ADJUTANT GENERAL: NATIONAL GUARD:

An Inventory of Its Administrative Files at the Minnesota Historical Society

Government Records

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Minnesota. National Guard.
Title:Administrative Files.
Dates:1861-1948.
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Records documenting the activities and duties of the National Guard, including clothing and supplies, personnel, instruction, equipment and ordnance, court martial, enlistment, unit establishment and name changes, expeditions, finances, pensions, history, injuries and deaths, officer examinations, officer rosters, World War I casualties, U. S. Military Code, and relationship with the U. S. War Department.
Quantity:3.2 cubic feet (2 boxes and 3 partial boxes).
Location: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENT

Specific topics covered include Civil War commemorations; District 3 Draft Board; and special service to protect settlers in Cass Lake, Deer River, and Koochiching (1898, 1900), as Governor Cushman K. Davis' funeral escort (1900), and at the Chisholm (1908) and Baudette (1910) forest fires, Hennepin County jail (1884), Stillwater prison (1884), Tower/Soudan mine (1892), and Minneapolis teamsters' strike (1934-1935).


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota. National Guard. Administrative Files. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: None

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 008110998


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Location
109.K.11.5BArsenal, 1868-1904.
Concerns the inventory of arms in specific units, plus information about uniforms, returning issued arms, and ammunition following the Spanish-American War, and War Department regulations. Includes photographs of the 1904 cartridge belt, canteen straps and haversack.
Birch Coulee Monument Removal Survey, 1895-1896.
Appraisal documents and other records concerning repair of this state-erected monument.
Blank forms, circa 1900-1918.
Forms used for National Guard management.
Board of Commissioners Proceedings, 1893.
Covers inquiry precipitated by Captain Timothy J. Sheehan about the reporting of an incident during the Battle of Nashville as reported in the publication Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars.
Board of Survey files, 1882-1916. 5 folders.
Correspondence, 1882-1892.
Report: Destruction of military stores at Fergus Falls, 1885.
Inquiry held following August 26, 1885 fire at the Fergus Falls Armory.
Report: Destruction of military stores at Minneapolis, 1894.
Inquiry held following April 12, 1894 fire at the Minneapolis Armory.
Reports and proceedings: Unserviceable ordnance stores and quartermaster’s stores, 1902.
Inquiry and subsequent meetings at Camp Lakeview (Lake City), the State Capitol, and the Minneapolis and St. Paul armories.
Report: Injuries and loss of animals in the service, 1913, 1916.
Report done for the First Field Artillery concerning specific animals injured during 1911 parade honoring the First Regiment Volunteers, as well as injuries during the unit’s 1912 encampment.
Changes in forces from September 30, 1917-April 30, 1918, circa 1918.
Per General Orders No. 3, listing resignations, discharges, promotions, commissions, transfers, etc., which occurred during this time period, and covering all types of service including medical corps and naval militia.
Civil War Commemoration: Fairfax County, Virginia, 1904. 1 folder and 1 map.
Documents, exhibits and maps regarding a June/July 1904 battle reenactment by the Maneuver Corps, near Manassas, Virginia. Included are a report issued to the Adjutant General by Ed Falk, Minnesota delegation head; instructions issued; and maps of where various units were located on the battlefield.
Documents and maps, 1904. 1 folder.
Location
106.F.9.8F-2Map of maneuver grounds: Prince William and Fairfax Counties, Virginia, Exhibit M, June-July 1904. 1 map.
Location
109.K.11.5BCivil War Commemoration: Gettysburg Monument, 1888.
Circular from the Veteran Association of the First Regiment of United States Sharpshooters for construction of a monument at the Gettysburg battlefield.
Civil War Commemoration: Shiloh Trip, 1908.
Planning documents, list of attendees, and negotiations with railroads and steamship companies for a delegation headed by Governor John Johnson to visit Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing, Nashville and other places where Minnesota regiments served.
Contracts for military supplies, 1895-1912. 3 folders.
Contracts with vendors for supplies, including clothing, tents, hats, blankets, leggings, gloves, and overcoats. Also documents covering the bidding process, current inventory, a June 15, 1899 contract for establishment of a post trader’s store in Red Wing (near Camp Lakeview), and specifications for outfitting members of the Minnesota Naval Reserve.
Course of instruction, 1912-1916.
Full course of instruction from Major Earl Carnahan, Quartermaster, U.S. Army. Includes a test on the materials.
Court martial files, 1884-1910. 19 folders.
Include correspondence, proceedings, general orders and related records.
Miscellaneous, 1885.
H. A. Andres, 1906.
William B. Bend, 1885.
C. C. Bennet, 1904.
William Bjornstad, 1897.
Sanford J. Cavanaugh and Ralph D. Thompson, 1893.
A. J. Creigh, Frank Clark, and such other officers and enlisted men as may be brought before it, 1890.
Rudolph H. Elmquist, 1910.
A. Fisk, 1884.
William Fuller, 1904.
C. S. Leeds, 1884.
Ernst Moeller, 1896.
Charles T. Spear, 1896.
William C. Stoehr, 1896.
Theodor Stohr, 1898.
Louis J. Sullivan, Henry Peters and Andrew Wingard, 1895.
Location
109.K.11.6FAndrew E. Veon, 1887-1888.
V. J. Welch, 1884.
Andrew Wing, 1895.
District 3 Draft Board files, 1917-1918. 5 folders.
Rulings of the Board, December 1917-September 1918. 4 folders.
Circulars issued by the Minnesota Adjutant General covering affidavits in connection with questionnaires, Alaskan registrants, alien enemies, Austrian subjects, voluntary enlistments, functions of legal advisory boards, induction, status of Indians, and other administrative matters.
Account record, 1918.
Expenses incurred by the Board, including salaries, supplies and telephone expenses.
Enlistment/reenlistment papers, 1874-1916 (bulk 1906-1914). 4 folders.
Enlistment documents, sometimes accompanied by physical examinations, for those who were already serving in the National Guard and wanted to extend their terms of service.
Arranged alphabetically by enlistee’s surname.
Establishing new units, 1866-1908. 3 folders.
Requests from citizens, public officials, and others regarding the possibility of establishing a National Guard unit, recognized by the State of Minnesota, to be eligible for arms, monetary support, and training.
Correspondence requesting information on process for establishing a new unit, 1881.
1866-1908.
Wabasha City Light Artillery, 3rd Battery Light Artillery, 1866; Ramsey Guards Calvary, Winona, 1880; Rochester, 1871-1878; St Cloud, 1884-1886; Zumbrota, 1885; St Paul Sons of Veterans, 1887; Alexandria, after 1899; Princeton (Co G, 3rd Regiment), 1916-1917; University of Minnesota, 1914; and Resolutions from Worthington, Thief River Falls, Hibbing, Redwood Falls, Bemidji, Madison, St. Peter, Eveleth, 1905, 1908.
1877-1908.
Faribault, 1877; Winona, 1879; New Ulm, 1880; Fairmont, 1882; Minneapolis (First Regiment), 1883; Duluth, 1884; Luverne, 1885; Spring Valley, 1889; Hastings, 1894; Pine Island, 1895; University of Minnesota, 1897; Worthington, 1905; Bemidji, 1905; Thief River Falls, 1908; Hibbing, 1908; Redwood Falls, 1908; Bemidji, 1908; Madison, 1908; St. Peter, 1908; and Eveleth, 1908.
Expedition files, 1898-1900. 8 folders.
Payroll and expenses, October 1898.
For the 1st Artillery Battalion, Batteries A and B, sent to Cass Lake and Deer River to protect settlers following an engagement between the Pillager Band of Ojibwe Indians and federal troops at Leech Lake (the Sugar Point Uprising). Includes battery payrolls and invoices for supplies, arms and ammunition, freight, and transport and board for the troops.
Expenses, 13th Minnesota Welcome, San Francisco, October 1899.
Invoices for travel by Adjutant General George C. Lambert to San Francisco and tickets home for the troops.
Payrolls, July 1899. 2 folders.
For the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Regiments and 1st Artillery at the annual Camp Lakeview encampment.
Payroll and expenses, Koochiching/Rainy Lake Expedition, July-August 1900. 2 folders.
A detachment from the 3rd Infantry was sent to Koochiching, Itasca County, to protect settlers following disturbances among the Indians in the vicinity of Rainy Lake and the Rainy River, and to attempt to prohibit illicit sale of liquor to the Indians.
Payroll and expenses, Cloquet Expedition, August 5-6, 1900.
The 3rd Regiment’s Duluth Battalion (Companies A, C, and G) were dispatched to Cloquet to intercept “a gang of robbers, bandits and murderers…under the guise of a circus” before they escaped to Wisconsin.
Payroll and expenses, Senator Cushman K. Davis’ funeral, November 30, 1900.
For Battery A, 1st Artillery, who served as funeral escort and honor guard.
Expense reports, 1897-1906.
Annual summary concerning militia, pre-1900, and National Guard, post-1900, expenses, and encampment expenses.
Location
126.J.1.2Expenses, 1908-1911, 1914. 1 folder.
Recapitulation of expenses such as target range services, laundry, telephone/telegraph supplies, inspections, feed and forage.
Location
109.K.11.6FFederal inspection of property, 1915.
Federal pension records, 1869-1893. 1 folder and 2 volumes.
Federal pension claims correspondence, 1889-1893.
Primarily correspondence received from the U.S. Department of the Interior (Bureau of Pensions, Office of Indian Affairs) concerning eligibility issues.
Clerk’s record of pending federal pension issues, 1864-1867. 1 volume.
Covering federal pension increases, arrear and back pay, with resolution. Abbreviations used include: B&A (back pay and arrears), WP (widow’s pension), and IP (incomplete papers). Each resolved issue is dated and crossed out.
Arranged alphabetically.
Register of Federal Pension Claims Processing, 1866-1869. 1volume.
Record of information about the status of federal pension claims pending approval. Includes claims from Minnesota residents, and residents of other states. Information includes applicant’s name and claim number, company and regiment of Civil War service, post office address, date filed, and remarks (amount paid with date, changes of address, rejections, etc.).
Arranged alphabetically by applicant’s surname, there under chronologically by filing date.
Historical information on early National Guard, 1871-1872, 1910-1911.
Documents prepared by A. P. Connolly, author, naming local militia units, describing the Blueberry War, and lists of officers. His 1871-1872 personal orders are also included.
Horses and veterinary services, 1915-1916.
Inquiry into Injury and Death: Private Richard S. Farrington, 1904.
Shooting, allegedly occurred at Camp Lakeview.
Inquiry into Injury: Captain William Louis Kelly, Jr., 1905.
Allegedly occurred during a march from South St. Paul to Camp Lakeview.
Location
109.K.19.1BInquiry into Injury: Private William Paschke, 1909.
Shooting, allegedly occurred at Camp Lakeview.
Inquiry into Injury: Private Charles A. Williams, 1909.
Shooting, allegedly occurred at Camp Lakeview.
Inquiry into Injury: Sergeant Charles M. Price, 1912.
Shooting, allegedly occurred at Camp Lakeview.
Issues of military supplies by unit and casualty counts, circa 1901.
Listing, by unit, of supplies issued by the Military Storekeeper for each company, and a compilation of casualties by unit, apparently for the Civil War period.
Inventory return: Military publications, 1913-1915.
Annual lists of instruction manuals and regulations issued to local militia units.
Medical Department, 1895-1897, 1908-1912.
Camp inspection reports, appointments, resignations, and correspondence concerning medical services at camps.
Memorial Day ceremonies, parades and programs, 1910-1913.
Lists of National Guard units that participated in Memorial Day parades held in St. Paul. Also the programs for 1911 and 1913 which include information about Memorial Day activities at the St. Paul Auditorium and various cemeteries.
Mess account book, 1913. 1 volume.
Mess account book for the 1913 camp, including the Headquarters mess, Officers’ Club, Companies A-K, Machine Gun Company, non-commissioned staff, and bakery.
Officer clothing and merchandise account book, 1910-1916. 1 volume.
Information includes name of officer, unit/location, clothing and other merchandise issued; includes Naval Militia.
Officer election: Examinations, 1913-1916. 20 folders.
Document election of and testing done to evaluate each candidate for an officer position within the National Guard. Each officer’s records may include a physical examination and test(s) required for the type of unit the individual would lead: preliminary, professional, and professional-specialized. Also correspondence if the individual left the service during the same time period.
Officers included: Barry, Michael W.; Coe, Ray F.; Dickinson, Bertram G.; Gorham, George T.; Hopkins, Guy A.; Jackman, Jerome; Johnson, Ogden W.; Johnson (Jr.), Peter; Klepper, Irving C.; McCorquodale, Alexander R.; Martin, M. DeWitt; Murray, Robert S.; Nelson, Harold S.; Neuenburg, Henry H.; Parkhill, Thomas E.; Petersen, Charles O. ; Ruebke, Otto F.; Sherman, Erwin H.; Williams, David O.; and Wilson, Chester S.
Arranged alphabetically by surname.
Officer elections and promotions, 1891, 1898, 1899, 1910-1913.
Qualification statements, reports of examination boards, oaths of office, and documents for men receiving promotions within the ranks.
Ordnance and ordnance stores inventory returns, undated, 1914, 1917.
Ordnance property transfers, 1882-1892, 1914. 2 folders.
Concerning the shipment of ordnance and ordnance stores to and from U.S. arsenals, and movement from Minnesota to federal arsenals.
Ordnance stores retrieval, 1867-1885.
In the mid-1870s the Adjutant General initiated an effort to recover ordnance and artillery supplies from local units; includes 1879 orders for Major E. M. Van Cleve to visit units and determine holdings and list stores of artillery and small arms sent from the state arsenal to various units. Also correspondence with posts at Mankato, Stillwater, Fergus Falls, Wabasha, Detroit Lakes, Steele County, Becker County, Moorhead, Montevideo, Crookston, Faribault, and Grand Forks (Dakota Territory); invoices and receipts; and bonds for officers who were in charge and/or explanations for the then-current locations.
Organizational changes to comply with federal law, 1906-1907.
Correspondence between federal officials and Adjutant General Office staff to ensure the continuing flow of federal appropriations to the Minnesota National Guard, and accounting records for the expenses for the 1905 encampment at Camp Lakeview.
Other states, 1873-1918. 4 folders.
Includes correspondence concerning a pre-meeting request for legislative support for drills, 1902-1903; personnel working in the Adjutant General’s office and their salaries, 1901; expenses paid by the states for contingencies such as armories or traveling at the governor’s request; funding provided for annual encampments; and correspondence with other states about home defense, specifically whether to organize new units for the Home Guard and the existence of a motor corps.
Pay controversy: Assistant surgeon, 1904.
Correspondence and orders regarding the calculation of pay for military medical staff.
Property inventories and requests, 1892-1916.
Includes medical supplies, commissary and engineer equipment, ordnance, battery requests, unserviceable stores, quartermaster property, signal property, and medical property.
Railroad fares, 1887-1889, 1912.
Concerns negotiations with railroads regarding transportation to camps.
Recruiting poster: First Minnesota Infantry Mexican Border Service, circa 1916.
Requests for transfer, discharge and furlough, 1885-1917 (bulk 1906-1914). 3 folders.
Men accepted to attend the Officers Reserve Training Camp at Fort Snelling applied for furloughs and honorable discharges in the event of successful completion of the three-month course. The records include official requests for transfer or discharge from service, with endorsements of those in the chain of command that approved the request, and officer election annulments for Richard W. Redfield, Paul W. Loudon, Arthur M. Hartwell, Edward W. Simonet, Laurence A. Eggleston, Cyrus P. Brown, and Walter J. Kennedy.
Requests to Adjutant General for service medals, 1884, 1894, 1895, 1898, 1900.
Correspondence providing service records as part of requests for faithful service medals for those with long-term service in the National Guard and State Militia.
Report of Adjutant General C. M. McCarthy to Governor Lucius Hubbard, 1884.
Handwritten report about activities, including rosters of officers.
Report: Baudette Fire Service, 1910. 2 folders.
Covering the National Guard’s assistance at Baudette area forest fires, the records include the Adjutant General’s orders and reports (several from the doctors assigned), as well as details on payments made.
Report: Chisholm Fire Service, 1908.
Details Company M, 3rd Infantry’s guard service assistance in preventing looting, with all orders issued during their service.
Report: Cloquet Strike, August 1890.
From Captain Bobleter, Second Regiment, concerning response to a strike at the Nelson Lumber Company.
Location
109.K.19.2FReports: Military Board, 1909-1912.
Reports and recommendations by the Board and submitted to the Adjutant General for action.
Report: Minneapolis Jail Service, July 1884.
Colonel W. B. Bend to the Adjutant General regarding his July 1884 telegraphic orders to defend the Hennepin County Jail with Companies A, B, and I.
Report: Stillwater Prison Service, January 1884.
Colonel W. B. Bend to the Adjutant General concerning assignment to guard the prison with a select group from Companies C, D, and E in relief of citizens and members of Company K. Includes guard duty assignments as well as comments about the commissariat.
Report: Tower/Soudan Mine Service, 1892.
Captain Charles C. Tear, Company H, and Captain S. S. Williamson, Company G, 3rd Regiment, to the Adjutant General covering their service to support the St. Louis County Sheriff in guarding property, repelling any possible attacks, and arresting perpetrators.
Rosters of commissioned officers, circa 1905-1909.
Lists of commissioned officers serving on the Adjutant General’s staff and in each unit of the Minnesota National Guard during the administration of Governor John A. Johnson.
Rosters of commissioned officers, circa 1909-1915.
Lists of commissioned officers serving on the Adjutant General’s staff and in each unit of the Minnesota National Guard during the administration of Governor Adolph O. Eberhart.
Roster: Officers of the organized militia and Naval Militia, 1915-1916.
List of officers in 1915, with a list of corrections for 1916.
Location
126.J.1.2Roster: Officers of the Minnesota National Guard and Minnesota Militia, 1882, 1917-1919. 1 folder.
1882 roster of the Adjutant’s General’s staff listing rank, age, residence, muster date and (for some) signatures, and 1917-1919 roster listing staff and regimental officers with educational degree, military service, business and residence addresses, and place of birth.
Location
106.F.9.8F-2Scrapbook of United States casualties in World War I, circa March- November 1918. 1 volume.
Newspaper clippings; the lists appear to be for armed forces members from the northwestern United States.
Location
109.K.19.2FService requests, 1882. 3 folders.
Primarily information about federal pension claim processing; with requests for service records for specific individuals, addresses for former troops, and bill payments.
Arranged alphabetically by name of the person making the inquiry.
Location
126.J.1.2Small arms firing reports, 1890, 1903-1911. 1 folder.
Statistical reports by company and unit for target practice at camp.
Location
109.K.19.2FState of Minnesota and War Department, 1915-1916.
Topics include condition of horses provided to Minnesota, equipment from the Rock Island Arsenal, and breakage occurring while equipment was used by non-Minnesota troops.
Statement of Condition of the National Guard, 1897, 1898.
Official report from Brigadier General George C. Lambert, Adjutant General, concerning strength, number, organization and stations of various units, ambulance and signal corps.
Teamster’s strike file, 1934-1935. 12 items in 1 folder.
Concerns the Guard’s role in maintaining order during the truck drivers’ strike and related disturbances in Minneapolis in 1934 and 1935. All are photocopies.
Executive Order No. 4, July 17, 1934.
Brigadier General Ellard A. Walsh’s Troop Commander Proclamation, July 26, 1934.
Memorandum from Lieutenant Colonel Frederic D. McCarthy to Colonel Joseph E. Nelson, August 2, 1934.
Relates to the general order exempting members of the Minnesota military forces from criminal and civil liability.
Statement by Governor Floyd B. Olson, August 3, 1934.
Executive Order No. 7, August 5, 1934.
Statement by Governor Olson, August 4, 1934.
Executive Proclamation, August 22, 1934.
Minnesota National Guard, Civil Disturbance, Summer of 1934, undated.
Unsigned narrative.
The Military in Civil Disturbances, Lieutenant Colonel Frederic D. McCarthy, circa 1934.
Letter, August 1, 1935.
E. P. Baker, Baker Iron Company, Minneapolis, to Harry B. Lasky, Chairman, New Industries Comm. Of Oswego, New York, describing plant shutdowns due to the strike and Baker’s opinion of the role of Governor Olson and the Farmer-Labor Party in the strike.
Draft of Executive Proclamation, December 1935.
Letter, December 27, 1935.
Thomas E. Latimer, Mayor of Minneapolis, and John P. Wall, Sheriff of Hennepin County, to Governor Olson, requesting the governor activate the National Guard.
Timeline and name changes, 1861-1948.
Organization charts listing individual units and locations, with dates showing when changes in name or designation occurred.
U.S. Military Code, 1913-1915. 4 folders.
U.S. Military Code issued in 1913 (updated from 1905) and specific to Minnesota. Examples include faithful service awards, target practice medals, competition awards, activities of the examining boards, and lists of supplies to be issued to members of the National Guard; includes 1914 and 1915 updates.
U.S. War Department, 1884-1916. 5 folders.
General, 1884-1898, 1904, 1907. 2 folders.
Primarily regarding orders directing U.S. Army personnel to attend encampments, information on financial matters, requests for muster rolls, and information concerning development of the publication, Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars. Also 1904 and 1907 allotment requests for encampments at Camp Lakeview.
Garrison schools, 1910-1913.
Queries and appointments concerning personnel who would attend garrison schools provided by the War Department.
Strength reports, 1902-1903.
Requested strength reports of the organized Minnesota Militia to the War Department for possible allocation of funds.
Potential promotion forms, 1916.
Location
126.I.4.8Voucher registers, 1904-1926. 4 volumes.
Registers of expenditures, including office and field facility supplies and maintenance expenses, books and manuals, uniforms, ordnance, officer' allowances, payroll, rail transportation for troops, out-of-state travel expenses, contract labor and haulage, troop inspection expenses, and medical expenses.
Each entry gives warrant number, check number, date, to whom issued, for what, and the amount classified under columns for various expense categories.
1904-1921. 2 volumes.
Location
126.J.1.1 1921-1926. 2 volumes.

Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:
Courts-martial and courts of inquiry -- Minnesota.
Draft -- Minnesota.
Forest fires -- Minnesota -- Lake of the Woods County.
Forest fires -- Minnesota -- Saint Louis County.
Jails -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.
Martial law -- Minnesota.
Military law -- United States.
Military pensions -- Minnesota.
Naval militia.
Strikes and lockouts -- Trucking -- Minnesota.
Truck Drivers' Strike, Minneapolis, Minn., 1934.
Veterans -- Minnesota.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Registers of dead -- Minnesota.
Persons:
Connolly, A. P. (Alonzo P.)
Davis, Cushman K., 1838-1900 -- Death and burial.
Organizations:
Minnesota State Prison (Stillwater, Minn.) -- History.
Minnesota. Office of the Adjutant General.
Minnesota. National Guard -- History.
Minnesota. Home Guard -- History.
Minnesota. National Guard -- Officials and employees -- Salaries, etc.
Minnesota. National Guard -- Organization.
Minnesota. National Guard -- Recruiting, enlistment, etc.
United States. War Department.
Places:
Baudette (Minn.)
Chisholm (Minn.)
Minnesota -- Militia -- History.
Soudan Mine (Soudan, Minn.).
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Anniversaries, etc.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Registers of dead.
Document Types:
Photographs.

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