Ohio History Journal

OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL

SOCIETY

REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS

 

BY THE EDITOR

 

HISTORY OF THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-

SECOND FIELD ARTILLERY AND SKETCH

OF ITS COLONEL

History of the 322nd Field Artillery. Yale Uni-

versity Press, New Haven.

The Society is under obligations to Colonel A. B.

Warfield, who commanded the 322nd Field Artillery of

the National Army in the World War made up almost

entirely of Ohio troops. The frontispiece of this in-

teresting and valuable volume is very appropriately a

portrait of second Lieutenant John Morrison who en-

tered the service from Cincinnati, Ohio, and was killed

in action October 15, 1918. On the recommendation of

Colonel Warfield, Lieutenant Morrison was awarded

the Distinguished Service Cross "For Extraordinary

Heroism in Action.^"

The foreword of this history of 511 pages explains

how the material for it was collected:

"From the first day of his association with the regiment,

which is the same as saying from the day the regiment was or-

ganized, Colonel Warfield had in mind the future preparation

and publication of its history. To this end he directed the regi-

mental adjutant, first Captain J. A. Garfield and later Captain

G. S. Webber, to keep daily notes and records of the happenings

in Section Q. This was faithfully done, not only in Camp

(98)

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Reviews, Notes and Comments            99

 

Sherman, but throughout the whole existence of the regiment.

These notes were typewritten and kept constantly up to date,

in a loose-leaf cover, and from time to time were supplemented

by pictures as these became available."

 

The preparation of this history began in Germany.

It was decided that it should be divided into the history

of the different batteries of the regiment. The volume

contains the record of each of these and of the head-

quarters company. It is preceded by a "day-by-day

chronicle of the regiment." The volume is generously

illustrated with interesting views. A number of maps

show clearly the movements of the regiment in its over-

seas service. It is published by the Yale University

Press.

In answer to a request for information Colonel War-

field writes:

"The proudest and most remembered experience of my

military career will be that when I commanded the regiment of

Ohio troops during the late war. They proved themselves in

every particular to be officers and men of the highest character,

serving the government honestly and faithfully and with credit

to themselves and the State of Ohio.

"I sometimes feel that unfortunately for me I was not born

in Ohio. I was born July 24, 1878 in Prattsburg, Steuben

County, New York."

 

Colonel Warfield attended school in his native vil-

lage, was graduated from the High School of Boon-

ville, New York, and later attended Hamilton College at

Clinton in that state. He enlisted in the 202nd N. Y.

Volunteer Infantry August 15, 1908, and served with

this regiment in Cuba as a non-commissioned officer and

later in the Philippines as a Lieutenant in the 42nd U.

S. Volunteers. He was appointed second Lieutenant in

the Artillery Corps July 1, 1901; promoted to first Lieu-

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tenant August 11, 1903; commissioned Captain January

25, 1907; transferred to Field Artillery June 6, 1907;

detailed Quartermaster May 23, 1911; commissioned

Captain Quartermaster Corps November 28, 1915; pro-

moted to Major, Field Artillery May 15, 1917; Colonel,

Field Artillery, National Army, 322nd Regiment Au-

gust 15, 1917; discharged from National Army August

31, 1920; promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, transferred

to Quartermaster Corps as of July 1, 1920 and was later

on duty in the office of the Quartermaster General in

Washington, D. C., as Chief of the Salvage Division.

 

Into Mexico with General Scott, by Edwin L. Sabin.

J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. $1.75.

This is a romantic story by the author of "Lost with

Lieutenant Pike," "Building the Pacific Railway," and

"General Crook and the Fighting Apaches." It contains

a foreword of five pages of authentic history, numerous

illustrations and maps and presents a very creditable ap-

pearance. Prominence in the narrative is given to Gen-

eral Scott, Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan and U.

S. Grant, men whose names are now for all time fixed

in the annals of our country.

The romancers of history who write especially for

the young naturally mingle much fiction with historic

fact and often lead to wrong impressions, that fortu-

nately sometimes are corrected by reading the real his-

tory of the time or event described. The writer of this

brief review acknowledges his obligation to Colonel E. Z.

C. Judson, who wrote wildly adventurous stories of the

West under the non de plume of Ned Buntline. This

stimulated a lasting interest in the period and the men

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Reviews, Notes and Comments       101

who figured in the stories and afterward led to an ap-

preciative study of life on the plains with scarcely any

depreciation in his estimate of the spectacular character

of Buffalo Bill.

A famous Iowa writer has declared that "nothing

lies like history" and expresses the opinion that we must

go to the imagination for realities. This is a part of his

apology for writing a romance of the famous "Johnny

Appleseed." While we are not prepared at all to accept

this dictum it must be admitted that such stories as "Into

Mexico with General Scott" appeal with peculiar power

to the young and are stepping stones to a genuine in-

terest in our history. As such they are to be recom-

mended.

 

 

SENATOR WILLIS ADDS TO SOCIETY LIBRARY

The large collection of material relating to the World

War now in the library of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society has been substantially increased

by the gift of many volumes from the United States

government through Senator Frank B. Willis. In addi-

tion to these publications the Senator personally secured

for the Society printed and typewritten copies of all

official invitations, letters and documents relating to the

"ceremonies attending the burial of an unknown and un-

identified American soldier who lost his life in the World

War." These papers will make a most interesting

volume which it will soon be impossible to duplicate.

They will be added to the collection of bound clippings

from various newspapers of Ohio relating to the ob-

servance of the anniversary of Armistice Day in 1921.

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102       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

Following are the most important bound documents

forwarded to the Society by Senator Willis:

America's Munitions. Report. 1917-1918.

Report of the Secretary of the Navy. 1916-1920. 5 Vols.

Brewing and Liquor interests and German and Bolshevik

Propaganda. 3 Vols.

Navy Department. Office of Naval Records and Library

Historical Section.

No. I. German Submarine activities.

No. 2. The Northern Barrage and other mining

activities.

No. 3. Digest Catalog of Laws and joint resolutions.

No. 4. The Northern Barrage (taking up the mines).

Final report of General John J. Pershing.

Treaty of Peace with Germany.

Address of the President of the United States relative to the

Treaty of Peace with Germany.

Organization of the services of supply. American Expedi-

tionary Forces.

War Department. Annual Reports. 1916-1919. (II Vols.)

Abridgment. Messages and Documents. 1917-1918. (2

Vols.)

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Senator Willis

for this manifestation of interest in the Society.

 

 

OHIO HISTORY SEARCH TOPICS

Professor C. L. Martzolff, of Ohio University, has

recently published a very valuable list of questions under

the title of Ohio History Search Topics. These number

two hundred and eighty-one. The list is followed by a

brief bibliography of "Ohioana," including books relat-

ing to Ohio history which are accessible in the well

equipped libraries of the state. In the preface, Professor

Martzolff says:

 

"The interest in the study of our state history is steadily

increasing. The greatest handicap lies in the vast amount of

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Reviews, Notes and Comments         103

 

unorganized material. In the absence of a well-arranged volume

suited to our pupils, the author believes no better way can be

found than by the search question method. The caution is, how-

ever, thrown out that the mere literal answer to a question can

not be regarded as the end-all of the study, but the question

should be taken as the basis of a discussion whenever possible."

The price of this publication is fifty cents and copies

may be had directly from the author.

 

 

A HISTORY OF MINNESOTA

A History of Minnesota in four volumes, Volume I,

by William Watts Folwell. Minnesota Historical So-

ciety, St. Paul, 1921.

The first volume of this history has just been re-

ceived. The binding, typography, illustrations and gen-

eral appearance of this initial volume create a most

favorable impression which is more than sustained by

a perusal of the attractive pages of the work.   The

material is the result of painstaking research; the sus-

taining sources of the text are made readily accessible

to the reader by extended marginal notes.

This history seems to have been written under almost

ideal conditions. The Historical Society of Minnesota

for years has been doing excellent work and accumu-

lating the source materials for a satisfactory history of

that state.  Files of practically every newspaper pub-

lished in that state are on the shelves of the library of

that Society. No explanation is needed to show what

a splendid equipment these files constitute as sources

of the state's history.

The Historical Society of Minnesota has in its manu-

script department very large and satisfactory collections

of the letters and papers of the founders and builders of

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104     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

the state. These are collected in its splendid new library

building which was erected at an expenditure of

$500,000. A cut of this beautiful and substantial struc-

ture was presented in our QUARTERLY for October, 1920.

Minnesota is fortunate in her historian, William

Watts Folwell, who since his graduation from Hobart

College, New York, in 1857, has been almost continu-

ously employed in educational work. After his service

in the Civil War he was a resident of Ohio and for

one year professor of mathematics in Kenyon College.

From 1869 to 1884 he was president of the University

of Minnesota and a professor in that institution until

1907.  Since that date he has been very actively en-

gaged in various enterprises, chiefly educational, in his

adopted state while still holding the position of professor

emeritus in the state university.  He has been ac-

quainted with practically all of the men who were promi-

nent in the founding and building of Minnesota.  His

personal recollections cover a very large portion of the

state's history in which he has been through all his later

years very deeply interested.  He is author of the

volume on the history of that state in the Commonwealth

Series.  He has a pleasing literary style that adds

charm to the text of his history and makes the story

of Minnesota, as he unfolds it, one of unusual interest.

Minnesota has an interesting history. This is done

ample justice in the first volume of Dr. Folwell's work

and we may rest assured that the succeeding volumes

will maintain the same high standard.  The index to

Volume 1 is very satisfactory as is also the table of

contents.  For these, readers generally and librarians

especially will be grateful.

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