Collections

The George E. Boggs collection contains one photograph album, one letter, and one box of ephemera. These materials document the First World War service of George E. Boggs and to a lesser extent his brother Hamilton Irwin Boggs. Also included are numerous photographs of the Boggs family both prior to and after the war.

The George E. Boggs collection contains one photograph album, one letter, and one box of ephemera. These materials document the First World War service of George E. Boggs, and to a lesser extent his brother Hamilton Irwin Boggs. Also included are numerous photographs of the Boggs family both prior to and after the war.

The album does not have a strict order; many photographs from Boggs’ time in France are interspersed with images of family and at training camps in the United States prior to going to France. Captions are apparently written by both George Boggs and his mother Caroline. The majority of the images from France are of Châtillon-sur-Seine but other places are also represented. Please see the Subject Terms for a more complete list of locations.

• George and Hamilton Irwin Boggs in uniform with their Great-Uncle James P. Boggs, Civil War veteran who was wounded at Second Battle of Bull Run (loose photo in front of scrapbook, duplicate copy on page 46)
• General Pershing awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to members of the 81st Division. (page 18)

The letter, written in France on December 28, 1918, is from Hamilton Irwin Boggs to an "Uncle Jim" (possibly his great-uncle James P. Boggs). In the letter, Hamilton Boggs gives a summary of his service in the army, and mentions George Boggs’ service.

The ephemera includes George E. Boggs' dog tags, an embroidered souvenir French handkerchief, an United States Army Air Service insignia pin, and a piece of "trench art" made from a French 75mm shell casing. Also present are eleven track and field ribbons and two medals, all from 1913-14.

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.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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