Scope and Content Note
The papers of Robert Lee Bullard (1861-1947) span the years 1881-1955, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1891-1941. The majority of the collection documents the main events in Bullard's military career from the Philippine American War through World War I until his retirement in 1925 and his subsequent activities as president of the National Security League. The papers are incomplete in documenting Bullard's activities; every few years he reviewed his papers and destroyed some portions (see volume 16 of the diaries in Container 3, 1937, Jan. 1-1945, Sept. 19, pages 42 and 70). Among those specifically mentioned as being destroyed were the files showing his part in the confirmation by the Senate of Leonard Wood, as major general of the United States Army in 1903-1904. In addition, some papers relating to the Philippines and the post-World War I period were thrown away. The papers are in English and Moro and are organized into the following series: Diaries , Notebooks , Correspondence , Speeches and Writings , Miscellany , Addition , and Oversize .
The Diaries document Bullard's military service including the campaign against Philippine insurgents, his confidential mission to Mexico in 1911, the Mexican border campaign from 1915-1916, and as commander of the Second Army in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. The Diaries and Notebooks include sketches of military personalities. Also included in the Notebooks are observations on strategy, tactics, morale, and civil government.
The Correspondence series contains only a few letters relating to Bullard's early career and includes letters of John J. Pershing and Newton Diehl Baker. The Speeches and Writings contain articles, speeches, and material relating to Bullard's unpublished autobiography. Other published writings of Bullard are filed in the Miscellany series. Drafts, correspondence, and photographs relating to Fighting Generals are in located in the Addition series. Also filed in Miscellany are family papers and memorabilia, and letters, photographs, and a dictionary pertaining to the Moros and the Moro language.