USMA Class of 1872. Cullum No. 2413.
Fifty-seventh Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, June 11, 1926, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1926.
Stanhope English Blunt
No. 2413. Class of 1872.
Died, March 22, 1926, at Palm Beach, Florida, aged 75 years.
Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt, United States Army, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, September 29, 1850, the son of Colonel Charles E. Blunt, Corps of Engineers, United States Army (Class of 1846 U.S.M.A.) and Penelope Bethune English, daughter of Major Thomas Stanhope English, Marine Corps United States Navy. He was descended from a long line of New England ancestors, the first of the Blunt family in this country settling at Andover, Massachusetts in 1634; several generations later one of them, who graduated from Harvard College in 1727, became a clergyman in Newcastle, New Hampshire and his descendants were ship owners and masters in that town and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His grandfather moved to Brooklyn, New York about one hundred years ago where he engaged in business and finally became President of a bank in that city. By marriages Colonel Blunt was descended also from families of prominence in the early history of New England, among them those of Frost, Pepperell, Sheafe, Marsh, Sherburne, Faneuil, Bethune and English of Portsmouth and Boston.
He attended public and private schools in Boston and then his father being stationed at Oswego, New York, graduated from the High School of that city in 1868 and that summer receiving an appointment to West Point, entered the Academy on September 1, 1868 in the Class of 1872.
At the following January examination he was head of the class, an honor he retained throughout the course in mathematics but never quite reached again in general standing, but always taking high rank he finally graduated June 14, 1872, number three in a class of 57 members. While a cadet he was prominent in the class, being a Cadet Sergeant, a Cadet Lieutenant and during his first class year a Cadet Acting Assistant Professor, teaching French for a year to sections of the then fourth class. During his first class camp he was the senior Hop Manager and much interested in all the social activities of the class.
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 13th United States Infantry he first served at Camp Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah, during the winter of 1872-1873, part of the time with his Company and part as Post Adjutant. During the following summer he was Assistant Engineer on an expedition of exploration and survey of northwestern Wyoming, including the then little known Yellowstone National Park and the following winter was in Omaha, Nebraska at Headquarters Department of the Platte engaged in preparation of the expedition's report.
Promoted 1st Lieut. in March 1874, he was ordered to Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming and to the command of a company of the 13th Infantry, but in July was again detached and assigned to engineering duty in charge of a party engaged in surveys West of the 100th Meridian in Colorado and New Mexico.
Having been transferred to the Ordnance Department, he was in January 1875, ordered to Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for eighteen months as an Assistant at that Arsenal was connected with the manufacture of small arms ammunition and with other work as an Ordnance officer.
From August 1876, to August 1880, he was at the Military Academy as an instructor in Mathematics and for the last two years of that period instructed also in Ordnance and the Science of Gunnery. While on duty at West Point he was for two years Treasurer of the Army Mess (or Club) and for two years Secretary of the Society of Graduates of the Academy.
Promoted to be Captain of Ordnance he was in September 1880, ordered to St. Paul, Minnesota as Chief Ordnance Officer of the Department of Dakota and a few months later with the headquarters moved to Fort Snelling, Minnesota and was also appointed Inspector of Rifle Practice of the Department.
In this dual capacity he visited many of the Military posts in Montana and the Dakotas and specializing in small arms firing became an expert shot, participating in and conducting different matches and department competitions, winning various prizes and medals and preparing many drafts for department orders which were issued for the instruction and guidance of troops in the Department of Dakota.
His activities becoming widely known he was in the fall of 1883, upon the recommendation of General Terry, commanding the Department of Dakota and of General Benet, the Chief of Ordnance of the Army, selected by the Secretary of War to prepare a manual or tactics for the instruction of the Army in rifle firing, which upon its completion under the title Rifle and Carbine Firing was adopted in January 1885, and under the revision which he made and which was called Firing Regulations for Small Arms continued as the authorized guide for the Army and National Guard for nearly fifteen years.
In November 1884, he was selected by Lieut. General Sheridan as Inspector of Small Arms Practice for the Army, ordered to Washington and a year later appointed by General Sheridan a Lieutenant Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on his personal staff, serving in these capacities until General Sheridan's death in August 1888.
He continued for a year in Washington with General Schofield in charge of rifle firing and during this period also had charge, under General Schofield, of the handling of the parade held in New York in April 1889, in celebration of the centennial of the Inauguration of President Washington, a parade composed of nearly 50,000 troops of the Army, Navy and National Guard of many states.
In July 1889, he was relieved from duty in Washington, the official general order to that effect from the Headquarters of the Army stating in part Captain Blunt's services in connection with the development of an effective system of rifle practice in the Army, have been of the highest importance and his name will long be honorably connected with this great advance in the Military service of the country. This terminated a sphere of duty extending over a period of nine years that had brought Captain Blunt, still a young man, to the knowledge and it may also be said to the favorable judgment, of the greater portion of the Army of that day.
In August 1889, he commenced a service of five years at the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts and besides duty there in the manufacture of rifles was inspector at the Colt's factory, Hartford, Connecticut, of the manufacture of pistols and machine guns. He was also a member and the recorder of the Board of Officers which in 1894 selected, after extensive tests, a magazine rifle to replace for the Army the old single loading Springfield. While serving at Springfield he was a delegate to the International Congress of Military Engineers at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, in July 1893, where he presented and read an essay on The Modern Military Rifle.
In the fall of 1894 he was ordered to duty at Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, New York, where he had charge of the gun factory for two and one-half years until March 1897, when though still only a Captain he was selected by General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, for the important command of Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, where he remained for over ten years. His administration included the period of the Spanish War, when in a few months the Arsenal was expanded from an establishment having less than 500 employees to one with over 3,000. He installed the electrical development of its water power, erected shops and other buildings, installed much new machinery including a complete plant for the manufacture of small arms and greatly increased the manufacturing facilities of the Arsenal, while at the same time reducing the cost of its output. If viewed from the expansion of the same Arsenal 20 years later during the World War, this service was not so remarkable, but in the light of that day it was deemed highly commendable. From General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, he received emphatic commendation in several successive annual reports and a report of the Inspector General said in part The extent, variety and excellence of results obtained at this Arsenal, the freedom from scandal or criticism, the general excellent condition of the Arsenal and its readiness for expansion to meet emergencies, reflect great credit upon the commanding officer, Colonel Blunt.
While at Rock Island he was successively promoted Major, Lieut. Colonel and Colonel Ordnance Department, the last commission under date of June 25, 1906. Incidentally he also laid out on the Arsenal Island an eighteen hole golf course, organized a golf club, erected under permit from the Secretary of War and with the club's money, a commodious club house which the government uses for official receptions and similar assemblies and was for ten years President of the club. This non-military service of Colonel Blunt was in some ways of parallel importance with his official work; bringing together the prominent citizens of the three neighboring cities it made of them warm friends for the Arsenal who assisted in the efforts to enhance its importance and increase its efficiency as a government manufacturing establishment. Colonel Blunt was highly esteemed by the people of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
In August 1907, Colonel Blunt returned to the Springfield Armory, this time as its commanding officer, where he remained for five years. During most of this period he was, next to the Chief of Ordnance, the senior officer of the Department and served as President of many boards of officers for promotions, for selection of officers for detail to the Corps and for various other purposes.
On September 1, 1912, he was upon his own application retired from active duty after 44 years of service. General Crozier, Chief of Ordnance, in forwarding his application to the Secretary of War, said in part Colonel Blunt is an able officer, whose services are of the highest value to the Ordnance Department. He has during his forty years' service as an officer, satisfactorily filled many selective positions, requiring skill, ability and good judgment. His retirement will be a loss to the department.
For some years Colonel Blunt occupied himself in travel and in participation in several important civic matters in Springfield, until on April 7, 1917, the day following our declaration of war with Germany, he was ordered back to active service and to duty in the office of the Chief of Ordnance in Washington, where he remained for sixteen months, at first as the Ordnance Department representative on the General Munitions Board of the Council of National Defense and as the representative on the War Industries Board, and after January 1918, as Supervisor of Manufacturing Arsenals, duties that brought him in contact with many prominent men of affairs and required visits of inspection and direction to Arsenals with which he had previously been actively connected. Mr. Frank A. Scott, who had been head of the General Munitions Board and of the War Industries Board, in reporting several years later on these services said in part, The splendid zeal which Colonel Blunt brought to this service, coupled with his experience as an Arsenal commander, his intelligence in dealing with manufacturing and material problems, his tact and resourcefulness and industry and the grave responsibilities which he carried through the long period mentioned, would seem most justly and worthily to entitle him to the recognition of the Distinguished Service Medal.
And Brigadier General C.B. Wheeler, under whom as Acting Chief of Ordnance, much of Colonel Blunt's service had been given also said of the service with the War Industries Board He was untiring in his efforts and I doubt very much if there was at that time available any one person who combined the qualities that were so desirable for such a representative as Colonel Blunt. There was no person in Washington who would have accomplished more than he did in securing raw material of the kind that was needed and at the time it was needed for the plans of the Ordnance Department.
General Wheeler also continued his report Subsequently, when matters had arranged themselves later in the war so that Colonel Blunt's services might be utilized in another equally important direction, he was selected by the Chief of Ordnance for the duty of supervisor of all Arsenals, a position for which he was more than well qualified, as no officer had at that time greater experience and greater capabilities along this line than he. The performance of this duty was excellent in every respect. He was given and accepted the authority that had, theretofore, attached to the Chief of Ordnance in a more personal way and it is to his untiring energy and ability that the Arsenals as a whole throughout the Ordnance Department were able to accomplish what they did accomplish towards the success of the war.
On the conclusion of his war service, Colonel Blunt returned to Springfield and resumed the connection with different civic affairs which had begun while he was still in command of the Armory before his retirement. For five years, he was president of the Springfield Country Club, and for two years President of the Country Club. In 1911 he was elected a trustee of the Springfield Hospital and later served four years as President of the board. He was also for several years Chairman of the Transportation Commission of Springfield; was President of the Boys' Exposition; was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts a trustee of the Monson State Hospital and in 1914 by the Mayor of Springfield a member of the city's Park Commission, being for many years its President. In 1921 he became a member of the Springfield Planning Board participating in the preparation of the plans for city development and in the zoning regulations which were later adopted by the City Council. Since 1922 he has been a member of the Board, appointed by the Council to regulate city signs or billboards.
In 1909 he was elected a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church of Springfield and so continued until his election as a Warden of the church in 1923. He also served for many years as Treasurer of the Parish. To all these varied offices he brought the same attention and efficiency which had characterized his military duty and his services were always eagerly sought after and highly appreciated.
At the first reunion of his class after graduation Blunt was chosen class secretary and continued the duties of that office until his death. He was greatly interested in the class, had been by his classmates early dubbed Old Statistics, always kept its records with accuracy and circulated them among the class at each of its reunions, particularly at the 50th reunion in June 1922, when he furnished very complete statistical records to all surviving members. Following his two years' service as Secretary of the Association of Graduates, while on duty as an instructor at the Academy, he had been interested in the affairs of that organization and for a number of years past had prepared for the Association's annual publication obituary notices of those of his class who had passed away during the successive years. Regarding his work as Class Secretary one of his class recently wrote: The systematic records he kept of the class and from time to time distributed to individual members have been a source of infinite comfort to me. I do not know that I can fully appreciate the amount of time, thought and labor he gave to keeping track of individual members of the class and in bringing information secured into systematic order; but I know that it has extended over more than fifty years; that it has fostered the fraternal spirit of the class and made every one of us a better man; that no living member of the class can recall the name of Blunt without a glow at the heart and that no member of the class can scarcely be recalled by any of us without a simultaneous remembrance of Blunt. I shall carry with pleasure to my grave my load of gratitude for the labor of love he has performed.
Colonel Blunt was much interested in travel and enjoyed the many official journeys he had to take from time to time, always including in them as much sightseeing as the opportunity permitted. While in command of the Springfield Armory he took advantage of a two months' leave of absence for a motor trip abroad with his family, motoring several thousand miles in France and England. Some years later, with his wife, he made a cruise in the Mediterranean, visiting Egypt and returning through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and England. In 1921, again with his wife, he went on a cruise in the Caribbean and in its course made the passage from Havana to Key West by hydroplane, a somewhat unusual experience at that date though more commonplace today.
Before retirement he built a house in Springfield which he had since occupied, though spending some time at the Massachusetts sea shore in summers and at Palm Beach and other Florida resorts in winters.
Colonel Blunt, when a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry, was married on November 18, 1873, at Clinton, New York to Fanny Smyth, daughter of Charles Smyth of Oswego, New York. They had three daughters, the eldest Katherine, graduated at Vassar College in 1898 and after studying at Berlin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago received in 1907 the degree of Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. For some years past she has been Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Home Economics at that University.
The second daughter, Evelyn Bethune, married in 1907, Arthur D. Ficke of Davenport, Iowa; he was a graduate of Harvard University and during the war with Germany was a Lieut. Colonel, Ordnance Department United States Army, serving in Washington and France.
The youngest daughter, Frances Smyth, married in 1910 Lewis E. Tifft of Springfield; a Williams College man who during the war with Germany was a Captain Ordnance Department, United States Army, serving in Washington and in England and France, being Assistant to the Chief Ordnance officer of the 1st Army.
Colonel Blunt was frequently selected by the social clubs to which he belonged for administrative positions, all of which he filled to the apparent satisfaction of his fellow members. He had retained membership in the Metropolitan Club and Army and Navy Club of Washington, the University Club of New York and the Country Club, Nayasset Club, Colony Club and Century Club of Springfield.
He was a member of a number of patriotic societies, including the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, War of 1812, Naval Order of the United States, American Wars, Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Sons of Veterans, American Legion and Military Order of the World War.
He was also a member of the National Geographic Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Army Ordnance Association.
The following Editorial from the Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, is a well merited tribute to the personality and character of Colonel Blunt:
The news of the sudden death in Florida of Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt came as a sad shock to Springfield, with whose interests he had long been identified, both as Commandant of the United States Armory and as a public spirited citizen and leader in civic affairs. Colonel Blunt's interest in Springfield began more than thirty years ago, when, as a captain in the Ordnance Corps, he was stationed in this city. His attractive personality made him exceedingly popular here and he in turn developed a strong liking for the city and its people, which was increased in later years when he returned as commandant of the Armory and upon his retirement, resulted in his selection of this city as his permanent abode.
The qualities which made of Colonel Blunt an especially fine type of military officer persisted after his return to civilian life. Courteous, painstaking, thorough and conscientious in everything he undertook to do, his efforts were usually crowned with success. He was patriotic, as an army officer should be and public spirited to the last degree, always willing to give the best in him for the public welfare and seeking no reward other than the consciousness of duty well performed. Springfield owes much to him and will treasure his memory with the highest regard.
Secretary, Association Of Graduates.
Fifty-seventh Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, June 11, 1926, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1926.
Stanhope English Blunt
No. 2413. Class of 1872.
Died, March 22, 1926, at Palm Beach, Florida, aged 75 years.
Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt, United States Army, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, September 29, 1850, the son of Colonel Charles E. Blunt, Corps of Engineers, United States Army (Class of 1846 U.S.M.A.) and Penelope Bethune English, daughter of Major Thomas Stanhope English, Marine Corps United States Navy. He was descended from a long line of New England ancestors, the first of the Blunt family in this country settling at Andover, Massachusetts in 1634; several generations later one of them, who graduated from Harvard College in 1727, became a clergyman in Newcastle, New Hampshire and his descendants were ship owners and masters in that town and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His grandfather moved to Brooklyn, New York about one hundred years ago where he engaged in business and finally became President of a bank in that city. By marriages Colonel Blunt was descended also from families of prominence in the early history of New England, among them those of Frost, Pepperell, Sheafe, Marsh, Sherburne, Faneuil, Bethune and English of Portsmouth and Boston.
He attended public and private schools in Boston and then his father being stationed at Oswego, New York, graduated from the High School of that city in 1868 and that summer receiving an appointment to West Point, entered the Academy on September 1, 1868 in the Class of 1872.
At the following January examination he was head of the class, an honor he retained throughout the course in mathematics but never quite reached again in general standing, but always taking high rank he finally graduated June 14, 1872, number three in a class of 57 members. While a cadet he was prominent in the class, being a Cadet Sergeant, a Cadet Lieutenant and during his first class year a Cadet Acting Assistant Professor, teaching French for a year to sections of the then fourth class. During his first class camp he was the senior Hop Manager and much interested in all the social activities of the class.
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 13th United States Infantry he first served at Camp Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah, during the winter of 1872-1873, part of the time with his Company and part as Post Adjutant. During the following summer he was Assistant Engineer on an expedition of exploration and survey of northwestern Wyoming, including the then little known Yellowstone National Park and the following winter was in Omaha, Nebraska at Headquarters Department of the Platte engaged in preparation of the expedition's report.
Promoted 1st Lieut. in March 1874, he was ordered to Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming and to the command of a company of the 13th Infantry, but in July was again detached and assigned to engineering duty in charge of a party engaged in surveys West of the 100th Meridian in Colorado and New Mexico.
Having been transferred to the Ordnance Department, he was in January 1875, ordered to Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for eighteen months as an Assistant at that Arsenal was connected with the manufacture of small arms ammunition and with other work as an Ordnance officer.
From August 1876, to August 1880, he was at the Military Academy as an instructor in Mathematics and for the last two years of that period instructed also in Ordnance and the Science of Gunnery. While on duty at West Point he was for two years Treasurer of the Army Mess (or Club) and for two years Secretary of the Society of Graduates of the Academy.
Promoted to be Captain of Ordnance he was in September 1880, ordered to St. Paul, Minnesota as Chief Ordnance Officer of the Department of Dakota and a few months later with the headquarters moved to Fort Snelling, Minnesota and was also appointed Inspector of Rifle Practice of the Department.
In this dual capacity he visited many of the Military posts in Montana and the Dakotas and specializing in small arms firing became an expert shot, participating in and conducting different matches and department competitions, winning various prizes and medals and preparing many drafts for department orders which were issued for the instruction and guidance of troops in the Department of Dakota.
His activities becoming widely known he was in the fall of 1883, upon the recommendation of General Terry, commanding the Department of Dakota and of General Benet, the Chief of Ordnance of the Army, selected by the Secretary of War to prepare a manual or tactics for the instruction of the Army in rifle firing, which upon its completion under the title Rifle and Carbine Firing was adopted in January 1885, and under the revision which he made and which was called Firing Regulations for Small Arms continued as the authorized guide for the Army and National Guard for nearly fifteen years.
In November 1884, he was selected by Lieut. General Sheridan as Inspector of Small Arms Practice for the Army, ordered to Washington and a year later appointed by General Sheridan a Lieutenant Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on his personal staff, serving in these capacities until General Sheridan's death in August 1888.
He continued for a year in Washington with General Schofield in charge of rifle firing and during this period also had charge, under General Schofield, of the handling of the parade held in New York in April 1889, in celebration of the centennial of the Inauguration of President Washington, a parade composed of nearly 50,000 troops of the Army, Navy and National Guard of many states.
In July 1889, he was relieved from duty in Washington, the official general order to that effect from the Headquarters of the Army stating in part Captain Blunt's services in connection with the development of an effective system of rifle practice in the Army, have been of the highest importance and his name will long be honorably connected with this great advance in the Military service of the country. This terminated a sphere of duty extending over a period of nine years that had brought Captain Blunt, still a young man, to the knowledge and it may also be said to the favorable judgment, of the greater portion of the Army of that day.
In August 1889, he commenced a service of five years at the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts and besides duty there in the manufacture of rifles was inspector at the Colt's factory, Hartford, Connecticut, of the manufacture of pistols and machine guns. He was also a member and the recorder of the Board of Officers which in 1894 selected, after extensive tests, a magazine rifle to replace for the Army the old single loading Springfield. While serving at Springfield he was a delegate to the International Congress of Military Engineers at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, in July 1893, where he presented and read an essay on The Modern Military Rifle.
In the fall of 1894 he was ordered to duty at Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, New York, where he had charge of the gun factory for two and one-half years until March 1897, when though still only a Captain he was selected by General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, for the important command of Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, where he remained for over ten years. His administration included the period of the Spanish War, when in a few months the Arsenal was expanded from an establishment having less than 500 employees to one with over 3,000. He installed the electrical development of its water power, erected shops and other buildings, installed much new machinery including a complete plant for the manufacture of small arms and greatly increased the manufacturing facilities of the Arsenal, while at the same time reducing the cost of its output. If viewed from the expansion of the same Arsenal 20 years later during the World War, this service was not so remarkable, but in the light of that day it was deemed highly commendable. From General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, he received emphatic commendation in several successive annual reports and a report of the Inspector General said in part The extent, variety and excellence of results obtained at this Arsenal, the freedom from scandal or criticism, the general excellent condition of the Arsenal and its readiness for expansion to meet emergencies, reflect great credit upon the commanding officer, Colonel Blunt.
While at Rock Island he was successively promoted Major, Lieut. Colonel and Colonel Ordnance Department, the last commission under date of June 25, 1906. Incidentally he also laid out on the Arsenal Island an eighteen hole golf course, organized a golf club, erected under permit from the Secretary of War and with the club's money, a commodious club house which the government uses for official receptions and similar assemblies and was for ten years President of the club. This non-military service of Colonel Blunt was in some ways of parallel importance with his official work; bringing together the prominent citizens of the three neighboring cities it made of them warm friends for the Arsenal who assisted in the efforts to enhance its importance and increase its efficiency as a government manufacturing establishment. Colonel Blunt was highly esteemed by the people of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
In August 1907, Colonel Blunt returned to the Springfield Armory, this time as its commanding officer, where he remained for five years. During most of this period he was, next to the Chief of Ordnance, the senior officer of the Department and served as President of many boards of officers for promotions, for selection of officers for detail to the Corps and for various other purposes.
On September 1, 1912, he was upon his own application retired from active duty after 44 years of service. General Crozier, Chief of Ordnance, in forwarding his application to the Secretary of War, said in part Colonel Blunt is an able officer, whose services are of the highest value to the Ordnance Department. He has during his forty years' service as an officer, satisfactorily filled many selective positions, requiring skill, ability and good judgment. His retirement will be a loss to the department.
For some years Colonel Blunt occupied himself in travel and in participation in several important civic matters in Springfield, until on April 7, 1917, the day following our declaration of war with Germany, he was ordered back to active service and to duty in the office of the Chief of Ordnance in Washington, where he remained for sixteen months, at first as the Ordnance Department representative on the General Munitions Board of the Council of National Defense and as the representative on the War Industries Board, and after January 1918, as Supervisor of Manufacturing Arsenals, duties that brought him in contact with many prominent men of affairs and required visits of inspection and direction to Arsenals with which he had previously been actively connected. Mr. Frank A. Scott, who had been head of the General Munitions Board and of the War Industries Board, in reporting several years later on these services said in part, The splendid zeal which Colonel Blunt brought to this service, coupled with his experience as an Arsenal commander, his intelligence in dealing with manufacturing and material problems, his tact and resourcefulness and industry and the grave responsibilities which he carried through the long period mentioned, would seem most justly and worthily to entitle him to the recognition of the Distinguished Service Medal.
And Brigadier General C.B. Wheeler, under whom as Acting Chief of Ordnance, much of Colonel Blunt's service had been given also said of the service with the War Industries Board He was untiring in his efforts and I doubt very much if there was at that time available any one person who combined the qualities that were so desirable for such a representative as Colonel Blunt. There was no person in Washington who would have accomplished more than he did in securing raw material of the kind that was needed and at the time it was needed for the plans of the Ordnance Department.
General Wheeler also continued his report Subsequently, when matters had arranged themselves later in the war so that Colonel Blunt's services might be utilized in another equally important direction, he was selected by the Chief of Ordnance for the duty of supervisor of all Arsenals, a position for which he was more than well qualified, as no officer had at that time greater experience and greater capabilities along this line than he. The performance of this duty was excellent in every respect. He was given and accepted the authority that had, theretofore, attached to the Chief of Ordnance in a more personal way and it is to his untiring energy and ability that the Arsenals as a whole throughout the Ordnance Department were able to accomplish what they did accomplish towards the success of the war.
On the conclusion of his war service, Colonel Blunt returned to Springfield and resumed the connection with different civic affairs which had begun while he was still in command of the Armory before his retirement. For five years, he was president of the Springfield Country Club, and for two years President of the Country Club. In 1911 he was elected a trustee of the Springfield Hospital and later served four years as President of the board. He was also for several years Chairman of the Transportation Commission of Springfield; was President of the Boys' Exposition; was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts a trustee of the Monson State Hospital and in 1914 by the Mayor of Springfield a member of the city's Park Commission, being for many years its President. In 1921 he became a member of the Springfield Planning Board participating in the preparation of the plans for city development and in the zoning regulations which were later adopted by the City Council. Since 1922 he has been a member of the Board, appointed by the Council to regulate city signs or billboards.
In 1909 he was elected a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church of Springfield and so continued until his election as a Warden of the church in 1923. He also served for many years as Treasurer of the Parish. To all these varied offices he brought the same attention and efficiency which had characterized his military duty and his services were always eagerly sought after and highly appreciated.
At the first reunion of his class after graduation Blunt was chosen class secretary and continued the duties of that office until his death. He was greatly interested in the class, had been by his classmates early dubbed Old Statistics, always kept its records with accuracy and circulated them among the class at each of its reunions, particularly at the 50th reunion in June 1922, when he furnished very complete statistical records to all surviving members. Following his two years' service as Secretary of the Association of Graduates, while on duty as an instructor at the Academy, he had been interested in the affairs of that organization and for a number of years past had prepared for the Association's annual publication obituary notices of those of his class who had passed away during the successive years. Regarding his work as Class Secretary one of his class recently wrote: The systematic records he kept of the class and from time to time distributed to individual members have been a source of infinite comfort to me. I do not know that I can fully appreciate the amount of time, thought and labor he gave to keeping track of individual members of the class and in bringing information secured into systematic order; but I know that it has extended over more than fifty years; that it has fostered the fraternal spirit of the class and made every one of us a better man; that no living member of the class can recall the name of Blunt without a glow at the heart and that no member of the class can scarcely be recalled by any of us without a simultaneous remembrance of Blunt. I shall carry with pleasure to my grave my load of gratitude for the labor of love he has performed.
Colonel Blunt was much interested in travel and enjoyed the many official journeys he had to take from time to time, always including in them as much sightseeing as the opportunity permitted. While in command of the Springfield Armory he took advantage of a two months' leave of absence for a motor trip abroad with his family, motoring several thousand miles in France and England. Some years later, with his wife, he made a cruise in the Mediterranean, visiting Egypt and returning through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and England. In 1921, again with his wife, he went on a cruise in the Caribbean and in its course made the passage from Havana to Key West by hydroplane, a somewhat unusual experience at that date though more commonplace today.
Before retirement he built a house in Springfield which he had since occupied, though spending some time at the Massachusetts sea shore in summers and at Palm Beach and other Florida resorts in winters.
Colonel Blunt, when a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry, was married on November 18, 1873, at Clinton, New York to Fanny Smyth, daughter of Charles Smyth of Oswego, New York. They had three daughters, the eldest Katherine, graduated at Vassar College in 1898 and after studying at Berlin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago received in 1907 the degree of Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. For some years past she has been Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Home Economics at that University.
The second daughter, Evelyn Bethune, married in 1907, Arthur D. Ficke of Davenport, Iowa; he was a graduate of Harvard University and during the war with Germany was a Lieut. Colonel, Ordnance Department United States Army, serving in Washington and France.
The youngest daughter, Frances Smyth, married in 1910 Lewis E. Tifft of Springfield; a Williams College man who during the war with Germany was a Captain Ordnance Department, United States Army, serving in Washington and in England and France, being Assistant to the Chief Ordnance officer of the 1st Army.
Colonel Blunt was frequently selected by the social clubs to which he belonged for administrative positions, all of which he filled to the apparent satisfaction of his fellow members. He had retained membership in the Metropolitan Club and Army and Navy Club of Washington, the University Club of New York and the Country Club, Nayasset Club, Colony Club and Century Club of Springfield.
He was a member of a number of patriotic societies, including the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, War of 1812, Naval Order of the United States, American Wars, Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Sons of Veterans, American Legion and Military Order of the World War.
He was also a member of the National Geographic Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Army Ordnance Association.
The following Editorial from the Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, is a well merited tribute to the personality and character of Colonel Blunt:
The news of the sudden death in Florida of Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt came as a sad shock to Springfield, with whose interests he had long been identified, both as Commandant of the United States Armory and as a public spirited citizen and leader in civic affairs. Colonel Blunt's interest in Springfield began more than thirty years ago, when, as a captain in the Ordnance Corps, he was stationed in this city. His attractive personality made him exceedingly popular here and he in turn developed a strong liking for the city and its people, which was increased in later years when he returned as commandant of the Armory and upon his retirement, resulted in his selection of this city as his permanent abode.
The qualities which made of Colonel Blunt an especially fine type of military officer persisted after his return to civilian life. Courteous, painstaking, thorough and conscientious in everything he undertook to do, his efforts were usually crowned with success. He was patriotic, as an army officer should be and public spirited to the last degree, always willing to give the best in him for the public welfare and seeking no reward other than the consciousness of duty well performed. Springfield owes much to him and will treasure his memory with the highest regard.
Secretary, Association Of Graduates.
USMA Class of 1872. Cullum No. 2413.
Fifty-seventh Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, June 11, 1926, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1926.
Stanhope English Blunt
No. 2413. Class of 1872.
Died, March 22, 1926, at Palm Beach, Florida, aged 75 years.
Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt, United States Army, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, September 29, 1850, the son of Colonel Charles E. Blunt, Corps of Engineers, United States Army (Class of 1846 U.S.M.A.) and Penelope Bethune English, daughter of Major Thomas Stanhope English, Marine Corps United States Navy. He was descended from a long line of New England ancestors, the first of the Blunt family in this country settling at Andover, Massachusetts in 1634; several generations later one of them, who graduated from Harvard College in 1727, became a clergyman in Newcastle, New Hampshire and his descendants were ship owners and masters in that town and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His grandfather moved to Brooklyn, New York about one hundred years ago where he engaged in business and finally became President of a bank in that city. By marriages Colonel Blunt was descended also from families of prominence in the early history of New England, among them those of Frost, Pepperell, Sheafe, Marsh, Sherburne, Faneuil, Bethune and English of Portsmouth and Boston.
He attended public and private schools in Boston and then his father being stationed at Oswego, New York, graduated from the High School of that city in 1868 and that summer receiving an appointment to West Point, entered the Academy on September 1, 1868 in the Class of 1872.
At the following January examination he was head of the class, an honor he retained throughout the course in mathematics but never quite reached again in general standing, but always taking high rank he finally graduated June 14, 1872, number three in a class of 57 members. While a cadet he was prominent in the class, being a Cadet Sergeant, a Cadet Lieutenant and during his first class year a Cadet Acting Assistant Professor, teaching French for a year to sections of the then fourth class. During his first class camp he was the senior Hop Manager and much interested in all the social activities of the class.
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 13th United States Infantry he first served at Camp Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah, during the winter of 1872-1873, part of the time with his Company and part as Post Adjutant. During the following summer he was Assistant Engineer on an expedition of exploration and survey of northwestern Wyoming, including the then little known Yellowstone National Park and the following winter was in Omaha, Nebraska at Headquarters Department of the Platte engaged in preparation of the expedition's report.
Promoted 1st Lieut. in March 1874, he was ordered to Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming and to the command of a company of the 13th Infantry, but in July was again detached and assigned to engineering duty in charge of a party engaged in surveys West of the 100th Meridian in Colorado and New Mexico.
Having been transferred to the Ordnance Department, he was in January 1875, ordered to Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for eighteen months as an Assistant at that Arsenal was connected with the manufacture of small arms ammunition and with other work as an Ordnance officer.
From August 1876, to August 1880, he was at the Military Academy as an instructor in Mathematics and for the last two years of that period instructed also in Ordnance and the Science of Gunnery. While on duty at West Point he was for two years Treasurer of the Army Mess (or Club) and for two years Secretary of the Society of Graduates of the Academy.
Promoted to be Captain of Ordnance he was in September 1880, ordered to St. Paul, Minnesota as Chief Ordnance Officer of the Department of Dakota and a few months later with the headquarters moved to Fort Snelling, Minnesota and was also appointed Inspector of Rifle Practice of the Department.
In this dual capacity he visited many of the Military posts in Montana and the Dakotas and specializing in small arms firing became an expert shot, participating in and conducting different matches and department competitions, winning various prizes and medals and preparing many drafts for department orders which were issued for the instruction and guidance of troops in the Department of Dakota.
His activities becoming widely known he was in the fall of 1883, upon the recommendation of General Terry, commanding the Department of Dakota and of General Benet, the Chief of Ordnance of the Army, selected by the Secretary of War to prepare a manual or tactics for the instruction of the Army in rifle firing, which upon its completion under the title Rifle and Carbine Firing was adopted in January 1885, and under the revision which he made and which was called Firing Regulations for Small Arms continued as the authorized guide for the Army and National Guard for nearly fifteen years.
In November 1884, he was selected by Lieut. General Sheridan as Inspector of Small Arms Practice for the Army, ordered to Washington and a year later appointed by General Sheridan a Lieutenant Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on his personal staff, serving in these capacities until General Sheridan's death in August 1888.
He continued for a year in Washington with General Schofield in charge of rifle firing and during this period also had charge, under General Schofield, of the handling of the parade held in New York in April 1889, in celebration of the centennial of the Inauguration of President Washington, a parade composed of nearly 50,000 troops of the Army, Navy and National Guard of many states.
In July 1889, he was relieved from duty in Washington, the official general order to that effect from the Headquarters of the Army stating in part Captain Blunt's services in connection with the development of an effective system of rifle practice in the Army, have been of the highest importance and his name will long be honorably connected with this great advance in the Military service of the country. This terminated a sphere of duty extending over a period of nine years that had brought Captain Blunt, still a young man, to the knowledge and it may also be said to the favorable judgment, of the greater portion of the Army of that day.
In August 1889, he commenced a service of five years at the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts and besides duty there in the manufacture of rifles was inspector at the Colt's factory, Hartford, Connecticut, of the manufacture of pistols and machine guns. He was also a member and the recorder of the Board of Officers which in 1894 selected, after extensive tests, a magazine rifle to replace for the Army the old single loading Springfield. While serving at Springfield he was a delegate to the International Congress of Military Engineers at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, in July 1893, where he presented and read an essay on The Modern Military Rifle.
In the fall of 1894 he was ordered to duty at Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, New York, where he had charge of the gun factory for two and one-half years until March 1897, when though still only a Captain he was selected by General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, for the important command of Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, where he remained for over ten years. His administration included the period of the Spanish War, when in a few months the Arsenal was expanded from an establishment having less than 500 employees to one with over 3,000. He installed the electrical development of its water power, erected shops and other buildings, installed much new machinery including a complete plant for the manufacture of small arms and greatly increased the manufacturing facilities of the Arsenal, while at the same time reducing the cost of its output. If viewed from the expansion of the same Arsenal 20 years later during the World War, this service was not so remarkable, but in the light of that day it was deemed highly commendable. From General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, he received emphatic commendation in several successive annual reports and a report of the Inspector General said in part The extent, variety and excellence of results obtained at this Arsenal, the freedom from scandal or criticism, the general excellent condition of the Arsenal and its readiness for expansion to meet emergencies, reflect great credit upon the commanding officer, Colonel Blunt.
While at Rock Island he was successively promoted Major, Lieut. Colonel and Colonel Ordnance Department, the last commission under date of June 25, 1906. Incidentally he also laid out on the Arsenal Island an eighteen hole golf course, organized a golf club, erected under permit from the Secretary of War and with the club's money, a commodious club house which the government uses for official receptions and similar assemblies and was for ten years President of the club. This non-military service of Colonel Blunt was in some ways of parallel importance with his official work; bringing together the prominent citizens of the three neighboring cities it made of them warm friends for the Arsenal who assisted in the efforts to enhance its importance and increase its efficiency as a government manufacturing establishment. Colonel Blunt was highly esteemed by the people of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
In August 1907, Colonel Blunt returned to the Springfield Armory, this time as its commanding officer, where he remained for five years. During most of this period he was, next to the Chief of Ordnance, the senior officer of the Department and served as President of many boards of officers for promotions, for selection of officers for detail to the Corps and for various other purposes.
On September 1, 1912, he was upon his own application retired from active duty after 44 years of service. General Crozier, Chief of Ordnance, in forwarding his application to the Secretary of War, said in part Colonel Blunt is an able officer, whose services are of the highest value to the Ordnance Department. He has during his forty years' service as an officer, satisfactorily filled many selective positions, requiring skill, ability and good judgment. His retirement will be a loss to the department.
For some years Colonel Blunt occupied himself in travel and in participation in several important civic matters in Springfield, until on April 7, 1917, the day following our declaration of war with Germany, he was ordered back to active service and to duty in the office of the Chief of Ordnance in Washington, where he remained for sixteen months, at first as the Ordnance Department representative on the General Munitions Board of the Council of National Defense and as the representative on the War Industries Board, and after January 1918, as Supervisor of Manufacturing Arsenals, duties that brought him in contact with many prominent men of affairs and required visits of inspection and direction to Arsenals with which he had previously been actively connected. Mr. Frank A. Scott, who had been head of the General Munitions Board and of the War Industries Board, in reporting several years later on these services said in part, The splendid zeal which Colonel Blunt brought to this service, coupled with his experience as an Arsenal commander, his intelligence in dealing with manufacturing and material problems, his tact and resourcefulness and industry and the grave responsibilities which he carried through the long period mentioned, would seem most justly and worthily to entitle him to the recognition of the Distinguished Service Medal.
And Brigadier General C.B. Wheeler, under whom as Acting Chief of Ordnance, much of Colonel Blunt's service had been given also said of the service with the War Industries Board He was untiring in his efforts and I doubt very much if there was at that time available any one person who combined the qualities that were so desirable for such a representative as Colonel Blunt. There was no person in Washington who would have accomplished more than he did in securing raw material of the kind that was needed and at the time it was needed for the plans of the Ordnance Department.
General Wheeler also continued his report Subsequently, when matters had arranged themselves later in the war so that Colonel Blunt's services might be utilized in another equally important direction, he was selected by the Chief of Ordnance for the duty of supervisor of all Arsenals, a position for which he was more than well qualified, as no officer had at that time greater experience and greater capabilities along this line than he. The performance of this duty was excellent in every respect. He was given and accepted the authority that had, theretofore, attached to the Chief of Ordnance in a more personal way and it is to his untiring energy and ability that the Arsenals as a whole throughout the Ordnance Department were able to accomplish what they did accomplish towards the success of the war.
On the conclusion of his war service, Colonel Blunt returned to Springfield and resumed the connection with different civic affairs which had begun while he was still in command of the Armory before his retirement. For five years, he was president of the Springfield Country Club, and for two years President of the Country Club. In 1911 he was elected a trustee of the Springfield Hospital and later served four years as President of the board. He was also for several years Chairman of the Transportation Commission of Springfield; was President of the Boys' Exposition; was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts a trustee of the Monson State Hospital and in 1914 by the Mayor of Springfield a member of the city's Park Commission, being for many years its President. In 1921 he became a member of the Springfield Planning Board participating in the preparation of the plans for city development and in the zoning regulations which were later adopted by the City Council. Since 1922 he has been a member of the Board, appointed by the Council to regulate city signs or billboards.
In 1909 he was elected a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church of Springfield and so continued until his election as a Warden of the church in 1923. He also served for many years as Treasurer of the Parish. To all these varied offices he brought the same attention and efficiency which had characterized his military duty and his services were always eagerly sought after and highly appreciated.
At the first reunion of his class after graduation Blunt was chosen class secretary and continued the duties of that office until his death. He was greatly interested in the class, had been by his classmates early dubbed Old Statistics, always kept its records with accuracy and circulated them among the class at each of its reunions, particularly at the 50th reunion in June 1922, when he furnished very complete statistical records to all surviving members. Following his two years' service as Secretary of the Association of Graduates, while on duty as an instructor at the Academy, he had been interested in the affairs of that organization and for a number of years past had prepared for the Association's annual publication obituary notices of those of his class who had passed away during the successive years. Regarding his work as Class Secretary one of his class recently wrote: The systematic records he kept of the class and from time to time distributed to individual members have been a source of infinite comfort to me. I do not know that I can fully appreciate the amount of time, thought and labor he gave to keeping track of individual members of the class and in bringing information secured into systematic order; but I know that it has extended over more than fifty years; that it has fostered the fraternal spirit of the class and made every one of us a better man; that no living member of the class can recall the name of Blunt without a glow at the heart and that no member of the class can scarcely be recalled by any of us without a simultaneous remembrance of Blunt. I shall carry with pleasure to my grave my load of gratitude for the labor of love he has performed.
Colonel Blunt was much interested in travel and enjoyed the many official journeys he had to take from time to time, always including in them as much sightseeing as the opportunity permitted. While in command of the Springfield Armory he took advantage of a two months' leave of absence for a motor trip abroad with his family, motoring several thousand miles in France and England. Some years later, with his wife, he made a cruise in the Mediterranean, visiting Egypt and returning through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and England. In 1921, again with his wife, he went on a cruise in the Caribbean and in its course made the passage from Havana to Key West by hydroplane, a somewhat unusual experience at that date though more commonplace today.
Before retirement he built a house in Springfield which he had since occupied, though spending some time at the Massachusetts sea shore in summers and at Palm Beach and other Florida resorts in winters.
Colonel Blunt, when a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry, was married on November 18, 1873, at Clinton, New York to Fanny Smyth, daughter of Charles Smyth of Oswego, New York. They had three daughters, the eldest Katherine, graduated at Vassar College in 1898 and after studying at Berlin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago received in 1907 the degree of Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. For some years past she has been Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Home Economics at that University.
The second daughter, Evelyn Bethune, married in 1907, Arthur D. Ficke of Davenport, Iowa; he was a graduate of Harvard University and during the war with Germany was a Lieut. Colonel, Ordnance Department United States Army, serving in Washington and France.
The youngest daughter, Frances Smyth, married in 1910 Lewis E. Tifft of Springfield; a Williams College man who during the war with Germany was a Captain Ordnance Department, United States Army, serving in Washington and in England and France, being Assistant to the Chief Ordnance officer of the 1st Army.
Colonel Blunt was frequently selected by the social clubs to which he belonged for administrative positions, all of which he filled to the apparent satisfaction of his fellow members. He had retained membership in the Metropolitan Club and Army and Navy Club of Washington, the University Club of New York and the Country Club, Nayasset Club, Colony Club and Century Club of Springfield.
He was a member of a number of patriotic societies, including the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, War of 1812, Naval Order of the United States, American Wars, Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Sons of Veterans, American Legion and Military Order of the World War.
He was also a member of the National Geographic Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Army Ordnance Association.
The following Editorial from the Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, is a well merited tribute to the personality and character of Colonel Blunt:
The news of the sudden death in Florida of Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt came as a sad shock to Springfield, with whose interests he had long been identified, both as Commandant of the United States Armory and as a public spirited citizen and leader in civic affairs. Colonel Blunt's interest in Springfield began more than thirty years ago, when, as a captain in the Ordnance Corps, he was stationed in this city. His attractive personality made him exceedingly popular here and he in turn developed a strong liking for the city and its people, which was increased in later years when he returned as commandant of the Armory and upon his retirement, resulted in his selection of this city as his permanent abode.
The qualities which made of Colonel Blunt an especially fine type of military officer persisted after his return to civilian life. Courteous, painstaking, thorough and conscientious in everything he undertook to do, his efforts were usually crowned with success. He was patriotic, as an army officer should be and public spirited to the last degree, always willing to give the best in him for the public welfare and seeking no reward other than the consciousness of duty well performed. Springfield owes much to him and will treasure his memory with the highest regard.
Secretary, Association Of Graduates.
Fifty-seventh Annual Report of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy At West Point, New York, June 11, 1926, Seeman & Peters, Saginaw, Michigan, 1926.
Stanhope English Blunt
No. 2413. Class of 1872.
Died, March 22, 1926, at Palm Beach, Florida, aged 75 years.
Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt, United States Army, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, September 29, 1850, the son of Colonel Charles E. Blunt, Corps of Engineers, United States Army (Class of 1846 U.S.M.A.) and Penelope Bethune English, daughter of Major Thomas Stanhope English, Marine Corps United States Navy. He was descended from a long line of New England ancestors, the first of the Blunt family in this country settling at Andover, Massachusetts in 1634; several generations later one of them, who graduated from Harvard College in 1727, became a clergyman in Newcastle, New Hampshire and his descendants were ship owners and masters in that town and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His grandfather moved to Brooklyn, New York about one hundred years ago where he engaged in business and finally became President of a bank in that city. By marriages Colonel Blunt was descended also from families of prominence in the early history of New England, among them those of Frost, Pepperell, Sheafe, Marsh, Sherburne, Faneuil, Bethune and English of Portsmouth and Boston.
He attended public and private schools in Boston and then his father being stationed at Oswego, New York, graduated from the High School of that city in 1868 and that summer receiving an appointment to West Point, entered the Academy on September 1, 1868 in the Class of 1872.
At the following January examination he was head of the class, an honor he retained throughout the course in mathematics but never quite reached again in general standing, but always taking high rank he finally graduated June 14, 1872, number three in a class of 57 members. While a cadet he was prominent in the class, being a Cadet Sergeant, a Cadet Lieutenant and during his first class year a Cadet Acting Assistant Professor, teaching French for a year to sections of the then fourth class. During his first class camp he was the senior Hop Manager and much interested in all the social activities of the class.
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant 13th United States Infantry he first served at Camp Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah, during the winter of 1872-1873, part of the time with his Company and part as Post Adjutant. During the following summer he was Assistant Engineer on an expedition of exploration and survey of northwestern Wyoming, including the then little known Yellowstone National Park and the following winter was in Omaha, Nebraska at Headquarters Department of the Platte engaged in preparation of the expedition's report.
Promoted 1st Lieut. in March 1874, he was ordered to Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming and to the command of a company of the 13th Infantry, but in July was again detached and assigned to engineering duty in charge of a party engaged in surveys West of the 100th Meridian in Colorado and New Mexico.
Having been transferred to the Ordnance Department, he was in January 1875, ordered to Frankford Arsenal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and for eighteen months as an Assistant at that Arsenal was connected with the manufacture of small arms ammunition and with other work as an Ordnance officer.
From August 1876, to August 1880, he was at the Military Academy as an instructor in Mathematics and for the last two years of that period instructed also in Ordnance and the Science of Gunnery. While on duty at West Point he was for two years Treasurer of the Army Mess (or Club) and for two years Secretary of the Society of Graduates of the Academy.
Promoted to be Captain of Ordnance he was in September 1880, ordered to St. Paul, Minnesota as Chief Ordnance Officer of the Department of Dakota and a few months later with the headquarters moved to Fort Snelling, Minnesota and was also appointed Inspector of Rifle Practice of the Department.
In this dual capacity he visited many of the Military posts in Montana and the Dakotas and specializing in small arms firing became an expert shot, participating in and conducting different matches and department competitions, winning various prizes and medals and preparing many drafts for department orders which were issued for the instruction and guidance of troops in the Department of Dakota.
His activities becoming widely known he was in the fall of 1883, upon the recommendation of General Terry, commanding the Department of Dakota and of General Benet, the Chief of Ordnance of the Army, selected by the Secretary of War to prepare a manual or tactics for the instruction of the Army in rifle firing, which upon its completion under the title Rifle and Carbine Firing was adopted in January 1885, and under the revision which he made and which was called Firing Regulations for Small Arms continued as the authorized guide for the Army and National Guard for nearly fifteen years.
In November 1884, he was selected by Lieut. General Sheridan as Inspector of Small Arms Practice for the Army, ordered to Washington and a year later appointed by General Sheridan a Lieutenant Colonel and Aide-de-Camp on his personal staff, serving in these capacities until General Sheridan's death in August 1888.
He continued for a year in Washington with General Schofield in charge of rifle firing and during this period also had charge, under General Schofield, of the handling of the parade held in New York in April 1889, in celebration of the centennial of the Inauguration of President Washington, a parade composed of nearly 50,000 troops of the Army, Navy and National Guard of many states.
In July 1889, he was relieved from duty in Washington, the official general order to that effect from the Headquarters of the Army stating in part Captain Blunt's services in connection with the development of an effective system of rifle practice in the Army, have been of the highest importance and his name will long be honorably connected with this great advance in the Military service of the country. This terminated a sphere of duty extending over a period of nine years that had brought Captain Blunt, still a young man, to the knowledge and it may also be said to the favorable judgment, of the greater portion of the Army of that day.
In August 1889, he commenced a service of five years at the Springfield Armory, Massachusetts and besides duty there in the manufacture of rifles was inspector at the Colt's factory, Hartford, Connecticut, of the manufacture of pistols and machine guns. He was also a member and the recorder of the Board of Officers which in 1894 selected, after extensive tests, a magazine rifle to replace for the Army the old single loading Springfield. While serving at Springfield he was a delegate to the International Congress of Military Engineers at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, in July 1893, where he presented and read an essay on The Modern Military Rifle.
In the fall of 1894 he was ordered to duty at Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, New York, where he had charge of the gun factory for two and one-half years until March 1897, when though still only a Captain he was selected by General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, for the important command of Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, where he remained for over ten years. His administration included the period of the Spanish War, when in a few months the Arsenal was expanded from an establishment having less than 500 employees to one with over 3,000. He installed the electrical development of its water power, erected shops and other buildings, installed much new machinery including a complete plant for the manufacture of small arms and greatly increased the manufacturing facilities of the Arsenal, while at the same time reducing the cost of its output. If viewed from the expansion of the same Arsenal 20 years later during the World War, this service was not so remarkable, but in the light of that day it was deemed highly commendable. From General Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, he received emphatic commendation in several successive annual reports and a report of the Inspector General said in part The extent, variety and excellence of results obtained at this Arsenal, the freedom from scandal or criticism, the general excellent condition of the Arsenal and its readiness for expansion to meet emergencies, reflect great credit upon the commanding officer, Colonel Blunt.
While at Rock Island he was successively promoted Major, Lieut. Colonel and Colonel Ordnance Department, the last commission under date of June 25, 1906. Incidentally he also laid out on the Arsenal Island an eighteen hole golf course, organized a golf club, erected under permit from the Secretary of War and with the club's money, a commodious club house which the government uses for official receptions and similar assemblies and was for ten years President of the club. This non-military service of Colonel Blunt was in some ways of parallel importance with his official work; bringing together the prominent citizens of the three neighboring cities it made of them warm friends for the Arsenal who assisted in the efforts to enhance its importance and increase its efficiency as a government manufacturing establishment. Colonel Blunt was highly esteemed by the people of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
In August 1907, Colonel Blunt returned to the Springfield Armory, this time as its commanding officer, where he remained for five years. During most of this period he was, next to the Chief of Ordnance, the senior officer of the Department and served as President of many boards of officers for promotions, for selection of officers for detail to the Corps and for various other purposes.
On September 1, 1912, he was upon his own application retired from active duty after 44 years of service. General Crozier, Chief of Ordnance, in forwarding his application to the Secretary of War, said in part Colonel Blunt is an able officer, whose services are of the highest value to the Ordnance Department. He has during his forty years' service as an officer, satisfactorily filled many selective positions, requiring skill, ability and good judgment. His retirement will be a loss to the department.
For some years Colonel Blunt occupied himself in travel and in participation in several important civic matters in Springfield, until on April 7, 1917, the day following our declaration of war with Germany, he was ordered back to active service and to duty in the office of the Chief of Ordnance in Washington, where he remained for sixteen months, at first as the Ordnance Department representative on the General Munitions Board of the Council of National Defense and as the representative on the War Industries Board, and after January 1918, as Supervisor of Manufacturing Arsenals, duties that brought him in contact with many prominent men of affairs and required visits of inspection and direction to Arsenals with which he had previously been actively connected. Mr. Frank A. Scott, who had been head of the General Munitions Board and of the War Industries Board, in reporting several years later on these services said in part, The splendid zeal which Colonel Blunt brought to this service, coupled with his experience as an Arsenal commander, his intelligence in dealing with manufacturing and material problems, his tact and resourcefulness and industry and the grave responsibilities which he carried through the long period mentioned, would seem most justly and worthily to entitle him to the recognition of the Distinguished Service Medal.
And Brigadier General C.B. Wheeler, under whom as Acting Chief of Ordnance, much of Colonel Blunt's service had been given also said of the service with the War Industries Board He was untiring in his efforts and I doubt very much if there was at that time available any one person who combined the qualities that were so desirable for such a representative as Colonel Blunt. There was no person in Washington who would have accomplished more than he did in securing raw material of the kind that was needed and at the time it was needed for the plans of the Ordnance Department.
General Wheeler also continued his report Subsequently, when matters had arranged themselves later in the war so that Colonel Blunt's services might be utilized in another equally important direction, he was selected by the Chief of Ordnance for the duty of supervisor of all Arsenals, a position for which he was more than well qualified, as no officer had at that time greater experience and greater capabilities along this line than he. The performance of this duty was excellent in every respect. He was given and accepted the authority that had, theretofore, attached to the Chief of Ordnance in a more personal way and it is to his untiring energy and ability that the Arsenals as a whole throughout the Ordnance Department were able to accomplish what they did accomplish towards the success of the war.
On the conclusion of his war service, Colonel Blunt returned to Springfield and resumed the connection with different civic affairs which had begun while he was still in command of the Armory before his retirement. For five years, he was president of the Springfield Country Club, and for two years President of the Country Club. In 1911 he was elected a trustee of the Springfield Hospital and later served four years as President of the board. He was also for several years Chairman of the Transportation Commission of Springfield; was President of the Boys' Exposition; was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts a trustee of the Monson State Hospital and in 1914 by the Mayor of Springfield a member of the city's Park Commission, being for many years its President. In 1921 he became a member of the Springfield Planning Board participating in the preparation of the plans for city development and in the zoning regulations which were later adopted by the City Council. Since 1922 he has been a member of the Board, appointed by the Council to regulate city signs or billboards.
In 1909 he was elected a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church of Springfield and so continued until his election as a Warden of the church in 1923. He also served for many years as Treasurer of the Parish. To all these varied offices he brought the same attention and efficiency which had characterized his military duty and his services were always eagerly sought after and highly appreciated.
At the first reunion of his class after graduation Blunt was chosen class secretary and continued the duties of that office until his death. He was greatly interested in the class, had been by his classmates early dubbed Old Statistics, always kept its records with accuracy and circulated them among the class at each of its reunions, particularly at the 50th reunion in June 1922, when he furnished very complete statistical records to all surviving members. Following his two years' service as Secretary of the Association of Graduates, while on duty as an instructor at the Academy, he had been interested in the affairs of that organization and for a number of years past had prepared for the Association's annual publication obituary notices of those of his class who had passed away during the successive years. Regarding his work as Class Secretary one of his class recently wrote: The systematic records he kept of the class and from time to time distributed to individual members have been a source of infinite comfort to me. I do not know that I can fully appreciate the amount of time, thought and labor he gave to keeping track of individual members of the class and in bringing information secured into systematic order; but I know that it has extended over more than fifty years; that it has fostered the fraternal spirit of the class and made every one of us a better man; that no living member of the class can recall the name of Blunt without a glow at the heart and that no member of the class can scarcely be recalled by any of us without a simultaneous remembrance of Blunt. I shall carry with pleasure to my grave my load of gratitude for the labor of love he has performed.
Colonel Blunt was much interested in travel and enjoyed the many official journeys he had to take from time to time, always including in them as much sightseeing as the opportunity permitted. While in command of the Springfield Armory he took advantage of a two months' leave of absence for a motor trip abroad with his family, motoring several thousand miles in France and England. Some years later, with his wife, he made a cruise in the Mediterranean, visiting Egypt and returning through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and England. In 1921, again with his wife, he went on a cruise in the Caribbean and in its course made the passage from Havana to Key West by hydroplane, a somewhat unusual experience at that date though more commonplace today.
Before retirement he built a house in Springfield which he had since occupied, though spending some time at the Massachusetts sea shore in summers and at Palm Beach and other Florida resorts in winters.
Colonel Blunt, when a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry, was married on November 18, 1873, at Clinton, New York to Fanny Smyth, daughter of Charles Smyth of Oswego, New York. They had three daughters, the eldest Katherine, graduated at Vassar College in 1898 and after studying at Berlin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago received in 1907 the degree of Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. For some years past she has been Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Home Economics at that University.
The second daughter, Evelyn Bethune, married in 1907, Arthur D. Ficke of Davenport, Iowa; he was a graduate of Harvard University and during the war with Germany was a Lieut. Colonel, Ordnance Department United States Army, serving in Washington and France.
The youngest daughter, Frances Smyth, married in 1910 Lewis E. Tifft of Springfield; a Williams College man who during the war with Germany was a Captain Ordnance Department, United States Army, serving in Washington and in England and France, being Assistant to the Chief Ordnance officer of the 1st Army.
Colonel Blunt was frequently selected by the social clubs to which he belonged for administrative positions, all of which he filled to the apparent satisfaction of his fellow members. He had retained membership in the Metropolitan Club and Army and Navy Club of Washington, the University Club of New York and the Country Club, Nayasset Club, Colony Club and Century Club of Springfield.
He was a member of a number of patriotic societies, including the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, War of 1812, Naval Order of the United States, American Wars, Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Sons of Veterans, American Legion and Military Order of the World War.
He was also a member of the National Geographic Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Army Ordnance Association.
The following Editorial from the Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, is a well merited tribute to the personality and character of Colonel Blunt:
The news of the sudden death in Florida of Colonel Stanhope E. Blunt came as a sad shock to Springfield, with whose interests he had long been identified, both as Commandant of the United States Armory and as a public spirited citizen and leader in civic affairs. Colonel Blunt's interest in Springfield began more than thirty years ago, when, as a captain in the Ordnance Corps, he was stationed in this city. His attractive personality made him exceedingly popular here and he in turn developed a strong liking for the city and its people, which was increased in later years when he returned as commandant of the Armory and upon his retirement, resulted in his selection of this city as his permanent abode.
The qualities which made of Colonel Blunt an especially fine type of military officer persisted after his return to civilian life. Courteous, painstaking, thorough and conscientious in everything he undertook to do, his efforts were usually crowned with success. He was patriotic, as an army officer should be and public spirited to the last degree, always willing to give the best in him for the public welfare and seeking no reward other than the consciousness of duty well performed. Springfield owes much to him and will treasure his memory with the highest regard.
Secretary, Association Of Graduates.
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