Archive of items related to Distinguished Service Medal recipient General John Biddle and his army career, including war-date military appointment signed by President Woodrow Wilson and honorary appointment signed by King George V.
WILSON, Woodrow (1856-1924). Document signed ("Woodrow Wilson") as President. Washington, DC, 16 June 1917. 19 1/4 x 15 3/4 in. (rolled, toning to edge lines, light soil). Wilson appoints "John Biddle" to the rank of Brigadier General just months after the US entered WWI. Countersigned by Secretary of War Newton Baker.
PERSHING, John J. (1860-1948). Typed letter signed ("John J. Pershing") to William S. Biddle. Tucson, Arizona, 12 February 1938. 1 page, 4to, on John J. Pershing Washington letterhead, old creases. General "Black Jack" Pershing writes to his colleague General Biddle expressing his condolences at the passing of Biddle's sister, Margaretta.
TUNNEY, James Joseph "Gene" (1897-1978). Clipped noted signed ("Gene Tunney") to General Biddle. Hotel Villa Sqiea, Palermo, February 1931. Note reads "My dear General:- Best of everything to you, Gene Tunney," alongside a snapshot of Biddle and Tunney in an outdoor courtyard. Tunney, best remembered as a boxer, enlisted with the Marine Corps in WWI and served with the 11th marine Regiment in France and Germany. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, reaching the rank of major in the Connecticut Naval Militia. At the outbreak of WWII, he accepted a commission to the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander to head the navy's physical fitness program.
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Original bestowal document naming Major General John Biddle an honorary Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, signed by King George V ("George R.J."), St. James, 1 December 1919 with Buckingham Palace transmittal letter signed by F. Morgan Bryant, 15 March 1920. Also with the 1918 "Statutes of the Royal Victorian Order." -- Certificate signed by Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis certifying that "The President of the United States of America ... has awarded to John Biddle the Distinguished Service Medal for Exceptionally Meritorious and Distinguished Services ... as Major General, US Army, in command of the US troops in England, during the World War." 10 November 1925. -- Certificate acknowledging Major General John Biddle as an original companion in the Order of Indian Wars of the United States, 17 January 1920, and noting his service in the "campaign against the Crows Indians in Montana, October and November, 1887...." -- Commemorative plaque commemorating the christening of the dredge "Biddle" in 1946. -- Newspaper clippings, miscellaneous personal documents, pins, decorative jewelry, 6 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. photograph, possibly showing Biddle in uniform shaking hands with a soldier.
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BIDDLE, Nicholas. Biddle Anniversary: Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Arrival in America of William and Sarah Kempe Biddle. Philadelphia: The Engle Press, [1931]. 8vo. Frontispiece, plates, some folding. (Minor even toning.) Original publisher's maroon cloth gilt (scuffs, spine lightly sunned). LIMITED EDITION numbered 178 of 300. SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO GENERAL BIDDLE: "To Maj. General John Biddle with Compliments of Nicholas Biddle." -- The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq. London: N.p., 1772. Volume V only. 12mo. (Toned, spotted). Near contemporary calf, gilt spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, with red morocco spine label gilt-lettered. Provenance: William S. Biddle. (Ownership inscription "W.S. Biddle" to front interior board). -- [BIDDLE, Richard (1796-1847)]. A Memoir of Sebastian Cabot; With A Review of the History of Maritime Discovery. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1915. 2 volumes, 8vo. Plates. (Some offsetting). Half dark brown morocco, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, gilt-lettering in 1, others gilt-decorated. Reprint edition. With presentation card from the author's son, Charles Biddle.
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Half plate ambrotype half-portrait of unidentified distinguished young man with cheeks lightly tinted pink. [Washington, DC]: Mathew Brady, n.d. (Some loss to emulsion and spotting to mat; no cover glass; case fully separated.) Brady's imprint stamped on mat. Housed in a figural Union case, American Country Life 2 [Berg 1-12].
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A small group of items associated with Biddle relative, possibly his nephew Gilbert Douglas, including a photobook with images from a 1913 survey expedition to Yellowstone.
All items housed in wood travel case, 24 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 7 3/4.
John Biddle, a descendent of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia, was a career US Army officer who served in the Spanish-American War, Philippines, WWI, and as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. He began his military career after graduating from West Point in 1881 and served in the Army Corps of Engineers rising to serve as Chief Engineer of the US Volunteers during the war with Spain. During WWI he served as commander of the American railroad troops behind British lines in France, as Acting Chief of Staff in Washington, and as Commander of US forces in Great Britain.
