Scope and Content Note
The papers of Roger Welles (1862-1932) span the years 1884-1926, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1891-1926. The collection consists of journals, correspondence, orders to duty, an article and speech file, a diary written by his wife, Harriet Welles, newspaper clippings, printed matter, and miscellaneous material. The papers are organized in four series: Journals, Books, and Diaries; Correspondence; Article and Speech File; and Miscellany.
Welles’s naval career is detailed in journals, orders to duty, and most specifically in his correspondence. The letters he wrote to his mother, Mercy D. A. Welles, 1885-1908, tell of his early cruises and duties. Letters exchanged with William Eleroy Curtis reveal his assignment to explore the Orinoco River, to make ethnological collections during his travels, especially among the Indians in the interior of Venezuela, and later to assist in arranging the exhibits for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Other correspondents in the period were James Nicholls Allison, William I. Buchanan, and William Lindsay Scruggs.
During the Spanish-American War, Welles served as executive officer on the Wasp. Following this service he attended the United States Naval War College, served with the Asiatic Fleet, was appointed director of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, commanded successively the First Division of the Atlantic Fleet and the Eleventh and Fifth Naval Districts. His correspondence file provides insights into his duties for this period, 1898-1925. Prominent among his correspondents were Victor Blue, Josephus Daniels, Robert E. Coontz, Albert P. Niblack, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr., Charles West Stewart, C. Symon, and Ovington Eugene Weller.
Welles’s last duty, 1925-1926, was as commander of the American naval forces in Europe. Letters during this tour reflect his visits to various heads of state and include mention of some of the political problems of the period such as the general strike in Great Britain and the rise of fascism in Italy. Among his correspondents at this time were Philip Andrews, the marquis de Balincourt, Mark L. Bristol, Arthur Philip Fairfield, Ogden H. Hammond, Eugene F. McDonald, Jr., and Alexander Pollack Moore.