This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 170 items) |
Abstract | John Burt Hill, a native of Louisburg, N.C., attended the University of North Carolina in 1914, joined the North Carolina National Guard and served on the Mexican border until 1917, then entered military training in Texas and was sent to France in August 1918. Hill served as a wagoner until the end of the war, then remained in France as a student at the Universite de Poitiers. After Hill returned to the United States in 1919, he began a fifty-year career with the New York Life Insurance Company. Correspondence and photographs of John Burt Hill, World War I soldier, describing and picturing his Army training at Camp Stanley, Tex., prior to the war and his experiences in France during and immediately following the war. Also included are a few letters in French which were sent to Hill by friends in France following the war. |
Creator | Hill, John Burt, 1896-1980. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
John Burt Hill was born on 8 September 1896 in Louisburg, Franklin County, North Carolina. He graduated from Horner Military Academy and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for eight months beginning in 1914. Upon leaving college, he joined the North Carolina National Guard and served on the Mexican border until the spring of 1917.
With the entry of the United States into World War I, Hill began further military training in Texas (Camp Stanley) and was sent to France in August, 1918. He served as a wagoner until the end of the war. Following the armistice, Hill, under the Army's auspices, remained in France as a student at the Universite de Poitiers.
Hill returned to the United States in July, 1919, and subsequently began a fifty year career with the New York Life Insurance Company. John Burt Hill died on 12 January 1980 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Back to TopWell over half of the collection consists of correspondence from John Burt Hill to his parents concerning his Army activities during the World War I period. Also included are letters, primarily written in French, which were sent to Hill by friends in France following the war; photographs of Army life; and a variety of undated Hill family photographs. There is no material dated after 1925 and nothing pertaining to Hill's life insurance career or his later family life.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Predominantly letters and postcards from Hill to his family detailing Army life and training in Texas prior to World War I; his experiences as a soldier in France during the war; and his life in France following the war. Also included are letters to and from Hill following his return to the United States. In this latter group are several letters and postcards, written in French, from friends Hill had made in France. Additionally, a brief pamphlet, describing the American soldier's rights and responsibilities upon returning to the United States, is included in Folder 11.
Folder 1 |
November 1916 - September 1917 (8 items) |
Folder 2 |
January 1918 - April 1918 (8 items) |
Folder 3 |
June 1918 - August 1918 (7 items) |
Folder 4 |
September 1918 - December 1918 (11 items) |
Folder 5-7
Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7 |
circa 1918 (26 items) |
Folder 8 |
January 1919 - May 1919 (9 items) |
Folder 9 |
June 1919 (7 items) |
Folder 10 |
July 1919 - September 1920 (15 items) |
Folder 11 |
circa 1919-1920 (14 items) |
Folder 12 |
January 1921 - July 1925 (21 items) |
Photographs of John Burt Hill, of scenes from Army life and training in Texas prior to World War I, and of members of Hill's family.