The long Crimson line
For almost 250 years, the U.S. military and Harvard University have shared a deeply interwoven history. From the thousands of students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have served in uniform to others who have shaped American diplomacy or scientific research, members of the Harvard community have long dedicated themselves in service to the nation’s military. Members of the Harvard community also served in militias and local military units during the almost 150 years before the nation’s founding. A Harvard University Archives exhibition currently on display at Pusey Library demonstrates the scope of this relationship. The exhibit, called “To Better Serve Thy Country: Four Centuries of Harvard and the Military,” includes correspondence from military leaders, uniforms and personal collections of soldiers, and presentations on nuclear research and other archival materials. Beginning with the founding of the University and the nation in the colonial period and concluding in the 21st century, the items presented in...