Item Description
Original Items. One-of-a-Kind. This is a stellar pair of diaries written during World War I by a pair of brothers from Peoria, Illinois, Charles & Frank Hart. Both brothers had enlisted in the Illinois National Guard before the war, serving in the 3rd Illinois Field Artillery, Battery C. When war was declared and the national guard was federalized, Charles joined Company B, 132nd Infantry Regiment, and Frank joined Company B, 123rd Machine Gun Battalion. Charles was wounded in action by chemical gas on October 9th, 1918.
Frank Hart’s diary measures roughly 4 x 6” and is falling apart. There are roughly 40 pages full of writing scattered throughout the diary, with large chunks of empty pages skipped by Frank. Near the end of the fighting it appears Frank is battling some mental issues “I almost broke down with nervous strain, I couldn’t eat or sleep all I could was think of the war being over and when we would be bound for home. We are still in the trenches wanting to be relieved but I don’t know when we will be relieved.”
Charles’ diary is about the same, with the pages having disconnected from the spine. Roughly 40 pages of writing scattered throughout, with a section near the front which talks about the battles he was engaged in. Charles was wounded on October 9th, 1918 and mentions being gassed and taken to hospitals. Some pages are falling out.
It’s extremely scarce to find any WWI diary, but to find a pair of diaries to two brothers who saw some of the roughest fighting of the war is just unbelievable. This is a very scarce set, ready for further research and display.
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