief Signal Officer has been forced to confront and his attempt to keep the Weather Bureau under the War Department, [1886?]

		(Unnumbered) General Hazen’s reply to the second comptroller, Washington City, 1886 with a stamped note on cover page. See pages 75-79. The publication has a DIGEST and pages 75-79 are listed as causes of this attack. Examination of General W.B. Hazen in the Room of Committee on Expenditures in the War Department is the thrust of the publication.

		Resolution 1. Recent Resolutions and Comments on the Signal Service of the Army, January - February 1882, cite statements by various organizations to retain the service of the Weather Bureau in the Army.

		Resolution 2. The Following Resolutions Have Been Recently Received by The Chief Signal Officer, February - March 1882: Merchants Association, Maritime Exchange and Associations and Marine Underwriters supporting the permanent basis of the Signal Corps same as the Engineer or Ordnance Corps.

		Resolution 3. Office of the Marine Underwriters, Baltimore, February 10, 1882: Same basis as the Engineer or Ordnance Corps.

		Resolution 4. Vessel Owners’ and Captains’ Association, Philadelphia, March 3, 1882: Urge the passing the Bill now pending before the Military Committee of the House.

		INSPECTION 1867 by General J.F. Rusling and General W.B. Hazen, 39 th Congress, 2nd Session, House of Representatives, Ex. Doc. No. 45 The Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton transmitted a letter from the Adjutant General’s Office covering reports of inspection tours made By Generals Ruling and Hazen. First copy of report of Brevet Major General W.B. Hazen, Acting Inspector General, Department of the Platte and copies of reports of Brevet Brigadier General James F. Ruling of inspections made by him on a tour westward from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Coast. The reports included broad observations on land usage, mineral wealth, roads, posts and distribution of troops, supplies, Indians, quartermaster’s department, mines, and fitness of personnel for current responsibility and qualification for greater responsibility.
8	1	Presented to General Hazen, Vienna, February 5 th, 1878, Ferdinand Silas(Translation): Memory on the Inextinguishable Lights Applicable to the Rescue at Sea and the Signals of Distress.

	2	Press Sketches-General W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, U.S.A., title on a leather bound 12.5 in. x 9 in. book with the following title inside: Press Sketches of the Life And Services of General W.B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, U.S.A. - Private Edition - 1887 (Note: Book cover not attached.) All pages are bordered in black and Press Sketches begins with portrait drawings (New York Graphic, January 18 1887) of General and Mrs. Hazen followed by [In Memoriam - General WM. B. Hazen - Born September 27, 1830 - Died January 16, 1887]; Preface “... the tribute of others to his life and services, and that his posterity may have a truthful epitome of the opinions of the men and writers of his day.”; and last, Press Sketches of the Life and Services of General W.B. Hazen. Included with Press clippings from newspapers in about 14 states is reference to The Event (General Hazen’s Death) announced in General Orders of the Army. General Orders No. 6, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, January 17, 1887.

	3	[Ledger Book of Ideas?] A paper bound ledger book 8/14 inches x 13 12 inches with only a few hand written and hand numbered pages related to thoughts set forth on the organization of the Regular Army. Requested a copy of “The School and the Army in Germany and France” to determine if the draft was included in this, undated.

	4	Private letters of Hazen, 1878

11		W.B. Hazen (letters in gold) Nebraska Land Book 10.5 x 16 in. leather covered containing maps of sections of land in counties in Nebraska showing acreages of land Hazen owned, taxes paid, sold, and other related matters regarding the land, 1880.

	5	Clothbound book (12.5” x 18”) with signature of W.B. Hazen on inside cover. The book is a collection of newspaper articles related to the trial of William W. Belknap, Late Secretary of War. On the inside in front is a copy of a government publication Proceedings Of The Senate Sitting For The Trial Of William W. Belknap, Late Secretary Of War, On The Articles Of Impeachment Exhibited By The House Of Representatives , undated .

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Revised: May 21, 2010