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Robert Christie Cotton Papers: Finding Aid
mssCotton papers
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Title: Robert Christie Cotton Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1903-1940
Collection Number: mssCotton papers
Creator:
Cotton, Robert Christie, 1885-
Extent: 231 pieces in 3 boxes.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists primarily of writings by career United States army officer and historian
Robert Christie Cotton (1885-1952) on various topics including
the Philippines, China, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Mexican border, and World War I,
written during his active army service and later as editor of the
U.S. Infantry Journal.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Robert Christie Cotton Papers, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Acquired from Sally Cotton, August 18, 1953.
Robert Christie Cotton (1885-1952), career army officer and historian, graduated from the United States Military Academy at
West Point in 1908 and was
commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd Infantry. He served in the Philippines (1909-11 and 1915), along the Mexico-
United States border (1913-15), in the
Hawaiian Islands (1917), and with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in 1918. Cotton edited the
U.S. Infantry Journal, wrote a doctoral thesis in
history at Georgetown University in 1931, taught military science, and contributed articles on military and diplomatic history
to several journals.
Promoted to the rank of colonel in the 1930s, Cotton retired from the service in 1940 and settled in Los Angeles, California.
Cotton died on February 12, 1952.
The collection consists primarily of essays, notes and treatises by Robert Christie Cotton on various topics written during
his active army service and later as editor of the
U.S. Infantry Journal.
It includes articles and essays on the Philippines, China, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Mexican border, and World War I, among other
topics. Many of the documents are
typewritten.
The collection does contain some correspondence, including 125 letters (1915-40) addressed to Robert Christie Cotton (1885-
) and 5 letters (1929-31) to R. Rush Rankin. There
are also typescripts of two 1917 letters to John J. (John Joseph) Pershing (1860-1948) and one 1917 letter from George Bronson
Rea (1869-1936) to Lt. Col. D. Nolan.
This collection is arranged in the following order:
- 1. Manuscripts by Robert Christie Cotton (1885- ) Box 1
- 2. Manuscripts by others Box 2
- 3. Correspondence Box 2
- 4. Biographical materials, clippings, etc. Box 2
- 5. Oversize documents Box 3
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Cotton, Robert
Christie, 1885-
Washington, George,
1732-1799.
United States. Army --
History -- 19th century -- Sources.
United States. Army --
History -- 20th century -- Sources.
United States. Army --
Officers -- Archives.
United States. Army --
Officers -- Correspondence.
World War, 1914-1918.
Cuba --
History.
Mexico -- Relations --
United States.
Philippines --
History.
Philippines -- History
-- Philippine American War, 1899-1902.
Puerto Rico --
History.
United States --
Foreign relations -- 20th century.
United States --
Relations -- Mexico.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th
century.