From Cavalry to Tanks: George S. Patton Jr.

Cavalry descending a bluff to the beach at Fort Sheridan with photographers documenting their training. Circa 1925. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.2658

The most famous cavalry officer to be stationed at Fort Sheridan was George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945). Though the cavalryman-turned-tanker had a relatively brief stay at the Fort from 1909 to 1911, he made an indelible impression on all who encountered him. 

The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan (est. 1887) became known as a cavalry post with the arrival of the 7th Cavalry in 1892. 

The Fort's unique terrain was a welcome challenge for cavalry training. Cavalrymen tested their own and their horses' skills by descending the bluffs to the sandy beach, and traversing acres of uneven ground. 

After graduating from West Point in June 1909, a 24-year-old George S. Patton Jr. took a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant with the 15^th Cavalry and was stationed at Fort Sheridan near Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois. 

15th Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., at Fort Sheridan, circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.1966.

Partial lists of "officers present and absent" at Fort Sheridan, September 1909. George S. Patton Jr. (#52) is noted as having returned from leave on September 12. Ancestry.com. Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916. Original data from National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 94.

On May 26, 1910, Patton married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Beatrice Banning Ayer of Boston, Massachusetts. 

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. and Beatrice Banning Ayer on their wedding day, May 26, 1910. WikiTree.com

Wedding details as published by the Boston Globe on May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com

After a month-long honeymoon, the newlyweds made their home at Fort Sheridan. The Boston Globe, May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com.

As a married officer, Patton was assigned to new quarters in Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue East. On March 19, 1911, the couple welcomed their first child, Beatrice Ayer Patton, who was born at Fort Sheridan. 

Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue East (north of Martin's Lane) where Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., his wife Beatrice and baby daughter Beatrice lived on the north side of this duplex. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 95.32.68. 

A story relayed by the Ray Family of Diamond Lake (near Mundelein) is that Patton would come for Harriet Rouse Ray's famous chicken dinners on Sundays at the Ray's Lakeside Cottage. Patton arrived on horseback and in uniform, of course.

According to biographer, Ladislas Farago, Patton and his wife were known at the Fort as the "Duke and Duchess." Patton was independently wealthy, and the couple enjoyed dressing up for dinner, driving expensive automobiles, and were both equestrians. Chicago Tribune, October 25, 1964. 

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. on the porch of his Army residence at Fort Sheridan (Building 92), circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 92.24.2020.

At Fort Sheridan, Patton impressed his superiors and was known as a hard-driving leader. 

In late 1911, he was transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where he would come to know many of the Army's senior leaders. 

Patton (right) fencing in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden. He finished fifth overall in the modern pentathlon.  Swedish Press photo, public domain. Wikipedia.

In 1917, Patton joined General John J. Pershing's staff for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I. While in France training American infantry troops, Patton became interested in tanks. His new military path quickly developed as he advocated for the development of a tank corps. When the 1st Tank Brigade was created, Patton was placed in charge. Along with British tankers, he and his men achieved victory at Cambrai, France, during the world's first major tank battle in Nov-Dec, 1917.

During World War II, Patton was the Army's leading strategist in tank warfare. He commanded the Western Task Force in the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and was given command of the Third Army in France in 1944. 

An imaginative, shrewd, and often undiplomatic military commander, Patton is remembered as one of the most brilliant and successful generals in United States history. While his military genius in tank warfare was put to the test on Europe's battlefields, Fort Sheridan will always be Patton-the-cavalryman's first Army post.

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Mother's Day

In 1914, the U.S. Government designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

The idea for Mother's Day in the United States may be traced to “Mother’s Day for Peace,” which began to be promoted in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910). Howe wrote the lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She was also a proponent of peace and sponsored celebrations honoring motherhood, womanhood and peace beginning in 1873.

Mildred Holloway Minto standing "under the maples" on the family farm near Loon Lake with her daughters, Katherine (in her arms) and baby Ruth in buggy, circa 1908. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum 93.45.77.4

The first true Mother's Day observance was held on May 10, 1908 as a church service honoring Anna Reeves Jarvis, who had worked during the Civil War to better sanitary conditions for soldiers and to reconcile people who had fought on opposites sides of the war. Her daughter, also named Anna, thought that children often lacked an appropriate appreciation for their mothers while their mother was still alive, creating the hope that a holiday honoring mothers would increase respect for parents and strengthen family bonds.

Harriet Rouse Ray and her daughter, Pearl, on the porch of their home at the Ray Farm, Diamond Lake, 1914. The family ran a summer resort, and Harriet was known as an excellent cook. Her Sunday chicken dinners were especially well attended. Ray Family Collection, Dunn Museum 91.17.34.

In Lake County, there is only one legendary woman known to have used “mother” in her name. Wealthy Buell Harvey Rudd, or Mother Rudd, was the proprietor of the O’Plain Tavern in Gurnee in the 1840s and 1850s.

The Mother Rudd House, as it came to be known, was something of a “town hall” and meeting place for the community, and Mother Rudd became synonymous for hospitality. Today, Mother Rudd’s house is home to the Warren Township Historical Society. Photo of Mother Rudd's, circa 1910.

During World War II, this mother and daughter served in the Women's Army Corps at Fort Sheridan. Private Cleo M. Yount (left) and her daughter, Private Avis M. Larson, circa 1943. Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 92.24.770.

Happy Mother's Day! And remember to call your mother!

Gordon Keith Ray and Pearl Harbor

I would like to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with the story of one Lake County soldier and his family.

It was on the evening of December 7, 1941, while the Ray family was having dinner in their Diamond Lake home, when the music on the radio broke with the news of Pearl Harbor. Their son, Gordon Keith, was stationed at Schofield Barracks not far from Pearl Harbor.

In the spring of 1941, Gordon Keith Ray (1919 - 2006), known as Keith, had finished his senior year at the University of Illinois and received a commission in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. When he left home that July, his father Gordon, wrote in his diary: "this seemed like the end as we returned to an empty house, but Keith never let us down."

This photo of Keith on furlough was featured in "The Ray's" newsletter, May 1944.

Dunn Museum, Ray Collection, 96.1.56

At the end of August, Keith was told that he was being assigned to a new post. He wrote to his father: "I don't know when the boat will sail; they're keeping it secret."

Gordon wrote back: "I hope you don't have to go to Hawaii, but if you do, take it on the chin, and trusting God."

As fate would have it, Keith was sent to Hawaii. The Ray family was devastated to hear the news of the attack on that December evening.

Gordon wrote in his diary: "We could only wait for news to come, but the days passed and no news came. Everyone tried to console us by saying that 'no news is good news,' but it didn't satisfy our anxiety."

On December 16, the Rays sent a cablegram to Keith, but there was no reply. Three days later, the U.S. Government broadcasted on the radio that anyone who had not heard from the War Department should be assured their boys were O.K.

Still, the family prayed for news from Keith.

It was Monday, December 22 at 8:30 a.m. when Gordon and Marie Ray received a telegram from their son saying, "Am all right, why not?"

The same day they received a letter from Keith written on December 9:

"Dear Folks, I don't know when you will get this, but I thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that I'm still kicking. We seem to be in a war and are working 24 hours a day. I'm really doing things, but I'm afraid I can't tell you anything now. When I get home, I'll have some real stories to tell of air raids, blackouts, and defense work in the field. Lots of rumors, but not much war. Don't believe everything you hear from Washington or Tokyo. They both tell a lot of lies. Love, Keith."

Victory photo collage at the Ray Brothers' resort, 1943. 

Dunn Museum, Ray Collection, 96.1.51.

The Ray Brothers resort on Diamond Lake was a popular hang-out for picnics, dancing and the community to gather. In 1943, the "V" for Victory photo collage of local men who enlisted was displayed prominently at the resort.

On May 2, 1944, Keith came home from the war. He wasted no time filling up on Ray Brothers' hamburgers, shakes and pies.

December 5, 1944, almost three years to the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, G. Keith Ray married Betty Gridley at the Gridley home in Libertyville. 

Betty and Gordon Keith in early 1945. 

Dunn Museum, Ray Collection, 96.1.61

Keith received an honorable discharge in October, 1945. He went on to become a professional engineer, and received international recognition as an authority on the design and construction of concrete pavements for roads and airport runways.

You can view the Dunn Museum's Ray Collections at our online host site, Illinois Digital Archives. Click on the links: Gordon Ray Photographs and The Rays Newsletters

Diamond Lake Outdoor Fun

Gordon Ray and his dog with pickerel, Diamond Lake, 1916. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum, 91.17.37

Lifelong Diamond Lake resident, Gordon Ray (1893-1987), wrote in his 1980 autobiography that winters were great fun when he was a kid. "Outside of getting wood, and cutting ice and doing chores there wasn't too much work to worry about. Outdoor activities included skating, coasting on sleds, sleigh riding, rabbit hunting and fishing through the ice."

Gordon Ray's Diamond Lake Grade School friends sledding in 1908. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum, 91.17.6

In the winter of 1908, Gordon Ray took photographs of his classmates from Diamond Lake Grade School. The boys are sledding during a short break from school.

Diamond Lake Grade School friends. Photo by Gordon Ray, 1908. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum. 91.17.5

 
Just two years prior to taking these photographs, a thirteen-year old Gordon Ray spent his savings on a camera. He wrote: "That was a real thrill for a 13 year old boy, and I quickly learned how to take pictures, to develop the films, and to print my own pictures."

The Ray Family had a farm on the east shore of Diamond Lake. From the 1890s to 1946 the Rays were in the resort business. Their first venture was the Lakeside Cottage, an expansion of the family's farmhouse where vacationers boarded and enjoyed Ma Ray's famous chicken dinners. Then Lloyd and Gordon Ray opened the popular Ray Brothers Resort from 1906 to 1946.

Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Honoring Those Who Serve

From 1943 to 1946, Lloyd Ray of Diamond Lake, produced a homespun newsletter known as The Rays (cover of the September 1943 edition shown here). The large undertaking gave the community and Ray's close-knit, extended family a venue to keep in touch when so many were so far from home. The newsletter re-printed letters from servicemen and women, and featured news of the area, including wedding announcements. Lloyd's cousin, Fern Ray Gover, created most of the illustrations that brought the newsletter to life.

One of the letters printed in The Rays, was written by Private William "Bill" Whitney: "Someone has got to fight this war, and while I get tired of Army life in the rough, I keep telling myself how important I am to the war effort. I am as important as President Roosevelt or any general. When the history of this war is written, it will be the little guys--yes, the doughboys--that will have done the real fighting. This is why I try to do a good job, regardless of how rugged it gets." Private Whitney was killed in action on June 10, 1944 in France.


In this photo from 1943, fathers are reading letters from their sons in the service. The caption reads, "The boys in service are not the only ones who like letters." From left to right: Harry Pfannenstill, Malcolm Clendening, Frank Kelroy and Will Ray.

Will provided the photo to his younger brother, Lloyd, for the "Training Camp Edition" of The Rays. To view the "Training Camp Edition" in its entirety go to Ililnois Digital Archives

The Rays newsletters are part of the Lake County Discovery Museum's permanent collections, and are available online at the Illinois Digital Archives www.idaillinois.org

An Arabian Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Begging, or trick-or-treating, is believed to have begun in the United States in the 1910s. Around the same time, costumes for children and adults became popular for Halloween parties.

In this 1915 photograph, Diamond Lake resident, Gordon Ray, is wearing what appears to be a store bought costume (note the unusual fabric and crease marks). The photo was taken “the morning after” Gordon attended a masquerade dance in Long Grove.

I have often referred to this as Gordon’s “Valentino” costume, but in his autobiography he does not identify the costume, only the dance he attended. Also, Rudolph Valentino—the silent-film star—did not make his debut until 1921, six years after this photo was taken. It is also tempting to call this a “Lawrence of Arabia” costume, but again the association is too late. The British soldier, T.E. Lawrence, became known as “Lawrence of Arabia” for his role in the Arab Revolt of 1916-1918.

The Arabian-themed costume was probably a popular choice due to the West’s long fascination with Eastern cultures. Gordon would have seen any number of Arabian images in films, nickelodeon reels, vaudeville acts, books, and newspapers.