Call Number:

0078

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

13.9 linear feet (; 27 boxes, 37 volumes, 6 flat files)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], John Rutter Brooke papers (Collection 78), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1861-1902 (bulk) and 1767-1918, undated (inclusive)

Creator:

Brooke, John, Rutter, 1838-1926.

Form:

Correspondence.

Abstract:

The papers of John Rutter Brooke include correspondence, accounts, regimental reports, military orders, and pamphlets that primarily pertain to his career in the United States Army, 1861-1902. Brooke’s military papers document the activities of the 53rd Pennsylvania volunteer regiment during the Civil War; the 3rd Infantry division and 7th Cavalry during the Indian Wars; the 1st Corps of the Army during the Spanish-American War; and Brooke’s service as military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as his service in the Departments of the Missouri, the Platte, the Gulf, and the East. The collection is particularly rich in its documentation of the United States Army’s “Sioux Campaign” during 1890-1891, containing extensive correspondence during the height of the Ghost Dance on the Standing Rock and Pine Ridge reservations, and the ensuing military build-up, which escalated into the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.

John Rutter Brooke was born in 1838 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He attended Ursinus College, and began his military career soon after graduation. He enlisted in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry division in April 1861, but that division was dissolved early in the war. Brooke reenlisted, and was granted the rank of colonel at the age of 23, when he served as the commanding officer for the 53rd Pennsylvania volunteer regiment. Brooke’s regiment participated in many of the major battles of the Civil War, including Gettysburg and Antietam. Brooke suffered several injuries during the Civil War, but continued his military career in the post-bellum period. He served briefly in New Orleans, Louisiana, commanded the 3rd Infantry division during the westward campaign that drove American Indian people onto reservations, and was later moved to command the Department of the Platte in Omaha, Nebraska.

Under the direction of General Miles, Brooke led the 7th Cavalry in its “Sioux Campaign” in 1890. This military campaign was spurred by the rise of the Ghost Dance religion on the Dakota/Lakota reservations at Standing Rock and Pine Ridge in the spring of 1890. Settlers were threatened by what they perceived to be a preparation for war, and the United States military responded by building up forces around the reservations. Military officials began to pursue numerous tribal leaders, and attempted to force an end to the Ghost Dance religion, which prophesied that the damaged land would rejuvenate, the buffalo would return to the plains, the white settlers would leave Indian lands, and ancestors would return if the followers danced in the prescribed manner. When it became clear that the dancers would not surrender, the 7th Cavalry centered its forces along Wounded Knee Creek, where Lakota families had been camped. Most of the Lakota men had been disarmed, but on December 29, 1890, after an escalation of force, the cavalry killed several hundred men, women, and children in what would become known as the Wounded Knee massacre. Brooke stood behind the actions of the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee, and continued to rise in the military ranks. After several more years at the Platte, Brooke was promoted to command the 1st Corps of the Army during the Spanish-American War, when he was appointed military governor of Puerto Rico and, later, Cuba in 1898-1899. Upon his return to Washington, Brooke was made the commanding officer of the Department of the East on Governor’s Island, New York, at the rank of brigadier general, the post from which he retired in 1902. Brooke lived in Philadelphia until his death in 1926.

This collection documents the military career of John Rutter Brooke, primarily in the form of military records generated during Brooke’s service from 1861 to 1902. These papers consist of correspondence, accounts, military directives, pamphlets, invitations to events, commendations, photographs, maps, and books of rules and regulations for military units. The bulk of military papers cover the period of 1888-1902; these documents describe key military campaigns, including two volumes of directives and correspondence issued during the Sioux Campaign, which culminated in Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. These volumes offer a daily perspective on the military movements during the months preceding the massacre at Wounded Knee, during the conflict itself, and in its aftermath. Also richly documented are the Spanish-American War campaigns in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. Brooke’s service as military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba are the primary focus of these materials, but there are a significant number of letters from Brooke’s son William, who served in the United States Army in the Philippines. Included in this collection is some personal correspondence between Brooke and his wife, and invitations they received for events both military and private

This collection offers an exceptionally detailed view of official military policies and communications during the late nineteenth century. These papers would be of special interest to those conducting research on United States military policies regarding western Indian tribes during this period, particularly the Cheyenne and Sioux nations. Also of great interest are the papers related to Puerto Rico and Cuba, particularly the controversy about deaths from yellow fever in Cuba during the U.S. occupation. Because of Brooke’s position within the United States Army, this collection provides a broad picture of U.S. military operations and policies.

Series I. Printed material, 1861-1901, undated, 2.8 linear feet

Series II. Military papers, 1767-1918 (bulk 1861-1902), 9.8 linear feet

Series III. Correspondence and orders, 1888-1898, 1.3 linear feet