Remembering World War I
During the First World War, American citizens made many sacrifices in an enormous effort to establish international stability. Young men trained and fought in bloody battles, high school students received credit for working on farms, and women became nurses at the front and determined supporters at home. New Yorkers were no exception. This website is comprised of historical resources that provide insight into the role New Yorkers played in the First World War.
Beginning in 1919, state historians James Sullivan (1916-1923) and Alexander C. Flick (1923-1939) requested that public historians across the state gather and send documentation about New York’s participation in World War I. Local historians collected and forwarded information relating to their communities' roles in the war. Two-thirds of the state's communities provided the requested information but very few veterans from New York City are represented in the series. No files for Bronx, Queens, or Richmond counties were provided. These items, together with the New York State Archives’ other records related to World War I, provide the researcher with multiple perspectives on this important topic.
Over a five year period, Archives undergraduate and graduate student interns have mined these records to provide a selection of the types of materials the Archives has on this topic, as well as to illustrate the breadth of New York’s contributions to the war effort. This website is comprised of more than 350 historical records that are grouped by topics. The topics are interesting and varied, including: Animals, Children, the Armenian Genocide, Army Health, the Harlem Hellfighters, In the Trenches, Homecoming and Memorials, Industry, and much more.
