Finding Aid for the Robert Orville Carver First World War correspondence 2014.037.w.r

Madeleine Bachtelle
Center for American War Letters Archives
8/14/2014
Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
Orange, CA 92866
speccoll@chapman.edu


Contributing Institution: Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Robert Orville Carver First World War correspondence
Identifier/Call Number: 2014.037.w.r
Identifier/Call Number: 165
Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1917 July 11 - 1919 March 27
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence from ENG2/C Robert Orville Carver, USN to his mother and sister during the First World War. Also included are documents and other materials such as various naval orders, documents informing the family of his death, newspaper clippings, and one small photograph.
Language of Material: English .
Container: WWI 2
Container: 3-4
Container: 1-2
Container: WWI O-F 1

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Robert O. Carver, Legacy Project.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by material type and date.

Biographical / Historical

Engineman 2nd Class Robert Orville Carver, United States Navy grew up in Poplarville, Mississippi. He was the eldest son of Randolph and Ada Carver, and was very close with his two brothers and two sisters. He frequently wrote to his mother as well as his younger sister Ruth. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Mount Vernon as part of the Engineer force for 1 1/2 years. Carver lost his life when the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine off the French coast on September 5, 1918.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, Box number, Folder number], Robert Orville Carver First World War correspondence (2014.037.w.r), Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence from ENG2/C Robert Orville Carver, USN to his mother and sister during the First World War while aboard the USS Mount Vernon. Also included are documents and other materials such as various naval orders, documents informing the family of his death, newspaper clippings, and one small photograph. Added 5/4/2021: one book, "The Bluejacket's Manual, United States Navy, 1917."
ENG 2 Carver wrote letters and some postcards to his mother Ada and his sister Ruth, covering a period from July 1917 to February 1918. There is also one folder containing photocopies of a letter fragment and a newsclipping naming him among the dead aboard the U.S.S. Mount Vernon, as well as a handwritten story about the torpedo attack that hit the ship.
This collection also contains a small photograph and documents and material relating to ENG 2 Carver's death on September 5, 1945. This includes naval orders, newspaper clippings, and documents informing his family of his passing.
The Bluejacket's Manual is the fifth edition, revised November 1916 by Lieutenant Norman R. Van Der Veer, United States Navy, and is an authorized edition of Franklin Printing Company, Baltimore, Maryland. Carver wrote his initials on the bottom edge of the book block and his name on the inside of the front cover along with the date "4/19/18." (Flat File D: Drawer 2)

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Battle casualties
Correspondence -- World War, 1914-1918
World War (1914-1918)
World War (1914-1918) -- Homefront
World War (1914-1918) -- France
Carver, Robert Orville