United States Signal Corps photographic collection, 1918-1919

Summary

Creator:

Anonymous

Abstract:

The United States Signal Corps Photographic Collection contains approximately 1,630 photographs of the American Expeditionary Forces taken by the Signal Corps during WWI throughout the Western Front. The collection is divided into three volumes and one box, all loosely arranged by topic. General topics include destruction, battlefields and trenches, artillery, monuments, and postwar celebrations.

Extent:

3 volumes, 1 box

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Erin Berger

Background

Scope and Content:

The United States Signal Corps photographic collection contains approximately 1,630 photos (many of which are duplicates) of the AEF taken by the Signal Corps during WWI throughout the Western Front. The collection is divided into three volumes and one box, all loosely arranged by topic. General topics include the AEF, warfare destruction, battlefields and trenches, artillery, monuments, and postwar celebrations.

Numerous photographs have handwritten and typewriter captions on the back, often stating location and subject matter. Also found on the back are different stamped inscriptions, including "Passed as Censored."

Many photos have an alpha-numeric code handwritten on verso that corresponds to the Catalogue of official A.E.F. Photographs. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919, which can be found online through the Internet Archive.

Volume 1 contains approximately 270 photographs taken in France, Germany, Belgium, and the U.S. The bulk of these photos are of monuments in Paris, the Palace of Versailles, Rhineland-Palatinate, and unidentified rural areas depicting farmland and civilian life.

Other locations shown include the following (in order of appearance):

• Paris, France
• Washington, D.C.
• Château-Thierry, France
• Bacharach, Germany
• Vincennes, France
• Fontainebleau, France
• Dordogne, France
• Pierrefonds, France
• Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany
• Bendorf, Germany
• Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
• Andernach, Germany
• Altenahr, Germany
• Pont-à-Mousson, France
• Saint-Léger, Belgium
• Humes-Jorquenay, France
• Montsec, France
• Varennes-en-Argonne, France
• Joué-lès-Tours, France
• Soissons, France
• Brieulles-sur-Meuse, France
• Vaux-lès-Palameix, France

Volume 2 contains approximately 270 photographs taken in France, Germany, and Belgium. Much of these photos relate to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, destruction (both urban and rural), casualties, battlefields and trenches, artillery, cemeteries, various AEF training schools, naval operations, and prisoners.

Other locations shown include the following (in order of appearance):

• La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, France
• Mayschoß, Germany
• Forest of Argonne, France
• Brieulles-sur-Bar, France
• Les Petites-Armoises, France
• Varennes-en-Argonne, France
• Exermont, France
• Chatel-Chéhéry, France
• Étraye, France
• Grandpré, France
• Cochem, Germany
• Pinon, France
• Saint-Remy-la-Calonne, France
• Montfaucon-d'Argonne, France
• Berzy-le-Sec, France
• Dannevoux, France
• Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France
• Saint-Quentin, France
• Soissons, France
• Ypres, France
• Hooglede, France
• Mouzon, Ardennes, France
• Château-Thierry, France
• Verdun, France
• Metz, France
• Rémonville, France
• Juvigny, France
• Péronne, France
• Chaudun, France
• Chavignon, France
• Moirey-Flabas-Crépion, France
• Reims, France
• Cambrai, France
• Neuvilly, France
• Vaux-Champagne, France
• Haudiomont, France
• Paris, France
• Koblenz (Coblenz), Germany
• Oberwinter, Germany
• Mont-Saint-Michel, France
• Chamonix, France
• Nanteuil-lès-Meaux, France
• Lucy, France
• Thiaucourt-Regniéville, France
• Seicheprey, France
• Nonsard-Lamarche, France
• Colombey-les-Belles, France
• Épieds, France
• Boureuilles, France
• Beaumont, France
• Dormiers, France
• Bertricamp, France
• Bois de Hesse, France
• Gondrecourt-le-Château, France
• Langres, France
• Le Charmel, France
• Villers-Bretonneux, France
• Saint-Aignan, France
• Landreville (Ardennes), France
• Imécourt, France
• Nantillois, France
• Stenay, France
• Butgnéville, France
• Le Mort Homme, France
• Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France
• Gland, France
• Herbeville, France
• Vacherauville, France
• Baleycourt, France
• Marseilles, France
• Vaux-Andigny, France
• Saint-Juvin, France
• Brieulles-sur-Meuse, France
• Bohain-en-Vermandois, France
• Mézy-sur-Seine, France
• Badonviller, France
• Bois de Belleau, France
• Bazoches, France
• Châteauvillain, France
• Ploisy, France
• Suresnes, France

Volume 3 contains approximately 270 photographs taken in France, Germany, Italy, England, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the U.S. The most substantial topics are the Treaty of Versailles, postwar parades and celebrations, Interallied Games, U.S. strategic army maps, drawings of army corps and division insignias, and aircrafts. Notable figures include President Woodrow Wilson, General John J. Pershing, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, President Raymond Poincaré, and Marshal Ferdinand Foch.

Other locations shown include the following (in order of appearance):

• Chaumont, France
• Langres, France
• Versailles, France
• Paris, France
• Le Havre, France
• Sainte-Menehould, France
• Gironde, France
• Château-Thierry, France
• New York City, United States
• Hoboken, United States
• Bendorf, Germany
• London, England
• Dublin, Ireland
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Montreux, Switzerland
• Florence, Italy
• Vinets, France
• Reims, France

Box 1 contains approximately 820 photographs taken in France, Germany, Belgium, Monaco, and the U.S. This box contains all of the aforementioned topics supplemented by French Riviera, Loire Valley, ruins of Reims, Château de Fontainebleau, Pyrenees, Alps, AEF, and personal photographs.

Other locations shown include the following (in order of appearance):

• Ypres, Belgium
• Albert, France
• Dun-sur-Meuse, France
• Reims, France
• Saint-Quentin, France
• Montsec, France
• Cantigny, France
• Château-Thierry, France
• Paris, France
• Koblenz (Coblenz), Germany
• Meaux, France
• Vincennes, France
• Versailles, France
• Fontainebleau, France
• Joinville-le-Pont, France
• Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Lourdes, France
• Menton, France
• Nimes, France
• Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France
• Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France
• Mont-Saint-Michel, France
• Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
• Azay-le-Rideau, France
• Loches, France
• Amboise, France
• Montrésor, France
• Le Lude, France
• Rigny-Ussé, France
• Saumur, France
• Chinon, France
• Langeais, France
• Blois, France
• Saint-Savin, France
• Luz-Saint-Sauveur, France

Biographical / Historical:

The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) of the United States Army was formed in 1917 and served under the command of General John J. Pershing on the Western Front of WWI. The branch of the AEF responsible for communication and information systems was the Signal Corps.

While the Signal Corps had taken photographs since 1880, it was not until WWI that it became an official task assigned to the branch. In 1917, the Signal Corps created a photographic section for both ground and aerial photography. A photographic unit was comprised of one motion picture operator, one still photographer, and multiple assistants. Each AEF division was assigned a photographic unit. These units also served with other agencies, such as the American Red Cross and YMCA, to detail their activities.

The intended purpose of these photographs was for training, propaganda, and historical documentation. The aerial photographs in particular provided essential reconnaissance and mapping. The army's control over wartime photography enabled their ability to censor what the public consumed. This collection contains many photos that have been stamped "Passed as Censored," which provides an example of acceptable photos to be released to the public.

Acquisition Information:

2002. F-577 .

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Clements Library holds numerous collections relating to the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Search the catalog and finding aids with the phrase "World War, 1914-1918"

Bibliography

Historical Branch War Plans Division. Catalogue of official A.E.F. Photographs. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1919. (Accessed January, 2019 through Internet Archive.)

Robbins Raines, Rebecca. Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific, 2005.

United States Army. United States Army in the World War, 1917-1919, Organization of the American Expeditionary Forces: Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1988.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Photographs shelf.
Animals--France--1910-1920.
Argonne, Battle of the, France, 1918.
Cemeteries--American--France--1910-1920.
Château-Thierry, Battle of, Château-Thierry, France, 1918.
Prisoners of war--German--France--1910-1920.
Soldiers--American--1910-1920.
Treaty of Versailles (1919 June 28)
War casualties--France--1910-1920.
War destruction & pillage--France--1910-1920.
World War, 1914-1918--Battlefields--France.
World War, 1914-1918--Tank warfare.
World War, 1914-1918--Trench warfare.

Formats:

Photographs.

Names:

Château de Fontainebleau (Fontainebleau, France)
Château de Versailles (Versailles, France)
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces.
United States. Army. Signal Corps.
Clemenceau, Georges, 1841-1929.
Foch, Ferdinand, 1851-1929.
Lloyd George, David, 1863-1945.
Olivier, Herbert Arnould, 1861-1952.
Orlando, Vittorio Emanuele, 1860-1952.
Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948.
Poincaré, Raymond, 1860-1934.
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924.

Places:

Loire River Valley (France)
Riviera (France)