Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room.
Arthur R. Wilson (1881-1953) was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, and a politician. He was the son of Alexander Gibson Wilson, a Presbyterian minister of Tekamah, Nebraska.
In 1898, Wilson enlisted in Company L, 1st Regiment, Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Thurston Rifles." The regiment arrived in Manila on July 1898, returned to San Francisco in July 1899, and was mustered out in August.
After the war, Wilson attended the University of Nebraska, and graduated in 1907. From 1923 to 1924 he was mayor of Klamath Falls, Oregon.
The collection is primarily comprised of Wilson's diary, newspapers and newsclippings, correspondence, ephemera, financial records, and photographs that document his service during the Spanish-American War.
The bulk of the correspondence is from Wilson's family, including his father, mother, brother Edgar (a missionary teacher in Kohlhapur, Ratnagiri, and Sangli, India), brother Alexander S. (a medical missionary in Miraj, India), and sisters Edith Harriet (a student at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois) and Jane (resident of Tekamah, Nebraska). The letters date from 1896 to 1899. A majority of the correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The collection also includes Wilson's Philippine diary, dated between June 18 and August 5, 1899. In it, Wilson details, among other things: his travels and skirmishes in the Philippines; keeps a mortality record of the men serving in "L" Company; tallies his clothing allowance, and the value of his munitions; and makes notes on a recipe for curry.
Among the newspaper clippings are letters, entitled Manila Letters , written by Wilson and published in an unidentified American newspaper (likely one published in Nebraska at the time).
The Ephemera series includes a broadside by Emilio Aguinaldo, dated January 8, 1899 and entitled, "Otro manifiesto del Sr. Presidente del gobierne revolucionario," a denunciation of American policy in the Philippines. Also included are two maps of Manila and the vicinity on which Wilson has marked encampments, locations of skirmishes, and made other other annotations.
The Publications series includes two published volumes of The Soldier's Letter , a typical encampment publication, with stories, poetry, sketches, and camp news.
The black and white photographs in this collection primarily document the Malolos Campaign, which lasted from March 24 to August 16, 1899. Many of the photographs depicting soldiers going about their daily lives - marching, in battles, and their encampments - are of soldiers in Wilson's regiment. There are also photos that document the scenery and culture of the Philippines.