Guide to the Fred J. Buenzle papers M1983
Franz Kunst
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2013
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: Fred J. Buenzle papers
Creator:
Buenzle, Fred J.
Identifier/Call Number: M1983
Identifier/Call Number: 18549
Physical Description:
2.21 Linear Feet
(2 manuscript boxes and 4 flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1870s-1986
Physical Location: Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36-48 hours in advance. For more
information on paging collections, see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html.
Abstract: Manuscripts, scrapbooks, correspondence and photographs from Fred J. Buenzle (1872-1946), Chief Yeoman of the United States
Navy.
Access to Collection
The materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted
to a digital use copy.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Scope and Contents
Frederick John Buenzle (1872-1946) enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of sixteen, and chronicled the transition
of the Navy's fleet from the sailing ships of the 19th century to steam-powered steel boats and the accompanying changes in
sailors' duties and culture. Training aboard the U.S.S. Portsmouth, Buenzle traveled around the Caribbean before assuming
the job of stenographer, eventually working his way up to Chief Yeoman. Buenzle took shorthand for Rear Admiral William Sampson,
acting Secretary of the Navy William McAdoo and even on occasion Theodore Roosevelt. He also ran the Yeoman School in Newport,
Rhode Island for a time.
Buenzle was founder and editor of the first magazine for enlisted sailors, "The Bluejacket," also the name of his 1939 memoir.
While there are no copies of the newsletter in the collection, other shipboard newsletters are present. Buenzle also successfully
filed a lawsuit fighting discrimination against uniformed servicemen.
Buenzle was stenographer for the Court of Inquiry concerning the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in 1898 (for which Sampson was
Chief), and subsequently participated in the Spanish-American War aboard the U.S.S. New York. There are numerous photographs
and documents concerning Cuba and the war.
After retiring in 1912 due to hearing loss, Buenzle moved around the country trying his hand at various occupations before
settling in Los Gatos at his ranch, known as "Snug Harbor," where he farmed, built model ships and continued to write until
his death in 1946.
Acquisition Information
This collection was purchased by Stanford University, Special Collections in July 2013.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Fred J. Buenzle papers (M1983). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Military history
Naval history
Spanish-American War, 1898.
United States. Navy.
box 1, folder 1
Newport Navalog biographical profile 2192765
1967-07
box 1, folder 2
"Apprenticeship Memories Revived -or- 4 Years in the U.S.N." bound manuscript 2192767
1889-1890
Scope and Contents
An account of Buenzle's training aboard the Portsmouth in the Caribbean. Includes souvenir postcards of Jamaica, two large
albumen prints of St. Thomas, and newspaper clippings from the Newport Sentinel of letters Buenzle wrote to the paper.
box 1, folder 3
"That Mutiny of Ours" bound typescript 2192769
c.1940s
Scope and Contents
A narrative of the 1842 alleged mutiny aboard the U.S.S. Somers in which three sailors were hanged without a legal trial.
box 1, folder 4
"One Hundred Years Ago" typescript re: U.S.S. Somers incident 2192771
1942-09-10
box 1, folder 5
Bluejacket: An Autobiography 2192773
1986
Scope and Contents
Reprint by the Naval Institute Press in their Classics of Naval Literature series. Originally published by W.W. Norton in
1939.
box 1, folder 6
"Old Navy Men" typescript 2192775
circa 1940s
box 1, folder 7
reprints, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 2192777
1940, 1942
box 1, folder 8
"Here Comes A Sailor" Chapter XIII excerpt about his brief interaction with future King George V of England 2192779
box 1, folder 9
"Naval Casualties in Peacetime" typescript [published copy in scrapbook] 2192781
box 1, folder 10
"Three Days in the Rice Fields of China" manuscript 2192783
Scope and Contents
After five years of service, in 1893 Buenzle left the Navy and lived in Shanghai. He became an officer in the Chinese military
during the Sino-Japanese War, and "Three Days..." is a brief account of this experience.
box 1, folder 11
untitled speech transcript, U.S. Veterans' Home, Napa, with clipping about event 2192785
1939
box 2, folder 1
small notebook with addresses and accounts ; small unidentified Chinese book with illustrations 2192787
box 2, folder 2
correspondence to King George V with form reply from King's Personal Secretary 2192789
1935-09
box 2, folder 3
correspondence re: Somers incident manuscript 2192791
1944-1946
box 2, folder 4
scrapbook of approximately 80 silver gelatin prints including images of Naval training in Guantanamo Bay and other images
in and around Havana, Cuba
2192793
1898
M1983.ref1000.1
Existence and Location of Copies
This scrapbook has been digitized by Stanford and is available for research.
box 2, folder 5
correspondence re: Spanish-American War with souvenir pieces of flag removed from Spanish vessel 2192795
1940-02-20
box 2, folder 6
bulletins, correspondence, memoranda and notes re: U.S.S. New York and Spanish-American War 2192797
1898
Scope and Contents
Field notes, "order of battle" memoranda, William T. Sampson communication, and other documents.
box 2, folder 7
miscellaneous Navy correspondence, notes and other documents, including Buenzle's enlistment record 2192799
1894-1912
box 2, folder 8
The Pelican, U.S.S. Louisiana newsletter 2192801
1906-07
box 2, folder 9
Williwa, U.S.S. Pybus newsletters [8] 2192803
1943
box 2, folder 10
notes re: U.S.S. Portsmouth 2192805
box 2, folder 11
handwritten excerpt of review of Bluejacket 2192807
1944-06-30
box 2, folder 12
unidentified Chinese manuscript- 3 leaves 2192809
c.1890s
box 2, folder 13, box 2, folder 14
box 4, folder 1-6, box 5, box 3, folder 1-7
scrapbook of several hundred annotated silver prints 2192813
c.1880-1939
Scope and Contents
Large scrapbook with decorated wooden cover, featuring the Buenzle family and residences in Newport, Rhode Island, Los Gatos,
California, and elsewhere, as well as newspaper clippings of articles by or about Buenzle (many with no source or date). Boxes
3 and 4 contain loose pages, and Box 5 contains the enclosure.
flat-box 6
Piece of the flag under which the Spanish Cruiser Cristobal Colon surrendered to the American fleet on July third, 1898. Framed,
in glass.
