Scope and Contents
The Eugene Arthur Regnier Papers consist of correspondence, writings, reports, printed material, and photographs documenting Eugene A. Regnier's personal life and professional career. Regnier, a career army officer, was a friend of Henry L. Stimson, having served as Stimson's aide during his tenure as governor-general of the Philippines, secretary of state, and secretary of war (1940-1941). While the papers document Regnier's assignments and training, they focus primarily on Regnier's duties in the Philippines and the Department of State. The papers also highlight his work in developing better relations between the Department of State and the press. The papers complement the Henry L. Stimson Papers (Manuscript Group Number 445) and include many original letters in the handwritings of both Henry L. and Mabel Stimson.
The papers, given to the Yale University Library in 1985 by Regnier's four children, are arranged in three series: I. Correspondence, 1918-1956; II. Subject Files, 1921-1955; and III. Personal Papers, 1917-1956.
Series I is composed of personal correspondence with army friends, State Department associates, the Stimsons, and Regnier family members. Series II consists of correspondence, memoranda, records of conversations, clippings, photographs, travel memorabilia, and printed material concerning various military and diplomatic assignments and related topics. Series III includes such personal papers as financial and legal records, military orders, family photographs, and professional writings.
Series I contains correspondence with Henry L. and Mabel Stimson. These letters, which begin in 1928 and continue until a year before Mrs. Stimson's death (1955), are personal and reveal a great fondness and warmth between Regnier and the Stimsons. Many of these letters are handwritten, and copies are not located in the Stimson Papers. Various other letters concern Regnier's duties at the Department of State and the department's relations with the press. Files for George Harold Keatley, Allen Klots, John Van Antwerp MacMurray, and George Morelock contain information on these latter topics.
The series contains many notes of congratulation on appointments, marriage, and births of children; Christmas cards; and requests from friends for help in dealing with government bureaucracy. There are many family exchanges including those with Regnier's father-in-law Andrew Mcfarlane and sister Marie Louise Regnier. Letters to his wife Claire Janet Regnier date from his military service in America and in the European theater during World War II.
Series II, the largest series in the papers, is the major source of information on phases of Regnier's professional career. Folders 110-111 contain much briefing material on the Phillipine Islands. The folders refer to many of the issues that arose during Stimson's tenure as governor-general, and folders 118-20 include contemporary photographs. Topics relating to Regnier's work at the Department of State include: the London Conference of Ministers on Intergovernmental Debts in 1931; the General Disarmament Conference in Geneva in 1932; the crisis over Manchuria; and the Stimson press policy of educating members of the press corps with "background." Folders 112-113 contain briefing and organization notes for Stimson's press conferences. Regnier's military service is mainly represented by printed histories of World War II in folders 132-138. There are some mi1itary photographs in "Cavalry" files and in folder 149, reports on maneuvers and military training at Fort Bliss in folder 91, and a file on the work of the National Research Council Committee on Quartermaster Problems in folder 106. The series also includes memorabilia, photographs, and printed material about the Stimsons and their pets.
Series III consists of personal papers such as memorabilia from Regnier's military career, personal, finanical, and legal papers, military orders, family photographs, and professional writings. The series also includes obituary clippings and funeral remembrances.
Dates
- 1917-1956
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Eugene A. Regnier's children, 1985. Gift of Linda Valdez and Chuck Eberle, 2007.
Arrangement
Arranged in three series: I. Correspondence, 1918-1956; II. Subject Files, 1921-1955; III. Personal Papers, 1917-1956; and one accession.
Extent
7.25 Linear Feet (14 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The papers consist of correspondence, writings, printed material, photographs, and other material documenting the personal life and professional career of Eugene A. Regnier. The primary focus of the papers is Regnier's role as an aide to Henry L. Stimson. The papers illustrate Regnier's duties in the Philippines and the State Department and highlight his publicity work and relationship with the press.
Biographical / Historical
Eugene A. Regnier was born in Concordia, Kansas on December 22, 1893. He was a career army officer who enlisted in June, 1917 and retired as a brigadier general in 1946. Regnier served in France during World War I, and as a liason officer with the insular government of the Philippines (1928-1929). As a liason officer with the U.S. Department of State (1929-1932), Regnier attended disarmament conferences and was assigned to the office of the secretary of state. He commanded a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp (1933), served as a calvary officer (1933-1940), and then served as an aide to the U.S. Secretary of War in the Office of the Chief of Staff. Regnier also served as a combat commander in the European theater of operations (1945). He died in Carlsbad, California on December 7, 1956.
- Armed Forces
- Cavalry
- Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments (1932-1934 Geneva, Switzerland)
- Government publicity -- United States
- Philippines
- Photoprints
- Press -- United States
- Regnier, Eugene Arthur, 1893-1956
- Soldiers
- Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950
- Stimson, Mabel White, 1866-1955
- United States -- Foreign relations -- 1929-1933
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1929-1933
- United States. Army
- United States. Department of State
- World War, 1939-1945
- Title
- Guide to the Eugene Arthur Regnier Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Diane E. Kaplan, William E. Brown, Jr., and John Espy
- Date
- September 1985
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511