Special Collections - American History Sources: World War I

World War I Resources - GettDigital Collections

GettDigital is an online portal to the digital collections created by Special Collections and College Archives, Gettysburg College. These digital primary sources are a sampling of items housed in Special Collections and College Archives. Our GettDigital Collections support curricular needs, promote College history, and provide online access to a selection of images, videos, documents, and artifacts on a variety of digital platforms.

World War I Resources - Manuscript Collections

Manuscript Collections

A Manuscript Collection is a grouping of materials which focuses on an individual, group of people, or organization. Materials can include letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia. Processed Manuscripts are stored in Special Collection's closed stacks and can be requested at the Reference Desk in our Reading Room.

Browse Finding Aids for the Manuscript Collections

MS-155: Guide to Lt. Francis M. Tompkins World War One Scrapbooks

Select Manuscript Collections pertaining to World War I include:

• Bair-Kohler-Berger Family at 339 Carlisle Street. MS-131
  • The collection contains documents, photographs, and artifacts from Clyde D. Berger's service in the Tank Corps during World War One.

• Bond / Smith Families. MS-246
  • The collection includes over 500 letters, most of them pertaining to WWI. The majority of these letters are from Norman Bond to his mother, Elizabeth (or “Bessie”) Bond, discussing his experiences as a pilot in the 13th Aero group 2nd pursuit squadron. The collection also includes Norman’s 110 page travel diary from his European tour and photographs of his experiences during his tour and the war, as well as Norman’s dog tags. A large portion of the WWI letters are also comprised of home front love letters from Mary Gladys Benson to her future husband, DeWitt Clinton Smith, Sr. who was stationed in France at the time, fighting in WWI.

• Jessen, Jes Jerry. MS-103
  • This collection contains 109 letters written by Jes Jerry Jessen addressed to his family in Spokane, WA, including his mother and father, his brothers George and Ralph, his sister Helen ("La La") and his aunt Molly between June 6^th, 1917 and June 22^nd, 1919.

• Kane, Andrew R. MS-147
  • This collection is made up of 28 letters sent to Andrew R. Kane of Philadelphia, PA from May 31-July 15, 1918 while he was serving with the 112^th Infantry, Company C in France.

• Kinnear, John A. MS-148
  • Consist of 7 postcards and 93 letters which were all written by Kinnear to his family who lived near Lexington Virginia. The letters range in dates from November of 1916 (before Kinnear joined the ambulance service) to May of 1919 (after he arrived home from Europe).

• Miller, Captain Russell. MS-082
  • Correspondence, June 1916 - May 1919, between Miller and his fiancée, and later, wife, Claudia.

• Ryan, Charles D. 66th Engineers. MS-053
  • Letters to his future wife from stateside and France, March 1918-June 1919.

• Straus, Captain (Doctor) Henry W., Ambulance Company #117. MS-130
  • ​​​​​​​Correspondence, June 1918 - March 1919 to wife Anna.

• Stuckenberg, J. H. W. MS-093
  • ​​​​​​​Correspondence and other materials, 1911-1929.

• Taylor, Amos E., Class of 1915. MS-003
  • Series II: Military Service. Contains typed copies of daybooks/diaries Taylor kept during his military service between 1917 and 1919. There are a large number of purchased photographs of different towns and battle scenes in France, German propaganda photos, and a number of personal photographs of soldiers, camp life and other scenes in France.

• Tompkins, Francis M. MS-155  
  • 3 annotated scrapbooks made by Francis M. Tompkins, Ist Lieutenant of the 305 Engineers. The scrapbooks contain photographs, documents, maps, and memorabilia from his experiences from June 1918 training at Camp Lee, VA through his time in France.

• Toomey, Leo. MS-032
  • ​​​​​​​Correspondence, September 1917 - May 1918, between Toomey, his mother and sister, and, correspondence, January 1916 - April 1927, to Toomey from various sources. Collection also includes photographs, documents and other ephemera and a home-made kit bag.​​​​​​​

• Wright, John. MS-095
  • ​​​​​​​Letters received by John Wright (when editor of Knoxville Journal, Knoxville, Iowa) and to family members, from area residents serving in the armed forces during World War I.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Vertical File Manuscripts

Vertical File Manuscripts are single folder collections ranging from one page to 50 pages. 

Browse Vertical File Manuscripts

Select VFMs pertaining to World War I include:

• Stickney, Fred. VFM-196
  • Liberty War Diary of WWI, 1 Jan. 1918 - 31 Dec. 1918.

• Locke, W. L. VFM-222 
  • Letter to Miss Thompson from Camp Colt, Gettysburg, PA.

• Wally. VFM-240 (oversize) 
  • Cartoons of the A.E.F. booklet. 

• Letter to American Troops. VFM-358 
  • Signed by King George V of England. April 1918, Windsor Castle.

World War I Resources - Music

Listed on this guide is a sampling of scores from the World War I Era found in Special Collections. To browse scores in the library catalog, continue to MUSCAT Plus. To see these materials in-person, please make a Research Appointment.

You can also view WWI sheet music virtually in our GettDigital Collections.

World War I Resources - Photographs and Scrapbooks

• African-American Soldiers with the 317th Engineers in World War I, Photo Album. SPOV-018
  • A photo album documenting the efforts of the 317th Engineers, an African-American unit, during World War I. This album begins with the handwritten title “Photographic Record of the 317th Engineers in France 1918 Order No. 1278 Series 1 to 273.” Official military photographs depicting the regiment’s engineering efforts throughout the war. The images show the construction of wooden roadways, connecting French and German train lines, building bridges over various rivers, and creating pathways over large craters that had been blown in existing roads. Images also depict the ruins of churches and homes and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

• American Expeditionary Force Wood-Cover Album of U.S. Nurse. SPOV-004
  • A photo album of the domestic and military experiences of a World War I nurse.

• Eberly Seibert College and World War I Scrapbook, Class of 1920. SPOV- 049
  • A scrapbook of Seibert's time at Gettysburg College and as a soldier in World War I.

• Emily Shaw, Philadelphia Red Cross Nurse in Europe, Scrapbook. SPOV-086
  • A photo album and scrapbook kept by Emily Shaw while working as a nurse in Europe during World War I. Her nursing group was sponsored by the USA Base Hospital #2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the University of Pennsylvania. The album shows Shaw working at hospitals in France and Germany for the last years of the war and for some time after the Armistice. 

• Richard J. Yost - Army Ambulance Service, Scrapbook. SPOV-003
  • A scrapbook album of Richard J. Yost's military service during World War I.

World War I Resources - Gettysburg College

Manuscript Collections

Browse Finding Aids for the Manuscript Collections

Select manuscripts pertaining to Gettysburg College and World War I include:

• Huber, Charles H., Class of 1892. MS-005
  • Series III - Gettysburg Academy and Series IV - United Lutheran Church, contain correspondence, publications, catalogs and other materials dated between 1915 and 1936.

• Hurd, Fritz Draper, Class of 1916. MS-153
  • This collection consists primarily of materials produced by F.D. Hurd himself. The collection includes a memoir draft, photographs of his college experiences, diaries from his college and wartime, and various artifacts and memorabilia from Hurd’s time in the military. The collection focuses heavily on Hurd’s college activities and his war service.

• Kramer, Frank H., Class of 1914. MS-004
  • Contains letters to Kramer from college friends in the military, 1916-1919, and photo album.

• Lybarger, Donald F., Class of 1919. MS-019
  • Contains letters written from Gettysburg College students stationed in stateside military training camps between 1917 and 1919 and addressed to Lybarger or "Brothers of Phi Sigma." A scrapbook kept by Lybarger while a student at Gettysburg between 1914-1919 includes photographs, programs, dance cards and other college memorabilia.

• Taylor, Amos E., Class of 1915. MS-003
  • Series II: Military Service. Contains typed copies of daybooks/diaries Taylor kept during his military service between 1917 and 1919. There are a large number of purchased photographs of different towns and battle scenes in France, German propaganda photos, and a number of personal photographs of soldiers, camp life and other scenes in France.

• Woman's General League of Gettysburg College 1911-1995. MS-040
  • Executive Board Minutes, scrapbooks, Golden Books, and other materials, 1911-1996.

• WWI Gettysburg College Student Records-War Service Questionnaires. MS-048 
  • Issued to all male students at Gettysburg in April of 1919 to collect war service data. Also included in this file are war service questionnaires issued by the Pennsylvania Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta to all Gettysburg College members.

Institutional Records

Archives and College Publications that may be of use:

• Minutes and Publications:
  • The Papers of the Office of the President of Gettysburg College: William Anthony Granville (1910-1923)
  • Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meetings
  • Minutes of the Faculty Meetings
  • Fraternity records
  • Class of 1904 Bulletin (1904-1964)
  • Mercury (1894-present)
• Spectrum yearbook
• Gettysburgian student newspaper
• Commencement invitations 1914 through 1918 [found in College Publications]
• Honor Code, 1916-1982
• Keeney, Sprugeon M., Class of 1914
• Lamond, Jack K. (Faculty) 1916-1920
• McCreary, Ralph W., Class of 1918
• Student Army Training Corps
• Taylor, W. S., Class of 1916

Keep in mind that these are a few suggestions, but not an exhaustive list. Ask an archivist for assistance.