Fifty years after Jefferson County found itself wedged between the Union and the Confederacy, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany and the Central Powers. Suddenly towns like Shepherdstown, Charles Town and Harpers Ferry once again prepared for war, this time an ocean away. Civilians supported the cause by donating to the Red Cross, and the county's large agricultural community produced food during rationing. More than five hundred Jefferson County natives enlisted, while more than three hundred additional soldiers came from college institutions within the county. Historian James Francis Horn recounts the struggles and triumphs of local communities during the Great War.

James Francis Horn has volunteered at Antietam National Battlefield and served as a park ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. James graduated from Shepherd University with a degree in history, with a concentration in the Civil War and nineteenth-century America. Currently, James is a seasonal park ranger at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park in Middletown, Virginia.