Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection, 1883-1964

Title: Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection, 1883-1964

Predominant Dates: 1883-1940

ID: MSS McAlexander

Primary Creator: McAlexander, Ulysses Grant (1864-1936)

Extent: 3.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: Organized into eleven series.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection documents McAlexander's military activities, particularly his involvement in the Second Battle of the Marne in France in July 1918, his training at West Point and his years as commandant of cadets at Oregon Agricultural College. Select items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Digital reference copies of additional materials are available upon request. The majority of materials in Series 2 have been digitized, including: the "Rock of the Marne" typescript, List of Casualties, Brief History of the 38th Infantry, the Chronological History of the 38th Regiment, the Operations of the 38th Infantry document, the two folders of Historical Data, and the Historical Data on the Battle of the Marne.

The entirety of Series 3, Correspondence, has been digitized. The photographs from Series 11 have also been digitized. Due to the condition and overall fragility of the scrapbook in Series 5, a digital copy has been made available for researcher use.

Two maps from Series 10 have been digitized: the hand-colored map of the Second Battle of the Marne (by Robinson Murray), and the photostatic copy of locations of U.S. forces at the Second Battle of the Marne.

A digital copy of the History of the 13th Regiment United States Infantry, Compiled from Regimental Records and Other Sources from Series 4 is available online in Hathi Trust, and the German-language text Zwischen Maas and Mosel has been digitized and is available upon request.

Series 1 includes items from McAlexander's student days at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Series 2 pertains to World War I and the history of the 38th regiment and includes of a typed manuscript by McAlexander about the Battle of the Marne. The majority of materials in Series 2 have been digitized, including: the "Rock of the Marne" typescript, List of Casualties, Brief History of the 38th Infantry, the Chronological History of the 38th Regiment, the Operations of the 38th Infantry document, the two folders of Historical Data, and the Historical Data on the Battle of the Marne.

Series 3 contains correspondence and other materials pertaining to McAlexander's service at Oregon Agricultural College and various gifts to the college. The entirety of this series has been digitized.

Series 4 contains several published military histories, including McAlexander's 1905 History of the Thirteenth Regiment. A digital copy of the History of the 13th Regiment United States Infantry, Compiled from Regimental Records and Other Sources from Series 4 is available online in Hathi Trust, and the German-language text Zwischen Maas and Mosel has been digitized and is available upon request.

Series 5 is a scrapbook that contains photographs of McAlexander, clippings, his military identification and passports, and other memorabilia. Due to the condition and overall fragility of this scrapbook, a digital copy has been made available for researcher use.

Series 6 consists of commissions, citations, certificates and awards received by McAlexander, primarily for his military service. Series 7 consists of two charcoal drawings of McAlexander, one of them made in Paris. Series 8 consists of McAlexander's military medals. Series 9 includes newspapers and magazines collected by or about McAlexander, including 16 months of The Stars and Stripes (Feb. 1918- June 1919) and a 1919 VFW newspaper titled Rock of the Marne.

Series 10 consists of military maps pertaining to the Battle of the Marne. Two maps from Series 10 have been digitized: the hand-colored map of the Second Battle of the Marne (by Robinson Murray), and the photostatic copy of locations of U.S. forces at the Second Battle of the Marne.

Series 11 includes photographs of Fort Missoula, Montana (1889), the presentation of the Distinguished Service Cross to McAlexander, portraits of McAlexander, and the 38th Infantry boxing team (1942). The photographs in this series have been digitized.

Known as the "Rock of the Marne," Ulysses Grant McAlexander served as Commandant of Cadets at Oregon Agricultural College from 1907 to 1911 and again from 1915 to 1916.

Major-General Ulysses Grant McAlexander was born 30 August 1864 at Dundas, Minnesota and graduated from West Point in 1887. He served at Fort Meade in the Dakota Territory, and Fort Custer and Fort Missoula, Montana. McAlexander fought in Cuba during the Spanish American War and served in the Phillipines from 1900 to 1907.

In 1907, he was appointed Commandant of Cadets and Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Oregon Agricultural College. He was greatly admired by students and the 1912 Orange was dedicated to him. The armory, built in 1911, was also dedicated to him and in 1971 was renamed the McAlexander Fieldhouse.

In July 1918, Colonel McAlexander commanded the greatly outnumbered 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment against German forces at the second Battle of the Marne, for which he was promoted to Brigadier General, awarded military honors, and became known as the "Rock of the Marne".

McAlexander retired from the Army in 1924 and chose Newport, Oregon as his home. Oregon State Agricultural College conferred an honorary doctorate upon him in 1930. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1934 Republican gubernatorial primary election. McAlexander died at his home in Portland, Oregon, on 18 September 1936 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Related Materials: The Reserve Officer Training Corps Records (RG 058) include records from McAlexander's years as Commandant of Cadets at Oregon Agricultural College. The OSU Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) file on McAlexander "MC - McAlexander, Ulysses Grant" contains biographical information, a list of his commissions and citations, clippings and other articles, and a map showing the location of his grave site in the Arlington National Cemetery. Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC) HC0908 (U. G. McAlexander) includes photographs of a troop transport ship in Tampa, June 1898; the bronze bust of McAlexander; a Memorial Union display case with McAlexander artifacts (1939); and a painting made of McAlexander in 1918 in Paris. Photographs of McAlexander in the Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection (P 002) include portraits, on horseback, and with his wife.

Preferred Citation: Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection (MSS McAlexander), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 19, 2015.

McAlexander, Ulysses Grant (1864-1936)
Chastaine, Ben-Hur
Fretwell, Frank M.
Lovejoy, Clarence E. (Clarence Earle) (1894-1974)
Roosevelt, Theodore (1887-1944)

Fort Missoula (Mont.)
History of the Thirteenth Regiment United States Infantry.
Marne, 2nd Battle of the, France, 1918.
Military history, Modern--20th century.
Oregon Agricultural College. Cadet Corps
Rank and file.
Rock of the Marne.
Story of the Thirty-eighth.
United States. Infantry. 38th Regiment--History.
United States Military Academy
University History
World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--France.
World War, 1914-1918.

Awards.
Military commissions.
Military maps.
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.