The papers of William Oland Bourne (1819-1901) span the years 1841-1885, with the bulk concentrated in the period, 1856-1867. Bourne, editor of the periodical The Soldier's Friend , sponsored a contest in 1866 in which Union soldiers and sailors who lost their right arms by disability or amputation during the Civil War were invited to submit samples of their penmanship using their left hands. The contest, which awarded $1,000 prizes for the winning entries, was succeeded by a second contest which awarded $500 prizes. Bourne's papers contain correspondence and broadsides concerning the contests, the entries submitted, and photographs of the participants.

Bourne, who served as chaplain of Central Park Hospital, a military hospital in New York City, also collected Civil War reminiscences recorded by his patients in autograph books. The reminiscences generally include information concerning places and dates of enlistment, descriptions of major battles, wounds suffered, and the dates and circumstances of the patients' admittance to the hospital.

Bourne also was interested in politics and active in the New York affiliate of the Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association, and his correspondence documents the history of the association from 1841 through 1885.