Archive For Col. Charles A. Ranlett – Dress Uniform, Insignia & More

Col. Ranlett’s lot consists of his 1902 dress coat and trousers, a folded and unused handkerchief, and a circa late 20’s -30’s full dress cap.  The full uniform is made complete by the boxed sword belt & buckle, and a box for the shoulder knots. The coat has Ranlett’s stiff white cuff insert with gold cuff links. The coat and cap are in excellent condition, the trousers have a few moth holes, but very few in number, and small (a bit of staining on the white stripes in a few areas as well).  This is the only dress uniform he wore; the rank on the cuff was upgraded over the years.

With the lot, is a sampling of his metal uniform insignia worn during the 1920-30’s era. A few photos from various periods, some are captions if notes were made by Ranlett on the back. Finally a few news clippings, and some American Legion material.

 

BRIEF HISTORY OF COLONEL CHARLES A. RANLETT

 

Colonel Charles A. Ranlett, (1874 – 1961) was the son of Captain Seth Alonzo Ranlett, of the 36^th Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.  He was born in Melrose, Mass. and graduated from Newton High School in 1893. He later attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst, Mass.

 

From June 1894 to January 1897, he was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and while at the academy was thrown from a horse and injured in such a way that he could not complete his course. He was discharged from the academy on that account.  Unable to enter the army during the Spanish American War, he became a reporter on military affairs for the Boston Journal, and went south to cover stories as a correspondent. While at Tampa, Florida his services were bid for by the New York Times. After the war, he worked for the Boston Transcript, and began writing numerous articles for magazines in a variety of subjects.

 

From 1902, to 1904, he was a brevet captain of the Virginia volunteers and commandant at the Bethel Military Academy, Warrenton, Virginia.  Col. Ranlett stated in his photo journal, “ The drill of the platoon of cadet cavalry at Bethel Military Academy was to be the most enjoyable part of my work….This cadet troop was known as the “Col. Mosby Troop,”  and at the time I commanded it Col. John S. Mosby’s grandson Cadet Mosby Campbell, rode in its ranks. Most of the cadets were descendants of Confederate soldiers, and on drill ground at the Academy was the identical spot upon which the “Black Horse Cavalry” was organized in 1858.”  He later was an instructor at Mitchell’s Boy School, Billerica, and the Lasell (young ladies) Seminary at Auburndale, and then he taught fencing to the Boston Cadets (this including many of the Boston area high schools that maintained military courses, from 1904 to 1908 as Instructor of military drill).

 

In 1908, Ranlett of Somerville’s Co. “M” of the 8^th Massachusetts Infantry was elected 2^nd lieutenant, and to captain of Co. “L” in 1910. In 1912, the governor of Mass. ordered Captain Ranlett’s company to put down the Lawrence textile strike, which became a very dangerous situation where Ranlett had to order a bayonet charge where many were hurt. The mob was bent on destroying mill property and blood was drawn forcing the strikers to yield their ground. Interestingly, at the time, being a very cold winter, the troops caps were referred to as “Coonskin caps,” these being army issue muskrat fur caps for winter use.”

 

This same company was called out to perform duty at the great Salem Fire in 1914, and remained there for 2 months assisting many of the homeless who were forced to live in tents that had been sit up on the Salem common.  During the time of the Mexican Border trouble, he had resigned from the Mass. National Guard and was sent to El Paso, Texas, in a civilian capacity in the employ of the federal government.

 

When the World War began, and back in the army, Ranlett was sent to Plattsburg, New York for training, and transferred back to Fort Devens, Mass with the 303^rd Infantry Regiment, of the 76^th Division, as a major commanding one of that regiment’s battalions.  He was later transferred as a liaison officer in the 2^nd U.S. Army, G 1 section. He was chosen because officer’s appointed to those staff positions had to have a fluent command of the French language, and much possessing experience in military matters.

 

After the war, Col. Ranlett would receive a great deal of praise by many well-known personages, both military and civilian, when he took charge of military instruction in Boston schools, and at the time of his retirement as master in 1933, he headed a staff of 16 instructors which taught 19,000 boys, the largest organization of its kind in the world. Some of the praise came in the form of personal letters like, General Malin Craig, Col. Thomas Bentley Mott, General William H. Bisbee (who has been an officer in the 18^th US Infantry during the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish War, and Philippine Insurrection, and was still in service during WWI. The author of the book, “Through Four American Wars.”).

 

In retirement, Colonel Ranlett’s focus turned to big game hunting, collection firearms, and many other military and historical objects. He was an avid writer, contributing many articles to sporting magazines.

The Ranlett Family archive (as much as I could procure), came from a recent auction, and prior was the property of the Billerica Historical Society, sold to the auctioneer. Excellent provenance for any of the items related to the Ranlett family listed on this site.

 

Col. Ranlett married the daughter of Frank M. Small, postmaster of Cambridge, in 1902. As coincidence would have it, Frank Small, who as an enlisted man was General Burnside’s clerk during the Civil War, enlisted on the same day, in the same company as his father, Seth A. Ranlett, into the 36^th Mass Volunteers in 1862.

 

(Much of this taken from news articles, and personal notes form his photo journal