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Military History at your Fingertips with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Posted 11/10/2008
MADISON, Wis. –From the Crusades through World War II and beyond, the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections (UWDC) provides a host of resources that enhance and enrich the study of military history. The collection includes primary and secondary sources of interest to all levels of students, researchers, and scholars. A number of the items digitized are rare or fragile which often means restricted access to the physical objects. However, in digital form, these resources can be used whenever and wherever they are needed. The collection also offers materials that provide insight into Wisconsin’s unique role in the nation’s conflicts.
For more information about the UW Digital Collections Center, visit the UWDCC Web site at http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu.
A History of the Crusades
The focus of this collection spans from the first 100 years of the Crusades to their ultimate impact on the histories of the Near East and Europe.
Wisconsin Goes to War: Our Civil War Experience
This collection is comprised of first person narrative accounts of Wisconsin soldiers and citizens. The letters, diaries, poems, and other records, provide a wealth of knowledge about Wisconsin’s contributions to the Union victory that eventually cost the lives of more than 12,000 of Wisconsin citizens.
E. Murray Bruner Philippine Image Collection
These photographs were taken by E. Murray Bruner who was a member of the Philippines Constabulary, First Company Isabella, from 1906—1910. These images are in the South East Asian Images and Text collection.
World War I Collection
These materials represent a sampling of UW-Madison's World War I Special Collection, which is available in the Special Collections Department of Memorial Library. Most of these materials were acquired by the University during or in the immediate aftermath of the war and they represent a direct and often very passionate or partisan viewpoint of that conflict.
Civil War Band Collection: 1st Brigade Band of Brodhead, Wisconsin
The musical legacy of the 1st Brigade Band presented here consists of a set of twelve, leather-bound partbooks (although one of the twelve has lost its leather cover and some pages) and seven envelopes of other music manuscripts. The partbooks contain about 55 numbered selections and several unnumbered tunes. In addition, a small collection of photographs is included along with the band books, which contains several carte-de-visite–type images of several of the band members.
The Home Front: Manitowoc County in World War II
This collection includes photographic images, oral histories, published materials, artifacts, and other resources that help to document and explain the history of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin during the period from 1939 to 1947.
Germany under reconstruction
This digital collection provides a varied selection of publications in both English and German from the period immediately following World War II. Many are publications of the U.S. occupying forces, including reports and descriptions of efforts to introduce U.S.-style democracy to Germany.
Great Lakes Maritime History Project
Wisconsin’s maritime history is captured in photographs and other materials, including military vessels.