View XML QR Code

Raymond A. Mentzer papers, 1974-1979

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Mentzer, Raymond A.
Title
Raymond A. Mentzer papers
Dates
1974-1979 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.2 linear feet
Collection Number
2428
Summary
The Raymond A. Mentzer Research Papers consist of photocopied journal articles, transcripts of interviews, copies of published and unpublished papers, and newspaper articles on the history and physical descriptions of 19th century forts in Montana. Other items include photocopies of the 1880 census and official government documents of the Department of the Army pertaining to Montana forts, copy photographs of the original forts and soldiers, hand-drawn maps, diagrams and plans, copy slides of Camp Baker, Fort Logan, Fort Ida Thoroughman, Fort Howie, and Fort Maginnis portraying surveys of the physical locations and remaining structures of these forts in the 1970s. The primary concentration of this research is the location, layouts and structural content of the original forts and their conditions at the time of the research, but there is also substantial information on the social and military experiences of the soldiers assigned to Montana forts during the active period of the 1860s -1890s including the era of the Indian Wars.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
Collection materials are in English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Return to Top

Biographical Note

Raymond A. Mentzer, Jr. was born in Pittsburgh PA on September 20, 1945. He was married in 1968 and has two children. He received his AB in European History from Fordham University in 1967; he earned his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1970 and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1973. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1973-78. He became an Associate Professor in History at Montana State University in 1978. He was an American Council of Learned Society fellow from 1975-76 and a fellow of the National Endowment of Humanities 1981-82. Memberships include the AHA; Renaissance Society of America; and the Society of French History Studies. His research concentrated on French Protestantism and French legal history. He is the author of Heresy Proceedings in Languedoc, 1500-1560 (1983) and Blood and Belief: Family Survival and Confessional Identity among the Provincial Huguenot Nobility (1994). He also authored numerous papers in assorted professional journals. He is now retired from Montana State University.

Return to Top

Content Description

The papers consist of photocopied journal articles, transcripts of interviews, copies of published and unpublished papers, and newspaper articles on the history and physical descriptions of 19th century forts in Montana. Photocopies of the 1880 census and official government documents of the Department of the Army pertaining to Montana forts including: legal proceedings, medical records and letters sent to and from various forts to their departments, photocopied maps, plans and drawings of physical structures of forts of Montana. Posts described are Fort Assiniboine, Camp Baker (Fort Baker)/Fort Logan, Fort C.F. Smith, Fort Custer, Fort Ellis, Fort Keogh, Fort Maginnis, Fort Missoula, and Fort Shaw. Copy photographs of the original forts and soldiers, hand-drawn maps, diagrams, and plans are complimented by both original slides by Raymond A. Mentzer and Lawrence C. Heberle, and copy slides of Camp Baker, Fort Logan, Fort Ida Thoroughman, Fort Howie, and Fort Maginnis portraying surveys of the physical locations and remaining structures of these forts in the 1970s. The primary concentration of this research is the location, layouts, and structural content of the original forts and their conditions at the time of the research; however there is also substantial information on the social and military experiences of the soldiers assigned to Montana forts during the active period of the 1860s -1890s including the era of the Indian Wars. Some original 1970 pamphlets and newspaper clippings are included, but most of the material is photocopied or transcribed. Correspondence about the disposition of the buildings at Fort Maginnis; photocopied bibliographies and inventories, and handwritten research notes by Raymond Mentzer are included.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series 1 Fort Assinniboine Research

Series 2 Camp Baker/Fort Logan Research

Series 3 Fort C.F. Smith Research

Series 4 Fort Custer Research

Series 5 Fort Ellis Research

Series 6 Fort Keogh Research

Series 7 Fort Lewis Research

Series 8 Fort Maginnis Research

Series 9 Fort Missoula Research

Series 10 Fort Shaw Research

Series 11 Miscellaneous Research Notes and Materials

Series 12 Fort Research Photographs

Series 13 Microfilm Records

Acquisition Information

Research materials and notes, microfilm, and photo slides on research of Montana Military Installations were donated to Special Collections on June 8, 2001 by Ray Mentzer. The research was conducted in the early 1970s for the Bicentennial History Project while Mentzer was a member of the 50th Military History Detachment of the U.S. Army Reserve.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 April 21

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Kim Allen Scott, 2009. Updated by Heather Mulliner, 2022.
2022

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West