Peyton Cochran Papers Finding Aid

Peyton Cochran Papers Finding Aid

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library staff

FA000083

circa 1898-1948, bulk 1911-1922

Mostly documents, including correspondence, official military communications and reports, military identification and personal papers, maps, pamphlets; also photographs and postcards.

DONOR: Justice George Cochran, 1982

Woodrow Presidential Library and Musem

Cataloging of archival materials

English

Most of the folders within each series are arranged chronologically; if some of the folders within a series have the same date, the secondary arrangement is alphabetical.

ADDITIONS: In 2017, N. Douglas Noland of Black, Noland, and Reed donated a legal file of material related to the Wilson Birthplace property. Much of the file had been assembled by Peyton Cochran, and includes some of his planning for the Birthplace opening in 1941. The file has been added to the collection as series 12.

SERIES IN COLLECTION, WITH INCLUSIVE DATES:

Series 1: Correspondence, Personal 1911-1922
Series 2: Correspondence, Military 1918-1921
Series 3: Official Military Documents: Personal Records 1918-1920
Series 4: Official Military Documents: Memos 1917-1920
Series 5: Official Military Documents: Reports 1918-1919
Series 6: Judge Advocate General’s Office: Opinions 1918-1919
Series 7: Pamphlets 1917-1919
Series 8: Postcards [1919?]
Series 9: Photographs [1918? – 1919?]
Series 10: Maps 1918-1919
Series 11: Miscellaneous 18[98?] to 1927

Series 12: Wilson Birthplace File 1929 to 1948


CONTAINER LIST
FOLDER No. PEYTON COCHRAN COLLECTION
1 letters; from Albert A. Doub (Cochran’s brother-in-law) to Peyton Cochran, on Cochran’s law career and personal stock information; undated, and July 5, 1911 – January 2, 1912

2 letter; from Mary Pat to Susie Cochran, on birth of George Moffatt; April 4, 1912

3 letters; from Peyton Cochran to Albert A. Doub, Armistead M. Dobie of UVA, W. H.
Dougherty; and from Albert A. Doub and Armistead Dobie to Cochran; discussion of
Gov. Wilson’s primary campaign and election in November; January 26, 1912 –
September 12, 1913

4 letters; from Peyton Cochran to Mrs. Anne Doub (Cochran’s sister) on the sale of family
property); from Albert A. Doub to Peyton Cochran, on Anne’s loss of valuable jewelry
while visiting with them; March 6, 1914 - July 23, 1915
5 letters; from Peyton Cochran to Albert A. Doub, Hon. H. D. Flood, and Surgeon General
of the U. S. Army; from Albert A. Doub to Peyton Cochran; August 3, 1915 –
November 14, 1917

6 letters; from Peyton Cochran to Cochran to Hon. Oscar Price, Hon. H. D. Flood, Judge
Stafford G. Whittle, Col. H. M. Morrow, Governor Westmoreland Davis on Cochran’s
request for recommendations/help in getting an appointment to the Judge Advocate
General’s Department; from Judge Richard S. Ker, Judge Henry W. Holt, and Judge
George M. Harrison to the Judge Advocate General’s Department on their
recommendation of Cochran for an appointment to the JAG’s Office; from Hon. H. D.
Flood to Hon. Randolph Harrison on their efforts to get an appointment for Cochran;
May 1918
7 telegram; M. B. Robertson to Mrs. Peyton Cochran about seeing Major Cochran off from New York to France; January 23, 1919

8 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, writing about his getting situated aboard the
U. S. S. George Washington, and renovations in preparation for Pres. Wilson’s return trip; January 27, 1919

9 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, on his homesickness and uncertainty of what awaits him in France, and an Atlantic News enclosure; February 1, 1919
10 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, describing his trip from Brest to Paris and a day touring Paris; February 7, 1919
11 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, describing his tour of Paris where he saw effects of German shelling; February 8, 1919
12 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, describing the mud, cold, and poor living conditions of soldiers; February 27, 1919
13 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran on his positive experience so far, and small photo of old woman in the ruins of her home; March 1, 1919
14 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran on the visit of the king and queen of Belgium to Pershing’s headquarters, his French lessons, and the resilience of the French people in the face of so much loss; March 21, 1919
15 letter; Peyton Cochran to daughter Margaret Cochran, expressing concern for her fall on Easter, on his being in the hospital, French children walking with bread loaves as big as they are, and youthfulness of the soldiers; May 4, 1919
16 receipt; Major Cochran’s bill for hospital confinement; May 6, 1919
17 letter; Archibald G. Robertson to Susie Cochran about his time at Trinity College, Oxford; May 7, 1919
18 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran on his discharge from the hospital after suffering bronchitis or flu, comments on the Peace Conference and other; May 10, 1919
19 letter; A. S. Robinson to Peyton Cochran on financial matters concerning Cochran’s private law practice; June 5, 1919
20 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, expressing his concern for son George (“he has [not] looked well in the pictures you have sent me”), his need for her to keep writing, and his homesickness; June 12, 1919
21 letter; George Moffett Cochran to his father Peyton Cochran, expressing how much he misses him and what he is doing—in child’s hand and with child’s spelling; June 21, 1919
22 letter; Peyton Cochran to Sue Baldwin, his niece, in which he mentions the signing of the Peace the day before and the celebrating of the French people in the streets, and describes to her the palace of Versailles, and the effect on the outcome of the War brought by America’s entry into it—victory; June 29, 1919
23 letter; Peyton Cochran to Susie Cochran, describing the huge Paris parade on July 14 commemorating the signing of the Peace Treaty; July 14, 1919
24 letters; from Aubrey E. Strode, G. B. Vest of the Virginia Law Review, and W. C. Wells to Peyton Cochran, on Cochran’s attaining the rank of Lt. Colonel, his writing an article for the Virginia Law Review on the subject of courts martial, and a favor pertaining to Archie Scott; October – December 1919
25 letters; Peyton Cochran to Colonel George S. Wallace; American Officers of the Great War, G. B. Vest, A. Stuart Robinson, and George S. Wallace to Peyton Cochran, on business, financial, and personal matters; 1920 - 1922

26 telegrams and letters; Peyton Cochran to Hon. H. D. Flood, Sen. Thomas S. Martin, Sen.
Claude A. Swanson, and Judge Stafford G. Whittle; and Lt. Col. H. M. Morrow, Gen.
McCain, Hon. H. D. Flood to Peyton Cochran on his appointment as Major to the Judge
Advocate General’s Department; 1918

27 letters; Peyton Cochran to Col. W. C. Rigby, Gen. E. H. Crowder, Lt. Col. William L. Reed; Lt. Col. W. C. Rigby, Gen. E. H. Crowder, and Gordon Kimball to Peyton Cochran; 1920 – 1921

28 personal records; pay record, ration cards, physical examination, Officers’ Reserve Corps; 1918-1920

29 personal records; War Department ID card, Personal Report and Statement of Preferences for All Officers, release from active duty in France, travel order on ship; appointment to rank of Lt. Colonel, shipment of trunk; July-Nov. 1919

30 personal records; Cochran’s requests for leave of absence; July-Nov. 1919

31 personal records; Cochran’s requests for leave of absence; Dec. 1919- Feb. 1920

32 memo; concerning alien enemies in the U. S. Army; August 3, 1917

33 memo; Mennonites do not have to wear uniform; September 25, 1917

34 memo; conscientious objectors; October 10, 1917

35 memo; discharge of enlisted men to accept commission; October 11, 1917

36 memo; discharge of enlisted men on account of dependents; October 15, 1917

37 memo; concerning inducted men who have a claim for discharge; October 18, 1917

38 memo; conscientious objectors; October 20, 1917

39 memo; induction of drafted men into the service; November 11, 1917

40 memo; concerning inducted men who have a claim for discharge; November 13, 1917

41 memo; from H. G. Learnard, Adjutant General (no memo attached); November 15, 1917

42 memo; discharge of insane at cantonment base hospitals; November 22, 1917

43 memo; discharge of selected men; November 24, 1917

44 memo; 74th Article of War concerning military jurisdiction over civil offenses;
December 3, 1917

45 memo; fraudulent enlistment of minors; December 14, 1917

46 memo; conscientious objectors; December 19, 1917

47 memo; instructions to trial judge advocates: induction; 1917

48 memo; discharge of Swiss citizens; January 17, 1918

49 memo; discharge on account of dependent relatives; January 22, 1918

50 memo; discharge of soldiers from belligerent countries; January 27, 1918

51 memo; psychological examination of conscientious objectors; March 6, 1918

52 memo; conscientious objectors; March 11, 1918

53 memo; cases for domestic service; April 2, 1918

54 memo; additional instructions concerning the discharge of drafted men; April 8, 1918

55 memo; psychological examination of conscientious objectors; April 10, 1918

56 memo; discharge of aliens drafted into military service; April 13, 1918

57 memo; conscientious objectors; April 18, 1918

58 memo; concerning men in noncombatant branches wearing side arms; April 18, 1918

59 memo; enemy-alien soldiers; April 18, 1918

60 memo; treatment of conscientious objectors; April 27, 1918

61 memo; latest instructions regarding discharge of non-enemy aliens; May 7, 1918

62 memo; naturalization of aliens; May 18, 1918

63 memo; retention of aliens pending investigation of their cases; May 21, 1918

64 memo; discharge on account of minority and dependent relatives; May 23, 1918

65 memo; method of handling conscientious objectors; May 27, 1918

66 memo; conscientious objectors, their transfer to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; June 1, 1918

67 memo; alleged aliens and delinquents; June 4, 1918

68 memo; furloughs, conscientious objectors; June 10, 1918

69 memo; conscientious objectors – furloughs; June 10, 1918

70 memo; conscientious objectors; June 14, 1918

71 memo; alien enemies and allied alien enemies; July 15, 1918

72 memo; conscientious objectors; July 30, 1918

73 memo; certificate for conscientious objectors; August 2, 1918

74 memo; conscientious objectors; September 4, 1918

75 memo; Regulations of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance; September 20, 1918

76 memo; place of confinement of conscientious objectors convicted by General Court-Martial; September 21, 1918

77 memo; Index-Digest of Recent Publications and Decisions; September 27, 1918

78 memo; Decisions of Comptroller of the Treasury; September-October 1918

79 memo; treatment of conscientious objectors; October 2, 1918

80 memo; report on aliens; October 5, 1918

81 memo; Index – Digest to Recent Publications and Decisions; October 14, 1918

82 memo; permission for conscientious objectors not to wear uniforms; October 28, 1918

83 memo; alien enemy status of subjects of Turkey and of Bulgaria; October 30, 1918

84 memo; extension of farm furloughs for conscientious objectors; November 1, 1918

85 memo; concerning segregated status of allied alien citizens; November 4, 1918

86 memo; applying appellate review principles to military cases, including determination of suicide cases; November 6, 1918

87 memo; structure of the Board of Review, Military Justice Division; November 6, 1918

88 memo; War Department telegram concerning compulsory military service of U. S. citizens in France, and French citizens in the U. S.; November 9, 1918

89 memo; War Department telegram cancelling inductions into the Army because of the Armistice; November 11, 1918

90 memo; War Department telegram directing that the U. S. Railroad Administration should stop enroute all inducted men not yet arrived at army mobilization camp; the President directs that they are discharged; November 11, 1918

91 memo; War Department telegram to all Governors on the classification of men who have reached their 37th birthday; November 11, 1918

92 memo; War Department telegram to all Governors concerning questionnaires sent to men who had reached their 37th birthday; November 13, 1918

93 memo; Weekly Service to the Field of Notes on Administration of Military Justice, with Cumulative Index for December, Part Two; December 1918

94 memo; non-declarant alien claiming exemption: mistake of local board; 1918

95 memo; transportation of alien enemies to be charged to the Department of Justice; [1918?]

96 memo; Index of Recent Publications and Decisions; [1918?]

97 memo; Index of Opinions of the Judge Advocate General of the Army; [1918?]

98 memo; Index of Mimeograph Opinions; [1918?]

99 memo; insurance opinions; [1918?]

100 memo; corrected pages to be substituted for inaccurate pages of “The Meuse-Argonne Battle”; May 1, 1919
101 memo; antityphoid inoculation; December 1, 1919
102 memo; Memorandum of Activities, Base Section No. 5
103 memo; Revision of the Manual for Courts-Martial; June 29, 1920
104 report; Secret: Summary of Intelligence, Changes in German order of Battle, February 7, 1918; February 8, 1918
105 report; Secret: Summary of Intelligence, Western Front, March 31, 1918; April 1, 1918
106 report; Confidential No. 93: Summary of Information, Changes in German order of Battle, July 1, 1918; July 2, 1918
107 report; Notes on Operations—D: The Meuse-Argonne Operation, with map (removed and placed in Map File Drawer); November 20, 1918
108 report; Notes on Operations—C: Reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient, with map (removed and placed in Map File Drawer); [November 20, 1919?]
109 report; Talk to Group No. 1, A.E.F. Press Special, by A. M. Dobie, Major, General Staff, Paris; April 5, 1919
110 report; Notes on Operations—B: Vicinity of Chateau Thierry and the Vesle River, with map (removed and placed in Map File Drawer); [April 8, 1919]
111 report; Atelier de Mehun-sur-Yevre, Optical Repair Division; April 9, 1919
112 report; Atelier de Mehun-sur-Yevre, Small Arms and Machine Gun Division;
April 9, 1919

113 report; M.T.C. Reconstruction Park 772, U.S.A.P.O. # 772, France: Mess Halls of the Enlisted Men’s Mess; April 9, 1919

114 report; address by Brig. General S. D. Rockenbach to “Newspaper Men of the A.E.F.” at Headquarters, Base Section No. 1, A.P.O. 701, France; April 10, 1919

115 report; “Synopsis of the Growth of the M.T.C. 1917-18-19” from the Motor Transport Corps, SOS., Base Section No. 2, France; April 11, 1919

116 report; “Schedule of arrangements for inspection of activities at Base Section No. 2 by party of visiting newspaper representatives” at headquarters, Base Section #2, Services of Supply, A.E.F., France; April 11, 1919

117 report; G-5, Training Section, General Staff, G. H. Q., France, with map (removed and placed in Map File Drawer); April 13, 1919

118 report; A. E. F. Press Special, Group No. 1, Bulletin No. 8, Schedule for April 15th;
April 14, 1919

119 report; “Facts and Figures Showing the Activities of Base Section Number One,
St. Nazaire, France; [1919?]

120 report; “‘Facts’ about Base Section No. 2, Bordeaux, France,” by Brig. General
R. D. Walsh; [1919?]

121 report; Salvage Service, B. S. 2, by Major Roy D. Jones, Base Salvage Officer; [1919?]

122 report; Bassens Terminal, by Lt. Colonel W. J. Riess; [1919?]

123 report; Beau Desert Hospital Center, by Lt. Colonel H. W. Jones; [1919?]

124 report; Bordeaux Embarkation Camp Genicart, by Colonel L. S. Ryan; [1919?]

125 report; A. P. O. 705, by Major J. H. Knox; [1919?]

126 report; Notes on Operations—A: The American Expeditionary Forces prior to July 15, 1918, with two maps (one small map kept with report and one large map placed in Map File Drawer), by Brig. General Fox Conner; [1919?]

127 report; The Operations Section (G-3), Organization and Duties, by Brig. General Fox Conner; [1919?]

128 report; “Description: Atelier de Mehun-sur-Yevre, Ordnance Repair Shops, A. P. O. 741,” with map (removed and placed in Map File Drawer); [1919?]

129 report; Refrigerating Plant No. 1, by 2nd Lieutenant F. P. Cruikshank; [1919?]

130 report; Camp St. Sulpice, by Colonel E. J. McMahon; [1919?]

131 Judge Advocate General (JAG) Department; opinions; June 1918

132 JAG Department; opinions; June 1918

133 JAG Department; opinions; July 1918

134 JAG Department; opinions; July 1918

135 JAG Department; opinions; July 1918

136 JAG Department; opinions; August 1918

137 JAG Department; opinions; August 1918

138 JAG Department; opinions; September 1918

139 JAG Department; opinions; September 1918

140 JAG Department; opinions; October 1918

141 JAG Department; opinions; “Weekly Service to the Field of Opinions of the Judge Advocate General of the Army, with Cumulative Index, together with Notes on Administration of Military Justice, Decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury, Recent Publications and Decisions of Courts, Regulations of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance”; November 16, 1918

142 JAG Department; opinions; December 1918

143 JAG Department; opinions; Peyton Cochran’s handwritten notes concerning military cases; October 4, 1919

144 pamphlet; “Course of Instruction for Medical Officers of the National Guard and Officers’ Reserve Corps at Medical Officers’ Training Camps”; May 5, 1917

145 pamphlet; “Instruction for the Preparation of Army Pay Rolls”; 1917

146 pamphlet; “Sanitary Regulations and Control of Communicable Diseases;
August 10, 1917

147 pamphlet; “Regulations for the Uniform of the United States Army”; August 15, 1917

148 pamphlet; “The War Risk Insurance Act”; [1918]

149 pamphlet; “Price List of Clothing and Equipage”; August 31, 1918

150 pamphlet; “Allowances of Ammunition for Coast Artillery Target Practice”;
April 30, 1918

151 pamphlet; “Management of the American Soldier”; [1918?]

152 pamphlet; “Old Glory Waves in Vieux Bordeaux” by Lt. Colonel Lloyd Collis;
April 6, 1919

153 pamphlet; “Notes on Staff Organizations, A. E. F.”; 1919

154 postcards; 27 postcards collected from France, Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland; [1919-1920]

155 photographs; 18 photographs of World War I post-war scenes: battlefields, weapons, buildings, cities; and an issue of The Stars and Stripes [n. d.] containing photo images of World War I with explanatory captions; [1919?]

[All of the maps listed below are stored in the Library Map File Drawer, except for a small map # 166
which is stored with the rest of the Peyton Cochran Collection in the archives box.]

156 map; Location of Training Activities, Army Schools, Langres; 1917-1919

157 map; Map Showing Relation of Operations of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th, 28th, 32nd, and 42nd U. S. Divisions to the General Advance in the “Second Battle of the Marne”;
April 8, 1919

158 map; Map Showing Distribution of U. S. Forces on Aug. 9, 1918; April 13, 1919

159 map; Map to Illustrate the Offensive of the St. Mihiel Salient; September 1918

160 map; Map of St. Mihiel Offensive, Showing Daily Position of Front Line; May 24, 1919

161 map; Map to Illustrate the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, First, Second, and Last Phases;
To Accompany Report of the Commander In Chief; November 20, 1918

162 map; Map of Meuse-Argonne Offensive Showing Daily Position of Front Line;
May 24, 1919

163 map; Order of Battle on Western Front, 11 AM, Nov. 11, 1918; Secret Map Room, G-3,
G.H.Q.; 1919

164 map; Map Showing Lateral Railroads, Railroads As of 1918; [1919]

165 map; Map of Bordeaux and Vicinity Showing Lines of Communication and AEF Activities; February 22, 1919

166 map; Map of France Showing Ports, depots, Regulating Stations and Lines of Communication; 1919 [small map, stored in archives box with the rest of the Peyton Cochran Collection]

167 map; First Map of the New Europe, with Smaller Map Showing Monarchical Europe in 1914; [1919]

168 map; Map of the New Europe with Summary of the Treaty of Peace, and Treaty Terms Given Austria; [1919]

169 map; Nouvelle Carte de France, Belgique, Bords du Rhin, Suisse, etc.; [1919]

170 map; Layout of Camp U. S. Troops A. P. O. 741, Ordnance Repair Shops; [1919]

171 miscellaneous; college notebook for history class in Cochran’s handwriting, financial settlement papers, legal case, Chattanooga Public Library acknowledgement letter; [1898?] - 1927



Series in Collection
Correspondence, Personal
Letters around 1912 where Cochran discusses the candidacy of Gov. Wilson for president (he is the manager of his campaign in the 10th Congressional district; he solicits support for Wilson and discusses Wilson’s qualifications—as scholar in history and politics, as uniter of the party; about Wilson’s election to presidency; about Cochran’s candidacy for one of the Assistant Attorney General’s office (he visited Wilson about it and found him “very unresponsive” unlike Secretary Bryan and Secretary Osborn (March 6, 1914). [Anne Doub is his sister, or his wife Susie’s sister]; went to court in Cochran vs. Cochran [?] ((May 14, 1915) over land around Western State; Albert Doub writes letter about America’s Germania-phobia and his own Anglophobia, and about his hope that Wilson will keep his head and not go to war; toured Paris after the war and describes it—shelled, demolished buildings, also describes intact buildings and places of historical interest, describes the cold and rain in France, general uncomfortable circumstances, writes of optimistic, forward-facing attitude of French, describes the devastation of loss of so many young men on a country’s future; was hospitalized for what he described as either bronchitis or the flu—high temperatures in the afternoons; writes of depression and homesickness—longing for home and wife and children, is concerned about George—thinks he is not looking well in the pictures she sent; writes about a July 14th parade in Paris and his soon return home.
Correspondence, Military
This series consists of letters and telegrams concerning Peyton Cochran’s appointment as major to the Judge Advocate General’s Department; discharge from duties in France; acceptance of appointment as Lieutenant Colonel while in JAG’s office in Washington, DC.; request for article from Virginia Law Review; his request for discharge; leave of absence
Official Military Documents: Personal Records
ID card; “Personal Report and Statement of Preferences for All Officers”; 1 pay record; ration cards; physical examination for discharge and appointment to Officers’ Reserve Corps; appointment to Officers’ Reserve Corps
Official Military Documents: Memos
Legal: opinions and directives concerning such subjects as how to define and treat conscientious objectors (with respect but segregate them) (several of these), as well as a directive to give them a psychological examination (discharge if found to have “mental deficiency or derangement”), also court martial if attitude is sullen or insincere, or action is rebellious. And later, instructions to segregate them at Fort Leavenworth, KS, and in regard to those furloughed to agricultural or industrial work, and a Presidential Order of March 20, 1918 which designates forms of service for those who are conscientious objectors, need to be presented with a certificate so designating them, proper to censor their mail, what type of uniform to wear, instructions for Mennonites; the insane; cases of desertion and absence without leave; when to discharge a soldier because of number of dependents or if a combatant alien; what to do about enemy-alien soldiers or their application for naturalization ; those charged with crime to be handled under military jurisdiction (except where offense is serious and has civil penalties; fraudulent enlistment of minors; instructions to keep some info from the newspapers; what to do about borderline medical cases; war risk insurance; “Index-Digest of Recent Publications and Decisions-Sept. 27, 1918 & Oct. 14, 1918; “Decisions of Comptroller of the Treasury”; cases of suicide; eligibility for draft of French citizens in U. S. and vice versa; a few memos pertaining to change of procedures once armistice signed on Nov. 11, 1918, including president directs that all draft stop now that armistice signed; notes on administration of military justice with cumulative index; insurance opinions; Index of Opinions of the Judge Advocate General of the Army;
Official Military Documents: Reports
Optical Repair Division—report on repair and preservation of optical equipment used in the aiming and firing of artillery; description of ordnance repair shops; brief history, and facts and figures, of Base Section No. 1; facts about Base Section No. 2; facts about the Motor Transport Corps; facts about Salvage Service; Services of Supply-time schedule; facts/history about Beau Desert Hospital Center, Camp St. Sulpice; Bassens Terminal; Bordeaux Embarkation Camp; A. P. O. 705; Notes on Operations—B, Vicinity of Chateau Thierry and the Vesle River, G-5, Training Section, General Staff, G. H. Q.; A. E. F. Press Schedule Bulletin, The Operations Section, G-3, organization and duties; Notes on Operations—A, The American Expeditionary Forces Prior to July 15, 1918; Mess Halls of the Enlisted Men’s Mess
Non-legal: document labeled “Secret” which communicates the battle strategy of the Germans (from captured documents) which led to their success under General von Hutier at Riga on Sept. 3, 1917, and a summary of the official communiqués from the British, French, Italian, and Germans; another “Secret”: evaluation of success of German break through the Western Front at Picardy on March 21, 1918; Refrigeration Plant No. 1 (for storing frozen meats to be sent to soldiers); mess halls; why Brest was selected as landing place of U. S. troops in France 0“Confidential”: intelligence info, including some from captured German document; notes on Meuse-Argonne Operation;
Judge Advocate General Office opinions, decisions
Maps
1. Order of Battle on Western Front, 11 AM, Nov. 11, 1918
2. Bordeaux and Vicinity, Lines of Communication and A.E.F. Activities, Feb. 22, 1919
3. Map Showing Distribution of U.S. Forces on Aug. 9, 1918; Map Room April 13, 1919
4. St. Mihiel Offensive, Map Showing Daily Position of Front Line [Sept. 1918]; Map Room, May 24, 1919
5. Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Map Showing Daily Position of Front Line
6. Map of France, Showing Ports, Depots, Regulating Stations and Lines of Communication; printed by 29th Engrs., U.S. Army, 1919
7. The First Map of the New Europe; contains smaller map contrast entitled Old Map of Monarchial Europe 1914
8. The Rand McNally Map of New Europe; contains insets entitled Explanatory Key and Summary of Treaty Terms Given Austria; page containing the map also has section entitled Summary of the Treaty of Peace
9. Novelle Carte de France, Belgique, Bords du Rhin, Suisse (map in French)
Pamphlets
Folder 1 1917-99-99 “Course of Instruction for Medical Officers of the National Guard and Officers’ Reserve Corps at Medical Officers’ Training Camps”
Folder 2 1917-99-99 “Instructions for the Preparation of Army Pay Rolls”
Folder 3 1917-99-99 “Regulations for the Uniform of the United States Army”
Folder 4 1917-99-99 “Sanitary Regulations and Control of Communicable Diseases”
Folder 5 1918-07-01 “The War Risk Insurance Act, with Amendments Prior to July 1, 1918”
Folder 6 1918-08-31 “Price List of Clothing and Equipage”
Folder 7 1918-99-99 “Allowances of Ammunition for Coast Artillery Target Practice”
Folder 8 1918-99-99 “Management of the American Soldier” by David C. Shanks
Folder 9 1919-04-06 “Old Glory Waves in Vieux Bordeaux” by Lt. Colonel Lloyd Collis
Folder 10 1919-99-99 “Notes on Staff Organizations”

Peyton Cochran was an attorney who lived in Staunton, Virginia, at 118 Church St., with his wife Susie Baldwin (Robertson) Cochran. Shortly after the United States entered World War I, he sought an appointment to the office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) and received it; on July 15, 1918, at the age of 38, he reported for duty in Washington, D.C. In October of that year he was made chief of the Death and Dismissal section of the JAG office. Early in 1919 he was sent to France to work in the office of the JAG for the American Expeditionary Force. He worked in France from February 7 until July 31, 1919, when he returned to Washington, D.C. There he reported for duty on August 15 and was once again assigned as chief of the Death and Dismissal section of the JAG office, where he remained until his discharge in March of 1920. He started his military service as a Major and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel, receiving the latter rank in September 1919. After his discharge from the Army, he returned to private law practice at his office on 1-3 Barristers Row in Staunton, Virginia.

Cochran was born on April 30, 1880, in Staunton, Virginia, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampden Sydney College in 1901, a master’s degree from Princeton University in 1902, and a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1904. Cochran had contact with Woodrow Wilson in both direct and indirect ways. While a student at Princeton, Cochran took at least one class from Professor Wilson. In 1912 when Wilson ran for president of the United States on the Democratic ticket, Cochran served as Wilson’s campaign manager in the Tenth Congressional District, which then included Staunton and Augusta County. Early in the year of 1912, while the upcoming election was still in the primary season, Cochran organized a group of 200 Stauntonians who took a train to hear Wilson’s speech in the state capitol of Richmond, VA—Cochran himself introduced Wilson to the large delegation. In November of 1912 after the election, Cochran had a personal visit with the President-elect. Afterwards Cochran wrote that a New York newspaper had reported that “Col. Gordon and Mr. Cochean [sic], old friends of the President had been to visit him.” Cochran had indirect contact with Wilson as the former served under his Commander-in-Chief as an officer in the U. S. Army during World War I, as described above. Cochran worked as an attorney from 1920 until 1969. He died on February 12, 1969, and was buried in Staunton, VA.

Folder

Cochran’s personal correspondence begins in 1911 and 1912 when he was establishing his law practice in Staunton. As a supporter of the Democrat Woodrow Wilson’s bid for the 1912 primary election and general election, these letters give a local perspective into national politics. The letters also document his seeking after letters of recommendation for a post in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Office after World War I broke out, and then, after he received his appointment and orders to leave for France, his descriptions to his wife Susie of his overseas experience. He describes traveling on board the U. S. S. George Washington, touring various battlefields and shelled areas, the visit of the king and queen of Belgium to Gen. Pershing’s headquarters, his stay in a hospital, his impressions of a July 14 parade in France, the longing of the soldiers to return home, and other observations. His military correspondence contains letters and telegrams concerning his appointment as Major to the Judge Advocate General’s office, recommendations regarding courts-martial, his recommendation of A. G. Robertson for the JAG Office, and personal letters between officers. His personal military records contain identification cards, ration cards, a pay slip, and requests for leave of absence.

The memos section is the largest series in the collection. These originated from government offices, mostly the JAG Department, and convey information to armed forces personnel concerning military issues such as conscientious objectors, aliens in American military, court martial, war-induced mental illness, desertion, absence without leave, war risk insurance, requests for discharge based on number of dependents, and other subjects.

The reports series includes a few documents marked “Secret” and transmit information obtained from German troops, and other documents concerning battle analyses and descriptions of wartime facilities. The Judge Advocate General Department’s opinions contain many pages of condensed legal opinions on the topics mentioned above in the memos, as well as many other issues.

The pamphlets are written on such topics as Army pay roll, War Risk Insurance Act, military uniform regulations, sanitary and communicable diseases information, and others. The photograph series shows Cochran in uniform as well as military and civilian sites in Europe. Cochran obtained postcards from Europe, and these depict scenes from France, Belgium, England, and Scotland. This collection has fifteen maps detailing battles such as the St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne campaign, maps of France, the Order of Battle on Armistice Day, and “New Europe.” One map—“Nouvelle Carte de France”—has hand-drawn lines and handwritten symbols and notes in English. The folder marked “miscellaneous” contains a handwritten college notebook from Cochran’ school days.