Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Greene, F. V. (Francis Vinton), 1850-1921
- Abstract:
- The Greene mss., 1876-1914, consists primarily of letters written in 1876 by Francis Vinton Greene, 1850-1921, general, historian, and engineer, to his mother, Martha Barrett (Dana) Greene, 1809-1883.
- Extent:
- 1 bound
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Greene mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Francis Vinton Greene, 1850-1921, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on 27 June 1850. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1870 and served in the military from 1872 to 1883. In 1883, he became a civil engineer to the city of Washington, D.C., and was a professor of artillery at West Point before resigning from the Army in 1886. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, he raised the 71st New York Volunteer Infantry and quickly became Brigadier General of Volunteers. Greene took a prominent part in the Battle of Manila and assisted in the surrender negotiations. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1900 and served as the New York City Police Commissioner from 1903 to 1904. Greene died in New York City on 13 May 1921.
- Scope and Content:
The Greene mss., 1876-1914, consists primarily of letters of Francis Vinton Greene, 1850-1921, general, historian, and engineer, to his mother, Martha Barrett (Dana) Greene, written in 1876 while he was on a journey by train from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to the west coast with General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1820-1891, and James Donald Cameron, 1833-1918, railroad president, U.S. senator, and U.S. secretary of war, and their families. He comments on the silver mines at Virginia City, Nevada, on the luxurious railroad car in which they traveled, on meetings with the three railroad kings, Leland Stanford, 1824-1893, governor of California, Charles Crocker, 1822-1888, merchant, capitalist, and Collis Potter Huntington, 1821-1900, capitalist; on associations with bankers, real estate magnates, and lumbermen on the coast. He was also greatly impressed with the Earl and Countess of Dufferin and Ava. At Salt Lake City he saw Brigham Young. Included is an autographed photograph of Greene, San Stefano, Turkey, April 1878, a letter from Thomas H. Anderson to Greene inquiring about the use by the Russian army of horses to carry ammunition to the front, and the use of compressed or manufactured forage rations in the Russo-Turkish War, July 10, 1883; and Skobeleff: a talk with the officers of the War College by Greene, March 5, 1914.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift: 1946
- Arrangement:
This collection is arranged following original order.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Stacks
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Greene mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@indiana.edu