Brown in the Great War

As the centennial anniversary of America’s entry into World War I approaches, it feels timely to present a project that illuminates the social landscape of the Brown University campus during the turbulent years of the war, and draws attention to the service and sacrifice of members of the Brown community.

In the summer of 1919, prior to the construction of the Soldiers Memorial Gate, the University published a 74 page booklet, Brown University in the War. The publication features biographies of Brown men who died in the World War I, and a directory of the military service of the 1,974 alumni, former students and undergraduates who served. The memorial booklet was used as a starting point for this project, which explores Brown at a time when “the University became simply a training school for the Army and Navy.”¹1. Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. Providence, RI. 1919. pg5

The fourteen stories that comprise this project serve as possible jumping off points for further research. The stories feature digital images from primary and secondary resources and highlight related materials from Brown’s Digital Repository, such as World War I Poetry from the Harris Broadsides Collection, World War I Sheet Music, Prints, Drawings, and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, and Images of Brown. Materials from the World War I Correspondencecollection;²2.

Unless otherwise noted, quotes come from letters in the World War I Correspondence collection, BUA, MS-1E-World War I letters, Boxes 1-3, filed under the author’s name Biographical, Topic, Office files; Scrapbooks, and World War I Photographs have been key in the development of this project. University publications, such as the Brown Daily Herald, Brown Alumni Monthly, Liber Brunesis, Brun Mael, Sepiad, and the Brunonian have also been consulted. A timeline assists in visualizing Brown’s role in the war alongside local and international events.³3. WWI timeline events courtesy of the National World War I Museum.

For those interested in the greater topic of the role Allied Universities played in the Great War, a useful text to consult is The University at War, 1914-25: Britain, France, and the United States.

Brown University timeline events taken from SB-1E-1. College Scrapbooks. vol. 15, Biographical files, and secondary sources held in the Brown University Archives Google maps aid in understanding the far flung places that the war took Brown’s servicemen. The Gallery presents the digitized images used throughout the site. The Honor Role provides biographical vignettes and portraits of the 41 students and alumni, and 1 faculty member, who died while in service during the war.

The project has been completed in partial fulfillment the Summer Practicum requirement of Brown University’s MA degree in public humanities under the guidance of University Archivist, Jennifer Betts.

1. Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. Providence, RI. 1919. pg5
2. Unless otherwise noted, quotes come from letters in the World War I Correspondence collection, BUA, MS-1E-World War I letters, Boxes 1-3, filed under the author’s name
3. WWI timeline events courtesy of the National World War I Museum. Brown University timeline events taken from SB-1E-1. College Scrapbooks. vol. 15, Biographical files, and secondary sources held in the Brown University Archives