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Collection consists of a two volumes titled "Journal of a Cruise from Norfolk, Virginia to the Pacific Ocean in the United States Frigate United States, Isaac Hull, Esq'r, Commander" kept by Philadelphian midshipman Lawrence Penington from 4 December 1823, through 22 April 1827. United States was one of six frigates authorized to be constructed by the Naval Act of 1794 and it served as the flagship for Commodore Hull who was head of the American naval squadron on the Pacific Coast of South America. Penington documents navigation statistics, weather reports and daily ship life, along with the larger issues of interaction between the American naval squadron and British, Spanish, Chilean, Colombian and Peruvian naval and military counterparts.

Issue No. LXXIX (1/13/1790) of the Gazette of the United States newspaper containing the announcement of the Adoption and Ratification of the Constitution of the United States by the State of North Carolina, signed in type by President George Washington, p.313-316, (4 p.), published by John Fenno, New York, and autographed "[Moses] Ogden."

Diary (1864-1865) kept by William W. Perry, a Pennsylvania soldier who joined the Union Army on January 4, 1864, at the age of thirteen. Also included are eight pages listing the men from Ringgold, Pennsylvania, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Map of New River, NC, showing soundings in feet, Map #777, 2d ed., 7/29/1940, rev. 2/24/1958

Collection consists of a diary (1944-1945) kept by Sgt. Douglas R. Woodworth, a radio operator serving with a B-24 bomber crew attached to the 1st Division of the 8th United States Army Air Force, while stationed in England during World War II.

This pocket diary was kept by Union soldier James F. Shapleigh of 43rd Massachusetts Volunteers, Co. D, from January 1, 1863, through July 20, 1863. He was mustered out at the end of July 1863. During this period the 43rd Massachusetts Volunteers served in North Carolina with the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 18th Army Corps. Camp Rogers in New Bern, was home base. Included in the diary are good details related to the Battle of Washington, North Carolina, that covers March 30 to April 19, 1863, as well as everyday life for soldiers. Later scattered entries in the diary go through January 1864.

Diary written by Edward L. Williams, while serving in the United States Marine Corps, describing his voyage, aboard the USS Alaska, to the European Station under the command of Captain Samuel "Powhatan" and under the direct supervision of Captain W. R. Brown, including their cruise along the Italian coast , frequent port calls, shipboard life, behavior of sailors, and his friendships and acquaintances among the ship's crew.

Diary (1862-1863) including photocopy, camp life, burning of boat, etc.

The collection includes correspondence and some photographic material documenting the service of Richard Lewis Kinney (1927-2015) of Lexington, North Carolina in the United States Army in occupied Japan at the end of World War II. The collection provides a glimpse of an American soldier's point of view and experience serving overseas during the post-war occupation of Japan.

Collection (1858-1901) consisting of a photocopy of the Civil War diary of Charles A. Tournier, 1864-1865; photocopy of the Craven Common Schools report, 1858; photocopies of pamphlets of advertisements, 1880s; and a photocopy of an Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad leaflet, 1901.

Picture postcards of hospitals in the United States. This collection has postcards from 44 states plus Washington, D.C. Many are in color.

This collection contains a diary (February 16, 1863-May 16, 1863) and correspondence (September 14, 1862-September 15, 1864) written by an unknown private serving in Co. I of the 44th Massachusetts Volunteers Regiment during the Civil War. The diary was written by a man named Daniel while his company is camped at Brice's Creek, North Carolina. The letters cover a longer span and are written by Daniel to his sister Susie. During that time, his company was camped at Readville, Newberne (now New Bern) and Brice's Creek in North Carolina, near Fort Smith and at Arlington Heights in Virginia, and finally at Fort Delaware in Delaware.

This photograph album belonged to Hawaii native Joe Naiwi who served with "A" Company, 3110th Signal Service Battalion in Berlin, Germany, in 1946. Images are a combination of picture postcards, commercial photographs, and amateur photographs depicting tourist spots, ruins, abandoned war debris, life on the base, and candid shots with fellow soldiers, foreign troops, and German locals.