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Category: Diaries

Handwritten copy (with deletions crossed out and additions added) of the first few sentence of Jefferson

200 Years of Clara Barton Birthdays

Posted by: Elizabeth Novara

On the 200th anniversary of Clara Barton’s birth on Christmas Day 1821, a look at Barton’s birthday diary entries and her published holiday greetings reveals the complexities of this well-known figure. Volunteer to transcribe and review newly added materials from the Clara Barton Papers on the Library of Congress’s By the People crowdsourced transcription website during Barton’s birthday month. 

Posted in: Civil War, Diaries, War and Society, Women's & Gender History

Black and white photograph of lieutenant George Patton, in uniform with a pipe, standing outside of a tent.

Inside George S. Patton’s First War Diary

Posted by: Lewis Wyman

George S. Patton kept a personal journal during his involvement in the 1916 Mexican Expedition. While serving as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing, he recorded many observations of the military campaign against Pancho Villa’s forces - everything from day to day activities, to the first use of airplanes by the U.S. Army in a combat roll and its last use of mounted cavalry. This is the first of many wartime diaries that Patton kept during his military career.

Posted in: Diaries, War and Society