The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War

417 Pages·2009·1.28 MB·English

by  James David Robenalt

THE HARDING AFFAIR
LOVE AND ESPIONAGE DURING THE GREAT WAR
James David Robenalt
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THE
H
ARDING
A
FFAIR
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THE
H
ARDING
A
FFAIR
LOVE AND
ESPIONAGE
DURING THE
GREAT WAR
J D
AMES AVID
R
OBENALT
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THEHARDINGAFFAIR
Copyright © James David Robenalt, 2009.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States a
division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in
England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21
6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has
companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-0-230-60964-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robenalt, James D., 1956–
The Harding affair : love and espionage during the Great War / James David
Robenalt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-230-60964-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-230-60964-3 (hardcover)
1. Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865–1923—Relations with women.
2. Phillips, Carrie Fulton, 1873–1960. 3. Presidents—United States—Biography.
4. World War, 1914–1918—United States. 5. Espionage—United States—
History—20th century. 6. Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel),
1865–1923—Correspondence. 7. Phillips, Carrie Fulton, 1873–1960—
Correspondence. 8. United States—History—1913–1921. I. Title.
E786.R63 2009
973.91'4092—dc22
2009015910
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre, Inc.
First edition: September 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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C
ONTENTS
Forewordby John W. Dean ix
Prologue “’Twas a Search in Vain” 1
Chapter 1. Espionage in Chattanooga: The Baroness 7
Chapter 2. The American Protective League and Love Tricks of
Women Spies 9
Chapter 3. “The Sweetest, Dearest Little Brother You Ever Saw” 13
Chapter 4. Saturday, December 22, 1917: An Espionage Hearing
Begins 19
Chapter 5. Carrie 23
Chapter 6. Baron Kurt Loeffelholz von Colberg 31
Chapter 7. “It Flames Like the Fire and Consumes” 37
Chapter 8. Christmas Eve, 1910 41
Chapter 9. A German Cavalry Officer Named Zollner 43
Chapter 10.“Constant” 47
Chapter 11.“I Got the Fever” 55
Chapter 12.“Fate Timed that Marvelous Coincidence” 57
Chapter 13.“I’d Rather Be a Licked Warrior and Survive, than a
Healthy Coward” 61
Chapter 14.“Everybody Would Be Able to Get the Better of Me” 73
Chapter 15.“My Carrie, Beloved and Adored” 75
Chapter 16.“Mrs. H Is an Invalid” 85
Chapter 17.“I Have Had My First Lark since You Went Abroad” 95
Chapter 18.“I Was Literally Seduced and Urged into the Step” 103
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Chapter 19.“Sophie! Sophie! Don’t Die! Stay Alive for the
Children!” 109
Chapter 20.“I Am Busier than an Old Hen with a Brood Full
of Chicks” 113
Chapter 21.“You Are an Enemy Alien” 117
Chapter 22.“This Was Surely a Great Victory” 121
Chapter 23.“I Expected My Husband to Stay in America” 129
Chapter 24.“Why Didn’t You Say What You Wrote?” 135
Chapter 25.“Apparently Considerable Panic” 143
Chapter 26.“Bernstorff Used Dyes as War Club” 151
Chapter 27.“It Is My Intention to Work at My Job Instead of
Haranguing Dinner Parties” 153
Chapter 28.“He Was an American from the Word Go” 161
Chapter 29.“So Robinson Came!” 165
Chapter 30.“The Strength of the Warrior and the Skill of the
Engineer” 173
Chapter 31.“I Learned to Love with You” 181
Chapter 32.“No, This Makes Me Too Promiscuous” 189
Chapter 33.“Today We Raise the Question of Peace” 197
Chapter 34.“I Know You Are in Rebellion” 205
Chapter 35.“We Shall Make War Together and Together Make
Peace” 215
Chapter 36.“A Little Group of Willful Men, Representing No
Opinion but Their Own” 217
Chapter 37.“My Countrymen, the Republic Is on Trial” 223
Chapter 38.“First Met Him at a Hop” 233
Chapter 39.“You Suddenly Threatened Me with Exposure to
the Germans” 237
Chapter 40.“I Guess My Spirit Is Broken” 247
Chapter 41.“Secrets of the Hohenzollerns” 255
Chapter 42.“The Chickens Had Scraps from the Table” 263
Chapter 43.“Need of Dictator Urged by Harding” 267
Chapter 44.“No Women Are Insensible to the Courtly Attentions
of Army or Navy Men” 273
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Chapter 45.“Isabelle, You Are a Sudden Child” 281
Chapter 46.“I’m Talking to the Wife of a German Officer, Now
Ain’t I?” 291
Chapter 47.“It Thrills Me, Merely to Live It Over in Recollection” 299
Chapter 48.“Let Me Lecture You a Bit” 301
Chapter 49.“War Is Hell” 313
Chapter 50.“You Are the Wonder Woman of the World” 327
Chapter 51.“We Have Blundered” 335
Epilogue 345
Afterword 351
Notes 353
Acknowledgments 383
Index 385
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F
OREWORD
John W. Dean
T
his is a truly unique and historic book because of the truly
unique and historic material upon which it is based: A treas-
ure trove of love letters—“PG–13” or “R” rated by today’s
standards because some of the material is remarkably explicit—
written by Warren G. Harding to Mrs. Carrie Phillips, his
longtime lover, who saved the future president’s letters and occasionally added
her own notes and drafts to the collection. There are in existence roughly 788
handwritten pages by Harding found in the form of 106 letters, which include
poetry and other materials he sent to Carrie over the years. In addition, there
are approximately 138 pages written by Carrie, which include her notes along
with what appear to be drafts of letters she prepared, if not unsent letters.*The
longer Harding letters run between 20 to 30 pages, but these were composed
of multiple letters written over several days. Some letters were written on the
pages of a reporter’s stenographic-type notebook from Harding’s old news-
paper days, many are on U.S. Senate Chamber stationery, while others are
on hotel stationery, sent while he was traveling.
This collection of writings amounts to much more than old love letters;
rather, they result in a strikingly intimate self-portrait unlike any other of the
often-maligned twenty-ninth president of the United States. While Harding
holds no unique presidential distinction by having had an extramarital affair,
*In addition, Carrie also saved telegrams from Harding; two letters from her brother Chester relaying in-
formation from Harding while he was president; twelve pages of a draft letter from her to Dr. Carl Sawyer
about Harding’s memorial following his death in 1923; fifty-four envelopes; an invitation to Harding’s in-
auguration; photos; and other miscellaneous items.