Finding Aid to the David Sloane Stanley Manuscript Collection MS.629

Holly Rose Larson
Library and Archives at the Autry
2012 October 24
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org


Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: David Sloane Stanley Manuscript Collection
Creator: Stanley, David Sloane
Creator: Cist, Henry Martyn
Identifier/Call Number: MS.629
Physical Description: 0.1 Linear Feet (2 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1883, 1935
Abstract: David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) was a Major General in the United States Army, serving in the Civil War and later conducting expeditions to the West in the 1870s and 1880s. This collection contains one letter from David Sloane Stanley to General Henry Martyn Cist in 1883, and a typed copy of a diary written by Stanley, documenting his journey overland from Arkansas to California between 1853 and 1854.
Language of Material: English .

Custodial History

The typed copy of the diary was given to Hazel Hyde by Joseph Wright Rumbough, grand nephew of David Sloane Stanley, on November 17, 1935.

Scope and Contents

David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) was a Major General in the United States Army, serving in the Civil War and later conducting expeditions to the West in the 1870s and 1880s. This collection contains one letter from David Sloane Stanley to General Henry Martyn Cist in 1883, and a typed copy of a diary written by Stanley. The title of the diary is "Diary of Lt. David Sloane Stanley (1852 U. S. M. A.) 2nd U. S. Dragoons, Later a Major General, of an Expedition which made a journey overland from Fort Smith, Arkansas to San Diego, California from July 24, 1853 to March 26, 1854, with additional diary entries to April 9, 1854."

Preferred Citation

David Sloane Stanley Manuscript Collection, 1883, 1935, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.629; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Processing History

Processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 October 24, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

Biographical Note

David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902) was a United States Army officer born in Cedar Valley, Ohio, on 1828 June 1, the son of John Bratton and Sarah (Peterson) Stanley. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point on 1848 July 1.
In 1856 he was sent with his regiment to Kansas to quell the disturbances there between pro-slavery advocates and "free soilers." On 1857 April 2, he married Anna Maria Wright, whom he had first met while he was a cadet at West Point; the couple had seven children. After service against the Cheyenne Indians on the Great Plains-in which his life was saved by J. E. B. Stuart in a fight near Fort Kearny, Nebraska - he was assigned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1860.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Stanley - himself a slaveowner - was offered a colonel's commission in the Confederate Army and command of an Arkansas regiment, but he declined the offer and joined other Union forces at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers on 1861 September 28. He fought in the battles of Wilson's Creek, New Madrid, and Island Number Ten in the Missouri campaign of 1862. In consequence of his good work at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, in October 1862 he was promoted to major general on November 29 and appointed chief of cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland.
For his "distinguished bravery" at Franklin he was brevetted to major general on 1865 March 13, and awarded the Medal of Honor on 1893 March 29. He was posted to the Fifth United States Cavalry as a major in the regular army on 1863 December 1. He was mustered out of volunteer service on February 1, 1866, and promoted to colonel of the Twenty-second United States Infantry on 1866 July 28.
While commandant at San Antonio, he ordered the sale to a circus of the remaining camels from Camp Verde, thus bringing to an end the United States Army's camel corps experiment.
On 1884 March 24, upon the retirement of Ranald S. Mackenzie, Stanley was promoted to brigadier general in the regular United States Army and named commander of the Department of Texas. He retired on 1892 June 1. From 1893 September 13 until 1898 April 15, he was governor of the Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C. General Stanley died in Washington on 1902 March 13, and was buried in the Soldiers Home cemetery.
Reference:
Cutrer, T. W. (n.d.). Stanley, David Sloane, Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fst12.

Acquisition

Purchased by Library for the Munk Library of Arizoniana from Hazel Hyde, 1941 April; and Morris H. Briggs, 1951.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

United States. Army. 2nd Dragoons
Overland journeys to the Pacific
California -- Description and travel
Correspondence
Typescripts
Diaries