History Commons^™

Ms-287: Whitney Family Civil War Letters, Danielle S. Russell

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The Whitney Family Civil War Letters collection contains 46 letters from the Civil War Era, 2 Freemason dues notices for Mariner T. Whitney, and four empty letter covers. 37 of the letters, written by Hiram R. Whitney, pertain to his military service and daily life with the 132nd New York Infantry Regiment. Two other letters, written by Henry J. Manning and John Marsh Young relate to their military service with the 11th New York Volunteer Cavalry and the 124th New York Infantry, respectively. John Marsh Young was the nephew of Ruhamah Irwin Whitney, the wife of Mariner T. Whitney. The …

Ms-289: John D. Rentz Civil War Diary, Danielle S. Russell

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John D. Rentz’s Civil War diary chronicles the time he spent with the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry between December 26, 1863, and September 6, 1864. The diary details a wide array of information pertaining to his life with the regiment and the progress of the Civil War.

Rentz’s pension letter is very simple, merely asking for B. Penrose’s assistance with securing a renewal of his pension. The “Rebel letter” written by Margaret Jones to Joseph King is also simple, providing a few details about the rainy weather, the progress of the crops, and expressing Jones’s desire to see her brother.

The …

Ms-290: Wwii Diary Of Leslie Wright Jr., U.S. Signal Corps, Danielle S. Russell

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Leslie Wright Jr. enlisted in the United States Signal Corps on September 15, 1941, serving as a 2nd Lieutenant, until he was honorably discharged on January 9, 1946. He was first stationed in Richmond-Upon-Thames in Southwest London, before being transferred to Grimsby, in North East Lincolnshire.

This diary details a wide array of subjects relevant to Wright’s personal life and his service with the United States Signal Corps. References are made to politics and pop culture in the early 1940s.

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Ms-285: Corporal Anthony John Kachmarsky Wwii Collection, Carly A. Jensen

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The Corporal Anthony John Kachmarsky WWII Collection contains photos and documents of his time in the Pacific Theater. The bulk of the images focuses on the Japanese Surrender Treaty Signing and the occupation of Tsingtao. There are also several medals in Box 2 that Kachmarsky earned during his service, including his Purple Heart. There are magazines, books, newspaper clippings, and postcards that illustrate life in the Marine Corps. Susan Ross Southgate’s ration book and Disney-themed War Bond have been removed from this location and relocated to Vertical File Manuscript Collections.

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Ms-286: Elizabeth And Elmer Mckee, Class Of 1944, Jessica A. Cromer

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This collection contains over 500 letters, 17 V-Mail, and 25 additional items, including Elmer’s college transcript, military documents, and personal narrative. The bulk of the letters are written by Elmer (Chuck) to Elizabeth (Diz), but there are over 100 letters written by Elizabeth in the closing years of this collection (1945-46). These letters provide insight into the Gettysburg College experience during the early 1940’s and the daily life of men stationed in Europe during World War II. Many of the letters depict Elmer and Elizabeth navigating their personal relationship, whilst simultaneously navigating the complex time period in which they lived. …

Ms – 247: Sinclair – Donaldson Papers, Michelle Williams, Ryan Bilger

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The Sinclair - Donaldson Collection includes photographs and ephemera saved by Connie Sinclair, an African-American W.A.C. member who served during WWII. It consists of sepia-toned and black and white photographs taken during training and enlistment, many captioned. Among the images are official Army photos, including women in a mess hall, the Nurse Corp at Fort Huachuca, and Native American soldiers at the same location.

Also contained within this collection are military pins, patches, and insignia, including the Pallas Athene and Sinclair’s dog tag; a W.A.C. song book from 1944; and Sinclair’s Service Recognition certificate. Two Service Club scrapbooks from the …

Ms – 246: Papers Of The Bond/Smith Families, Natalie M. Orga, Michelle Williams

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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. Norman also wrote to his mother frequently before the war during his time at Harvard University, and during his post-college tour of Europe. The collection includes many of these letters, postcards, and photographs from this time period, as well as Norman’s grades, professor correspondence, a Harvard flag, and other documents and ephemera relating to his school years. It …

Ms-227: Theodore Schlack, Class Of 1950 Civil War Artifact Collection, Laurel J. Wilson

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This collection is made up of artifacts relating to the American Civil War. It includes both items from the Civil War era and postwar items. The wartime artifacts were collected by Rev. Dr. Schlack in order to reflect the items a Union soldier would have interacted with in their daily life. The collection of wartime artifacts includes items such as a Springfield rifled musket, a knapsack, and a dice cup with dice. The collection of postwar artifacts relates more broadly to war memory and commemoration, and includes items such as paper souvenir fans from the 75th anniversary of the Battle …

Ms-238: Prisoner Of War Letters From World Wars I And Ii, Kelly A. Murphy

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This collection consists of various correspondence between POWs and their families, including 86 letters, 174 postcards, and about eight package slips during both world wars. Most of this correspondence was authored by the prisoners and sent to their families from camps in Europe, although it contains some correspondence from camps in Asia and Africa. The collection also contains correspondence from prisoners in concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, and from interned civilians in France and Germany. Because these letters were the main way to contact family members, most of the POW correspondence contain thoughts of homesickness and loneliness along with updates …

Ms-236: Bernard Peace Wwi Photograph Album, Kelly A. Murphy

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The album contains 200 photographs that depict everyday life and people in Baghdad and northeast India, including entire pages dedicated to “Arabs” and pictures of men and women in bazaars and drawing water. Other photographs are of notable events, including the “Dedication of British [Army] Cemetery” or the arrival of the “First Aeroplane from England to India.” There are also pictures of various landmarks, such as mosques, religious pilgrimage sites, historic cities and palaces, and natural wonders, from Iraq, India, and France. Included on the front cover is two photos pasted together to create a panorama of the “Signing of …

Ms-235: Ltc Richard F. Pendleton ‘63 Papers, Ryan D. Bilger

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The collection includes maps, photographs, documents, and correspondence related to the service of LTC Richard F. Pendleton ’63 and the Vietnam War. These include detailed maps and items highlighting aspects of Pendleton’s time in Vietnam and broader pieces regarding different aspects of the Vietnam War era. Much of this correspondence is in the form of e-mails written many years after the war, and thus includes the personal opinions and biases of their authors. The printed articles included in the collection were also selected by Pendleton and reflect his interests and opinions on the war and its aftermath; they are not …

Ms-234: Richard Buchter ’54 Papers, Joy Zanghi

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This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, Vietnamese leaflets relating to the Psychological Operations of the Vietnam War, other military-related documents, and Vietnamese paraphernalia Buchter gathered during his service as the Base Operations Officer in Da Nang during the Vietnam War. Possible research interests lie in the Vietnam War, specifically PSYOPs and the Air Force.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our …

Ms-232: Edward A Frederick Papers, Joy Zanghi

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This collection is a small collection mostly comprised of postcards written by Edward A. Frederick to his family. The postcards follow Frederick from his training with the Aero Squadron in San Antonio Texas at Kelly Field to his service overseas in the UK and France. The collection also contains photographs, a newspaper clipping, and a ring and pins from the US Aero Squadron. Overall, the postcards and the collection as a whole do not provide much insight or detail about the life of a soldier during WWI.

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Ms – 198: Letters Of Leonard G. Roberts, Olivia R. Simmet

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The letters from Leonard (Mike) Roberts to Geraldine Smith Roberts are very much the correspondence of a young, homesick husband in love. The first series of the collection includes five letters from Mike dated 1937 and two notes presumed to be circa the same time, marking the progress of their teenage courtship. The collection resumes in 1944 when Roberts begins his military service. Drafted late in the war, Roberts was not posted overseas until January, 1945. The letters detail his deployment and military life with a hiatus between February 3rd April 6th as Roberts is taken prisoner by the Germans. …

Ms-225: Joshua Blake Civil War Naval Journal, Laurel J. Wilson

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In this journal, Blake details his experiences aboard the USS Preble, which was one of the ships that were deployed to the Gulf Coast as part of the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron. His time on the USS Preble is detailed in the first 41 pages of the journal. On page 46, Blake switches to detailing his time aboard the USS Augusta from 1866-67, and also details his 1869 passage to Genoa aboard a ship called the Magdalene. On page 132, Blake switches back to 1862, detailing his two months aboard the USS Connecticut. A possible explanation for …

Ms-221: Cpt. Robert L. Morris ’66 Papers, Jeffrey L. Lauck

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The collection includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and other documents related to the life of Robert L. Morris ’66. Series 1 includes a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings and photographs from throughout Morris’s life, beginning with his childhood. Series 2 includes items from his life before joining the U.S. Air Force, specifically items related to his time as a student at Gettysburg College. Series 3 features photographs, awards, and other documents from his service in the U.S. Air Force through his death in 1972. Potential research interests lie in Gettysburg College’s Vietnam War connections, the personal history of Cpt. Robert L. Morris, …

Ms-222: Lt. John M. Colestock ’65 Papers, Jeffrey L. Lauck

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The collection includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and other documents related to the life of John M. Colestock ’65. Series 1 contains items from Colestock’s life before joining the U.S. Navy, while Series 2 includes all items from his service with the Navy until his death in 1969. Potential research interests lie in Gettysburg College’s Vietnam War connections, the personal history of Lt. John M. Colestock, and photographs from the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical …

Ms-220: Homer W. Schweppe Papers, Abigail E. Metheny

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This collection is made up of a vast variety of materials pertaining to Homer William Schweppe’s experiences during World War II. Schweppe compiled various items during his initial military service in the United States, such as his Seattle Port Officer I.D. badge and his uniform patches. There are also items from his time at Camp Ritchie, including his glossary of “Nazi Deutsch” terms and a book on the Order of Battle of the German Army, to which he contributed. Schweppe also included items he collected while overseas, such as a German Map of the D-Day Invasion area, a welcome pamphlet …

Ms – 211: Earman Family Letters From Wwii, Kayla Morrow

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The collection contains 389 letters, 15 V-mail , and 166 additional items addressed to members of the Earman family home. The majority of the correspondence is sent from Ernest and Randolph to their mother, Mrs. Earman. Because the Earman brothers did not see much direct combat, the bulk of their letters are updates on health and daily activities, or candid observations on the war, the Army, the weather, and women. The rest of the collection includes letters addressed to the Earman family from distant or extended family, close friends, and Ernest’s foreign and domestic girlfriends. Many of the letters are …

Ms-206: Anti-Communist Publicity Materials, Danielle E. Jones

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This collection consists primarily of materials produced by the American Legion, the American Coalition, and Patriotic Education, Incorporated for distribution to schools and newspapers, speeches by anti-communist politicians and military members, and publications regarding American nationalism. One of the speeches given is by a notable Gettysburg alumnus, Maj. Gen. Charles Willoughby. The collection focuses heavily on the years 1951 to 1955. While there are multiple anti-communist groups featured, the collection does not provide much background on the organizations themselves. The collection provides an overview of various political issues of the time including the Bricker Amendments, a series of Amendments concerning …

Ms-204: Elisabeth Covington Smith Dewing Collection, Karen Dupell Drickamer

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Elisabeth Covington Smith served as an officer in the Women's Army Air Corps and the Army at the end of WWII and during the Korean War. She loved to travel, visiting many countries during her time in the service and after her retirement in 1965. This collection contains photographs of her travel's through Japan, Thailand, India, and the Philippines 1950-1953, photographs of For Lee, Virginia and a base near Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1940s, her military medals ribbons and pins, and her uniform (ca. 1965) with cap, skirt, and jacket (with all insignia, buttons, patches and bars.)

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Ms – 202: James W. Davis Letters, Karen Dupell Drickamer

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The bulk of the collection consists of 23 letters by James W. Davis (1965-1968) from Vietnam, to his wife, Janet W. Davis, Miami, Florida (Series I). Letters from Janet W. Davis home from Europe in 1951 and Hong Kong and Bangkok in December of 1958 (Series II), help to fill in biographical information. Series II contains four letters from various people to either James or both James and Janet. The collection also consists of news clippings and ephemera sent home by James in his letters (Series IV). James did not place a date on his letters, only the day and …

Ms-199: Mary Metcalf Barrett Letters, Lauren H. Roedner

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This collection is comprised of seventeen Civil War era letters from Mary Metcalf Barrett to her sister, Elvira Metcalf Aplin between 1859 and 1872. She discusses her feelings about the Civil War, her worry over her son and nephews away fighting, her experiences of life on the home front in Manchester, New Hampshire during the war when foodstuffs are expensive and sometimes hard to find. She repeatedly mentions the mills and industries in town limiting hours or closing altogether, affecting all the employees and making the town destitute. She talks about her income from making and mending clothing but also …

Ms – 201: Hauser Collection Of Eisenhower Political Ephemera, Lauren H. Roedner

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This collection comprises an assortment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower related political materials from the 1960s and 1970s. A few relate directly to the donor’s family (Hauser), but most do not. The collection is predominantly programs from Eisenhower-related events or dedications, a few pamphlets and photographs, and a few political bumper stickers from national elections. There is also the occasional item related to President Ronald Reagan or President Richard Nixon. This collection does not provide a wealth of information about or memorabilia from local politics or political events that Eisenhower attended.

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Ms-169: Albert Chance World War Ii Collection, Melanie L. Fernandes

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This collection contains personal documents, correspondence, photographs, and items from Albert Chance during the time he served in WWII. His correspondence and photographic materials dominate the collection. While Chance’s materials give a thorough description of his personal experience during the war in the European Theater and North African Campaign, they also provide perspective into the mind of the common soldier during this time. Through his letters Chance expressed his feelings of commitment to the war effort, his opinions about the sites and people he saw while he was away, and what he did during his leisure time.

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Ms – 197: Meine Militärdienstzeit, Jesse E. Siegel

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The collection includes one photo album with 48 pages and 263 pictures, three missing, and two sheets of newspaper, one dated June 1, 1937, and the other dated November 21, 1937. Below is a list of the places visited by the officer in the course of the album that could be identified, and the images he included in the album, including their page numbers. Some of the images, particularly the tank picture on page 10 and the locations depicted on pages 42-43, may be chronologically out of order.

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Ms-161: Ellen Wild Letters, Savannah G. Rose

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The Ellen Wild Letters Collection contains 21 letters, primarily featuring letters written in 1862 to 1865. The majority of the letters come from 1862, but several also come from her time following the Civil War. The letters recount Mrs. Wild’s time during the Civil War, waiting for news from her husband as well as surviving on the home front. She recounts Edward Wild’s adventures during the war, his life in camp, and his numerous woundings and ailments. Mrs. Wild discusses her husband’s involvement in North Carolina as well as with the free African Americans. She briefly mentions the Battle of …

Ms-193: The Letters Of William F. Dietz To Ernst G. Laubenheimer, Devin Mckinney

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This collection is divided into three series: I. Letters; II. Photographs; and III. Ephemera.

The bulk of the collection consists of 14 letters sent by William Dietz to Ernst Laubenheimer between 1900 and 1902. The first is written from New York in 1896, just after Ernst and his father have returned from a European trip. The second, sent from Atlantic City three years later, gives an interesting view of that fledgling coastal resort long before it became a major attraction.

The rest of Dietz’s letters are written from the Philippines in the midst of the Philippine- American War (1899-1902). He …

Ms-181: Papers Of Aaron Andrews (Andreas), 16th Pa Cav., Co. E, Steven J. Semmel

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The collection contains 31 letters from Aaron Andrews (Andreas) to his wife over a 3 year span during the war (1862 to 1865). Andrews was a Pennsylvania merchant from Luzerne County who enlisted in the army in August 1862. He followed his unit through the Eastern Theater, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant before mustering out in August, 1865. The collection also contains biographical information done by a family member, census records, and marriage records. Each letter is accompanied by a typewriter transcription by the same family member.

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Ms-177: Lillian Quinn Letter Collection, Avery N. Fox

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The collection consists primarily of letters written from Lillian Quinn to Lillian Carling. The letters span from January 27, 1937 to August 8, 1949 and focus on family health, activities, and troubles of the Quinn family, as well as their opinions about World War II and how it impacts the family.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.