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Robert Joshua Gill Papers, 1856-1991

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MS-2009-068

Scope and Contents

This collection contains details of the life of General Robert J. Gill from 1886 to 1991. This collection is arranged into six series based on material format and further arranged chronologically as possible. The six main series include: paper manuscripts, photographs, scrapbooks, artifacts, books, and digital records. Paper manuscripts, series one, is broken into sub-series that include military records, Gill’s biographical information... along with Keith Richwine’s research on Gill, newspapers and magazines, financial papers, Baltimore Orioles, Western Maryland College, and miscellaneous. Other series within this collection include Gill’s collection of photographs, scrapbooks, a photo album, artifacts, digital records, and books. The photograph collection displays General Gill’s hobbies, family and friends, time at the school, and military/professional career. The scrapbook pages highlight General Gill’s travels, contributions at the Nuremberg Trials, and college life at WMC. The artifacts include General Gill’s Army hats, uniform decorations from his service, his military uniform, jewelry, and philatelic awards. There is a digital repository including a floppy disc, and CDs with scans of some of the documents in Gill’s Papers. The books we have are those confirmed to be Gill’s or presumed to belong to him spanning topics from a 1910 yearbook from WMC to volumes on the International Military Tribunal: Nuremburg 1948. A record of the books believed to belong to Gill is available for review. See more

Dates

  • 1856 - 1991
  • Majority of material found within 1935 - 1946

Restrictions

Portions of the paper manuscripts are restricted, please contact the archivist with any questions.

Conditions Governing Use

Papers may be copied in accordance with the McDaniel College Archives' usual procedures.

Biographical / Historical

Robert J. Gill, a former United States Army General, was decorated by three governments in two world wars; with his legal background Gill aided the prosecution of Nazi Germany leaders at the Nuremburg Trials (1945-1946); he maintained a successful legal career; later serving as secretary of the Baltimore Orioles, and once won a pair of gold medals at an international stamp collecting exhibition in New York, New York.

General Gill graduated... from Western Maryland College (WMC, now McDaniel College) in 1910, where he was captain of the basketball and football teams and a member of the tennis and track teams. Long after his playing days had ended, General Gill remained a keen WMC sports fan. Gill remained committed to supporting the WMC legacy as a donor and served as the president of the Board of Trustees. In the 1930s, Gill played a key role in bringing Richard C. Harlow, a coach for the football team, to WMC, leading them to an undefeated season and a Top 10 ranking. Gill was inducted into the WMC Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. The school gymnasium was named to honor General Gill.

After time spent studying at WMC, Gill obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia (UVA) law school. While attending UVA he continued his athletic career and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He then returned to Baltimore once he graduated as an attorney specializing in corporate law.

Gill originally enlisted as a private in the Maryland National Guard, but when the United States entered World War I, he went overseas as a captain, commanding the 117th Trench Mortar Battery (a unit attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division). He led the first Maryland unit to see action in World War I. On July 14th, 1918, his men withstood a heavy artillery barrage and then turned back a German tank and infantry attack at Chalons. For this action General Gill was awarded a Croix de Guerre with palms from the French government. By the war’s end, the young officer had attracted the attention of the division commander, Douglas MacArthur, and became a part of the general’s staff. He left the service as a lieutenant colonel and returned to his private practice of law in Baltimore.

In 1929 Gill was elected president of the Baltimore Stadium Association, a program made to promote sports activities at the old municipal facility. Shortly after the Orioles franchise was moved to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1953, Gill joined the board of directors and was elected secretary. He remained on the board until the team was sold to Edward Bennet Williams.

Gill returned to active duty in the military in 1942 with the outbreak of World War II. Gill oversaw 2.5 million prisoners of war in Europe. By the time the Germans surrendered, General Gill was supervising 23 Prisoners of War camps in France and 15 in Germany. At the war’s end, he controlled an army the size of 10 divisions, but all were enemy soldiers. Just before leaving the army, he was selected to become an executive officer to the Supreme Court Justice, Robert H. Jackson, the chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg war trial. His post with the War Crimes Commission brought with it a promotion to Brigadier General. For his role aiding in the prosecution of Nazi criminals at Nuremburg, Gill was awarded both the Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. government and the Third Order of the White Lion from Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Into his late 80s, General Gill remained active in sports and business affairs. His death followed a brief illness and he passed on his 94th birthday on June 22, 1983, in Baltimore's Washington Apartments.

General Gill was survived by cousin, Edith F. Dykes, of Baltimore. He was honored in Little Baker Chapel at Western Maryland College and interred in a family lot at Westminster Cemetery. See more

Extent

34.83 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

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