Major General James Franklin Bell’s Dress Shoulder Knots, and Stars.

Description

Major General James Franklin Bell’s Dress Shoulder Knots, and Stars.  A fine quality pair of should knots for the dress uniform made by N,S. Meyer, Washington, D.C. with both having labels on each knot.  Lightly toned gilt, with silver bullion stars on each in the rank of major general (the highest rank achieved by Gen. Bell).  The buttons are the pattern 1912 with rimmed edges, and are Meyer marked as well; still attached to the brass screw post that would slip into a small cloth tab on the uniform’s shoulders.

The three loose stars are un-hallmarked false embroidered types that would have been worn on the service dress shoulder tabs.  One has a patented folding clip applied to the back, while the others use a bale and ring for attaching.

The loose stars are 32mm point to point.

This lot was purchase with a snapshot of Gen. Bell that looks to be this era, showing this material, minus three smaller stars and a belt buckle, which was not included in the lot.

 

James Franklin Bell, USMA Class of 1878. Began his career in the army with the 9th Cavalry, and soon transferred to the 7th Cavalry, and joined the regiment in October of 1878, at Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory.  He remained with the regiment on the Plains until 1883 through 1886 -1889 when he was an instructor at Souther Illinois University. He took a personal leave after that time an by the time he returned to the 7th Cavalry, had missed the questionable action at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.  In 1894 was Aide de Camp to General Forsyth, Dept. of California, and stationed at Fort Apache, Arizona Territory.

During the Spanish American War, Bell was promoted as a major of volunteers, and soon after colonel of the 36th U.S. Volunteer Infantry and ordered to the Philippines. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions of Sept. 9, 1899 near Porac, Luzon. His citation reads,

“while in advance of his regiment [Bell] charged 7 insurgents with his pistol and compelled the surrender of the captain and 2 privates under a close fire from the remaining insurgents concealed in a bamboo thicket.”

In December, Bell was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers. In February of 1901, in an uncommon promotion for that era, Bell was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army, from his rank of captain.  He remained in the Philippines for some time afterwards.  In 1903, he was in charge of the Command and General Staff School, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and in 1906 was promoted to major general and became the Chief of Staff of the Army.  He was the first Chief in a 45 year period to hold that position without having been a Civil War veteran.

In 1914, Bell commanded the 4th Division in the Department of the West, and in 1917 transferred to the Department of the East, at Governors Island, in New York City harbor. His aide at that time was a relatively unknown captain by the name of George C. Marshall. Soon after he became the commanding general of the 77th Division of the National Army, and that unit sailed for France in December of that year. After returning to the States in March of 1818, General Bell fail a physical exam and was not allowed to return to active service overseas, returned to command of the Department of the East until his death in January of 1919.

General Bell was later posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Medal for previous actions in the Philippines.

These items were recently purchased by me recently, and had no other provenance that what this lot contains and the previous dealer retained.  There was no other material available for sale relating to Bell.  I priced the lot accordingly, and value is primarily base on value of the items offered.

A nice historic uniform insignia group.