Scope and Content Note
The papers of August Valentine Kautz (1828-1895) span the years circa 1846-1939, with the bulk of the material from the years 1860-1890. His papers relate primarily to military activity during and after the Civil War and to Native American affairs in the same period.
The papers consist of Diaries , Biographical Material , Military Orders , Scrapbooks , Memorabilia , Miscellany , Addition , and Oversize series. The collection includes some papers of Kautz's brother, Albert Kautz (1839-1907), naval officer.
The Diaries span the years 1853-1895 and constitute the bulk of the collection. A faithful diarist, August Kautz commented about life at home and at the barracks, his health, the weather, and his military duties. His most interesting commentary in later years usually occurs with the December 31st entry as he evaluates his annual accomplishments and those of his family. There is a notable lack of information concerning national events and politics in Kautz's daily entries. The material contained in Kautz's autobiography and memoirs in the Biographical Material series is richer in historical content.
The Military Orders series in the collection includes correspondence and transcripts of diary entries.
Of special interest are Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings from 1884-1891. Often arranged by subject, clippings are taken from different newspapers of the period. Kautz annotated some of the clippings with the title of the paper and date of publication when this information could not be secured in print. One scrapbook relates to world events during the early part of World War II.
Memorabilia includes a small amount of correspondence spanning the years 1848-1890 and a letter dated 1877 to his wife, which was neither signed nor sent. Correspondents include John B. Allen, Orville Elias Babcock, John Cunningham Kelton, Michael Vincent Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman.
The Addition is a photocopy of Kautz's diary for 1863.
The Oversize comprises a map of the Military Department of Oregon and editions of Truth Teller, a newspaper Kautz published in 1858 that was occasioned by the trial and execution of Leschi, a Nisqually chief. Kautz argued that Leschi was engaged in combat when he killed a militiaman in Washington Territory and should therefore be treated as a prisoner of war rather than tried for murder.