Samuel D. Rockenbach papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
345 Letcher Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450-0304
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jeffrey S. Kozak
Phone: (540) 464-7516
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7089
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Preferred citation:

Samuel D. Rockenbach Papers, 1889-1945. MS 0001. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
3 cubic feet 6 manuscript boxes and oversized material
Creator:
Rockenbach, Samuel D. (Samuel Dickerson), 1869-1952
Abstract:
This collection consists of papers (1889-1945) related to United States Army officer Samuel Dickerson Rockenbach who is notable for his role in the establishment of the United States Army Tank Corps during World War I and his post-War work in the development of tank warfare.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Samuel D. Rockenbach Papers, 1889-1945. MS 0001. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

The Samuel D. Rockenbach papers consist of papers (1,000 items) that document Rockenbach's career in the United States Army. Topics include:

  • His duties as Engineer officer in Cuba (1898-1902)
  • His duties in the Phillippines (1903-1910)
  • His duties France as Chief of the Tank Corps, American Expeditionary Forces (1917-1919)
  • His postwar work with the Tank Corps until his retirement in 1933
The collection contains the following:
  • Correspondence and memoranda (1889-1945)
  • Military orders (1891-1933)
  • Photographs
  • Miscellaneous personal documents (certificates, travel souvenirs, etc.)
  • Tank Corps material, including operations reports (1918), numerous photographs of early tank designs and tank maneuvers, drawings of tank designs, and reports and minutes of the Inter-Allied Tank Committee.
  • Letters and photographs documenting the early army career of George S. Patton, Jr., who served under Rockenbach during World War I (ca. 15 items). Other notable correspondents are John J. Pershing, Leonard Wood, Douglas MacArthur, James G. Harbord, and Charles P. Summerall.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel Dickerson Rockenbach was born on January 27, 1869 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He graduated from VMI in 1889 and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1891. He married Emma Baldwin on October 19, 1898.

Prior to World War I, Rockenbach saw tours of duty in Cuba, the Philippines, various United States posts, and served as a military observer in Germany in 1914.

He arrived in France in June 1917 with the American Expeditionary Force, and from 1917 to 1919 served as Chief of the newly formed Tank Corps. He was notable for his role in the establishment of the Tank Corps and for his work in the development of tank warfare.

At the end of the War, Rockenbach continued his work with tanks, serving as the Army's Chief of the Tank Corps and as Commander of the Tank School at Camp Meade, Maryland. He retired to Brownsville, Texas in 1933 and died in 1952 at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Acquisition information:
The collection was received from the estate of Samuel D. Rockenbach in 1953.
Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 8 series:
1. Correspondence and memoranda, 1889-1945
2. Military orders, 1891-1933
3. Subject files
4. Articles by Rockenbach
5. Speeches and lectures
6. Personal file
7. Bound volumes and printed material
8. Photographs

Physical location:
Manuscripts stacks and Oversized Case 1, Drawer 5
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard