Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Hugh Lenox Scott Collection
- Dates:
- 1915 - circa 1927
- Creators:
- Crane, Russell and Spotted Horse, Reuben
- Abstract:
- This collection contains correspondence and memorandum regarding General Hugh L. Scott. Original correspondence dates from 1915-1930, and no dates exist on the copies. One letter is from Reuben Spotted Horse to Russel Crane, regarding the medal given to Reuben Spotted Horse from Thomas Jefferson via General Scott.
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Hugh Lenox Scott Collection, 1915-circa 1927, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.697.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains correspondence and memorandum regarding General Hugh L. Scott. Original correspondence dates from 1915-1930, and no dates exist on the copies. One letter is from Reuben Spotted Horse to Russel Crane, regarding the medal given to Reuben Spotted Horse from Thomas Jefferson via General Scott. There are two carbon copies of General Scott's letter of 1915 March 11, and two photostatic copies of his letter (which includes a report of his activities concerning the arrest of Paiute Indians in Utah) dated 1915 April 3.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Hugh Lenox Scott (1853 September 22 – 1934 April 30) was a post-Civil War West Point graduate who served as superintendent of West Point from 1906 to 1910, and Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1914 to 1917, including the first few months of U.S. involvement in World War I.
Scott graduated from West Point in 1876 and was commissioned in the Cavalry. For some twenty years thereafter he served on the Western frontier, chiefly with the 7th United States Cavalry. Scott was sent out to the Little Big Horn battle site to mark gravesites for Custer's men killed in the battle. He also had the opportunity to interview many of the Native Americans who fought on both sides on that hot 1876 June 25 day. He saw action in campaigns against the Sioux, Nez Perce, Cheyenne and other Indians of the Plains and became well versed in their languages and ways of life.
In 1890-1891, he was given the responsibility for suppressing the "Ghost Dance," a religious movement that swept the Native American Reservations and received official commendation for that work. In 1892, he organized Troop L of the 7th Cavalry, composed of Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Indians, and commanded it until it was mustered out, the last Indian Troop in the United States Army, in 1897. In 1894-1897, he had charge of Geronimo's band of Chiricahua Apache Indian prisoners at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
In November 1897, he was attached to the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, where he began preparing a work on Indian sign languages. Between 1903 and 1906, he served as Military Governor of the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines, also commanding troops there, taking part in various skirmishes. He next commanded the 3rd U.S. Cavalry in Texas, engaged in settling various "Indian troubles." In March 1913, he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, still posted to the Southwest. He won special commendation for his handling of Navajo disturbances at Beautiful Mountain, Arizona, in November 1913.
He continued to act in a diplomatic role with Indians and Mexican Border officials in the Southwest, settling problems with the Paiute Indians of Utah in March 1915 and recovering property "confiscated" by Pancho Villa in August. He retired from the military in May 1919 and served on the Board of Indian Commissioners from 1919 to 1929. He died in Washington, D.C. on 1934 April 30.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Russell Crane, 1959 February; acquisitions through the Munk Library of Arizoniana.
- Custodial history:
-
Loaned by Russell Crane, 1930 August 1; purchased by Museum 1959 February.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Library staff after 1981. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 November 9, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-07-05 22:06:02 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
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.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
Hugh Lenox Scott Collection, 1915-circa 1927, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.697.
- Location of this collection:
-
4700 Western Heritage WayLos Angeles, CA 90027, US
- Contact:
- (747) 201-8448