Charles Farnsworth

Charles Stewart Farnsworth was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Issac and Sarah (Moore) Farnsworth.  He worked for Western Union telegraph Company and Bell Telephone Company until 1883, when he entered the U. S. Military Academy.  He graduated from West Point in 1887.  Later in his career he attended the Army School of Line and Staff College (1909-1919) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Army War College in 1916 at Washington.  General Farnsworth served at Fort Sisseton, South Dakota; Fort Shaw, Montana; and Fort Buford, North Dakota.  He served at over 25 different stations, including Pershings Punitive Expedition in Mexico (1916).  On May 22, 1918, during World War I, General Farnsworth became Commander of the 37th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces  During that period it took part in the occupation of the Bacarat (Vasges Mountains) and Panne (St. Micheil) sectors and the offensives in the Argonne-Meuse and Ypres and Lys.  In April, 1919, he returned to the United States and became head of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia.  In 1920, he became Chief of Infantry, a position he held until his retirement in 1925.

The Farnsworth Collection consists of correspondence and subject files covering his long career and retirement.  The Correspondence Series has been arranged chronologically and consists of both in-coming and out-going letters.  It is by no means complete, and just a portion of all his correspondence, with several other depositories having parts of his papers.  (See the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections).  Included are several letters from General John J. Pershing, General George C. Marshall, William Lemke, and Judge W. L. Nuessle.  The Subject Files Series include a variety of materials, including Mrs. Farnsworth's autograph book and biographical information on her father, James H. Bosard.  The other files relate mainly to General Farnsworth's career. 
 

Military