Guide to the Morris Cooper Foote Papers M2103

Franz Kunst
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2016
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Morris Cooper Foote papers
creator: Foote, Morris Cooper, 1843-1905
Identifier/Call Number: M2103
Physical Description: 3 Linear Feet (4 boxes, 2 map folders)
Date (inclusive): 1886-1913
Abstract: The papers of Morris Cooper Foote document his career in the United States Army during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China and the Spanish-American War in Cuba.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased by Stanford University, Special Collections in 2015.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Morris Cooper Foote papers (M2103). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Conditions Governing Use

Foote's personal papers are public domain and there are no restrictions on use. Other material in the collection may be subject to copyright.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.

Foote Biography

Morris Cooper Foote was born September 16, 1843, at Madison Barracks, Sackett’s Harbor, New York, to Lyman and Mary M. (Cooper) Foote. His great-grandfather was William Cooper, the founder of Cooperstown, New York, and his maternal great-grandfather was Jacob Morris, who served as an officer in the Revolutionary War, whose father was Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Foote was also the great-nephew of novelist James Fenimore Cooper. After his father died during the Mexican War in 1846 his mother moved to Cooperstown with her children. Foote attended school here for a time, later going to Plattsburg and to a Commercial College in Syracuse.
Foote enlisted in the New York Volunteer Infantry in 1861, beginning a forty year military career. He served throughout the entire Civil War, and was present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. He was captured in April 1864 at Plymouth, North Carolina and was held was a prisoner at Libby, Macon, Charleston and Columbia, escaping from the latter and taking refuge on board the U. S. gunboat Nipsic. In December 1864, he was among the 600 officer prisoners of war placed under fire in an effort to prevent the batteries on Morris Island from shelling the city of Charleston. He was the only officer hit, receiving a slight flesh wound from a piece of shell. Foote published a memoir based on his Civil War experiences.
After the Civil War, Foote served with his regiment in California, Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. He commanded one of the two companies of the 9th U.S. Infantry that received the Territory of Alaska from Russia in 1867, and was present when the Russian flag was hauled down at Sitka.
He was adjutant of the Black Hills Expedition under Col. Richard I. Dodge in 1875, and was in charge at the Brule Sioux Indian Agency the next year. He served in the field against the Sioux in 1877 and in the Geronimo Campaign in 1886, witnessing Geronimo’s surrender to General Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.
At the beginning of the Spanish-American War, Foote went to Cuba with the 9th U.S. Infantry, commanded a battalion at San Juan, and was at the surrender of the Spanish Army in the city of Santiago in July 1898. The following month Foote received promotion to the rank of Major and was ordered to Boston for recruiting duty, being unable to rejoin his regiment at the time due to malaria.
In June 1900 Foote went to the Philippine Islands but was soon on his way to northern China with his regiment. China’s Boxer Rebellion was an anti-foreign peasant uprising that had begun to escalate in the northern coastal province of Shandong. Hundreds of Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic missionaries and many more Christian Chinese were massacred. The movement also resisted growing imperialist tendencies in the area by European, Russian and American powers.
On June 17, the Boxers (also known as Yihetuan, or “Militia United in Righteousness”) began a siege of the Legation Quarter in Peking, where many foreigners and Christians were sequestered. The United States, along with Great Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Italy and Japan conducted a military expedition for the relief of the legations, sending 5000 troops for the purpose. The international relief expedition, known as the Eight-Nation Alliance, marched from Taku to Tientsin, and then the seventy more miles to Peking, raising the siege on August 4th. Foote was also present at the Battle of Tientsin, where the 9th infantry suffered a ten percent casualty rate. Negotiations following the defeat of the Boxers allowed for various foreign powers to administrate in certain territories, and in October 1900 Foote was ordered to return to Tientsin in command of United States forces. He also represented the United States in the Tientsin Provisional Government, known as the “Conseil du Governement Provisiors de Tientsin.”
Foote returned with his regiment to the Philippines in May 1901 and served at Basey, Samar, for some months. Later, as Colonel of the 28th U.S. Infantry, he served in Cavite Province, near Manila, and also on the Island of Mindanao.
After being appointed a Brigadier General on February 18, 1903, Foote retired the following day. He moved to Europe and resided in Geneva, Switzerland for two years. At the Hotel d'Angleterre, after recovering from double pneumonia and double pleurisy, he passed away of heart failure on December 6, 1905. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Scope and Contents

The papers of Morris Cooper Foote (1843-1905) document the latter part of his career in the United States Army, especially his service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and in China during and after the Boxer Rebellion. Foote’s papers consist of over 300 items, including manuscripts, journals, diaries, correspondence, official reports and documents, photographs, maps, newspapers, printed ephemera, and related material. Extensive notes and transcriptions were made prior to accession; some copies of which are filed in the collection.
During the Spanish-American War, Foote commanded a battalion on San Juan Hill with Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” and others. The collection includes Foote’s eyewitness account of the action. Foote was also stationed at various times in the Philippines, and there are some photographs and correspondence from the Islands. The bulk of the archive contains manuscript, photographic, cartographic, and ephemeral material documenting Foote’s service in Northern China following the Boxer Rebellion, with his regiment, the 9th Infantry, during the China Relief Expedition at Tientsin (the nearest port city to Peking, presently Tianjin), and Peking (presently Beijing).
Foote was commander of American forces at Tientsin, and was also the United States Representative of the Provisional Government of that city. Correspondents during this time include Major General Adna R. Chaffee, Chief Secretary Charles Denby Jr., and Adjutant General Henry Hiestand of the China Relief Expedition Headquarters in Peking, as well as communication from Allied Supreme Commander Alfred von Waldersee. There is also a small amount of correspondence and other material about his family and various financial investments.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

China -- History -- Boxer Rebellion, 1899-1901 -- Campaigns
Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Campaigns -- Cuba
Foote, Morris Cooper, 1843-1905
United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 9th (1855-1957)

box 1, folder 1

General Orders and Circulars, War Department ; Personal and Post Orders 1898

Scope and Contents

Two binders of Army orders as bound by Foote.
box 1, folder 2

Private Journal 5/1/1896 - 10/20/1900

Box 3, Folder 11

Text of private journal [transcription] 5/1/1896 - 10/20/1900

box 1, folder 3

Private Journal 1/1/1886 - 4/30/1896

Box 3, Folder 9-10

Text of private journal [transcription] 1/1/1886 - 14/30/1896

box 1, folder 4

Correspondence to Foote re: investments, stock certificate, etc. 1888-1894

box 1, folder 5

Miscellaneous

Scope and Contents

Includes letter from Foote's son Francis, biographical notes on Peter Cooper, and other items.
box 1, folder 6

Notes for and draft of account of military service 1898

box 1, folder 7

Individual service report, Manila 6/30/1898 - 6/30/1900

box 1, folder 8

Individual service report, Boston 6/30/1897 - 6/30/1899

box 1, folder 9

Paper on Santiago Campaign and on Regular troops as compared to National Guard 1899-08

box 1, folder 10

Orders of Foote's transfer from Manila to Taku, China and four receipts 1900-06-29

box 1, folder 11

Retained copy of Foote's report of the Battle of Tientsin 1900-07-14

box 1, folder 12

Retained copy of supplementary report, Tientsin 1900-07-25

box 1, folder 13

Two telegraph receipts 1900-07-31

box 1, folder 14

Manuscript orders from Headquarters, Foote ordered to Tong Chow, China Relief Expedition 1900-08-19

box 1, folder 15

General Orders No. 10, China Relief Expedition, Peking 1900-08-26

box 1, folder 16

General Orders No. 11, China Relief Expedition, Peking 1900-08-28

box 1, folder 17

E.H. Conger note to Foote 1900-09-06

box 1, folder 18

General Orders No. 16, China Relief Expedition, Peking 1900-09-09

box 1, folder 19

Special Orders No. 60, China Relief Expedition, Peking: Foote to Tientsin 1900-10-16

box 1, folder 20

Proposals for the Council, outline of districts of the Conseil

box 1, folder 21

Lists of officers, roster of troops, commissioners, ordnance and explosives, Tientsin and Peking 12/25/1900 - 2/5/1901

box 1, folder 22

Denby to Foote re: rice distribution [undated, probably November 1900] ; Financial statement of Tientsin Provisional Government 1900-10-31

box 1, folder 23

Draft of Proposed Regulations For The Conveyance of Land in Tientsin Provisional Government Jurisdiction and related 1900-11

Scope and Contents

Text in English and French. Contains notes, memoranda and proposals made by various members of the Provisional Government, including Mr. Emens, Mr. Rump, and Baron Gunzburg.
box 2, folder 1

District of Tientsin General Rules of Administration

box 2, folder 2

General Chaffee, China Relief Expedition Headquarters letter to Foote regarding council of provisional government 1900-11-02

box 2, folder 3

Denby letter to Foote re: Provisional Government officers, Tientsin 1900-11-13

box 2, folder 4

Drafts of Foote letters re: Provisional Government; New Regulations for the district; structure of government 1900-11-14

box 2, folder 5

Lewis R. Tucker personal letter to Foote 1900-11-16

box 2, folder 6

Provisional Government of Tientsin Native City reports 11-12/1900

Scope and Contents

Includes reports from the Chief Secretary's Department, Treasury, Judicial Department, Chinese Secretary's Office, and Public Works Department.
box 2, folder 7

Adjutant General Hiestand, China Relief Expedition Headquarters, Peking letter to Foote re: loan to Provisional Government 1900-11-20

box 2, folder 8

Allied Supreme Commander Waldersee letter re: improvements to Peiho River, English translation 1900-1901

box 2, folder 9

General Chaffee, China Relief Expedition Headquarters, Peking letter to Provisional Council re: proposed changes to regulations 1900-12-8

box 2, folder 10

[British Army Captain Gerald Francis] Mockler letter to Foote in San Francisco with news from Tientsin 1900-11-17

box 2, folder 11

Roster of Allied Troops in Province of Pe-Chili, Army headquarters in East Asia, Winter Palace, Peking 1900-12-11

box 2, folder 12

Roster of Officers and Troops, China Relief Expedition 1900-12-1

box 2, folder 13

List of Ammunition etc. Sold to Messrs. Arnold Karberg & Co. From City Arsenal

box 2, folder 14

Adjutant General Hiestand, China Relief Expedition Headquarters, Peking letter to Foote with enclosed letter in English translation from Field Marshal Waldersee to General Chaffee re: Tientsin Provisional Government 1900-12

box 2, folder 15

Telegrams from Chaffee and Heistand to Foote

box 2, folder 16

Military Order of the Dragon documents 1900-1901

Scope and Contents

"At meetings of the officers of the U.S. Forces, Peking, China, October 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1900, a society known as 'The Military Order of the Dragon' was organized."
box 2, folder 17

Statement of Strength of U.S. Forces in China 1900-02-01

box 2, folder 18

Receipts: Tientsin Club, Provisional Government Mess, Otsego Lodge, etc. 1901

box 2, folder 19

James W. Ragsdale, U.S. Consulate, Tientsin letter to Foote re: United States Concession in Tientsin 1900-02-27

box 2, folder 20

Ernest B. Barrat letters to Foote 2-4/1901

box 2, folder 21

Receipts: Provisional Government Mess, etc. 2-3/1901

box 2, folder 22

Charles D. Jameson (American Society of Civil Engineers) invitation to Foote 1901-04-03

box 2, folder 23

Letter to Pastors Wan and Ming in English translation, re: China, Boxers, etc. 1901

Scope and Contents

Enclosed envelope addressed to Col. Foote has inscription "D.E. Smith letters"
box 2, folder 24

General Chaffee, China Relief Expedition Headquarters, Peking letter to Foote re: corruption in Provisional Government 1901-04-02

box 2, folder 25

General Chaffee, China Relief Expedition Headquarters, Peking letter to Foote: follow up to last letter about corruption 1901-04-11

box 2, folder 26

Gouvernement Provisoire du District de Tientsin letter to Foote with enclosed memo from Chinese Secretary's Office regarding wage scale for Chinese employees 1901-04-10

box 2, folder 27

Receipt for Pommard [Burgundy wine] paid by Foote to James Hirsbrunner 1901-04-16

Related Materials

There is an advertisement for Hirsbrunner in the Peking & Tientsin Times newspaper in map-folder 4.
box 2, folder 28

James W. Ragsdale, U.S. Consulate letter to Foote in Manila re: banner of appreciation from village outside Tientsin 1901-07-20

box 2, folder 29

A. Shaw letter to Foote 1901-02-28

box 2, folder 30

H. Bower letter to Foote 1901-04-08

box 2, folder 31

Major General George Davis to General Henry C. Corbin re: Foote's retirement, Manila 1903-01-22

box 2, folder 32

Adjutant General Heistand telegram to Foote re: promotion 1903-02-18

box 2, folder 33

Pocket notebook

box 2, folder 34

Notebook with notes on Cuba, China, retirement 1898-1904

Scope and Contents

Includes journal entries, letter drafts, inventories, calculations, etc.
box 2, folder 35

Telegrams to and from Annie Foote 1900-1903

Scope and Contents

35 telegrams and their receipts from Foote to his wife Annie Elizabeth Murphy Foote in San Francisco, as well as some sent in return.
box 2, folder 36

Private journal 8/1/1903 - 11/29/1905

Scope and Contents

Foote passed away a week after the last entry. Journal has some clippings, receipts, and a telegram inserted in the unused portion.
Box 3, Folder 12

Text of private journal, Morris C. Foote Brig. Gen. U.S. Army [transcription] 8/1/1903 - 11/29/1905

box 2, folder 37

Miscellaneous correspondence

Scope and Contents

Includes letter from Foote to his wife Annie 4/1898 ; J.L. Pierson to Foote 11/29/1903 ; Sarah Pike Conger, U.S. Legation, Peking invitation [undated] ; Foote's children Cooper and Francis to Foote 1901 ; Herman Ridder to Annie Foote 1/18/1912 re: bond investment
box 2, folder 38

E.C. Bumpus letter to Foote re: his son First Lieutenant Edward A. Bumpus' death at Balangiga 1901-10-07

box 2, folder 39

Visiting cards 1901

Scope and Contents

17 calling cards and one printed invitation. Includes those of many of Foote's colleagues on the Provisional Government, as well as Major Erich von Falkenhayn, future chief of German General Staff during World War One.
box 2, folder 40

General Orders No. 32 and No. 37, Ninth Infantry Headquarters, Calbayog, Samar, Philippine Islands 10-11/1901

Scope and Contents

General Orders No.32 concerns the attack on the 9th Infantry at Balangiga [often called the Balangiga Massacre, although the reprisal attacks by the U.S. Army are also known by that name]
box 2, folder 41

Letters, telegram, etc. re: Foote's promotion and retirement 1902-1903

Scope and Contents

Foote to Adjutant General 12/25/1902 re: promotion and retirement ; H.S. Hull, War Department letter to Annie Foote 12/31/1902 ; program for band concert honoring Foote 2/23/1903 ; telegram ordering General Foote to Manila 2/23/1903
box 2, folder 42

Correspondence, etc. 1901-1913

Scope and Contents

Includes letters and related re: Oakwood Park stock farm in Contra Costa County 5/24/1901 ; letter from G.P. Reese, Cooperstown to Annie Foote [undated] ; Furlough Songs Of The Class of 1913 [printed songbook]
box 2, folder 43

Reglements generaux d'administration de la cite chinoise de Tientsin. Tientsin Press 1900

Scope and Contents

Printed rules for the administration of Tientsin.
box 2, folder 44

de Linde, A., Report of the Hai-Ho River Improvement And The Rivers of Chihli (Reprinted From Report of 1890). Tientsin Press 1900

Box 2, Folder 45

de Linde, A., Rapport Sur Les Travaux D' Amelioration Dans La Riviere du Hai-Ho. Tientsin Press 1900

Box 2, Folder 46

Appendix to Army Regulations, Edition of 1901, Showing Changes to December 31, 1902, and Orders and Circulars Relating Thereto 1902

Box 2, Folder 47

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States Circular No. 34, in Memoriam Morris Cooper Foote 1906-9-10

Box 3, Folder 1

Waeber, Ch., Map of North Eastern China 1893

Scope and Contents

Four folded cloth-backed maps of northeastern China published in Hamburg by L. Friederichson and Co.
Box 3, Folder 2

Map of North Eastern China 1900

Scope and Contents

Folded cloth-backed map of northeastern China published in Washington, D.C. by the Adjutant-General's Office, Military Information Division.
Box 3, Folder 3

Hermann, M., Reisekarte von Mittel-Europa [map of Middle Europe]. Glogau: Carl Flemming Verlag 1904

Box 5, item 1

Zones Internationales dans le Pei-Cho-Lil [map] circa 1900

Scope and Contents

Blue-print map measuring approx. 12"x12" showing the International concessions in the vicinity of Tientsin and Peking. Rail lines and rivers are outlined. Probably produced in the field by French engineers for the use of Allied forces.
map-folder 6

Tientsin to Peking China [map] 1900

Scope and Contents

Blue-print map measuring 29.5" x 12.5" showing route of U.S. troops in the China Relief Expedition, August 4-14, 1900.
Box 3, Folder 4

Cyanotype group portrait of seventeen Allied soldiers of various nationalities, possibly in Tientsin

Box 3, Folder 5

Photographs of beheading of two Chinese men in Tientsin

Scope and Contents

Series of nine prints measuring 3x4 inches documenting the execution of two Chinese men in a street in Tientsin before a crowd of Chinese civilians and Allied soldiers.
Box 3, Folder 6

Photograph of company of Bengal Lancers escorting Count Waldersee on his arrival at Peking, before the Sacred Gate [Underwood & Underwood stereoview] 1901

Box 3, Folder 7

Mounted cabinet image of unidentified steamship [stamped Nippon Artistmade Photograph]

Box 3, Folder 8

Series of seven photographs of Malabon, Philippines by J.M. Shera

Box 5, items 2-6

Group portrait of members of Tientsin Provisional Government circa 1900

Scope and Contents

Five versions of the same photograph, one signed by all members and another reproducing the photo with the signatures. Mounts are credited to Yamamoto (Tokyo) and J.D. Givens (San Francisco).
Box 5, item 7

Studio portrait of eleven China Relief Expedition officers circa 1900

Scope and Contents

Mount indicates photographer Sanyu & Co., Tientsin. Officers are identified on verso.
Box 3, Folder 13

Newspaper clippings, notes, envelopes, handwritten Chinese documents

Box 3, Folder 14

Japanese print with text

Box 3, Folder 15

Ordre du Double Dragon 1883

Scope and Contents

Book with text in Chinese and French and drawings of insignia. No publisher noted. Inscribed by Foote in Tientsin July 14th, 1900.
Box 3, Folder 16

Description from source of archive

Scope and Contents

Detailed notes on the collection, including many transcriptions (copies of some are also filed with original documents).
map-folder 4

Newspapers 1887-1905

Scope and Contents

Otsego Journal Vol.12 No. 9 6/22/1887 ; Boston Globe 5/23/1899 [one sheet with article on Foote] ; Peking and Tienstin Times Vol.7 No. 48 4/6/1901 ; New York Herald, European Edition 12/8/1905 [obituary] ; Journal De Geneve No. 336 12/8/1905 [short obituary]