urn:taro:utexas.cah.02620 A Guide to the Fourth South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, Collection, 1916-1917 Original EAD encoding by Lauren Algee according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. April 2011 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary South Dakota. National Guard. Infantry Regiment, 4th Fourth South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, Collection 1916-1917 Materials are written in English. 87-164 2 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Comprising a scrapbook, photographs, and a newspaper, the Fourth South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, Collection, 1916-1917, documents the regiment's activities while stationed on the U. S. border during the Mexican Revolution. Historical Note

In the summer of 1916, the 4th South Dakota Infantry of the National Guard arrived in San Benito, Texas, to defend the U. S. border against raids by Pancho Villa's Army during the Mexican Revolution. Placed into the First Separate Brigade with the 22nd U. S. Infantry, 1st Louisiana and 1st Oklahoma, the troops saw no combat. However, the men took place in large-scale training maneuvers to prepare for the United States' potential involvement in World War I. The 4th returned home in March 1917 and was released from active duty. When the country entered World War I, the regiment broke up into divisions that fought in France.

Source:

The National Guard. "Today in Guard History (July)." Accessed April 19, 2011.

Scope and Contents

Comprising a scrapbook, photographs, and a newspaper, the Fourth South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, Collection, 1916-1917, documents the regiment's activities while stationed on the U. S. border during the Mexican Revolution. Photographs, postcards, official circulars, a menu, poems, a western union card, and other documents annotated by Private Jesse K. Fell compose the scrapbook. Its pages and 73 additional snapshots portray the camp, its men, and their duties and entertainment, including the "red light district" of an unidentified town. Additionally, the collection contains the December 23, 1916, edition of The Marathon Hustler newspaper.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Fell, Jesse K. -- Archives Subjects (Organizations) South Dakota. National Guard. Infantry Regiment, 4th -- Archives South Dakota. National Guard -- Military life -- History -- 20th century. Places Mexican-American Border Region -- History -- 20th century. San Benito (Tex.) -- History -- 20th century Preferred Citation

Fourth South Dakota Infantry, San Benito, Texas, Collection, 1916-1917, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory: 2.325/B37 Scrapbook 2.325/B37 Photographs 2.325/B37 The Marathon Hustler, December 23, 1916