World War I Newspaper Correspondence Index

Local newspapers frequently printed letters from local soldiers to provide more in-depth coverage of war news. These indexes, prepared by Dan Masters, Steve Badenhop, and Alexandra Hutchings, record soldiers' correspondence printed in area newspapers during World War I. Researchers should be aware that these indexes do not necessarily represent the holdings of the Center for Archival Collections. Those wishing to review the news articles or editorials cited here should consult our newspaper holdings. For further information about military organization during World War I, major actions of the war, and about using this index, please consult the User's Guide below. User’s Guide Introduction By Daniel A. Masters May 22, 2008 For previous users of the index to the Civil War letters of northwest Ohio hosted by the Center for Archival Collections at Bowling Green State University, the layout and logic of this index to the World War I letters will be both familiar and understood. However, with the evolution of military thought and organization there are a number of changes which occurred in the intervening years of 1865-1917 that require a bit of explanation. The indices are laid out in a two part fashion; part one consists of a listing of correspondents in alphabetical order, giving their complete service record, culled from the roster published by the state of Ohio in the 1920s, followed by a list of dates in which their letters appeared. Note that the dates listed are the dates that the letters appeared in their respective newspapers, not the dates that the letters were written. Improvements in communications sped the mails considerably from the time of the Civil War, but the majority of these letters were written in France or Italy and hence took some time to cross the Atlantic. Part two consists of the actual index of the newspaper showing letters by the dates they appeared in the newspaper. The listing consists of the soldier and rank (if known), unit assigned to, place of writing, the date written (if known), and the page or pages on which the letter appeared. Oftentimes, the newspapers would head soldiers' correspondence with phrases such as "From Over There," in reference to the popular song of the time, "Over There." In addition to soldiers' correspondence, articles giving details of a soldier's experience in the military are also noted, including obituaries. These articles often contain letters either from the soldier himself or from comrades in arms imparting information about him. An important difference between correspondence during the First World War and the Civil War is the issue of censorship. During the Civil War, soldiers were generally allowed (with a few notable exceptions) complete freedom to write home what they wished, within the bounds of military propriety. Private soldiers generally were not privy to plans or operations concocted by their officers so it was generally understood that allowing them that freedom of expression was permissible. However, by the outbreak of World War I, improvements in communication technology and the apparent threat of sabotage by German agents (the Black Tom explosion in New Jersey in 1916 is a fine example) had convinced the military authorities that establishing some semblance of control over soldiers' correspondence was both crucial and prudent. Initially, letters that appeared in Wood County's newspapers through the end of 1917 were generally free of censorship, naming names and places at regularity as well as giving insight into the growing pains of the American Army. With the steadily increasing presence of combat personnel on the European continent in the fall of 1917 and the ever present U-boat threat off the eastern shores of the United States, it was announced that censorship henceforth would be a regular activity of the officer corps. Censorship was not, however, rigidly enforced across the board. A few newspapers (the Perrysburg Journal in particular) took this announcement to its logical conclusion and for many months did not publish a single letter. Other newspapers published anything they could, although the letters sometimes were evasive in describing locations, and other information which was considered of primary military value. But to believe that censorship took away from the value of this correspondence in understanding the activities and feelings of our World War I veterans would be overstating the case. The depth of operational detail does suffer somewhat, but this deficiency is more than made up for by the literary style and in depth descriptions contained herein. With the signing of the Armistice, censorship restrictions were lifted quickly and the Wood County newspapers were replete with letters detailing the summer and fall campaigns of 1918; battles such as the Marne, Chateau Thierry, the Saint-Mihiel salient, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and the final campaigns in Belgium. But Wood County soldiers not only served in the Army ground forces in large numbers, they also served in the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps, and in surprising numbers in the Army's Air Service. Of particular note is a series of letters from members of the band of the battleship U.S.S. Indiana which give a detailed, if somewhat whimsical, look at life aboard a naval vessel at war. Each letter makes for fascinating reading once placed into its proper context, and once the soldier and his unit can be placed within the scope of the larger whole. To this end, an order of battle has been provided which will give some guidance in this regard. The bulk of the correspondence detailed here emanates from soldiers serving the U.S. Army. Unlike the Civil War where the primary organizational element was the regiment, during the First World War soldiers identified themselves more with their divisions. Whereas during the Civil War, a regiment may move from division to division several times during the course of the war, World War I divisions were far more rigid in their organization. For example, the 37th Division which was composed almost entirely of Ohio men consisted of the 145th, 146th, 147th, and 148th Infantry Regiments throughout its entire service. This being the case, efforts were made to include divisional information where possible to facilitate use of the collection and to make the task of contextual application easier for the end user. An American Army division in World War I consisted of 4 infantry regiments, 3 machine gun battalions, 3 field artillery battalions, a divisional headquarters troop, and associated divisional units including engineers, a field signal battalion, military police battalion, ammunition train, supply train, a sanitary train that consisted of medical personnel, and, in some divisions, veterinary and mechanical repair units. These units were further organized into brigades, which acted semi-independently in the field. Layout of a Typical World War I Division Using the 37th "Buckeye" Division once again as a reference, here is the layout of a typical World War I division: 37th Division Headquarters Troop 134th Machine Gun Battalion, motorized (4 companies) 73rd Infantry Brigade 145th Infantry Regiment (12 companies) 146th Infantry Regiment (12 companies) 135th Machine Gun Battalion (4 companies) 74th Infantry Brigade 147th Infantry Regiment (12 companies) 148th Infantry Regiment (12 companies) 136th Machine Gun Battalion (4 companies) 62nd Field Artillery Brigade 134th Field Artillery Regiment (6 batteries) 135th Field Artillery Regiment (6 batteries) 136th Field Artillery Regiment (6 batteries) 112th Trench Mortar Battery (3 platoons) Other Divisional troops: 112th Engineers Battalion (6 companies) 112th Engineer Train (1 company) 112th Field Signal Battalion (4 companies) 112th Ammunition Train (4 truck companies) 112th Supply Train (6 truck companies) 112th Military Police Battalion (2 companies) 112th Sanitary Train (10 companies) 114th Mobile Veterinary Unit Organization at the regimental level changed somewhat from the Civil War as well. Whereas Civil War regiments (usually) consisted of ten companies in two battalions, First World War regiments consisted of twelve companies in three battalions. The companies themselves were substantially larger as well: Civil War companies usually consisted of no more than 100 men, First World War line companies often consisted of 250 men. First World War regiments also had additional personnel in a headquarters company, a supply company, a band, a sappers and bombers platoon, a pioneer platoon, an orderly section with troops in the field telephone and radio services, and attached machine gun company. As such, First World War regiments consisted of nearly 4,000 men, four times as large as a Civil War regiment, offering far greater offensive and servicing capabilities. Organizational Chart, 145th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division At the risk of being tedious, included below is a detailed organizational chart for the 145th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division: 145th Infantry Regiment (112 officers, 3,720 enlisted men) consisting of: Headquarters Section, consisting of 336 men divided into: Band Section (49 men) Signal Platoon (76 men in three organizations) Sappers and Bombers Platoon (48 men) Pioneer Platoon (54 men) One pounder gun platoon First Section (42 men) Orderly Section (29 men) Supply Company, 145th Infantry Regiment (168 men) Machine Gun Company (178 men) 12 Line Companies A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-K-L-M Each company consisting of 6 officers, 250 enlisted men 20 enlisted men in company headquarters section Four platoons, each with a headquarters section with a lieutenant, sergeant and four privates, and 58 enlisted men Each platoon was further divided into four sections: First section, 12 hand bombers under the command of two corporals Second section, 9 men in rifle grenadiers Third Section, 17 men as riflemen Fourth Section, 15 as automatic riflemen As is readily apparent, the organization of a typical First World War regiment was a vastly more complicated affair than was typical in the Civil War.

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