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Finding Aid for the Pelham Davis Glassford Papers, 1904-1959
679
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Title: Pelham Davis Glassford Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1904-1959
Collection number: 679
Creator:
Glassford, Pelham Davis, 1883-1959
Extent: 26 boxes (13 linear ft.)
1 oversize box
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Pelham Davis Glassford (1883-1959) commanded the 103rd Field Artillery in the American Expeditionary Force in France during
World War I and retired from the army in July 1931. He was appointed police chief of Washington, D.C. In May 1932, a group
of unemployed veterans known as the Bonus Army converged on the capital, petitioning for immediate payment of certificates
owed them by the federal government. Glassford reluctantly complied with President Hoover's decision to evict the veterans
from sections of the Federal Triangle area, and a policeman killed two veterans. Against Glassford's advice, the President
sent in army troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur to disperse the veterans. On October 20, the district commissioners
asked for and received Glassford's resignation. The collection consists of correspondence, diary, printed material, official
papers, photographs, books, magazines, and memorabilia. Includes material on the 1932 Bonus Army and the Imperial Valley (California)
labor disputes of 1934.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold
the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
[Identification of item], Pelham Davis Glassford Papers (Collection 679). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
1470581
Glassford was born on August 8, 1883 in Las Vegas, New Mexico; raised in Denver, Colorado, graduating from West Point in 1904;
became a field artillery officer, and served three years as an instructor at West Point; in July 1918, assumed command of
the 103rd Field Artillery in the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I; retired from the army in July
1931, and was appointed police chief of Washington, D.C.; in May 1932, a group of unemployed veterans known as the Bonus Army
converged on the capital, petitioning for immediate payment of certificates owed them by the federal government; Glassford
reluctantly complied with President Hoover's decision to evict the veterans from sections of the Federal Triangle area, and
a policeman killed two veterans; against Glassford's advice, the President sent in army troops under the command of General
Douglas MacArthur to disperse the veterans; on October 20, the district commissioners asked for and received Glassford's resignation;
in 1934 he served as an unsuccessful federal conciliator in an agricultural labor dispute in California's Imperial Valley;
in 1936 he served briefly as police chief of Phoenix, Arizona; spent last years in Laguna Beach, California, where he painted,
served as unofficial head of the chamber of commerce, and in 1948 organized a MacArthur for President club; died on August
9, 1959.
Collection consists of correspondence, diary, printed material, official papers, photographs, books, magazines, and memorabilia
of Pelham Davis Glassford, retired Brigadier General, United States Army. Includes material on the 1932 Bonus Army and the
Imperial Valley (California) labor disputes of 1934.
Arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia (Boxes 1-13).
- Bonus Army materials (Boxes 14-18).
- Bonus Army scrapbooks with newspaper clippings (Boxes 19-23).
- Imperial Valley labor disputes (Boxes 24-26).
- Photographs, awards, diplomas, etc. (oversize Box).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Glassford, Pelham Davis, 1883-1959--Archives.
Bonus Expeditionary Forces.
Generals--United States--Archival resources.
Strikes and lockouts--Agricultural laborers--California, Southern.
Bonus Army Collection (Collection 1087). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Removed or Separated Material
Note
The following books were removed from the first 13 boxes of the collection for separate cataloging.
- Anderson, Edward. Hungry Men. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran,
Date: 1935.
- Atwell, Edward F. Washington the Battle Ground; the Truth About the Bonus Riots. Washington: Patriotic Publishing Society,
Date: 1933.
- Bartlett, John Henry. The Bonus March and the New Deal. Chicago, M.A. Donohue,
Date: 1937.
- Crosby, Percy. Patriotism. New York: Percy Crosby,
Date: 1932.
- King Albert's Book - a Tribute to the Belgian King and People. New York: Hearst's International Library Company,
Date: 1915[?].
- Kroch, Adolph. A Great Bookstore in Action. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
Date: 1940.
- O'Sheel, Shaemas. It Never Could Happen or the Second American Revolution. New York: Coventry,
Date: 1932.