Title: Robert B. McCoy Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1914-1926

Creator:

• McCoy, Robert B.

Call Number: WVM Mss 768

Quantity: 2.4 linear ft. (6 archives boxes) of papers and 0.1 linear ft. (4 folders) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of the Robert B. McCoy, an officer in the 32nd Division during World War I after whom the military reservation in western Wisconsin is named. Collection contains an almost complete set of bulletins, memoranda, and orders for the 32nd Division while they were training at Camp MacArthur, Texas. These materials document training routines, supplies, reorganization of units, promotions, disciplinary actions, and preparations for the trip to the battlefields of France. Also included is correspondence relating to the organization of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in 1917. Letters asking for commissions, reporting on recruitment, and seeking to be regimental chaplain provide an interesting look at the assembly of an infantry regiment during the preparations for World War I. Other materials include a large number of blank forms the military issued to collect and document information about their soldiers. Newspaper clippings and letters of condolences relate the statewide importance of his 1926 funeral. Photographs include several shots of McCoy, both alone and with his sons who joined the military.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00768

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Robert Bruce McCoy was born on September 5, 1867 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Sparta, Wisconsin where McCoy graduated from high school. He entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1887 and graduated from the law school in 1891. He married Lillian Riege in 1893 and shortly thereafter opened a law office in Sparta. He also became involved in politics when he was elected County Judge of Monroe County for four terms, from 1897 through 1914. He also served several terms as mayor of Sparta.

In May 1895, McCoy enlisted in Company I, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry of the National Guard and within one year he was commissioned as a captain. He volunteered for service in the Spanish-American War and saw service in Puerto Rico. Following his discharge, he joined Company L of the 3rd Wisconsin as a captain. In 1907, he became a colonel and small arms practice inspector for the Wisconsin National Guard and he served in that capacity until 1913, when he was appointed a major in the Ordnance Department. In 1916 he was mustered into federal service until he resigned February 1917 to rejoin the Wisconsin National Guard. McCoy was commissioned a colonel with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in July 1917 and took part in recruiting and organizing the unit. He went with them to train at Camp MacArthur, Texas where the Wisconsin National Guard was incorporated into the 32nd Division and, as part of the reorganization, McCoy was given command of the 107th Trains and Military Police. He shipped over to Europe in February 1918 saw command duty with the 125th, 128th, and 127th Infantry Regiments. McCoy saw action at Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, Meuse-Argonne, and Alsace-Lorraine. He received the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de guerre in recognition of his service.

Following his discharge from active service McCoy reentered the world of politics and ran, unsuccessfully, as the Democratic candidate for governor of Wisconsin in 1920. In December of that year, he received a commission as Brigadier General of the 64th Infantry Brigade. In July 1924, he was promoted to Major General of the 32nd Division.

McCoy passed away on January 5, 1926 at his home in Sparta. On November 19 of that year, the Wisconsin National Guard military reservation near Sparta was officially named Camp McCoy in his honor.

The papers of the Robert B. McCoy are divided into three series: Personal Papers, Unit Records, and Photographs.

Personal Papers (1914-1926) contains a large amount of personal military papers reflecting the World War I service of McCoy. The correspondence files deal largely with the recruitment and organization of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in 1917 in anticipation of service in World War I. Many letters asked for commissions as officers in the various companies while others give reports on the recruitment of the companies and the progress made in training. There is a subset of correspondence that contains letters of application to be the regimental chaplain. McCoy also received several notes of congratulations upon his commissioning as colonel of the 4th Wisconsin. There are numerous blank forms that provide insight to the military of the time and the type of information that they sought to document and record. McCoy, as an officer, would have distributed many of these to the soldiers serving under him. There are some materials relating to his son, Malcolm, who died during stateside training. Newspaper clippings document his service, as well as his position as County Judge in Monroe County, Wisconsin and talk of his candidacy for governor in 1914. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings, condolence letters, and a list of people contributing to the memorial service for McCoy's funeral in 1926.

Unit Records (1917-1919) provide an in-depth look at the training of the 32nd Division at Camp MacArthur, Texas in preparation for World War I through printed bulletins, memoranda, and orders. The nearly comprehensive set documents training routines, supplies, reorganization of units, promotions, disciplinary actions, and preparations for the trip to the battlefields of France. There are also orders and memoranda for two units within the 32nd Division-- the 4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and the 107th Trains and Military Police. While less complete than the records of the 32nd Division, these materials provide a look into the activities of these two units that McCoy commanded. There are several battlefield orders for the 128th Infantry Regiment, which McCoy headed for a time in France.

Photographs (1925, undated) contain several undated photographs of McCoy taken at various stages of his life. Most show him in military uniform. There are three photographs of McCoy's sons in uniform. Many of them joined the military with their father during World War I. Finally there are several unidentified shots of military groups in uniform.

Acquisition Information

Presented by National Guard Museum, Camp Douglas, WI, 2001. Accession Number: Mss 2003.8. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2005.

	Series: Personal Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical data, undated
Box   1 Folder   2-6	Correspondence, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   7	Chaplain applications, 1917
Box   1 Folder   8	Croix de guerre ribbon, 1919
	Subseries: Death	⇧
Box   1 Folder   9	Condolence letters, 1926
Box   1 Folder   10	Memorials list, 1926
Box   1 Folder   11	Sympathy cards, 1926
Box   1 Folder   12	Ephemera, 1917-1923
Box   1 Folder   13	Journal, circa 1917
Box   1 Folder   14	Malcolm McCoy materials, 1914-1917
	Subseries: Newspaper clippings	⇧
Box   1 Folder   15	County Judgeship, circa 1914
Box   1 Folder   16	Governor candidacy, 1914
Box   1 Folder   17	McCoy funeral, 1926
Box   1 Folder   18	Military, undated
	Subseries: Personal military papers	⇧
	Blank forms for individual soldiers
Box   2 Folder   1	Descriptive card of deserter, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   2	Descriptive list of soldier, circa 1917
	Discharge
Box   2 Folder   3	Dishonorable certificate, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   4	Notification, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   5	Draft registration card, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   6	Duty roster, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   7	Enlistment papers, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   8	Inventory of effects, circa 1917
	Medical
Box   2 Folder   9	Certificate for leave of absence, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   10	Physical examination card, 1916
Box   2 Folder   11	Officer's pay voucher, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   12	Qualification records, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   13	Red Cross survey card, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   14	Sample forms, undated
Box   2 Folder   15	Service records, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   16	Stationery envelopes, circa 1917
	Blank report forms
	Court-martials
Box   2 Folder   17	Record of summary court, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   18	Report of trials by summary court, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   19	Daily sick report, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   20	Efficiency report forms, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   21	Guard reports booklet, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   22	Morning report form, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   23	Report of death and disposal, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   24	Summarization blank, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   25	Grenade training pamphlet, 1918
Box   2 Folder   26	Lectures on Lewis and machine guns, circa 1918
Box   2 Folder   27	Notes on traffic control for use in the A.E.F. in France, 1918
Box   2 Folder   28	Provisional instructions on disembarkation in France, 1918
Box   2 Folder   29	Recruitment posters, circa 1917
Box   2 Folder   30	Report on Wisconsin soldiers by Charles King, 1918
Box   2 Folder   31	Ship instructions, 1918
Box   2 Folder   32	Tables of organization, 1917
	Series: Unit Records	⇧
Box   2 Folder   33	4th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, 1917
Box   2 Folder   34	History, 1917
Box   2 Folder   35	Memoranda, 1917
	Orders
Box   2 Folder   36	General, 1917
Box   2 Folder   37	Special, 1917
Box   2 Folder   38	Stationery (blank), undated
	Subseries: 32nd Infantry Division	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1-8	Bulletins, 1917-1918
Ov   13 Folder   12	Map - Unit locations, WWI 1918
	Memoranda
Box   3 Folder   9-12	September- November 1917
Box   4 Folder   1-5	December 1917-April 1918
	Orders
Box   4 Folder   6	Court-martial, 1917-1918
	General
Box   4 Folder   7-11	August-December 1917
Box   5 Folder   1-3	1918-1919
	Special
Box   5 Folder   4-11	August 1917-March 1918
Box   6 Folder   1-3	April 1918-1919
Box   6 Folder   4	Proceedings of a board of officers, 1918
Box   6 Folder   5	107th Trains and Military Police, 1917-1918
Box   6 Folder   6	Bulletins, 1917-1918
Box   6 Folder   7	Memoranda, 1917-1918
Box   6 Folder   8	Military police papers, 1917-1918
	Orders
Box   6 Folder   9	General, 1917
Box   6 Folder   10	Special, 1917-1918
Box   6 Folder   11	Rosters, circa 1917
Box   6 Folder   12	128th Infantry Regiment, 1918-1919
Box   6 Folder   13	Wisconsin Adjutant General, Special orders, 1917
Box   6 Folder   14	Wisconsin Surgeon General, Special orders, 1917
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Ph   13 Folder   39	Robert B. McCoy [4] , undated
PhOv   39 Folder   10	Robert B. McCoy, carte-de-visite
Ph   13 Folder   40	McCoy family [2] , undated
Ph   13 Folder   41	Military group shots [3] , undated
PhOv   4 Folder   1	Oversized [1] , 1925