Collection on the Civil War in Kentucky Photographs Now Available on ExploreUK

Another fantastic Civil War-related collection has been added to ExploreUK. The Collection on the Civil War in Kentucky photographs (dated circa 1861-1865; 0.6 cubic feet; 75 items) contains photographs showing prominent civil war figures such as Ulysses Simpson Grant, John Hunt Morgan, Mary Todd Lincoln as well as a group portrait of the Kentucky Division of United Confederate Veterans. The collection was drawn together artificially from various purchases and is arranged by source of acquisition.

The full finding aid can be found here.

Above: R. F. Morris; United States Army, 1862

Above: Unidentified man in military dress

Above: Leonidas Armstead Sypert (1832-1893); served as a Colonel in the Confederate States Army, 1865

Above: Unidentified man in military dress

Levi C. Worster diaries and papers now on ExploreUK

We're pleased to announce a portion of the Levi C. Worster diaries and papers is now available on ExploreUK.

The collection (dated 1863-1913, bulk 1863-1865; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) primarily comprise three diaries that provide an eyewitness account of life as a Union cavalry soldier during the Civil War, 1863-1865. Diary entries describe scouting parties, skirmishes, and marches through Kentucky and Tennessee. They also include vivid accounts of combat at Chickamauga and Stone River (Murfreesboro), harsh weather, and details of wounded and ill soldiers. When not in combat, his duties as a corporal included picket and scouting assignments, as well as building and protecting camps. Some diagrams of the works and fortifications are included. Other descriptions of ordinary military life include food and drinking, visits to hospital, life in camp, and Worster's ailments. In addition, Worster recorded a running tally of his correspondence at the end of the 1863 diary. The collection also includes his discharge papers, July 10, 1865; a pension certificate, June 24, 1913; a copy of Mumford & Co.'s The Historical Map (Cincinnati, Oh.); and advertisements for soldier's pensions and patent solicitors, undated. The third diary (entries are written in a Planters & Merchants Insurance Co. leather covered notebook) includes military, patriotic, and love song lyrics transcribed by Worster, 1865-1866; an 1878 insurance certificate; and additional handwritten notes in pencil, apparently by a child, dated 1881-1913.

Louisville to Okinawa in WWII

Photographs of camp life from 2013ms0362: John C. Davis notebook and photograph album, 1944
 

This notebook, containing photographs and signatures, was kept by an African-American soldier from Louisville, Kentucky, named John C. Davis during World War II. Davis served in the Pacific Theater as a corporal in the 2284^th Quartermaster Trucking Company, an all black unit.



Japanese atomic bomb survivors

 

The photographs document the men in Davis' unit, camp life, and the battle of Okinawa. Included is a picture captioned “This is the place that the atomic bomb fell with ened [sic] the war in Japan” showing a few Japanese survivors.

The notebook also includes a four page description of his mission on Okinawa to blow up a gasoline dump. The brief but detailed pages describe how he killed several Japanese soldiers, found the gasoline dump, and his attempts to get back to his unit.

"...in the distance I could see a big gun that looked like the empire state building swinging back and forth continually..."
 

The back pages contain signatures and messages written by the soldiers in Davis’ unit. The messages reflect the camaraderie and the pathos inherent in military service during WWII.

"This island was a sad place to live as a soldier"

"...for when your friends become your foe into the world your secrets go..."