Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

Subject Headings

Inventory of the John M. Bullard Papers

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Biographical Note

John Morgan Bullard (1890-1965) was born near New Bedford, to Doctor John Thornton Bullard (1854-1927) and Emily Morgan Rotch. His siblings include Helen Gray, William "Bill" Bullard, Emily Cobb, and Lydia Weston. He was a lawyer and avid genealogist who travelled often, visiting Europe, Panama, and California in his college years. In 1919 he married Catherine Crapo of Detroit.

During World War I he served as an officer in the 302nd Field Artillery Regiment, which arrived at the front just days before November 11th, 1918.

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Scope and Content Note

This collection contains the correspondence and other associated materials of John M. Bullard from the years 1916-1919, during which he was in training and eventually deployed as an officer in World War I. The majority of the documents in the collection are the letters, postcards, and telegrams of John M. Bullard to his mother and sisters residing in both New Bedford and Boston. Most of this correspondence is signed as either “Jack” or “J” and discusses living conditions of officers in every camp he stays in and attempts to keep up with family matters, including weddings and relatives with health issues.

A portion of the correspondence is from Bullard’s time at officer training camp in Plattsburgh, NY, where he stayed from 1916 to 1917. These letters mainly ask for chocolate from home, detail weekend vacations, and mention visiting friends.

Another portion of the correspondence is from when he was stationed at Fort Devens, MA from 1917 to 1918, as well as a month-long visit to Illinois for a specialized artillery training camp in April 1918. The Fort Devens letters discuss training courses, fear of getting discharged, and wanting leave to visit home. The Illinois letters focus on catching an illness, wanting and getting leave to visit home, and a strong desire to be deployed soon.

The bulk of the collection is the letters, postcards, and telegrams of John M. Bullard to his mother while he was deployed in France from July 1918 to April 1919. These writings establish his desire for more letters from home, detail his living quarters in different camps in France, and describe the social events he attends all over France whenever he receives leave. As he spent very little time on the front, his letters mainly discuss life in camps and detail the wreckage of the front once the war was stopped, as well as the long wait to catch a boat back to America.

In addition to correspondence, this collection contains associated materials that consist of newspaper clippings about the Plattsburgh training camp being deployed, about the 302nd Field Artillery Regiment returning to America from France, and a French newspaper with photos of a parade John attended in Metz. Also included is an article on how to care for an aquarium, which was sent to John by his mother.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 173, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated to the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library by Sally Bullard in 2018 as part of Accession #2019.78.

Processing Information

Processed by: Rina Izzi, 07 March 2019

Encoded by: Rina Izzi, 07 March 2019

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Collection Inventory

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Subject Headings

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