Music at the National Archives

By T. Juliette Arai RG 93 (War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records), Entry 50 (Music Book, n.d.) As most researchers are aware, the National Archives has many records that are administrative in nature.  In some very rare cases, however, we do come across a document that is so much more interesting than the everyday … Continue reading Music at the National Archives

How World War I Also Became Known as The Chemist’s War

Today’s post is the second in an occasional series where we will highlight some of the work of our volunteers. Jean Onufrak is a volunteer with the Volunteer Office at the National Archives at College Park.  When you think of the term “chemical weapons”, you probably think of their use nowadays in terrorist actions or contentious … Continue reading How World War I Also Became Known as The Chemist’s War

Seamanship: A Report from the Navy Team

Today's post is written by Dale Jackson, an enthusiastic archives technician with the Navy Records processing team at Archives II. Hello, here at the National Archives we the Archives Technicians have had the opportunity to process, preserve, and repair historical military records, specifically from the United States Navy.  My undergraduate major is in Criminal Justice, … Continue reading Seamanship: A Report from the Navy Team

After 200 years, a glimpse into The Art of Secret Writing

Today's post is written by James Rush, a supervisory archivist in the textual processing unit at Archives II. On June 8, 2011, the National Security Agency announced that it had declassified and released to the National Archives and Records Administration over 50,000 pages of historic records relating to cryptology and the history of intelligence gathering. … Continue reading After 200 years, a glimpse into The Art of Secret Writing

No Enemy Contact, but Alien Contact…

Today's post is written by Joe Gillette, a processing archivist at Archives II. During the Vietnam War, American army commands maintained daily journals documenting assorted events. Most entries were relatively mundane, documenting staff meetings, personnel travel, incoming or outgoing messages, and the like. Some were more administratively significant, such as changes in command, the awarding … Continue reading No Enemy Contact, but Alien Contact…

Finding My Father in the Archives

Today's post is the first in an occasional series where we will highlight some of the work of our volunteers. Janet Hodges is a volunteer with the Volunteer Office at the National Archives at College Park.  First, this isn’t about genealogy; I don’t like genealogy.  I leave that exercise to my daughter who enjoys spending … Continue reading Finding My Father in the Archives