Collection Summary
Harry E. Yarnell Papers
1909-1958
(bulk 1939-1945)
1909-1958
(bulk 1939-1945)
MSS57448
Yarnell, Harry E. (Harry
Ervin), 1875-1959
875 items
3 containers plus 1 classified
1 linear foot
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer.
Correspondence, memoranda, speeches, reports, articles, printed matter, and
miscellaneous papers related to military aspects of United States China policy,
reorganization of United States armed forces, naval and military strategy
during World War II, and Yarnell’s naval career.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Baldwin, Hanson Weightman, 1903-1991--Correspondence.
Chiang, Kai-shek, 1887-1975--Correspondence.
Eliot, George Fielding, 1894-1971--Correspondence.
Forrestal, James, 1892-1949--Correspondence.
Hart, Thomas Charles--Correspondence.
King, Ernest Joseph, 1878-1956--Correspondence.
Rhee, Syngman, 1875-1965--Correspondence.
Soong, T. V. (Tzu-wen), 1894-1971--Correspondence.
Yap, Alfred T. L. (Alfred Tsun Leong), 1896-1962--Correspondence.
Yarnell, Harry E. (Harry Ervin), 1875-1959.
Organizations
Oregon (Battleship)
United States. Navy--Officers.
United States. Navy. Asiatic Fleet.
United States. War Department. War Plans Division.
Subjects
Diplomatic and consular service, Chinese--United States.
Lend-lease operations (1941-1945)
Merchant marine--China.
Spanish-American War, 1898--Naval operations, American.
Warships--China.
Warships--United States.
World War, 1914-1918--Naval operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, Chinese.
World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, Japanese.
Places
China--Foreign relations--United States.
United States--Armed Forces--Reorganization.
United States--Foreign relations--China.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Harry E. Yarnell, naval officer, were deposited in the
Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1977 and 1984 and
converted to a gift in 1998.
Related Material
Also in the custody of the Library of Congress Manuscript Division is
another collection of Yarnell’s papers donated to the Library by Yarnell that
documents his command of the Asiatic Fleet during the Sino-Japanese War.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Harry E.
Yarnell is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Harry E. Yarnell are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Security Classified Documents
Government regulations control the use of security classified material
in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information
concerning access to and use of classified materials.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Harry E. Yarnell Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1875, Oct. 18
Born, Independence, Iowa
1897
B. S. degree, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1899
Duty on Oregon (battleship)
during Spanish-American War and on Albay (gunboat)
during Philippine American War
1903
Married Emily Carroll Thomas
1915
Graduated, Naval War College, Newport, R. I.
1917
Commanded Nashville (patrol
gunboat) in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I
1927
1928
Commanded Saratoga (aircraft
carrier)
1928
1930
Chief, Bureau of Engineering, Navy Department
1933
1936
Commandant, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
1936
1939
Commander-in-chief, United States Asiatic Fleet
1939
Retired from United States Navy
1942
Promoted to full admiral (retired list)
1942
1944
Special advisor, Chinese Military Mission
Assistant to vice chief of naval operations
1959, July 17
Died, Newport, R.I.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Harry Ervin Yarnell (1875-1959) in the Naval Historical
Foundation Collection span the years 1909-1958 and consist of correspondence,
speeches, articles, reports, printed matter, and miscellaneous material
arranged alphabetically by type of material, personal name, or subject. The
bulk of the papers relates to the post retirement period of Yarnell’s career
during World War II. During the war he was an advisor to the Chinese Military
Mission to the United States and worked particularly closely with China
Supplies, Inc., an arms procurement organ of the mission, on such projects as
identifying alternate supply routes to China to replace those disrupted by the
Japanese and obtaining lend-lease warships for the Chinese navy. Also during
World War II, Yarnell served in the office of the vice chief of naval
operations and as a senior advisor to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, in
these capacities working on plans for the postwar demobilization of the navy
and related war economy and participating in the controversy concerning the
reorganization of the American military that eventually led to the
establishment of the Department of Defense.
There is also material on the United States Asiatic Fleet that
Yarnell commanded immediately prior to his retirement, on his Spanish-American
War service aboard the Oregon (battleship), and on
his service with the Navy’s War Plans Division during and immediately after
World War I.
General correspondence and memoranda comprise the bulk of the papers.
Correspondents include Hanson W. Baldwin, Chiang Kai-Shek, George Fielding
Eliot, James Forrestal, Thomas Charles Hart, Ernest J. King, Syngman Rhee, T.
V. Soong, and Alfred T. L. Yap.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material,
personal name, or subject.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Biographical material, awards, and
tributes,
1919, 1938-1944, undated
1919, 1938-1944, undated
1
Correspondence
1
General
1
1919, 1932-1941
1919, 1932-1941
1
1942
1942
1
Jan. 27 -Nov. 26
[
See also Classified
](gencl1)
Jan. 27 -Nov. 26
(3
folders)
1
1943
1943
1
Jan. 3 -Dec.15
Jan. 3 -Dec.15
(2
folders)
1
1944
1944
1
Jan. 1 -July 17
Jan. 1 -July 17
(2
folders)
2
Aug. 2-Dec. 28
Aug. 2-Dec. 28
2
1945-1950, 1958
1945-1950, 1958
2
Memoranda,
1918-1944
1918-1944
(4
folders)
2
Indexes,
1942-1944
1942-1944
2
Miscellany,
undated
undated
2
Printed and near print matter,
1942-1944
1942-1944
2
Reports and notes
2
“Memorandum on the War
Situation,”
1942, undated
1942, undated
3
Miscellany,
1942-1944, undated
[
See also Classified
](miscl1)
1942-1944, undated
3
Soong, T. V. and Sae-Kea A. Sze,
1942-1944
1942-1944
3
Speeches and writings,
1909, 1928-1933, 1939-1949, undated
1909, 1928-1933, 1939-1949, undated
(4
folders)
3
United States Asiatic Fleet,
dispatches and correspondence,
1938-1939, undated
1938-1939, undated
3
Warships, Albay (gunboat) and Oregon
(battleship),
1932, 1944-1945, undated
1932, 1944-1945, undated
CL 1
Classified material
CL 1
Correspondence
CL 1
General,
Aug.3- Nov. 26, 1942 (Container 1)
Aug.3- Nov. 26, 1942
CL 1
Reports and notes
CL 1
Miscellany,
1942-1944, undated (Container 3)
1942-1944, undated