World War I correspondence from students, alumni, and faculty collection, 1917-1918.

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World War I correspondence from students, alumni, and faculty collection, 1917-1918.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122631999

Consists primarily of letters, dating from 1917 to 1918, written by 274 Brown University students, alumni, and faculty serving in the American Expeditionary Forces or the Young Men's Christian Association during World War I. Correspondents include enlisted men, officers, chaplains, and civilians. The letters include descriptions of billets, military camps and forts in the United States and Europe, transportation, food and other rations. Other subjects include training, promotions, being wounded and subsequent recuperation, movements of batteries, conditions in France, and the attitudes of the French and Italian people about the war. Many of the men express lonliness and are anxious for letters and for news of the activities of other Brown University men. Letters were written in France, England, Germany, and Italy; as well as while individuals were in transit to Europe. In most cases there are one to three letters from each correspondent. A series of thirty-two letters dating from Oct. 1917 to Dec. 1918, written by McDonald Low Edinger, Battery B, 103rd Field Artillery, give a long term view of the war as observed in France. Two letters from a YMCA chaplain, Theodore F. Cullen, describe service men's attitudes toward the YMCA staff and Woodrow Wilson's visit to Paris after the 1918 Armistice. There are a few letters describing conditions in China written by Harvey Gladding Denham, a Standard Oil employee. There are also some letters from parents who were reporting on their sons' activities.

900 items (1.2 linear ft.)

Brown University Archives, John Hay Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6796748

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

United States. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km312r (corporateBody)

The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which wa...

United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65752dw (corporateBody)

Historical Note American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) was the U.S. military force in Europe during World War I. Although a division commanded by General John J. Pershing was sent to France in June 1917, most of the AEF was manned as a result of passage of the Selective Service Act (40 Stat. 76) by the U.S. Congress on 18 May 1917, creating the Selective Service System. The Act gave the president the p...

Brown University.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gj37ms (corporateBody)

In 1917 the university established the Brown War Records Bureau, whose intention was to "collect and preserve a record of all Brown men who are serving in the present war". Brown faculty, students and alumni who were in the military were asked to fill out a small card called "Are you in the war?" and to send original letters, clippings or photographs which "have any bearing on the service of Brown men in the war." This collection is partly a result of that effort. From the guide to t...

YMCA of the USA

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wm53qn (corporateBody)

A child of evangelical Protestantism, the YMCA at first considered itself a specialized agency for bringing young men to Christ. Although the early Y's mission was unabashedly religious in nature, the organization focused on method rather than doctrine or philosophy. Dominated by business men rather than professional religious leaders, the movement tended to emphasize facilities, expansion, practical usefulness, and specific influence. Early work included not only the distribution of tracts, Bib...