Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Archer Lejeune (1867-1942) span the years 1815-1950, with the bulk of the material concentrated between the years 1900-1942. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, miscellaneous notes, speeches and writings, military papers, and printed matter organized in six series: Family Correspondence, General Correspondence, Speeches and Writings File, Military Papers, Miscellany, and 2022 Addition.
Although the correspondence is sparse for the years prior to 1920, the collection contains letters and papers that highlight major events in Lejeune’s early military career such as his conduct aboard the Vandalia (screw sloop) in the 1889 hurricane at Apia, Samoa, his service on the Cincinnati (cruiser) during the Spanish-American War, and the landing and occupation of Vera Cruz by the marines. Several letters from Littleton W. T. Waller, Smedley D. Butler, and John Henry Russell relating to the situation in Haiti in 1915-1916, as well as a detailed report assessing conditions in that country in 1920, are in the General Correspondence. However, the largest group of military papers pertains to the operations of the 2nd Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during World War I. In addition to letters in the General Correspondence series, the papers contain field orders, general orders, intelligence reports, and other documents in the Military Papers series and a history of the 2nd Division in the Miscellany series. Lejeune’s military career reached its zenith with his appointment as commandant of the United States Marine Corps. From 1920 to his retirement in 1929, Lejeune’s correspondence reveals his concern for establishing the corps on a permanent peacetime basis and for enhancing its public image. Lejeune told the story of his life in the marines in the autobiographical Reminiscences of a Marine, published in 1930.
Another view of Lejeune’s military career can be discerned from the letters he wrote to his sister, Augustine L. Lejeune, between 1882 and 1931. Beginning with Lejeune’s school days at Louisiana State University and at the United States Naval Academy, these letters often contain personal observations, details, and informal descriptions of military operations and tours of duty covered in the other series.
The most voluminous segment of correspondence in the Lejeune Papers covers the years 1929-1937, when he was superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute. Most of the letters are from admirers seeking photographs and autographs, from veterans or the families of marines who served under his command, and from various educational, religious, civic, and veterans’ organizations inviting Lejeune to deliver speeches, visit their cities, or participate in their programs. Several letters are requests for assistance in securing promotions, commissions, and appointments or in having changes made in service records. Lejeune’s continued dedication to the marine corps during his retirement years is also manifested in his letters supporting various naval appropriation bills, and in his responses to inquiries during the 1935 Senate Naval Committee’s investigation of the marine corps.
A file of clippings within the collection recapitulates Lejeune’s career as depicted in newspapers and magazines. Loosely arranged by subject, the file covers his military assignments, his association with Virginia Military Institute, and other material relating to Lejeune, the marine corps, and World War I. In some cases, articles from several newspapers describing the same news event are included in the file.
Correspondents include John E. Ausland, Newton Diehl Baker, George Ernest Barnett, Hugo LaFayette Black, Smedley D. Butler, John H. Craige, Josephus Daniels, Gordon Dorrance, James G. Harbord, R. S. Keyser, Charles Evans Kilbourne, Rufus Herman Lane, Charles Grant Long, John J. Pershing, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Henry Russell, Charles Pelot Summerall, Park Trammell, Hugh Henry Trout, Carl D. Vinson, and Littleton W. T. Waller.
The final series, the 2022 Addition, consists of letters written by Lejeuene to Ellie, his wife, while stationed in France commanding the 2nd Division, American Expeditionary Forces during and immediately after World War I. The letters begin in late June 1918 and run through the duration of the war to November 1918, with a smattering of additional letters extending through December of 1919. Subjects covered in the letters include Lejeune's day-to-day activities while in command, discussions of American strategy and troop movements along the front, and Lejeune's reflections on the violence that he witnessed on the Western Front.