Troop I Archive

Troop I began as the New York National Guard's 1st Cavalry Regiment in Buffalo. The troop was organized by William "Wild Bill" Donavan, a prominent Buffalo Lawyer who became a highly decorated officer, winning the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. He would later go on to head the OSS, a U.S. intelligence institution that proceeded the CIA.

Troop I first saw action in 1916, when the New York National Guard was sent to the Mexican border after the incursions of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. The Troop also saw action in Europe during WWI and was disbanded in 1919. The Troop became part of the American Legion veteran's association after it was established by an act of Congress in 1919. For many years the Troop was housed in a local mansion of historic significance, but in 2022 was forced to put the building up for sale, leading them to donate their archive to the library.

The project will require the student to analyze and process a small archive including:
Board Minutes
Newsletters
Membership cards
1917 Roster of Troops sent to Europe
Maps
Scrapbooks
Liberty Bond Posters
Photo albums, vertical files

The student will be required to research the troop and it's history, select appropriate materials to house the collection, determine an appropriate order to organize the materials, create a finding aid, and create a blog post or presentation discussing the significance of the collection. The student will work under the supervision on the Special Collections Department Manager and librarians in charge of archiving and cataloging Special Collection materials.