Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

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.

• 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)

This collection consists of nine letters written by United States Navy sailor John Roy Brokenshire to a friend, Lillian Dow of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Though hampered by censorship, of which he frequently complained, Brokenshire discussed his life onboard the USS Louisiana during World War I.

This collection consists of 9 letters written by United States Navy sailor John Roy Brokenshire ("Roy") to a friend, Lillian Dow of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In his first letter, dated June 7, 1917, Brokenshire described his arrival in Norfolk, Virginia, where he joined the crew of the USS Louisiana for duty in the Atlantic Ocean. He wrote about his journey from the Boston Navy Yard and gave his impressions of Norfolk, including comments on the weather and on the ships assembled there. He frequently shared his disdain for censorship, and suggested that he and Lillian utilize a code to evade such efforts, though no letters appear to have such a code. Brokenshire also wrote about life in the navy, including his experiences with laundry, referring to himself as "some washerwoman" (July 1, 1917). He felt that the war would continue well beyond the summer of 1917 (July 9, 1917) and discussed his opinions about an essay from the September 1917 issue of American Magazine, "The War Inside Myself," regarding the mindset of soldiers.