Through Lines: A Glimpse into the Formative Years of General William L. Mitchell

Guest Post by Matthew G. Sadowski

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he initial focus of this research was to ascertain why 10-year-old William L. Mitchell (Willie, a.k.a. Billy) was sent in the winter of 1890 to attend a small private Episcopal grammar school at Racine College in Racine, Wisconsin. Willie was born into a family of great wealth and lineage, so the reasoning is not initially clear. After all, his grandfather, Alexander Mitchell, who had passed away in 1887, had been the wealthiest man in Wisconsin. Willie’s grandmother, Martha Reed Mitchell, traced her ancestors to the Mayflower. Willie’s father John L. Mitchell was a decorated Civil War veteran, a captain of banking, and an influential politician. With such a pedigree, it is reasonable to expect that Willie would have been sent to some prestigious school along the eastern seaboard of the United States, or to the land of his birth, France.[1]

The question “why Racine College” is answered with input from John Magerus, Archivist of its successor the DeKoven Foundation. From 1859 until his death in 1879, the foundation’s namesake, Rev. James DeKoven, was a highly respected and influential national authority in the Episcopal faith and, by association and design, so too was Racine College. From 1852 through the year of its closing in 1933, about 3,000 students attended the grammar school, and over 300 students graduated from the college. During 1869-1870 school year alone, the grammar school and college welcomed 220 students from 21 states and Cuba. 

Racine College, 1892

Racine College had a reputation for grooming future statesmen, politicians, explores, generals, and clerics. Some inquiries, attendees and graduates include: Thomas “Tad” Lincoln, son of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln (inquiry was made by Mary Todd Lincoln)[2]; Commander Earl Winfield Spencer, Jr., established the San Diego naval air station in 1917 and the first husband of the Duchess of Windsor Bessie Wallis Warfield; Ernest de Koven Leffinwell, polar explorer and prognosticator of Alaska’s north slope oil fields.[3] With such a reputation the grammar school at Racine College was a fitting institution for the son of a wealthy Wisconsin businessman, State Senator, and future member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

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ssorted correspondence during Willie’s time at the grammar school includes letters written to his mother Harriet Danforth Becker Mitchell, and his father.[4] What was anticipated to reveal additional clues as to the reasoning for choosing Racine College, rather, provides a fascinating window into the life of an inquisitive young boy, and a foreshadowing of certain traits of the man he would become, General William (Billy) L. Mitchell.

Letter from Willie to John Mitchell, May 15, 1894 

Willie’s earliest letters (January, 1890) are almost exclusively to his mother, referring to her as Moma, Mama, Mamama, and Mrs. Mitchell. Through these letters some interests are revealed, most likely similar to many other young boys of the times. Willie liked ice skating, fishing, wrestling (with the older boys), caramels, knifes, playing at the beach, sailing, going on hikes in the surrounding fields, horses, playing baseball, locomotives and exploring Racine’s downtown and harbor. Willie also liked merry-go-rounds, stickers, oranges, tangerines, sleigh rides and apples. As Willie ages, he begins writing directly to his father at times, referring to him as Papa or Father. A letter dated May 15, 1894, reveals additional [5] activities, however, they may not be typical of a 14-year-old boy in 1894. Willie writes to his father of playing on the school’s baseball and tennis teams and preparing for a performance as part of the school’s dramatic club.

Throughout Willie’s letters, he also reveals activities reflective of a boy with unique interest, and a life of privilege. As some examples, Willie nurses a distressed rabbit, or is captivated by sinking or sunken ships in the City of Racine’s harbor and just offshore from the college. He writes of sailing on the lake, and a fascination with steam ships and locomotives. He mentions his interest in birds, in general, and the concern for the well-being of his chickens, in particular. In an early letter to his mother, Willie asks for his typewriter to be sent to him. In another letter he asks for money to purchase leggings and a knife from an “Indian” that frequents the school’s campus along with other peddlers like the Py [sic] man.

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Xemplifying the privileges afforded to Willie through his family, he writes of frequent meet-ups with his parents at the Racine Junction train depot. Within Willie’s letters is a long essay on his summer 1889 vacation to Yellowstone. In a letter of 1892, he mentions meeting his father and J.I. Case, a wealthy and influential Racine businessman and politician, and walking with them to Racine’s downtown. Showing an awareness of a recent economic turmoil, in a letter to his mother dated October 20, 1893, Willie asks if the bank would “resume.”[6]

Over the years at school, as part of the choir, Willie sings for U.S. President Grover Cleveland in 1893. In 1894 he writes of conversing with decorated Civil War veteran Brigadier General Harrison C. Hobart about his mother’s health. He attends the Racine opera. He visits Mr. Case’s Hickory Grove where there are horse stables and practice facility. In June of 1895, his final year in grammar school, at the age of 15 years, he finalizes his reservations for a summer tour of Europe following his graduation.[7]

While his letters and other communication provide a picture of the interests, development, maturing and grooming of a well-rounded young man of the upper social echelon, Willie’s letters also offer hints of certain traits which surface again as General William L. Mitchell.

Willie's Ice Skate Diagram

His early letters to his mother are, at times, very specific in detail. In a letter dated January 30, 1890, 10-year-old Willie instructs his mother as to a part of his ice skates that has broken, but he also draws a detailed picture, presumedly in his mind leaving no doubt as to the part his mother is to procure.

In another letter dated just three days later, Willie gets very specific as to how to find typewriter ink in his bedroom at home. Willie writes: “Don’t bring my typewriter unless you can find my ink… do not buy any I think if you look all over the bureo [sic] on the left hand side you go into that door that you go in from the stairs or standing with your back towards my bed do not open type writer [sic] box that is on my type writer [sic] you can open it all you want but don’t put in the ink…”[8]

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eminiscent of Willie’s early letters, directions are found in the instruction General Billy Mitchell provides in a letter dated March 20, 1920 to Colonel Thurman Bane, Chief Engineer, at Cook Field at Dayton, Ohio. Gen. Mitchell uses most of the letter to provide interpretation of how staff should be preforming, how innovation in design should be achieved, and how goals should be met (i.e. how to find the typewriter ink in his bedroom). Then, Gen. Mitchell concludes by announcing to Colonel Bane that he’ll be proposing a new all metal high-altitude bomber and, in the letter, draws a picture with his word of what he is proposing (i.e. the ice skate drawing): “I’m going to propose a new high altitude all-metal ship with Turbo Booster, at least two engines, central nacelle hermetically sealed, with heat, etc., and electric controls, a capable of remaining afloat on the falter, -- this ship to be used for attack of airships and surveillance at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet or over.” [9]

Another throughline trait is Wille’s / Gen. Mitchell’s penchant for lists. Referring back to the January 30, 1890 letter, he provides an immersive paragraph amounting to one long list of 8 demands/requests, three of which are for stamps, one directs the type of insulating paper to use on his chicken coop, one requests a visit by his mother, another a letter “as soon as you can”, one instructs his mother to bring his typewriter, and another is a request for his knife with instructions on what to lubricate it with.

Referring back to his February 2, 1890 letter, the list continues with requests for oil, a key chain, a pocket compass, a knife, oranges, tangerines, apples, caramels, stamps, stamps, and stamps because “got to have them. I’m in an offel [sic] hurry.”

Many of the letters, from his youth or adult years, projects a confidence that at times exudes arrogance. Surely a result of the upbringing of a boy who is mindful of his grandfather’s achievements, his grandmother’s lineage, his father’s powers of persuasion, and his mother’s steady guidance and patience.

IN SUMMARY

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Portrait of Brigadier General William Mitchell

s Willie’s parents expected, the grammar school at Racine College helped provide a platform on which their son could receive and foundational education fitting the family’s stature. The college’s grammar school lived up to its mission: “Attractive and full of encouragement as is the prospect afforded by a material foundation so substantial, so large and well appointed; and inspiring as educational achievements and possibilities of Racine College are, the highest interest cannot but attach to it as a school and center of blended learning and religion, for the Northwest. Here the church and the school, worship and work, moral and religious training, scholarship and culture stand side by side as “one and inseparable.”[10]

As a man, Billy took the confidence in self that he gained from family, and his education at grammar school, and applied it to his life endeavors, sometimes to a fault, often at the expense of effective interpersonal and professional communication, but always true to his convictions.

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[1] UW-Milwaukee, Fall 2022, History 450G, Mitchell family biography, pages 7, 15, 17, and 21.

[2] John Magerus, communication with Matthew G. Sadowski, December 8, 2022.

[3] Racine College, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racine_College.

[4] Mitchell, General William Correspondence, 1888, 1893-1904, 1927. Micro Film 293, 1 Reel, Barcode 89088764600, UW-Madison Library, Wisconsin Historical Society Archives.

[5] Douglas C. Waller, A Question of Loyalty: General Billy Mitchell and the Court-Martial That Gripped the Nation (New York: Harper Collins, 2004).

[6] Milwaukee Public Library-MPL Digital Library, General William Mitchell Letters, May 15, 1894.

[7] Milwaukee Public Library-MPL Digital Library, General William Mitchell Letters, Frank C. Clark’s General Ticket and Tourist Agency, receipt, June 4, 1895.

[8] UW-Madison Library, Wisconsin Historical Society Archives. Mitchell, General William Correspondence, 1888, 1893-1904, 1927. Microfilm 293, 1 Reel, Barcode 89088764600.

[9] UW-Milwaukee, Fall 2022, History 450G, digital class materials, Letter from Billy Mitchell to Therman Bane, March 20, 1920.

[10] Dekoven Foundation, Archives of Racine College, Circular of the Grammar School Department of Racine College, 39^th Year, for the Academic Year, 1891-92 (Racine: Journal Printing Co., Printers, 1891).