Alabama National Guard's 167th Infantry Regiment in World War I, The

Truss, Ruth Smith

ON AUGUST 1, 1917, IN PREPARATION for sending American troops to France for participation in World War I, the War Department ordered the creation of a composite division of National Guard units from various states. Ultimately designated the 42nd Division and commonly known as the Rainbow Division, it included National Guard units from twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia and was one of the first American divisions to ship overseas. Among the ranks of the 42nd were the men of the Alabama National Guard 4th Infantry Regiment, redesignated the 167th Infantry.1

This Alabama regiment would have been an unlikely choice just a few years earlier. Like many National Guards, the Alabama Guard had a record of falling far short of regular army standards. In the early years of the twentieth century, individual units were frequently cited for such infractions as failing to salute, allowing weapons to rust and fall into disrepair, and polluting downstream drinking water with sewage.2 The poor track record did not significantly improve until the Alabama Guard was tapped for a succession of assignments beginning in 1916 that incrementally demanded higher levels of performance. Border patrol in the southwestern United States introduced an element of rigor to the Guard's duties that had been missing previously. Soon thereafter, responsibility for guarding transportation and utilities infrastructure in their home state gave Guardsmen a stake in a distant battle against a foreign enemy. And eventual deployment to the trenches of Europe transformed previously part-time soldiers into battle-hardened veterans, some of them highly decorated, who helped turn the tide of the Great War.

American involvement in the war stemmed from Germany's use of unrestricted submarine warfare in its effort to control the seas. After the initial battles of the summer of 1914, the armies on the western front settled into long years of trench warfare, neither side able to break through the other's defenses on a scale sufficient to force a more mobile front. President Woodrow Wilson made neutrality the official United States policy. Meanwhile, Germany sought to cripple Allied transportation by using her U-boats (Untersee-boots) in attacks on British shipping. After a series of sinkings that included American casualties and produced subsequent protests by the United States, Germany agreed to refrain from sinking liners or other passenger ships without warning and to attempt to provide for the passengers' safety under certain conditions.

Tensions between the United States and Germany then eased. But the effects of the British blockade of Germany and the general war situation brought German leaders' thoughts back to the effectiveness of the submarines, the only element of the German navy to remain truly viable after the British Royal Navy confined Germany's surface ships to the eastern part of the North Sea. By early 1917 Germany decided that unrestricted submarine warfare was an advantage that must be employed again if the Central Powers were to be able to win the war.

Germany knew from the previous American responses that such a policy probably would bring the United States fully into the war on the Allied side. German commanders judged the American military force an unimportant factor, however. The United States Army was small in numbers from the German viewpoint-only about 110,000 regulars who were ill-equipped and ill-prepared for a war. The navy was more impressive but lacked destroyers and escorts-the very vessels needed to combat submarines. German leaders therefore gambled that unrestricted submarine warfare could help them win the war before the American forces could prepare, recruit, and train sufficient numbers of men to contribute significantly on the battlefields of the western front.3

In mid-March 1917, U-boats sank four American merchant vessels, killing thirty-six Americans. On April 2 Wilson asked Congress to declare war. By a Senate vote of 82 to 6 and a House vote of 373 to 50 the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. That afternoon the Eastern Department of the United States Army notified Camp Sheridan, the Alabama National Guard's mobilization center in Montgomery, of the state of war with Germany.4 The Guardsmen had arrived in Montgomery in March after several months of Mexican border duty as part of the United States' attempts to end cross-border raids by the bandit Francisco "Pancho" Villa and his men. The Alabama Guardsmen were responsible for little more than guard duty, but the deployment was an important period of transition during which the troops made tremendous strides toward professionalism. Working with regular army officers under the routine of regular army life brought greater efficiency, discipline, and cohesiveness to the organization.5

On May 18 the War Department notified Adj. Gen. G. J. Hubbard that the units of the Alabama National Guard were to recruit to "maximum strength," provide as much training as possible, and complete typhoid prophylaxis treatments and smallpox vaccinations. The department also informed the adjutant general that President Wilson would draft the enlisted men of the National Guard reserve into federal service about August 5, 1917. Hubbard attempted to contact all National Guard reservists individually by mail to notify them of the president's proclamation because all who failed to respond were liable to arrest and trial for desertion. National Guardsmen who had married before the declaration of war or had dependent relatives could choose to resign from the Guard prior to activation.6 In addition to placing current Guardsmen on alert, Hubbard deployed recruiters to every section of the state.7

Medical officers examined new recruits for physical fitness to regular army standards. The rejection rate was generally 25 to 30 percent. From April 1 to June 15, 841 men were examined at Camp Sheridan; 572 or 68.01 percent qualified. The most common reasons for rejection were insufficient weight, venereal diseases (gonorrhea and syphilis), "bad teeth," tuberculosis, and heart diseases. After passing the physical, enlistees received assignment to a "recruit company" and underwent the required series of vaccinations.8

Three to four weeks of training with the recruit company followed. The training schedule for the morning usually included forty-five minutes each of physical drills, "school of the soldier" (lessons on their duties as individual soldiers), and foot movements of bayonet exercises; thirty minutes of nomenclature of the rifle; and forty-five minutes of instruction in target sighting, elevation, and windage. Afternoon lectures for the first six days covered topics such as personal hygiene and venereal diseases, military courtesy, the Articles of War, army rations and pay, and care of equipment and assembling a pack. The second week's afternoon topics covered camp sanitation, army regulations, care of feet, esprit de corps, and the role of infantry in war. By the third week the men practiced guard duty, receiving instructions on walking their posts and performing interior and exterior guard duty, and learning the general and specific orders of a sentinel posted for guard duty. After making sufficient progress recruits took their places in established companies, but commanders commonly ordered continued instruction for new men for an additional two weeks.9

As new recruits swelled the ranks of the Alabama National Guard, some veteran members went to great lengths to obtain permission to resign. Edwin Abell Robertson, a member of Battery C, wrote to Gov. Charles Henderson on March 21 seeking the governor's intervention with Adjutant General Hubbard to secure Robertson's release from the battery. A lawyer from Birmingham, Robertson told the governor that he had accumulated eight hundred dollars in expenses because of time spent away from his practice while on Mexican border duty. His parents were "in very bad health," and he could attend no drills because of their illness. Robertson feared another call to active duty, adding that if he had to leave his practice again he "would be put back in life for several years." He considered the time already spent, "at a great sacrifice," to be sufficient service and asked to be released from further duty.10

Henderson replied that he had received several resignations from officers of Battery C that were already under consideration. The governor understood Robertson's situation and appreciated the fact that service to his country was a hardship for him. But, Henderson continued, to accept resignations during the "peculiar condition" of anticipated war with Germany would suggest the action to others and so become "the entering wedge to a complete disorganization of the Alabama National Guard." The governor therefore refused "immediate action" on Robertson's request.11

The Alabama Guard's initial wartime assignment was to protect infrastructure essential to transportation in the state, such as bridges, locks, and tunnels. The War Department issued specific instructions for this guard duty, including orders for addressing disloyal acts by civilians against such structures. The Guardsmen were to repress and deal "sternly" with any actions of violence "inspired by disloyalty or sedition." If they should observe such an act, soldiers were to assert federal authority promptly and vigorously, if necessary by firing upon anyone attempting to damage property under their protection.12

The assignment of guards to a structure depended on the structure's importance to transportation. National Guard commanders consulted railroad and other public utilities officials in distributing the available troops. Most of the men guarded railroad bridges within the state, but Alabama troops also guarded the interstate rail bridges across the Perdido River between Alabama and Florida and most of the bridges across the Chattahoochee River between Alabama and Georgia. Other Alabama troops guarded several Alabama Power Company plants, including those in Birmingham, Gadsden, and Anniston.13

By May 15, 1917, from a total of approximately 3,500 troops, Alabama had 2,971 Guardsmen on duty guarding public infrastructure. The remaining troops were at Camp Sheridan, training recruits, maintaining headquarters, and caring for cavalry animals.14 When in town the Guardsmen were to avoid the "prohibited district." The camp commander forbade his troops from "visiting houses of prostitution," noting that such action cast a "slur on the uniform." The military police worked with civil authorities to maintain order among the soldiers; they also enforced curfews, arrested drunk or disorderly soldiers, and reported to civil authorities establishments that sold liquor to men in uniform.15

When the War Department created the 42nd Division in August 1917, Alabama, New York, Ohio, and Iowa each supplied an infantry unit on the regimental level. Other regiments comprised combined units from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, Maryland, California, South Carolina, Missouri, Connecticut, Tennessee, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Nebraska, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.16

The Southeastern Department commander recommended that the 4th Alabama Infantry be assigned to the 42nd. The commander of the 4th was Colonel William P. Screws, a former regular army officer who had served from 1910 to 1915 as the inspector-instructor for the Alabama National Guard. Screws was widely regarded as one of the major assets of the Alabama Guard, and his reputation was likely a prominent factor in the selection of the 4th to join the 42nd.17 On August 10 the commander of Camp Sheridan received instructions to complete the organization of the 4th Alabama "with utmost expedition." To upgrade the 4th Infantry to war strength, the Southeastern Department ordered the transfer of the necessary numbers of enlisted men from other Alabama Guard units, including the 1st and 2nd Infantry regiments and the 1st Alabama Cavalry.18

During most of August the 4th Alabama busily transferred enlisted men, completed paperwork, and requisitioned clothing, equipment, animals, and vehicles to prepare for overseas service. Screws turned over all the unserviceable 1903 Springfield rifles in his regiment. Medical personnel examined the officers of the 4th Alabama Infantry and found all but one physically qualified. The regiment shipped 101 mules and 44 horses to Newport News, Virginia, the embarkation point for the animals' journey to France.19

During this preparation period a few men attempted to obtain discharges by claiming that they were the sole support of their families. If such claims were verified the man received discharge papers. But several applications from privates were disapproved. The commander of Company G disapproved one request, noting that when the man enlisted on May 30, 1917, "he stated that no one was dependent upon him," and that "the thought of the trenches in France" was the true reason for the application.20

Other troops were willing and even eager to go overseas. John H. Gardiner, who left the cavalry to join an infantry regiment, later claimed no special bravery or patriotism for his actions. He remembered that in 1917 joining the service was "the thing to do," so he left his horse, Buck, and the cavalry for an opportunity to "see some action."21 Such anticipation of adventure did not, however, preclude more somber feelings at the prospect of leaving loved ones. For some men the last days of August presented a final opportunity for visiting their families and hometowns. Many took advantage of forty-eight-hour passes. One soldier recalled that he made "a whirlwind trip to Albany and Jackson for a few hours each with homefolks and my sweetheart."22

On August 15 the War Department officially redesignated the 4th Alabama Infantry as the 167th Infantry Regiment, 84th Brigade, 42nd Division. The regiment comprised 3,622 enlisted troops and 55 enlisted medical staff for a total of 3,677 men, 17 above regulations for a regiment. The 1st Alabama Infantry had contributed 880 enlisted men to join the new 167th; the 2nd Alabama Infantry and 1st Alabama Cavalry had also provided enlisted men to bring the 167th to war strength, which was nominally 3,700 officers and men.23

Two weeks later the 167th Infantry entrained from Camp Sheridan for Camp Albert L. Mills in Garden City, Long Island, New York. The regiment passed through Atlanta, Richmond, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia en route to New York. They arrived at Hempstead, New York, at 7:00 P.M. on the 29th and slept in mess shacks that night. A private later described the 167th's first day at Camp Mills, on Saturday, August 31. In a steady downpour his detachment began establishing camp. The men set up tents "in three different places that day and finally landed" at the first site after "moving six times in an effort to satisfy the 'powers that were.'"24

Some of the increase of officers to war strength came from outside the Alabama Guard. Second Lt. John M. Donaldson, from Fairfield, Connecticut, was a recent product of an officer training school at Plattsburgh, New York. He was assigned to Company B, 167th Infantry, along with a fellow graduate from Plattsburgh, and joined the 167th in New York. He met the officers of Company B, who then introduced the newcomers to the other companies' officers. Of his fellow officers Donaldson wrote: "A mighty fine bunch of fellows that treated us like princes." The lieutenant rejoiced when he saw the food: "The officers mess is a dandy if today's food is any criterion. Glory! Glory!" But he also discovered "one rotten drill ground, I'm here to state and it's about two miles from the Co. [company] street."25

At Camp Mills the 167th joined other National Guard units, and the 42nd Division came together for the first time. The men continued training for their deployment overseas. They received detailed instructions on their infantry equipment-how and what to pack, the uses for each piece, and the proper method of carrying the loaded pack. Troops were to carry only prescribed articles, and they received warnings of disciplinary action if unauthorized items were found.26 The distribution of new equipment-"everything from 'dog tags' to rifles"-consumed considerable time. The men expected daily to receive orders to embark, but the protracted outfitting extended their stay at Camp Mills to two months. Troops turned in surplus property, "useless impedimenta," and waited. The Alabamians, according to one description, were "stripping for action."27

Camp routine took shape quickly. Drills, physical exercises, bayonet exercises, inspections, schools, parades, marches, and reviews occupied the soldiers. One young lieutenant wrote that the work "made the morning pass like fire." This officer had been "on the jump, both mentally and physically every minute today." He confided to his diary his pleasure in "working again-especially since I got away with things so slick today. I hope my luck continues until I at least get to feel a little less green."28

Colonel Screws pressed his officers and men hard in preparation for service in France. On September 13 one officer recounted that the men had "no more finished supper when Officers Call blew." Once the officers had assembled, Screws "raised hell" with them for about thirty minutes and then announced that school would be held from 7:00 to 8:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings. In addition, the officers received seventeen books to read in two weeks. Screws also tested his officers occasionally and with little notice. One lieutenant disliked this surprise, commenting that at school that evening, a major announced that Screws planned a written exam on Friday evening. The junior officer hoped that Screws was not inclined to "spring those damned things very often." A private in Company G remembered Screws as a strict disciplinarian and very neat in his dress.29

Secretary of War Newton D. Baker visited Camp Mills on Sunday, September 23, to review the 42nd Division. The 167th led the review, which the men considered "quite an honor." The camp was opened to visitors that Sunday, and the crowd began to enter the grounds about noon, coming in "hundreds of thousands. The long walk, wind and horrible dust did not prove to be any barrier at all." The guards reported that they had "a hell of a time keeping the crowds out in the roads and the men without passes from crossing the dead-line." The crowd seemed curious about everything. One lieutenant commented that he almost expected the crowd to follow the men into the latrines.30

Elements of the 42nd began departing for France in October. One private, whose time to leave had not yet arrived, realized that "every morning a unit or two" had left, bound for "we knew not where." His outfit was almost the last to leave Camp Mills, but his turn came on November 6. At 3:00 A.M. the transfer to the ships took place with great secrecy. The men boarded the train outside the camp and traveled to Long Island City with drawn blinds. They rushed off the train onto a steamer and crossed the river to Cunard Pier 57, where they boarded a ship of the Cunard line serving the British government. The ship sailed at noon "with all soldiers under cover."31

For many men, that night was "their last sleep on American soil." William Amerine's 1919 history of the 167th Regiment describes the scene of the soldiers leaving Camp Mills. Although Amerine's style may seem overly dramatic, it emphasizes that these men from Alabama had left their familiar and safe lives in the South and were participating in a war of such scale that it was presumed to end all wars. One year earlier many of these men had been in Arizona performing guard duty with scarcely a hint of an enemy presence. The newer members of the regiment lacked even that experience. Amerine, writing with the knowledge of what the men later faced, recounts the train trip to the ferry that took the men to the docks:

The train, with its dim lights, stood there like a monster spectre in the dark. Lanterns flickered here and there like so many ghouls about, and there was an uncanny atmosphere through which the men peered at each other. . . .

Swiftly and unheralded the engine ran as the cold, grey dawn began to break. The outlying fields were white with frost, while in the dim distance factories were scarcely discernible, standing there gaunt and bare as black objects against a brightening sky.32

Once the men had boarded their ship, Andania, and the vessel was underway, officers established routines for submarine watch at five posts. The first night at sea "the waters seethed and foamed and the waves ran high." The ship rolled uncomfortably. The next morning, many who had eaten "too heartily" the previous day were absent from the breakfast table. A second portion of the 167th left New York on Lapland, which joined Andania at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on November 9. These two ships and eight others crossed the Atlantic Ocean in convoy on an "uneventful" voyage that ended November 19 at Liverpool, England.33

From Liverpool the troops went to Winchester and from there marched about three miles to the camp at Morn Hill, arriving around midnight. Some of the men had time for sightseeing (visiting Winchester Cathedral was the highlight) before they left on November 24 for Southampton. That night the men crossed the channel, and by the morning of November 26 the 167th was in Le Havre, France. At Le Havre Pvt. Henry G. Burnett and two of his buddies, after receiving their first pay since leaving New York, went into the town and "tasted" the area's cognac and wine.34

On November 28 the regiment reached Vaucouleurs by train; from Vaucouleurs some of the men hiked to Uruffe and some to Gibeaumeix. Here the regiment spent Thanksgiving Day in "damp and penetrating" weather. The regiment had been traveling for twenty-two days and had suffered "some discomforts, missed a few meals," and "lost lots of sleep."35

While at Uruffe and Gibeaumeix the 167th drilled and practiced on the rifle range. The men could hear artillery firing in the Toul sector, but they were "in little danger although they were only about 20 km from the front." On December 12 the regiment was again on the move, marching two days to St. Blin, where they remained until December 26. The weather became colder, with a heavy snow on the ground since Christmas.36

A private described the hardships of this march. The men hiked for three days through snow that grew deeper by the hour. After a meager breakfast they would begin the march. At noon lunch was "corned willy and hard tacks" from the mess kits that the men carried. The march ended at nightfall for the cold and hungry men, who usually waited two hours for supper. They slept in "open hay lofts," with wood enough for only a small fire for fifty to one hundred men. Their shoes "would be soaking wet," and a pack "weighed nearly twice as much as usual because of the snow and ice on it." The next morning the shoes were "frozen stiff," and the men burned straw to thaw them. One private wrote:

Our feet were swollen, and unlucky indeed was the man whose shoes were less than two numbers larger than the ordinary size. After our feet warmed up, from walking, the larger shoes blistered our feet, so we were out of luck just the same.37

Cpl. Emmet Wilson of Company F wrote to his mother about the conditions during the late winter weeks. The snow and frozen shoes made hikes miserable, and "all of us boys have gotten so when we see a horse or a cow we get sleepy for we have been sleeping with them for so long."38

The 42nd Division began intensive training, with French and American officers providing additional assistance. Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American forces in France, explained that the experienced French officers provided an advantage in training that the Americans could not have duplicated on their own. Pershing insisted that training for American troops be offensive in spirit and that officers demand the strictest adherence to discipline among their troops. The men drilled for seven-and-a-half hours each day in the cold weather. The lack of transportation made food scarce. Some officers attended a five-week course at Gondre-court, studying tactics and learning the "use of automatic rifles, hand grenades, Stokes' mortars, one-pounders, and machine guns." Officers also studied signal work, trench construction, and bayonet exercises.39

Forty-Second Division Headquarters specified the training for the 167th. Detailed schedules prescribed ninety-one-and-a-half hours of drill for the first three weeks of training for members of rifle companies. The second three weeks featured ninety-six-and-a-half hours of drills that included range practice and instructions in trench warfare; preparation, occupation, and defense of a sector; security; liaison; hostile patrols; and attack and defense in open warfare. By the seventh or eighth week of training the companies advanced to battalion problems and in the ninth week to regimental exercises.40

A similar schedule for machine gun companies called for training in fire direction; control traversing; searching fire; indirect firing; selection, construction, and protection of machine gun emplacements; grenade throwing; map reading; long range and massed gun barrages; gas defense; and liaison and signaling. The men performed "practice approach marches" and participated in night exercises.41

In February the 167th spent one week studying the placement of one battalion in a sector; the scheme of defense; and the scheme of counterattacks, including an immediate local counterattack, counterattack by a company in reserve, and counterattack by a battalion in reserve. The following month the 84th Infantry Brigade, of which the 167th was a part, practiced liaison with aircraft-when and how to use the aid of aircraft, including signals to report information and to call for artillery barrages when no other means of communication were available.42

The conditions of trench warfare on the western front are well known, including artillery barrages, body lice, and the stench of decaying animal flesh. These were the conditions in which the men of the 167th would fight. The training was to prepare them as closely as possible for what they would face once they took part in actual combat. Thus, the men dug trenches laid out as on the front lines-with front line, support, and reserve trenches-and practiced reliefs within this system. They also occasionally practiced "going over the top" to penetrate the front and support lines of the enemy and to capture prisoners. Officers stressed defense against gas attacks. And, to the relief of the Alabamians, later in January and February the weather grew milder.43

In mid-February the regiment marched to Rolampont, where on February 16 they entrained for a twelve-hour ride to Baccarat and Saint-Clement. Two days later the various parts of the regiment were camped at Glonville, Fontenoy, and Badmenil. At Glonville a German plane dropped a bomb that struck three hundred yards from regimental headquarters. No one was injured, but the incident marked the 167th's first experience under fire. The next morning a second bomb fell seventy-five yards away while officers and the chaplain were at breakfast. The table turned over, and coffee spilled onto the floor. Amerine noted that "it was a bad place for a preacher,"44 due to the language inspired by the chaos.

A few days later the 1st Battalion moved to Brouville, nearer to the front lines. On February 24 the first Alabama units went into the trenches, beginning nine months of active participation in the war.45 By the end of the war the 167th had earned silver bands designating battle participation as noted in the accompanying table.46

The first assignment of the 42nd was in a relatively quiet sector. The Americans took over from two French divisions, releasing them to move to a more active section. The German army in the spring of 1918 was preparing for its final offensive of the war. In late March the United States had approximately 300,000 troops (four divisions, the 42nd, 26th, 1st, and 2nd) in France. That month Russia signed a treaty with Germany after Vladimir Lenin's successful rebellion, and German troops in Russia subsequently moved to strengthen the western front. Germany was determined to make a final push to win the war before more Americans arrived.

The 167th, of course, was part of those Americans already in France. In late February they were ready to receive their first combat experience. Once in the front lines the men under Colonel Screws soon received orders to produce visible results. Maj. Gen. Charles T. Menoher, commander of the 42nd Division, rebuked the 167th on April 18 for failing to "produce its quota of prisoners." The general reminded the regiment that "orders of the higher command as transmitted to you were that prisoners must be obtained." The situation was "no longer a matter of drill" and instruction but "of carrying out clear and definite orders." Excuses were unacceptable unless the men could show "that the successful execution of the order was not humanly possible." Menoher noted that the French had produced their quota "some three or four days ago." He urged Screws to have his officers be more aggressive leaders and perform better on patrols. The division had been "able to establish a most enviable reputation" in all activities except patrolling.47

In late March the 42nd became the first American division to take over an entire divisional sector. Throughout April and May the men occupied Baccarat sector; the 167th occupied the Vacqueville sub-sector. Battalions rotated time on the front line-eight days in front-line trenches, eight days in reserve trenches, and eight days in support.48

During this time Pvt. Harry Carter wrote that he had seen the "biggest night of all"-but not on the front. The incident, which he thought worse than anything on the front, occurred in a French town: "Somebody got gay in a cafe, threw a grenade, and severely wounded two Americans and two Frogs." On May 4 Carter visited St. Maurice during his off-duty time. Here he witnessed yet "another example of the destructiveness" of the war: "Hardly a whole building" remained in the town. All the water fountains, as well as the connections for bringing water to the town, had been destroyed. The private also wrote of attending a Bible class, held in the open on a hillside from "whence one could almost see the trenches, and from which we could see the flash of our 75s as they shelled the enemy."49

In June the men heard rumors that the division would be sent either to the Somme or the Marne front, where men were not "'relieved but replaced.'" One private lamented that "there seems to be no rest for our weary bodies."50 On July 3 the regiment moved to take its place in the Esperance-Souain sector.51 By July 15 the men were involved in the Champagne-Marne defensive, which marked the final phase of Germany's last offensive. First Sgt. Norman Summers of Company M described in his diary the heavy bombardment by the Germans as they prepared for their "last drive." But the Allies "were well fixed for them," spending weeks preparing for the attack. The Germans shelled the area for eleven hours. Several men near the sergeant were killed or wounded. Summer recounted that a machine gunner was "credited with killing a whole company of Germans. He was so sick by so much slaughter [that] he had to be carried from his gun."52

Later in July the 167th participated in an attack on the Chateau-Thierry Salient as part of the Aisne-Marne Offensive. The Allies had decisively stopped Germany by July 19 at the Second Battle of the Marne and were now prepared to make a major push against the enemy. The Alabamians experienced their fiercest fighting of the war during the offensive, encountering especially difficult resistance at La Croix Rouge Farm, which they captured from the Germans. The area was important in the crossing of the Ourcq River in late July, a move in which the 167th again played a key role. At La Croix Rouge Farm the 167th lost ten lieutenants and two captains killed and all but one field officer wounded. Forty-Second Division Headquarters cited the regiment for overcoming the German strongholds at both La Croix Rouge and La Croix Blanche Farms and for forcing the German retreat "through sheer aggressiveness," for "valiantly" holding its positions, and for its "willingness to go forward to the attack when called upon."53

From July 15 to 25 the 42nd Division was in the sectors of Souain and Esperance. On July 25 the division took over the front of the 1st U.S. Army Corps near Epieds and in subsequent attacks advanced fifteen kilometers. The Allies were making progress all along the front, and the commanders hoped to accelerate a German collapse. By August 30 the men of the 167th were at the St. Mihiel Salient, where the 42nd Division delivered the primary attack from the south, advancing nineteen kilometers during attacks on September 12-13. Pershing reported that "the operation was carried out with entire precision."54

On October 13 the 42nd was back on the front line in the Argonne area, attacking and advancing two kilometers in the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne. One private recalled that in this area acres of woods had been killed by the use of mustard gas. As the 167th approached the line in the Argonne area, the hard fighting of other divisions was evident. Graves were everywhere; dead soldiers and horses lay unburied; and destroyed wagons and caissons littered the area. The condition of the roads made transportation difficult, hampering efforts to evacuate wounded and bring in food and other supplies.55

A few days later 1st Battalion took over the trenches from a battle-weary 3rd Battalion. A medical corps private described the conditions in which the men of the 1st Battalion lived during the next week. They lay in fox holes, which filled "with water as fast as they could be bailed out." With "clothing and blankets soaked they lay under a continuous rain for six days." Conditions were too wet to light a fire, and one courted death to "leave his hole to stretch his legs. Food was scarce, on account of the bad roads, and all sent up was necessarily cold." On October 21 the division was relieved, and the men made themselves "comfortable" during a brief respite, aided by warmer, fairer weather.56

On November 1 the Rainbow Division was again on the front line in the Meuse-Argonne section, in two days advancing nineteen kilometers to the Meuse River and "the heights south of Sedan." The German army was retreating, "leaving only a rear guard to destroy all bridges and railways." By then the men in the 167th were hearing rumors of a German collapse. The 42nd continued the advance. At the end of the week, they heard that "official bulletins reported the abdication of the Kaiser and the capitulation of Austria." On November 10 the 42nd withdrew from the front lines and moved to the Brandeville region.57

The armistice took effect on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 A.M. Even after hearing official confirmation of the cease-fire the men hardly could believe it: "It seemed too good to be true." But when the hour arrived and quiet descended on the front, the soldiers gradually realized that "the best news since the coming of Christ had actually been proclaimed." That night the men enjoyed all the light desired "without fear of aerial visitors." Most men, "too deeply affected" to engage in a "wild celebration," spent the evening writing to their families.58

By the end of the war the percentage of men from Alabama in the 167th had dropped considerably from the time the regiment left Montgomery in August 1917. The regiment had sustained about thirty-two hundred casualties, approximately one-half of them at Chateau-Thierry. From the St. Mihiel operation the 167th reported one officer and twenty-five men killed, eight officers and ninety-one men wounded, and fourteen men missing-the highest figures of any regiment in the 42nd Division. In March 1919 each company commander sent to headquarters a list of deaths in his company. Company H listed fifty-six dead; Company I listed forty-five; Company E, sixteen; and Company M, thirty-two. The reports indicated that men of the 167th died of injuries sustained from rifle bullets, shells, machine gun bullets, machine gun wounds, and gas. Despite these losses, Alabamians remained a majority in the 167th at the end of the war. In March 1919, shortly before the regiment returned home, Headquarters Company listed a total of seven officers and 273 men. Of these, three officers and 166 men were from Alabama. The remainder of the officers and men were divided among thirty-four states.59

The emotional toll of the war varied considerably among the combatants of the 167th. One private remembered that he and his fellow soldiers felt no fear; they simply followed orders without much thought for consequences. A sergeant from Bessemer, however, freely admitted that he was "scared all ell wishing I was out of it." For others, emotional reaction came after the immediate danger had passed. One sergeant offered a "prayer of thanks to the All Powerful" who had saved them from a "horrible death." Nothing, he wrote, brought men closer to God than an occasion like the successful conclusion of a battle, and he believed that "more Christian men" were in the army than earlier.60

The danger of injury or death was all too real, and medical practices were crude by today's standards. Henry Gaines Burnett, Company G, was wounded in May 1918 in the Baccarat sector when a bullet went through his lower left leg. At the first-aid station, before Burnett was sent to the hospital, medical personnel dipped a piece of gauze in iodine, strung a thread through the gauze, and then pulled the gauze through the hole in Burnett's leg. He was in the hospital until July. Burnett was wounded again in the Meuse-Argonne fighting in early November. A piece of shrapnel hit his left hand and cut off the last finger. He remained hospitalized, first in France and then in Montgomery, until his discharge on January 30, 1919.61

A sergeant in Company M watched a fellow soldier die in an evacuation hospital. The sergeant could tell that the man "had about fought his last battle by the way he breathed. His breath came in short, quiet gasps and with each breath the bandage on his head would get a little redder." Medical attendants could offer no aid to the dying man; they "had already seen that his wound was fatal." The sergeant continued to watch the young soldier, wondering "just what transformation was taking place within this body. His soul was leaving him. Where was it going?" The sergeant continued his vigil for fifteen minutes, observing the man's "one final effort" to breathe. And "then he was no longer in the army." The attendant straightened the body, and others carried it away, probably to be buried in the new American cemetery that had been created "almost overnight." The sergeant reflected on this soldier's death, writing that the man "was only one among many but for some reason I had an especial interest in him." He sympathized with the family and pictured their grief as they heard the news of the death. The noncommissioned officer concluded that, although he had seen much suffering and death, "none held as much interest as this boy on the stretcher off to himself with men just waiting for him to die."62

The chaotic circumstances of burial often compounded a family's grief. Desiring news of a son's gravesite, one father wrote a former captain almost a year after the war's end. The captain, who was not the son's commanding officer, referred the father to Borden Burr, a YMCA worker during the war.63 In his reply Burr apologized for not having definite information on the burial site of the son. Burr's letter details the sad reality faced by loved ones who frequently received incomplete information, if any, on the final resting places of their sons, fathers, or brothers.

Burr was with the 167th from June to September 1918. On July 26 an officer asked him to do what he could "towards the burial of those who had been killed" during a battle that morning. Burr described the confusing scene of the battle, noting that "the boys in making the charge became separated, sometimes from their companies and in some instances even from their regiment." In order to bury the dead before the next advance, Burr divided the "burial detachment into squads." He noted in his diary the names of the men whom he buried personally, but this father's son was not among them. Burr could describe only the "probable" location of the son's grave, but he offered the father one consolation. Although the "burials were hastily and crudely done," Burr and his helpers held "a short religious service." "As long as I live," Burr assured his grieving correspondent, "there will never be another one so full either of sentiment or of real religion as this service was."64

On armistice day the 167th learned that the Rainbow Division was to remain in Europe as part of an occupying force. Five days later the men began their march toward the Rhine River, crossing into Belgium on November 21. By the 23rd the division reached Luxembourg, where the 84th Brigade established headquarters at Tuntingeu. From November 23 to December 1 the 42nd Division remained in the area, using the time to clean equipment and continue training. The men enjoyed the enthusiastic welcome they received from the citizens of Luxembourg. The inhabitants demonstrated their joy and gratitude with "delegations, bands, and flowers."65

On December 3 the division reached the German border. They continued to advance steadily, stopping to rest, train, and clean equipment from December 10 to 13. On December 16 the division established headquarters at Ahrweiler, and the 84th Brigade established headquarters at Sinzig. The official report on the 42nd Division's operations as part of the army of occupation notes that from December 16 the division engaged in "cleaning and re-equipping the personnel and transport" and in maneuvers, training, and recreation. One private remembered the "beautiful scenery" along the march to the Rhine. The "diversion the scenery afforded" made the long hike more bearable, and the private forgot his "weariness in the wonder of the landscape."66 The soldier noted that the regiment had "held the trenches 110 days," received no regular rest from February 21 to December 16, 1918, and fought five battles between June 19 and November 11, moving from one front to another "mostly by way of ankle express."67

A less taxing routine developed while on occupation duty in Germany. Inspections, training programs, parades, and maneuvers filled the soldiers' days, with occasional off-duty time and athletic meets to provide recreation.68 Inspection reports from early 1919 show a marked improvement in the 167th's standing. Although inspectors noted some deficiencies, especially in the mess areas, the overall assessments were much better than in previous evaluations. When the 167th prepared to vacate its billets in April 1919, the section inspector wrote that the regiment left the area "in very satisfactory condition." A "few isolated cases of poor police" existed, but a detail corrected them "on the spot."69

By mid-March the division began preparations for the return home. Some men from the 167th volunteered to remain in Germany for temporary garrison duty. Others arranged to have their wives, mostly from England, and, in some cases, their infant children transported to the United States.70

General Pershing inspected and reviewed the 42nd Division on March 16. Afterward he addressed the men of the Rainbow Division on the banks of the Rhine River, expressing his appreciation for the division's "splendid, efficient and loyal service" and noting that "individual effort of the individual men who were consecrated to the duty they were sent over here to perform" had achieved victory. The general hoped that soon the 42nd would be home and would "receive the acclaim and the congratulations from the American people" that was their "splendid due."71

The 42nd Division and the 167th Infantry had reason to be proud of their accomplishments. While mistakes certainly had been made, the regiment generally had performed well. In the foreword to his history of the 167th, William Amerine notes that the 42nd was the first American division "to take over a complete divisional sector of front line trenches." The "Rainbow" had "held a sector longer than any other American division," and the 167th Infantry established a record time of service on the front line without relief of 110 days.72

Several members of the 167th received medals and awards in recognition of their service during the war. Corporal Sidney E. Manning of Flomaton, Alabama, and Private Thomas O. Neibour of Sugar City, Idaho, received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Other awards and the number of men from the 167th receiving them were the Distinguished Service Cross, thirty-six; the Croix de Guerre, thirteen; the Croix de Guerre with Palm and Military Medal, one; the Order of Leopold, one; the Order of the Crown, one; and the Military Medal, one. In addition to these awards Menoher cited seventy-seven soldiers of the 167th for their performances; Screws cited ninety men of his regiment.73

The 42nd earned a reputation as an effective fighting division in France. National Guardsmen in general acquitted themselves well, filling seventeen of forty-three divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. After the war Allied forces discovered records of the German High Command that ranked the American divisions in France, listing eight as "excellent or superior in quality." Six of these eight were National Guard divisions and included the 42nd. Eleven National Guard divisions spent more time in combat than either the regular or the National army divisions. One historian has concluded that "without the Guard mechanism, the United States would not have been able to express its great power as fast or as effectively as it was able to do." Indeed, in World War I Guardsmen "proved their mettle."74

On April 5 the 42nd began marching back toward France.75 The 167th Regiment sailed from Brest on April 15 aboard the battleship Minnesota and the armored cruisers Montana and North Carolina. On April 25 the troops reached Hoboken and then moved to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where most of the non-Alabamian members of the 167th were mustered out of service. The remainder went to Camp Shelby, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for demobilization. On May 15 Colonel Screws sent to his officers and enlisted men a "farewell" memorandum, expressing his appreciation for their service while under his command. He hoped that, on their return to civil occupations, they would make as good citizens as they had been soldiers. His wish to these men was that their lives "be crowned with success and happiness."76

The trains going south from Camp Merritt took the troops first to Alabama. On May 9 the old 4th Alabama was again in its home state. For four days the trains moved through the state-Huntsville, Gadsden, Anniston, Albany, Decatur, Birmingham, Mobile-where large crowds greeted soldiers. In Montgomery a huge, all-day celebration welcomed the 167th on May 12. The next morning the troops entrained for their final destination, Camp Shelby, and on May 18 the last men of the 167th were mustered out of the army.77

Many of the Alabamians who returned home at the end of World War I had been in federal service since June 1916. After nearly three years of continuous service, the returning veterans brought with them a wealth of experience developed in both domestic and foreign deployments. For the men of the 42nd Division who rejoined the Alabama National Guard after the war, the training received from those years provided a solid foundation on which to reorganize and rebuild the Alabama National Guard. In the interwar period the Guard reverted to its usual peacetime duties, primarily regular drill meetings, protection of prisoners, aid to storm victims, and strike duty.

1 See John K. Mahon, History of the Militia and the National Guard, The Macmillan Wars of the United States, ed. Louis Merton (New York, 1983), 166, on the background of the formation of the Rainbow Division.

2 See Jerry M. Cooper, The Rise of the National Guard: The Evolution of the American Militia, 1865-1920, Studies in War, Society, and the Military, vol. 1 (Lincoln, Neb., 1997), 128-52; Ruth Smith Truss, "The Alabama National Guard from 1900 to 1920" (Ph.D. diss., University of Alabama, 1992), 93-197, on the Guard's problems in the first decade of the twentieth century.

3 For information on United States participation in World War I see Edward M. Coffman, The War To End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (1968; reprint, Madison, Wis., 1986); Laurence Stallings, The Doughboys: The Story of the AEF, 1917-1918 (New York, 1963).

4 [Eastern Department Headquarters] to Commanding Officer, State Mobilization Camp, April 6, 1917, Adjutant General's Office (hereafter cited as AGO), Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery (ADAH).

5 On the Mexican border service of Alabama's Guardsmen see Ruth Smith Truss, "Progress Toward Professionalism: The Alabama National Guard on the Mexican Border, 1916-1917," Military History of the West 30 (Fall 2000): 97-121; H. E. Sterkx, "Unlikely Conquistadors: Alabamians and the Mexican Border Crisis of 1916," Alabama Review 24 (July 1971): 163-81.

6 Chief, Militia Bureau, to Adjutant General, Alabama, May 18, 1917, AGO; "A Proclamation By the President of the United States of America," July 3, 1917, AGO; General Orders No. 10, Adjutant General's Office, July 28, 1917, AGO; Adjutant General to Commanding Officer, Alabama National Guard, July 31, 1917, AGO; Bulletin No. 71, Eastern Department Headquarters, April 26, 1917, AGO.

7 Department Adjutant, Southeastern Department Headquarters, to Commanding Officer, Alabama Field Hospital No. 1, June 19, 1917, AGO; Capt. Oscar W. Underwood Jr., 1st Alabama Cavalry, to Adjutant, 1st Alabama Brigade, [June 1917], AGO; Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama Infantry, to Commanding General, Southeastern Department, June 12, 1917, and 2nd Indorsement, June 19, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, 2nd Alabama Infantry, to Commanding General, Southeastern Department Headquarters, July 26, 1917, AGO; 4th Alabama Infantry Headquarters, memorandum, May 15, 1917, AGO.

8 Capt. Isham Kimbell, Medical Corps, Examining Officer, memorandums, May 20, June 15, 18, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, 2nd Alabama Infantry, to Commanding General, Southeastern Department Headquarters, July 26, 1917; Second Lt. John A. Mahon, 1st Alabama Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama Infantry, May 8, 1917, AGO; 4th Alabama Infantry Headquarters, memorandum, May 15, 1917.

9 Mahon to Commanding Officer, May 8, 1917; 4th Alabama Infantry Headquarters, memorandum, May 15, 1917.

10 Edwin A. Robertson to Gov. Charles Henderson, March 21, 1917, AGO.

11 Gov. Charles Henderson to E. A. Robertson, March 24, 1917, AGO. In fact, the two artillery batteries of the Alabama National Guard were mustered out prior to August 1917.

12 Bulletin No. 25, Eastern Department Headquarters, March 29, 1917, AGO.

13 Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama District, to Commanding General, 1st Alabama Brigade, May 10, 1917, AGO; Adjutant, Eastern Department Headquarters, to Commanding General, Alabama Brigade, April 10, 23, 28, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, State Mobilization Camp, to Commanding Officer, 2nd Alabama Infantry, April 10, 12, 1917, AGO.

14 Brig. Gen. Robert Steiner to Commanding General, Southeastern Department, May 15, 1917, AGO; Untitled document, n.d., AGO.

15 State Mobilization Camp Headquarters, memorandum, July 3, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama Brigade, to Richard Tollis, Montgomery Light and Traction Company, June 27, 1917, AGO.

16 Adjutant General of the Army to Commanding General, Southeastern Department, memorandum and appendix A, August 1, 1917, AGO. For details on the 42nd, see 42nd Division, Summary of Operations in the World War ([Washington, D.C.], 1944); James J. Cooke, The Rainbow Division in the Great War, 1917-1919 (Westport, Conn., 1994).

17 Frank S. Land, "Alabama National Guard," Alabama Historical Quarterly 1 (Summer 1930): 58, 60.

18 Adjutant, Southeastern Department Headquarters, to Commanding General, 1st Alabama Brigade, August 11, 1917, AGO.

19 Adjutant, Southeastern Department Headquarters, to Commanding General, 1st Alabama Brigade, August 13, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama Brigade, August 17, 25, 1917, AGO; Leonard P. Ayres, The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary (Washington, [D.C.], 1919), 63; Medical Examiners to the Commanding General, 1st Alabama Brigade, August 14, 1917, AGO; Brig. Gen. Robert Steiner, 1st Alabama Brigade, to Commanding General, Southeastern Department, August 27, 1917, AGO.

20 Pvt. E. C. Ming to Commanding Officer, Company G, 167th Infantry, August 24, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company G, 167th Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, 1st Indorsement, August 25, 1917, AGO; Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 1st Alabama Brigade, 2d Indorsement, n.d., AGO.

21 John H. Gardiner, interview by Ivan H. Wallace Jr., Orlando, Florida, December 7, 1991, copy in author's possession.

22 [Harry L. Carter], "Little Events and Experiences of the World War, Lohndorf, Germany, January 1919," typescript, 1, AGO.

23 [Southeastern Department Headquarters] to Commanding General, 1st Alabama Brigade, August 15, 1917, AGO; [Robert] Steiner to Commanding General, Southeastern Department, August 22, 1917, AGO; [Leon Schwarz] to H. C. Lowenstein, August 31, 1917, AGO; Illustrated Review, Fourth Alabama Infantry, United Stales Army, Montgomery, Alabama, 1917 (Montgomery, n.d.); Gardiner interview. Many officers and some men of the 1st and 2nd Alabama Infantry Regiments remained at Camp Sheridan in Montgomery and were assigned to the 31st Division. The 31st subsequently went to Camp Joseph Wheeler, near Macon, Georgia, where it began training for the war. Unlike the 42nd, however, the 31st spent most of the war at Camp Wheeler. When sent overseas in late October 1918, it served as a depot division, filling individual vacancies in other organizations.

24 [Carter], "Little Events," 1; see also Gardiner interview.

25 Lt. John M. Donaldson, Company B, 167th Regiment, 84th Brigade, 42nd Division, diary, September 10, [1917], Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

26 "Infantry Equipment-Model 1910," 42nd Division Headquarters, Camp Albert L. Mills, New York, n.d., AGO.

27 [Carter], "Little Events," 1; William H. Amerine, Alabama's Own in France (New York, 1919), 59.

28 Donaldson diary, September 11, [1917].

29 Ibid., September 12, 13, 24, [1917]; Henry Gaines Burnett, interview by author, Thorsby, Alabama, January 28, 1991.

30 Donaldson diary, September 23, [1917]; New York Times, October 14, 1917, Gadsden Daily Times-News, October 9, 1917, clippings in scrapbook, 1918-1919, Walter Edward Bare Papers (hereafter cited as Bare Papers), ADAH.

31 [Carter], "Little Events," 1-2. See also Amerine, Alabama's Own, 59. Amerine says that the 3rd Battalion was the first to leave camp.

32 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 60.

33 Ibid., 64-66; [Carter], "Little Events," 2. Two companies, G and H, of the 167th's 2nd Battalion went by rail to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and were delayed there because of a report of submarines in the area. These two companies followed the same route as the other portion of their regiment, but they rejoined the 167th only at St. Blin, France, in December. Burnett interview; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 66, 81.

34 One of the three cross-channel vessels had to turn back because of a storm; the men on this vessel crossed on the twenty-fifth, landing at Le Havre at 6:00 A.M., November 26. Amerine, Alabama's Own, 68-70; [Carter], "Little Events," 2; Burnett interview. When asked how much a private's pay was in 1918, one veteran replied, "Mighty darn little." Gardiner interview.

35 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 72; [Carter], "Little Events," 2.

36 [Carter], "Little Events," 2-3; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 80-81, 84; 42nd Division Headquarters, memorandum, December 5, 1917, box 15, Organization Records, 42nd Division, Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I), Record Group 120 (hereafter cited as RG 120), National Archives, Washington, D.C. (NA); Burnett interview.

37 [Carter], "Little Events," 3.

38 Emmet Wilson to "My Dearest Mother," March 17, 1918, in unidentified newspaper clipping, scrapbook, 1918-1919, Bare Papers.

39 Memorandum No. 42, 42nd Division Headquarters, February 13, 1918, box 19, RG 120; United States Army in the World War, 1917-1919 (Washington, D.C., 1948), 12:21-22; [Carter], "Little Events," 3-4; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 86.

40 "Schedule. Drill and Instruction, 167th Infantry, 42nd Division . . . Rifle Company" for December 2, 1917, to March 13, 1918, box 32, RG 120.

41 "Schedule. Drill and Instructions. 167th Infantry Regiment Forty-Second Division . . . Machine Gun Company" for December 2, 1917, to March 13, 1918, box 32, RG 120.

42 "Battalion Demonstrations and Exercises," No. 74, Information Bureau, February 8, 1918, box 19, RG 120; Memorandum No. 65, 84th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, March 14, 1918, AGO; Memorandum No. 1710B, 128th Division, 3rd Bureau Headquarters, March 12, 1918, AGO; "Battalion Practice of Liaison with Aircraft" instruction sheet, n.d., AGO.

43 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 87.

44 Ibid., 93-94.

45 Ibid., 94.

46 Commander-in-Chief, American Expeditionary Forces, to Commanding General, 42nd Division, March 26, 1919, box 78, RG 120; "Battle Participation of the Forty-Second Division," n.d., box 2, RG 120; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, 3rd Army, February 6, 1919, box 2, RG 120; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, 1st Army Corps, December 21, 1918, box 2, RG 120; "Summary of History of Forty-Second Division," n.d., box 2, RG 120; "Brief History of the Forty-Second Division," n.d., box 2, RG 120; Order of Battle of the United States Land Fanes in the World War (1931-49; reprint, Washington, D.C., 1988), 2:272-85; Leonard P. Ayres, The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary, 2nd ed. (Washington, [D.C.], 1919), 101-18.

47 Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, April 18, 1918, box 32, RG 120. For other information on the early activities of the 167th Infantry and the 42nd Division see Commanding General, 84th Infantry Brigade, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, April 17, 18, 1918, box 32, RG 120; Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, to Commanding General, 84th Infantry Brigade, 1st and 2nd Indorsements, April 18, 1918, 3rd Indorsement, April 19, 1918, 4th Indorsement, April 21, 1918, box 21, RG 120; Memorandum No. 117, 42nd Division Headquarters, April 2, 1918, box 14, RG 120; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, 83rd Infantry Brigade and 84th Infantry Brigade, April 13, 1918, box 32, RG 120; Orders No. 10, 167th Infantry Headquarters, April 23, 1918, box 31, RG 120; Reports on Patrols, April 30, April 30-May 1, 1918, and map, box 32, RG 120.

48 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 103-7; Order of Battle, 2:277.

49 [Carter], "Little Events," 5.

50 Ibid., 5-6; see also letters reprinted in newspaper clippings, scrapbook 1918-1919, Bare Papers.

51 See 42nd Division Headquarters, memorandum, June 18, 1918, box 15, RG 120.

52 Norman L. Summers, Company M, 167th Regiment, 84th Brigade, 42nd Division, diary, Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; see also [Carter], "Little Events," 7; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 108-35.

53 Commander-in-Chief, American Expeditionary Forces, to Commanding General, 42nd Division, March 26, 1919; "Battle Participation of the Forty-Second Division"; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, 3rd Army, February 6, 1919; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, 1st Army Corps, December 21, 1918; "Summary of History of Forty-Second Division"; "Brief History of the Forty-Second Division"; Order of Battle, 2:272-85; Ayres, War with Germany, 101-18; General Order No. 21-C, 42nd Division Headquarters, April 1919, quoted in Amerine, Alabama's Own, 296-98; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 10, 136-54.

54 "Brief History of the Forty-Second Division"; Order of Battle, 2:279-83; United States Army in the World War, 12:39. For information on the various movements of the 167th's companies see especially the memorandums, daily and weekly operations reports, special orders, messages, and "Summary of Events" reports in boxes 13, 14, 32, RG 120. For movements and activities of specific companies see also the dozens of Returns and Field Returns in box 75, Infantry Regiments, Strength Returns, Station Lists, and Statistical Tabulations, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Record Group 407, NA.

55 "Brief History of the Forty-Second Division"; Order of Battle, 2:283, 285; Burnett interview; [Carter], "Little Events," 10.

56 [Carter], "Little Events," 10-11.

57 "Brief History of the Forty-Second Division"; Order of Battle, 2:285; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 201-15; [Carter], "Little Events," 11.

58 [Carter], "Little Events," 11.

59 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 9; "Report of Total Casualties-St. Mihiel Operation," 42nd Division, September 16, 1918, box 14, RG 120; Commanding Officer, Company H, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 18, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company I, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 18, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company M, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 18, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company E, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 18, 1919, AGO; Headquarters Company, 167th Infantry, memorandum, March 22, 1919, AGO. On the deaths of members of the 167th see also the patrol reports, memorandums, and daily operations reports in box 32, RG 120.

60 Richard Holmes, Acts of War: The Behavior of Men in Battle (New York, 1986), 204-69; Burnett interview, Sgt. Wallace Reynolds, Company D, 167th Regiment, 42nd Division, Army Service Experiences Questionnaire, World War I Research Project, Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; Summers diary.

61 Burnett interview. Several years later Burnett had a second operation on his left hand.

62 Summers diary.

63 Joseph M. Dickerson to J. F. Vaughan, October 20, 1919, AGO.

64 [Borden Burr] to J. F. Vaughan, October 23, 1919, AGO.

65 [Carter], "Little Events," 12; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 220; United States Army in the World War, 11:11-12, 15-16, 19, 23-51.

66 "Report on Operations of the Forty-Second Division as part of the Army of Occupation," n.d., box 14, RG 120; Order of Battle, 2:287; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 216-24; [Carter], "Little Events," 13.

67 [Carter], "Little Events," 13; Ayres, War with Germany, 105-18.

68 [Carter], "Little Events," 13; Amerine, Alabama's Own, 225-45; Order of Battle, 2:287; United States Army in the World War, 11:51-144; 42nd Division Headquarters to Commanding Officer, Company C, 167th Infantry, January 17, 1919, AGO; 42nd Division Headquarters to Commanding Officer, Supply Company, 167th Infantry, January 17, 1919, AGO; 42nd Division Headquarters to Commanding Officer, Company G, 167th Infantry, January 17, 1919, AGO; 42nd Division Headquarters to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, January 18, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, to Commanding General, 42nd Division, February 2, 1919, AGO; Maj. Dallas B. Smith to Chaplain Francis V. Duffy, January 17, 1919, AGO; Office of Provost Marshal, 3rd Army, to Chief of Staff, February 20, 1919, AGO; Memorandum No. 25, 42nd Division Headquarters, February 5, 1919, AGO; Memorandum No. 20, 42nd Division Headquarters, January 30, 1919, AGO; General Orders No. 1, 42nd Division Headquarters, January 1, 1919, AGO; various memorandums on inspections, January 10-February 14, 1919, box 19, RG 120; Commanding General, 42nd Division, to Commanding General, IV Corps, February 9, 1919, box 19, RG 120; various training programs and schedules, drill schedules, programs of instruction, and training memorandums, February 1-March 8, 1919, box 32, RG 120. Compare 1919 inspections with 1918 reports, box 21, RG 120, especially for February 18, 20, 1918.

69 Section Inspector to Commanding Officer, Advance Embarkation Section, April 8, 1919, AGO.

70 Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, to Commanding General, 42nd Division, March 20, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company K, 167th Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 19, 1919, AGO; Commanding Officer, Company I, 167th Infantry, to Commanding Officer, 167th Infantry, March 19, 1919, AGO.

71 Speech of General John J. Pershing to the 42nd Division, March 16, 1919, copy in box 2, RG 120. On Pershing during World War I see Frank E. Vandiver, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing (College Station, Tex., 1977), 2:669-987.

72 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 4.

73 Ibid., 325-39; see also ibid., 269-323, for several descriptions of the exploits of the 167th in combat.

74 Ibid., 3-14; Mahon, History of the Militia and National Guard, 166-68; Samuel J. Newland, The Militia's Role in National Defense: A Historical Perspective (Carlisle Barracks, Pa., 1987), 17; Official Proceedings of the National Guard Association of the United States, Sixty-Sixth Annual Convention (Baltimore, 1944), 50-51; National Guard Almanac, 1988 (Washington, D.C., 1988), 67; Bulletin of Information No. 21, 42nd Division, 2nd Section, November 13, 1918, in unidentified volume of copies of 42nd Division General Orders, Field Orders, 1917-1918, Bare Papers. For other states' Guards during World War I see Robert Hawk, Florida's Army: Militia, State Troops, National Guard, 1565-1985 (Englewood, Fla., 1986), 138-48; Brian Dexter Fowles, A Guard in Peace and War: The History of the Kansas National Guard, 1854-1987 (Manhattan, Kan., 1989), 59-69; Gwen R. Rhodes, South Carolina Army National Guard (Dallas, Tex., 1988), 37-42.

75 Order of Battle, 2:287.

76 Col. William P. Screws, 167th Infantry, to the officers and enlisted men of the 167th Infantry, May 15, 1919, AGO.

77 Amerine, Alabama's Own, 252-67.

Ruth Smith Truss is assistant professor of history at the University of Montevallo. A shorter version of this paper was presented at the Phi Alpha Theta National Convention in Tampa, Florida, December 28, 1999. The author thanks the following for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript: Ned Cary, Clark Hultquist, Sue C. Smith, Sarah Wiggins, and two anonymous reviewers.

Copyright University of Alabama Press Jan 2003
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