Allen, Henry T. (Henry Tureman), 1859-1930

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Army officer.

From the description of Papers of Henry T. Allen, 1806-1933 [microform]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 66095804

Henry Tureman Allen (1859-1930), U.S. Army officer, was born at Sharpsburg, Kentucky, the thirteenth child and ninth son of Ruben Sanford and Susannah Shumate Allen. The immigrant ancestor on his father''s side went to Virginia in 1636; his mother descended from a Huguenot settler in Virginia whose name, de la Soumatte, was transformed to Shumate. Allen spent one year in Georgetown College, Kentucky, before entering West Point in 1878. Upon his graduation in 1882 he was commissioned second lieutenant in a cavalry regiment and was promoted in due course until he reached his colonelcy in 1916. He served in the Pacific Northwest until placed in charge of an Alaskan exploring expedition in 1885, the first of many unusual assignments which made his career notable. Covering twenty-five hundred miles in the course of a year''s work, the expedition examined a large area hitherto unexplored and produced serviceable maps of the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk rivers. Service at western posts and at West Point during the next few years was broken by tours as military attaché in Russia from 1890 to 1895 and in Germany from 1897 to 1898. Recalled from Germany at the outbreak of the war with Spain, he went through the Santiago campaign, being cited for gallantry in action at El Caney. He contracted yellow fever in Cuba and was invalided home. On his recovery he went again to Germany as military attaché but was soon brought back for assignment to one of the volunteer regiments organized to suppress the insurrection in the Philippines, in which he was appointed major. Upon the termination of hostilities the government resolved upon the formation of a Philippine constabulary, military in organization and training, but an instrument of the civil power. Allen was charged with its creation and remained its chief until 1907 when he returned to duty in the United States. In 1916 he commanded his regiment during the pursuit of Villa in northern Mexico. He was appointed brigadier-general in the regular army, May 15, 1917, and temporary major-general, August 5, 1917. After organizing and training the 90th Division, he took it abroad, and on August 19, 1918, went into the battle line west of the Moselle. From then until the armistice the division was at the front, taking part in the St.-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. In July 1919 Allen assumed command of the American forces in Germany and entered upon the most difficult of all his tasks, perhaps the most brilliantly executed of them all. He had to maintain discipline in an army quartered inactively on foreign soil; he had to control a defeated population; he had to restrain his French associates without incurring their permanent enmity. Difficult as the situation was, it was rendered seemingly impossible when the inter-allied commission attempted to take charge under the terms of the treaty of Versailles while the American commander was bound by his orders to retain control of the zone assigned to him following the armistice. Allen returned home early in 1923, to the regret of all parties in the zone of occupation. Speaking for the French, M. Tirard of the High Commission said, "We have been impressed by his high-mindedness and the perfect impartiality of his judgment" (Rhineland Occupation, p. 335). Prince Hatzfeldt declared that "we had arrived as enemies and were leaving as friends--a rare occurrence in history" (Journal, p. 571). It seems simple truth to say that by no human possibility could the task have been better done than was done by Allen. His military career was ended. He had been appointed major-general in the regular army in 1920 and now retired from active service, Apr. 23, 1923, but retained an interest in civic and charitable affairs. He was a strong advocate of the League of Nations and the Kellogg peace pact.

From the description of Allen, Henry T. (Henry Tureman), 1859-1930 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10679486

Henry Allen was born in Kentucky. He graduated from West Point (1882) and was commissioned in the U.S. Cavalry. Allen led the Alaska Exploratory Expedition of 1885, which traversed and mapped a significant portion of the interior of Alaska including the Copper, Tanana, and Koyukuk rivers. His report on the expedition was published by the government. He died in Pennsylvania.

From the description of Reports and papers, 1884-1886. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 42929834

Biographical Note

  • 1859, Apr. 13: Born, Sharpsburg, Ky.
  • 1882: Graduated, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
  • 1887: Married Dora Johnston
  • 1885 - 1886 : Engaged in exploration of Alaska
  • 1888 - 1890 : Instructor, United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
  • 1890 - 1895 : Military attaché, Russia
  • 1897 - 1898 : Military attaché, Germany In Santiago Campaign as major and adjutant general In Philippines as lieutenant colonel, Forty-Third Regiment
  • 1901: Governor, Island of Leyte Started organization of Philippine Constabulary; was its chief
  • 1903: Brigadier general and chief of constabulary by act of Congress
  • 1910 - 1912 : Lieutenant colonel, General Staff, in charge of Cavalry Section, War Department
  • 1916 - 1917 : In Mexican Punitive Expedition as lieutenant colonel and colonel
  • 1917: Organized cavalry brigade from Thirteenth Cavalry Regiment, Fort Riley, Kans. Assigned as commander, Ninetieth Division, Camp Travis, Tex.
  • 1917 - 1918 : Commanded Ninetieth Division at Toul, Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, France
  • 1918 - 1919 : Commanded Eighth Army Corps at Montigny-sur-Aube, France
  • 1919: Commanded Ninth Army Corps at Nogent-en-Bassigny, France Commanded Seventh Army Corps at Wittlich, Germany
  • 1919 - 1923 : Commanded American forces in Germany
  • 1923: Retired from United States Army
  • 1928: Active in organizing veterans' groups for Alfred Emanuel Smith for president; unsuccessful aspirant for Democratic vice-presidential nomination
  • 1930, Aug. 30: Died, Burne Vista Spring, Pa.

From the guide to the Henry T. Allen Papers, 1806-1933, (bulk 1883-1933), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Bagby, Philip Haxall, 1882-1926. Papers regarding Bagby's foreign service in the U.S. Army [manuscript] 1902-22. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Henry T. Allen Papers, 1806-1933, (bulk 1883-1933) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Gary, Hampson, 1873-1952. Papers of Hampson Gary, 1893-1943. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Thomas, Wilbur K. (Wilbur Kelsey), 1882-1953. American Committee for Relief of German Children ephemera collection, 1924. German Society of Pennsylvania, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library
referencedIn Harry H. Bandholtz Papers (Microform), ca. 1890-ca. 1937, 1899-1925 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Documentary Films. 1914 - 1944. THE 29TH DIVISION [WORLD WAR I] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Cox, Claude. Postcard, 1918 December 13: Camp Travis, San Antonio to Mitchell C. Cox, Whitewright, Tex. University of North Texas Library, UNT
referencedIn Allen, Newton Franklin, 1810-1877. Newton Franklin Allen papers, 1805-1903. New England Historic Genealogical Society
creatorOf Allen, Henry T. (Henry Tureman), 1859-1930. Reports and papers, 1884-1886. OCLC Western Training, W7L
referencedIn Forbes, W. Cameron (William Cameron), 1870-1959. Journals, 1904-1946. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION, DECEMBER 1, 1918 TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1919, 3RD ARMY HEADQUARTERS National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Henry Tureman Allen letters, 1908-1931 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Documentary Films. 1914 - 1944. ANNUAL MATCHES OF THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company correspondence and records, 1832-1944. Houghton Library
referencedIn Tasker Howard Bliss Papers, 1864-1933, (bulk 1917-1930) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission. Papers pertaining to the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission [manuscript] 1919-1923. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Allen, Henry T. (Henry Tureman), 1859-1930. Henry T. Allen papers, primarily related to the Copper River region military expedition in 1885 and personal correspondence, 1882-1927. Alaska State Library
creatorOf Irvine Luther Lenroot Papers, 1858-1971, (bulk 1900-1944) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. POST ARMISTICE TRAINING, 1ST ARMY [1919] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Breckinridge Family Papers, 1752-1965 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. THE SIGNING OF THE PEACE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, JUNE 28, 1919 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Hyde, James H. (James Hazen), 1876-1959. Papers, [ca. 1891-1941]. Churchill County Museum
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company contracts, 1831-1979 (inclusive) 1880-1940 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. THE ALLIED ATHLETIC MEET AT JOINVILLE LE PONT, JULY 4-6, 1919 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Papers, 1879-1926 (inclusive), 1916-1922 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. POST ARMISTICE TRAINING, 28TH DIVISION [1919] National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Bandholtz, Harry Hill, 1864-1925. Harry H. Bandholtz papers, ca. 1890-ca. 1937. Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. BASE SECTION NO. 2 (BORDEAUX), CEREMONIES AND, ACTIVITIES OF TROOPS RETURNING TO THE U.S. [1919] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Lieutenant Henry Allen Photograph, 1885. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. AMERICAN FORCES IN GERMANY, 1920-1921 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. POST ARMISTICE TRAINING, 8TH ARMY CORPS [1919] National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Major General Henry Tureman Allen Collection, 1891-1985 Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives
referencedIn Elihu Root Papers, 1863-1937, (bulk 1899-1937) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Davis, Manton. Papers pertaining to the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission [manuscript],f1919-1923. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn A. W. Greely Papers, 1753-1997, (bulk 1880-1935) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Elihu Root Papers, 1863-1937, (bulk 1899-1937) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Brown, LeRoy C.,. Collection of stock certificates, articles of agreement, and teaching certificate, 1857-1901. Buffalo History Museum, Research Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION, DECEMBER 1, 1918 TO, SEPTEMBER 1, 1919, 1ST DIVISION National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Historical Films. 1914 - 1936. MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE, SEPTEMBER 26 TO NOVEMBER 11, 1918, 90TH DIVISION National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. 1860 - 1985. Documentary Films. 1914 - 1944. DEMONSTRATION OF RIFLES PROPOSED FOR U.S. ARMY, CAMP MEADE, MD National Archives at College Park
Relation Name
associatedWith Allen family. family
associatedWith Allen family. family
associatedWith Allen, Newton Franklin, 1810-1877. person
associatedWith Andrews family family
associatedWith Bagby, Philip Haxall, 1882-1926. person
associatedWith Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937. person
associatedWith Bandholtz, Harry Hill, 1864-1925. person
correspondedWith Bliss, Tasker Howard, 1853-1930. person
correspondedWith Breckinridge family family
associatedWith Brown, LeRoy C., person
associatedWith Cox, Claude. person
associatedWith Davis, Manton. person
associatedWith Dresel, Ellis Loring, 1865-1925. person
associatedWith Forbes, W. Cameron (William Cameron), 1870-1959. person
associatedWith Gary, Hampson, 1873-1952. person
correspondedWith Greely, A. W. (Adolphus Washington), 1844-1935. person
associatedWith Harbord, James G. (James Guthrie), 1866-1947. person
associatedWith Herrick, Myron T. (Myron Timothy), 1854-1929. person
correspondedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Hyde, James H. (James Hazen), 1876-1959. person
associatedWith Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith Library of Congress. Manuscript Division. corporateBody
associatedWith MacArthur, Arthur, 1845-1912. person
associatedWith MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964. person
associatedWith March, Peyton Conway, 1864-1955. person
associatedWith Miles, Nelson Appleton, 1839-1925. person
associatedWith Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948. person
associatedWith Philippine Constabulary. corporateBody
associatedWith Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. person
associatedWith Root, Elihu, 1845-1937. person
associatedWith Smith, Alfred Emanuel, 1873-1944. person
associatedWith Tirard, Paul, 1879-1945. person
associatedWith United States. Adjutant-General's Office. corporateBody
correspondedWith United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army, Alaska. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Infantry Division, 90th. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Army. Infantry Division, 90th. corporateBody
associatedWith Wallace, Hugh G. person
associatedWith Weeks, John W. (John Wingate), 1860-1926. person
associatedWith Wood, Leonard, 1860-1927. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Germany
United States
Tanana River Region (Alaska)
Philippines
Alaska
Tanana River (Alaska)
Germany
Koyukuk River (Alaska)
Copper River (Alaska)
Koyukuk River Region (Alaska)
Alaska
Alaska
Rhine River Valley
Copper River Region (Alaska)
Alaska
United States
Rhine River Valley
Subject
Elections
Elections
Explorers
Military history
Police
Police
Veterans
Veterans
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
Occupation
Army officers
Activity

Person

Birth 1859-04-13

Death 1930-08-30

Americans

English

Information

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