Scope and Content Note
The papers of William Freeland Fullam (1855-1926) span the years 1873-1942, with the bulk of the material falling in the period 1906-1922. The papers consist of correspondence, orders to duty, speeches and writings, newspaper clippings, printed matter, photographs, and miscellaneous items and are organized into the following series: General Correspondence and Orders to Duty, Speech, Article, and Book File, and Miscellany.
Fullam’s correspondence and the columns he wrote for the New York Tribune in the 1920s reflect his views on the removal of United States marines from cruising ships, the reorganization of the Navy Department and the coordination of its bureaus, the superiority of air power, the conduct of World War I operations, and other military topics.
The papers also provide insight into American foreign policy in the Caribbean and Central American areas where Fullam had patrolled the coastal waters of Santo Domingo, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua in 1906 and 1907.
Prominent among Fullam’s correspondents are Philip Andrews, William S. Benson, Victor Blue, Josephus Daniels, Edwain Denby, George Dewey, Bradley A. Fiske, Albert Gleaves, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Harris Laning, Blair Lee, Stephen B. Luce, Charles B. McVay, William A. Mitchell, James H. Oliver, John E. Pillsbury, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Seaton Schroeder, William S. Sims, and Richard Wainwright.