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Collection

Charles K. Cummings, Voyages in the U.S.S. Mount Vernon, 1921

1 volume

This volume is a history of the USS Mount Vernon's service as a troop transport ship during World War I, written by United States Navy Lieutenant Charles K. Cummings, who served on the ship during the war. Cummings's narrative relates daily incidents as the Mount Vernon carried troops between New York City and Brest, France, during and after the war. Cummings noted the names of prominent passengers and included several diagrams and drawings depicting naval formations and the Mount Vernon.

This volume is a 137-page typed history of the USS Mount Vernon's service as a troop transport ship during World War I, written by United States Navy Lieutenant Charles K. Cummings, the ship's communications officer. Cummings presented this copy, entitled Voyages in the USS Mount Vernon, 1917-1919, to James Madison Doyle, the ship's gunnery officer, in December 1921. The title page has an intricate drawing of the ship by Harleston Parker.

The narrative is structured as a diary and opens with 4 pages of introductory material with information on the Mount Vernon's history prior to its first voyage as a United States Navy transport vessel. The daily entries cover the period between October 11, 1917, and April 24, 1919, during which time the ship made 12 round-trip voyages between New York City and Brest, France, carrying members of the American Expeditionary Forces. Many of the entries record the day's weather, compiled from the author's personal diaries and the ship's official logs; lists of military units being ferried across the Atlantic Ocean; and notable incidents or the names of distinguished passengers. The Mount Vernon traveled as part of a heavily guarded convoy and Cummings routinely noted the camouflage and deceptive sailing patterns employed to guard against German submarine and torpedo attacks, as well as news of other ships throughout the convoys. On February 11, 1918, he provided a list of distress calls the ship received on its most recent voyage (pp. 51-52). In addition to military officials and diplomats, the ship also carried a 13-year-old stowaway mascot of the 132nd Infantry Regiment (p. 89), a group of African American soldiers (pp. 101-102), and several wounded soldiers, including two Red Cross nurses suffering from shell shock (p. 117). On September 5, 1918, the Mount Vernon was struck by a torpedo, which killed 35 members of the ship's crew (pp. 126-129). Cummings frequently mentioned his activities while in port at Brest, Southampton, and Boston, which included social calls and spending leave time with his family.

The book includes several partially colored diagrams and illustrations pertaining to events mentioned within the text:
  • USS Mount Vernon (title page)
  • "Collision Between Agamemnon and Von Steuben" (pp. 26-27)
  • "Torpedoing of Finland" (pp. 26-27)
  • "Torpedoing of Antilles" (pp. 26-27)
  • "Intensive Lookout Station on Mount Vernon" (pp. 40-41)
  • "Types of Camouflage on U.S. Destroyers" (pp. 60-61)
  • "Manoeuvre for Practice with Submarine Target" (pp. 96-97)
  • "Sinking of British S.S. Instructor, July 15, 1918 (pp. 96-97)
  • "Torpedoing of U.S.S. Mount Vernon, September 5, 1918 (pp. 126-127)
  • "Mount Vernon Showing Camouflage on Port Side" (pp. 128-129)
  • "Diagrams of Mount Vernon Showing Effect of Torpedo Explosion (pp. 128-129)

Collection

Daniel E. Shea journal, 1865

58 pages

In his journal, Daniel Shea, a literate, passionate writer, has left an outstanding record of his service during the last months of the Civil War.

In his journal, Daniel Shea, a literate, passionate writer, has left an outstanding record of his service during the last months of the Civil War. Although the journal entries are seldom of any great length, they are frequent enough and detailed enough to be useful, particularly during the Mobile and Montgomery campaigns. Although Shea identified with his "ethnic" background -- he was Irish born and raised -- he did not serve in an ethnic regiment, and mentions his background explicitly only once, on Saint Patrick's Day.

Collection

John Wilkey, Jr. collection, 1944-1946

14 items

The John Wilkey, Jr., collection is comprised of military documents, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs related to John W. Wilkey, Jr., who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

The John Wilkey, Jr., collection is made up of military documents, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs related to John W. Wilkey, Jr., who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

Mary Wilkey and John Wilkey, Sr., wrote a letter to their son, John Wilkey, Jr., on February 5 and 6, 1946. His mother enclosed copies of letters by Representative Charles Wolverton and Senator Albert Wahl, who responded to her request that they support legislation to discharge fathers currently serving in the military. Wilkey's father expressed his pressing need for his son's help with their wheat farm, and urged him to seek a discharge. The collection also holds Wilkey's official request for a discharge (April 26, 1946) and a special order issued in response by the 40th Bomb Wing headquarters (May 10, 1946), as well as a refund check for 2 cents (January 1945); an undated, printed application for a sugar ration book (not filled out); and an undated, printed advertisement for a commemorative military book. Five snapshot photographs depict John's wife Ruby and their young daughter (April 1946).

The collection contains 3 additional documents: a typed "station notice" containing the order of events for an "Invasion Day rally" (May 19, 1944), a memorandum about "Regulations Concerning Compressed Air" from the torpedo shop at the United States Naval Mine Depot in Yorktown, Virginia (August 26, 1944), and a facsimile of an advertisement for an upcoming publication about the depot (February 1945).