Charles S. Stephenson Papers, 1927-1965 (bulk 1927-1928): Finding Aid
Published in 1991
Summary Information
- Publisher: United States Naval Academy. Special Collections & Archives.
- Publisher Address:
589 McNair Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5029, USA
Phone: 410-293-6917
https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/index.php - Call number: MS 262
- Location: Special Collections & Archives Department - Manuscripts
- Title: Charles S. Stephenson Papers
- Dates: 1927-1965
- Bulk Dates: 1927-1928
- Size: 1.25 linear feet
- Container Summary: 3 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder
- Creator: Stephenson, Charles S., 1887-1965
- Language(s) of material: English
- Abstract: Charles S. Stephenson was a surgeon and Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. The Stephenson Papers focus on Stephenson's time as a U.S. Navy surgeon serving with the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force, on the staff of General Smedley Butler, in northern China at the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War in 1927.
Biographical Chronology of Charles S. Stephenson
- 1887
- On May 21, is born in Aetna, Tennessee to Charles V. and Frances Marion Stephenson.
- 1912
- Receives his M.D. from Vanderbilt University.
- 1913
- Commissioned a Lieutenant (j.g.) in the U.S. Navy Medical Reserve Corps.
- Assigned to the U.S. Navy Medical School for training.
- 1914
- Joins the U.S. Navy Medical Corps.
- Interns at the U.S. Navy Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.
- Assigned to duty in the Philippines.
- 1915-1917
- Assigned to the Yangtze Patrol Force as medical officer.
- Conducts epidemiological studies on bubonic plague, schistosomiasis, and typhus.
- 1917-1918
- Serves as Executive Officer of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokohama, Japan.
- 1918
- Attached to U.S. Naval Railway Batteries in France as medical officer.
- Receives the Purple Heart after being wounded at Verdun.
- 1919
- Receives command of the auxiliary hospital ship Newark.
- 1919-1921
- Serves as chief of the genitourinary service at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.
- Assigned additional duty as chief of the Randall's Island Naval Hospital's venereal disease division.
- 1921-1923
- Assigned to the Yangtze Patrol Force as medical officer.
- Serves as aide to Admirals H. G. Bullard and William W. Phelps.
- Conducts studies on bubonic plague and cholera in the Yangtze River Valley and lectures at Nanking University.
- 1923
- Directs Naval relief work following the Yokohama earthquake.
- 1924
- Assigned to Destroyer Squadrons, Asiatic Fleet as medical officer.
- 1925-1927
- Serves as chief of the physical therapy division at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital.
- 1927-1929
- Assigned to the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force, 3rd Brigade as brigade surgeon in Northern China.
- Assigned additional duty as Commanding Officer of the field hospital of the 3rd Brigade.
- 1929
- Attached to Submarine Division, Asiatic Fleet as medical officer.
- 1930-1933
- Serves as chief of the physical therapy division at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital.
- 1931
- On December 20, marries Naomi Antoinette Ackley.
- 1932
- Receives an M.S. from Columbia University.
- 1933-1935
- Serves as medical aide to the governor of American Samoa.
- 1935-1936
- Assigned to the Army Industrial War College as a student officer.
- 1936-1942
- Serves as professor of preventive medicine, industrial medicine, and industrial hygiene at the U.S. Naval Medical School.
- Serves as Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
- Assigned additional duty as adviser to the Shore Establishments Division in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
- Assigned additional duty as liaison officer to the U.S. Public Health Service's section for health relations.
- 1941
- Attached to the U.S. Embassy in London as a naval observer.
- 1942
- Serves as U.S. delegate to the Pan American Sanitary Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
- In December, is appointed first director of the U.S. Typhus Commission.
- Promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.
- 1944
- Conducts a health and sanitation survey in Palestine.
- Elected editor of Science.
- Receives the Legion of Merit and the U.S. Typhus Commission Medal.
- Receives an honorary D.Sc. From Duke University.
- Retires from the United States Navy due to physical disability.
- 1945
- Serves as acting managing director of the American Cancer Society.
- 1950
- Appointed medical director of the United States Life Insurance Company.
- 1951
- Receives the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States' Gorgas Medal.
- 1959
- Admitted to the bar in Washington, DC.
- 1963
- Elected Vice President of the United States Life Insurance Company.
- 1965
- On February 9, dies in Bethesda, Maryland.
Description of Contents
The Charles S. Stephenson Papers comprise 1.25 linear feet of documentation. While they span from 1927 to 1965, the papers focus on Stephenson's time as a U.S. Navy surgeon serving with the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force, on the staff of General Smedley Butler, in northern China at the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War in 1927.
The bulk of the Stephenson Papers consists of 273 letters written by Stephenson to his fiance, Sonya Leyton (apparently the stage name of Naomi Ackley, whom Stephenson married in 1931). These letters, dated between May 15, 1927 and August 19, 1928, are often accompanied by newspaper clippings from English-language Chinese newspapers. The correspondence provides a detailed account of Stephenson's professional life as a naval medical officer, with many observations on U.S. Marine Corps hierarchy. The letters are particularly critical of Marine Brigadier General Smedley Butler, his leadership style, and tactics. The letters begin with Stephenson's duties at Shanghai, followed by his transfer to Tientsin, where he worked as both doctor and hospital administrator. Much of the focus of the letters is on medical related issues, such as venereal disease, pneumonia, appendectomies, heat stroke, traffic accidents, patient load, inadequacies of his medical staff, and complications caused by the extreme Tientsin weather. The letters also cover Stephenson's ongoing conflicts with General Smedley Butler and his Chief of Staff Miller, resulting in Stephenson's temporary relief from duty in February 1928. The correspondence concludes with Stephenson's assignment to U.S.S. Beaver (Submarine tender) in Tsingtao.
In addition to his medical responsibilities, Stephenson's letters to his fiance also contain news, commentary, and rumors regarding the political and military conditions in China, as well as Chinese life in general. The letters make frequent mention of General Chang Tso Lin (Zhang Zuolin), clashes between Northern and Southern Chinese forces, famines in the Shantung (Shandong) region, and the increasing incursion of Japanese forces on mainland China.
The remainder of the collection is dominated by photographs. While largely unidentified and undated, the photographs appear to be overwhelmingly from Stephenson's time in China in 1927 and 1928, and include images of mountainside farming in Shandong, urban life, and Chinese military activity. Among the photographs are several portraits of Stephenson.
Arrangement
The Charles S. Stephenson Papers are arranged by document type. Correspondence is arranged chronologically thereunder.
Access and Use
Access
Access is unrestricted.
Copyright and Permission
The Charles S. Stephenson Papers are the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Provenance and Acquisition
Letters purchased from Charles Apfelbaum Rare Books and Manuscripts in August 1987. Photographs purchased from Chris Wilson in October 1993. Accession Nos. 87-31 and 93-55.
Related Materials
Related Archival Material
Additional documentation of Charles Stephenson's career may be found in his Military Personnel Jacket at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Materials Cataloged Separately
No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.
Processing and Other Information
Preferred Citation
Charles S. Stephenson Papers, MS 262
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library
United States Naval Academy
Selected Bibliography
The following sources were consulted during preparation of the biographical note:
The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Clifton, N.J.: J.T. White, 1926-.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Mary R. Catalfamo in 1991. Finding aid written by Mary R. Catalfamo in 1991. Additional processing by David D'Onofrio in May 2014. Finding aid revised by David D'Onofrio in May 2014.
Subject Headings
Name and Subject Terms
- Butler, Smedley D. (Smedley Darlington), 1881-1940
- China -- History -- 1912-1928
- China -- History -- 1928-1937
- China -- History -- 20th century
- Stephenson, Charles S., 1887-1965
- United States. Marine Corps -- Medical Care
- Zhang, Zuolin, 1875-1928
Genre Terms
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence
- Manuscripts
- Photographs
- Visiting cards
Contents List
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 May 15-20 Letters 1-6
At Shanghai. Stephenson assigned extra duty of photo work. "Camp Butler" set up -- discomforts include water scarcity. General Butler's obscene speech to troops insults Chinese and British, and related conduct of journalists. Local society, yacht parties. Venereal disease (VD), Stephenson lectures troops on sexual misconduct. Armed robberies and crime in Shanghai.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 May 22-26 Letters 7-11
Henderson (troop hospital ship) accommodation problems, arriving Navy nurses, Stephenson's dislike of women aboard ship. Battalion competitive drill practice problems. VD. Heat stroke problems. 75th Company mascot. Stephenson's visit to area of recent fighting. Impressed with Chinese Nationalists attacking British and Japanese sentries despite their youth. Rumors of Russia and Britain breaking off.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 May 27-June 2 Letters 12-19
Room crowding and discomfort. Bullets shot at yachts. Second anniversary of May 30, 1925 Shanghai student riots. General Butler's desire for more publicity. Belief that the Nationalists will win. Plans to evacuate Peking. Planned military move to Tientsin. VD. Stephenson to plan Tientsin Brigade Hospital.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 June 2-10 Letters 20-23
Journey from Shanghai to Tientsin. General Smedley Butler's desire for publicity. Nationalists advancing toward Peking. Expectation that Chiang Kai-shek will take Peking and expel all foreigners. Chaotic U.S. military situation. Poor quality of medical officers. Tientsin harbor's Taku Bar. Camp Wilson' shameful conditions. Stephenson also serving as Brigade Surgeon on Butler’s staff.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 June 11-July 1 Letters 24-34
Stephenson serving as mess officer, 6th Regiment Marines, Tientsin. Camp's deplorable conditions. Criticism of Butler and others (only fit to be Chief of Police). "Wonderful house" leased as hospital. Diseases and illnesses (diarrhea and vomiting blood) due to camp's flies, dust and dirt. Lecture on syphilis and gonorrhea. Exhausting duties. Discouragement regarding conflicting orders.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 July 2-10 Letters 35-40
U.S. dispatch messenger injures Chinese police officer. VD. Fight in brothel results in American soldier's head split open and French soldier stabbed. Heat wave and attempts to cool hospital. Preparing local strawberries for safe consumption. Hospital improving.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 July 13-22 Letters 41-49
Chinese host elaborate dinner and play. Offensive speech by General Butler (referring to Chinese as cowards. VD. Drunkenness. Cases of cerebrospinal syphilis. Patients exaggerating symptoms in attempt to be sent home.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 July 23-August 9 Letters 50-62
Complicated appendix operation. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and deaths from extreme high heat. Northern Chinese troops advancing against Southern Chinese troops. General Butler's conduct regarding infected toenail. Accidents due to reckless driving.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 August 10-September 13 Letters 63-79
Time wasting medical reports. Pneumonia. Poor quality of medical staff and equipment. Dissatisfaction with Marine assignment. Overly long temporary duty status. Forced landing of British plane in Shanghai. Thoughts on impending Bolshevik propaganda. Prediction that Northern troops will retake the customs house. Famine. Party held by son of General Chang Hsun. Cholera striking in the South. Fur trade and buying lambskins for personal use.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 September 14-October 7 Letters 80-96
Chinese food gambling game. Treating sick Chinese civilians. Inferior medical assistants, particularly Stephenson's aide. Excitement over new Admiral and Admiral's inspection. Careless driving accidents. Cholera vaccinations. Chang trying to emulate Mustafa Kemal Pasha. Reports of piracy.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 October 13-24 Letters 97-105
Cold, overly long train trip to Peking. Muller's promotion test. Stephenson meets celebrities at Peking race track. Return to Tientsin. Stephenson plans punitive action against his aide due to bad diagnosis. Aide lies to General.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 October 31-November 1 Letters 106-108
Sargent commits suicide after gambling away Company's money. Fulton a good assistant. Problems with transportation of an unembalmed corpse. 12th Regiment man falls into boiling water and dies.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 November 2-20 Letters 109-118
Continued diagnostic incompetence of Stephenson's aide. General's procrastination on hospital repairs. Dinner with General and Mr. C. Ku, railway director. Appendectomies. Officers' serious auto accident. Chiang Kai-shek's wedding. Stephenson to inform Navy Department of discovery that Japanese shops in Tientsin have hidden stockpiles of medical and military supplies.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 November 29-December 7 Letters 119-126
Chinese hospital workers' care and concern for Stephenson. Cold temperature and frozen hospital water pipes. Lack of silk suture thread, pneumonia serum, and other supplies. Irresponsible aide and other assistants. Appendectomy. Serious hospital accident to Marine engineer. Measles outbreak.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 December 8-11 Letters 127-130
Strenuous hospital work. Illegal liquor smuggled into hospital. General's staff requisitions hospital beds for own use. Criticism over Marines' failure to care for men. Preparation for General's inspection. Flu. Secret meetings by the General.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1927 December 12-19 Letters 131-138
Butler's megalomania - drill in cold weather impacting disease rate. Disillusionment with Marine Corps. Marine failure to complete supply house, supplies exposed to snow. Stephenson works for good inspection report from General. 6th Regiment men use personal funds to improve area to please General. Hospital takes on more medical duties and new medical specialists. Hospital receives good rating from Captain Webb. Northern political conditions deteriorate.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 January 1-8 Letters 139-146
Delirious, alcoholic patient escapes hospital - General threatens Stephenson with court-martial. Foolish drills causing pneumonia. Rumors Peking will fall to Southern forces before years end. Famine in Southern Shantung. Drunken Marines in New Year's fight. Men sick after 12 mile hike. General and Chief of Staff's disapproval of Stephenson's request for transfer. "Publicity hounds and notoriety seekers." New medical assistants good. Shanghai under martial law.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 January 9-15 Letters 147-153
Drills cause disease. "Newspaper reputation building." Marine's insanity (threatened to fire on own barracks) possibly caused by overwork. Praise of new health staff. Two Marines die of rabies in Peking, local dogs restricted. Operation for Russian woman. Lab animals kept for test purposes. Meningitis.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 January 16-22 Letters 154-160
Fear of cerbrospinal epidemic. Meningitis scare. Upset over Stephenson's transfer request. Big push from Northwest expected from Wee Lui Tu in spring. Marines' plans for visit by U.S. Minister (John V.A. MacMurray) from Peking. Pneumonia deaths. Chinese women ordered not to bob their hair by General Chu Yu Pu.
Includes an advertisement for Matsuya Silk and Leather Goods.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 January 23-29 Letters 161-166
Social visit to home of hospital's Chinese landlord. U.S. Minister's poor speech, poor Marine review. General Butler stages review in snow storm to impress Minister. Worthlessness of writing annual medical reports which are not allowed to reveal real abuses. Conference of Chinese Generals in Peking. Drinking problems among Marines. Pneumonia of great concern.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 January 30-February 11 Letters 167-179
Marine show Frivolities of 1928. Fear of cerbrospinal virus epidemic. General's obscene speech to troops. Famine in Shantung. Increase in pneumonia cases. Dust storm. Rumor that Chang Tso Lin will pull behind Great Wall into Mukdin. Marine leaders' lack of judgment causing disease. Dust causing respiratory problems. Approval of new Executive Officer Anderson. Japanese military intercepting U.S. mail.
Includes program for Frivolities of 1928 and a Chinese theater program.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 February 26-March 11 Letters 179-184
Stephenson detached from duty over argument with Chief of Staff regarding sanitary conditions. Stephenson fears his letters opened at Brigade Post Office. Awaiting next duty. Stephenson's leadership at medical meeting to establish a medical society. Landlord absolves Stephenson of any responsibility for damage to hospital building.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 March 12-May 13 Letters 185-233
Dispute over Stephenson's detachment: possible civil suite, libel suit against Butler, trip to Peking to see witness. Local Chinese scenes. Stephenson's dust-induced nasal infection. Merchant boat fired upon just inside Szechuan border. Famine in Hantung. Lecture by Dr. Carl Beck. Chang Tso Lin considering evacuating Peking. Japanese troops dispatched to Shantung and Tsinan. American missionary doctor murdered. Tsinan evacuated. Red Cross refuses to intervene over fear of warlords. Southern Chinese protesting Japanese actions. Student in Peking boycott against Japan. Calls by Northern Chinese War Lord to cease civil war and unite against Japan. Stephenson to serve as toastmaster at Tientsin Medical Men meeting.
Includes newspaper clippings.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 May 28-June 12 Letters 240-248
Hot weather. Miller's chagrin over Stephenson's reinstatement, strained relations but no transfer until China situation calms. Newsreel man reports Tsinan horrors, mistreatment of Chinese prisoners, and being held in a dungeon for 18 hours. Chang Tso Lin's concubines. Belief that Chang will be executed if Southerners win. Thoughts on whether League of Nations with intervene. Japanese curfew. Fleet Surgeon's inspection visit. Stephenson vindicated, on reviewing stand during review. Resentment regarding "reduced medical organization." Drunken officer fakes insanity to avoid court-martial.
Includes a cleaner's claim ticket.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 June 13-18 Letters 249-256
With U.S.S. Beaver, Medical Department, Submarine Division Sixteen, U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Tsingtao, China. New job interesting, but not enough work. Stephenson senior to whole ward room in rank and years. Possible inquiry into detachment dispute. Navy erects "prophylactic station in the heart of the red light district." Stephenson's inspection reveals lack of uniform essentials among sailors. U.S.S. Canopus suspicious injury. Drunken officers seek medical excuses to avoid courts-martial.
Correspondence - Charles S. Stephenson to Sonya Leyton, 1928 July 31-August 19 Letters 261-273
Stephenson recovering from rib injury. Chinese silver money problem. Beaver's future itinerary and ports of call. Rumors that U.S. will mediate between China and Japan. Charges brought against Japanese for theft of sacred idols near Tsinan. Tsingtao peanut drying. Movie film catches fire. Stephenson's medical "guard duty." Detachment case still not settled - Stephenson ordered away from Tientsin at own request. Submarine S-36 serious air hose accident. Unusual heat. Beaver to go to Dalny (Darien), then to Port Arthur.