PATTON, GEORGE S. (1885-1945). American army officer and pioneer of tank warfare during World War I. As one of America’s leading generals, Patton contributed enormously to the Allied victory during WWII; nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts.” TLS. (“G.S. Patton Jr.”). 1p. 4to. Fort Myer, October 5, 1932. To his sister ANNE WILSON “NITA” PATTON (1887-1971). Patton’s orthography has not been corrected.

“I think that it is the fourth inspite of the heading to this letter.

You must be all excited about Peter Wilson, I hope and expect that he turns out satisfactorily.

Dr. Rudolph Holmes the famous baby doctor of Chicago told us that in his opinion it was all a question of invironment and traning and not at all a question of blood lines. If that is so Peter should be especially fne for I know no one who has higher ideals than you.

We hunted or rode six days last week in Cobbler and yesterday left here at 4:40 A.M. (having retired at 12:15 P.M. to hunt in the rain. Such is the effect of the lust for slaughter of the wily fox. We killed a skunk and knew all about it, via the nose.

There is little other news. We are about settled and are having a good time as usual.

Will sign the Paper Jerry sent me as son as I can find a notary.

CHEERS for PETER. Your affectionate brother…”

In 1915, Patton reported for duty at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, beginning his distinguished military career as an aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing the following year during their pursuit of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. After his promotion to captain, Patton was put in charge of the newly formed tank corps in November 1917, responsible for forming the army’s first tank school in rural France. Patton’s tank units completed their training just in time to form the 326th and 327th battalions and participate in the St. Mihiel Offensive, the first American tank offensive in WWI, under the leadership of General Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force. Because of his innovative use of tank battalions in World War I, Patton was placed in command of the crucial North African and Sicilian campaigns at the beginning of WWII, and in 1943 he took over the Third U.S. Army in central Europe. Under his leadership, the Third Army defeated German troops across the continent, most notably at the Battle of the Bulge, and in the Normandy Campaign.

At the time of our letter, Patton, then a major, oversaw the Third United States Cavalry stationed at Fort Myer, Virgina. In July 1932, under General Douglas MacArthur’s orders, he led the unit that controversially deployed tear gas and bayonets against the “Bonus Army,” a group of World War I veterans, families and supporters, gathered in Washington to demand financial support during the Great Depression.

While stationed at Fort Myer, Patton, an enthusiastic equestrian who had competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics pentathlon events, became Master of Fox Hounds at the Cobbler Hunt at Cobbler Mountain in Fauquier County, Virginia. Patton recorded details of the hunts in diaries now in the collection of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting North America and digitized by the Library of Congress. “According to Bea Britten, the General’s granddaughter, family legend has it that the General accepted the Mastership of the Cobbler Hunt with the stipulation that he be allowed to invite young lieutenants from Fort Meyer to hunt. In those days, all officers were deemed to be gentlemen. (Indeed, West Point graduates, having been trained in those diverse arts required of gentlemen, such as fencing and carving roasted fowl, were automatically gentlemen by act of Congress!) As an extension of this philosophy, General Patton believed that young lieutenants being groomed for service as aides-de-camp should be exposed to the gentlemen’s sport of foxhunting,” (“General George S. Patton’s Hunting Diaries,” Museum of Hounds and Hunting North America website, mhhna.org/general-george-s-pattons-hunting-diaries/, Mackay-Smith).

Our letter is written to Patton’s sister, “Nita,” who from 1917-1918 was engaged to General Pershing, Patton’s mentor and commanding officer. Although affianced before the war, the couple postponed their wedding plans when Pershing, who had been tragically widowed in 1915, learned he was to ship out to France. In the spring of 1919, Pershing wrote Nita that he was unsure he still had feelings for her, probably as a result of his relationship with Micheline Resco, begun in 1917 (whom he secretly married in 1946). Nita responded by returning her diamond ring and ending their two-year engagement. The eldest of her two sons, Peter Wilson (1932-2001), the eight-month-old baby discussed in our letter, was born in London on February 10, 1932, and eventually became a navy pilot with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Chicago obstetrician-gynecologist Rudolph Wieser Holmes (1870-1953) pioneered the use of the Holmes’ Uterine Packer for the prevention of post-delivery hemorrhage. A University of Chicago professor, Holmes also chaired the Chicago Medical Society’s Committee on Criminal Abortion and is perhaps best remembered for his fight to remove abortion ads from Chicago newspapers.

Folded with some creasing and wear. In very good condition.