A bit of my US WWI collection

[Mitter2k1]

Since I am learning about a new topic while browsing this forum, I came across this section for other militaria and thought I would share a bit of what I do know. I will try to describe some of the items as I go and if anyone has any questions or would like to see better photos, just ask.

Here is an Infantry Corporal's unlined wool uniform contract dated September 1917. It is composed of a soft, heavy blanket style wool and has all of the original insignia still attached.

[Mitter2k1]

Next up is an US wool Field Artillery uniform. This one is has a cotton liner and the wool has a much coarser texture than the one previously posted. It also still retains its tag and is contract dated to March, 1918.

[Mitter2k1]

Last uniform for now. This is a summer cotton uniform that was worn stateside during the war. Interestingly enough, it is stamped on the back "Inspected and Condemned 1939." It's neat that this uniform almost stayed in US warehouses through two world wars. The coat is actually one of the larger ones I have seen and is approximately a US size 42. The average during the time seems to be from 34 to 38.

[Mitter2k1]

That is all for now and I will post a little bit of field gear and insignia on Monday.

Thanks for looking,
Mike

[Mitter2k1]

Here is a bit of my insignia collection. I have been focusing more on the enlisted collar disks as of late and there are tons of them to choose from. I will attempt to explain a bit of the history as I go along.

First up are the enlisted disks. These are worn on the soldiers right side on the collar and show whether the soldier is Regular Army (US), National Army Selectees (USNA) National Guard state units (USNG) or Reservists (USR). These disks would be paired with a branch of service disk. There are multiple commonly encountered versions. Regular Army will always be the US disk. Draftees (or selectees) will be one of 3 variations of the USNA disk. The earlier version of the USNA disk has the lettering done in a script style and, after 12-1917, they switched to a more standard US disk with the NA superimposed in a box in the center. This also goes for USNG and USR disks. At the same time, numbered branch of service disks had the number removed from the branch disk and placed on the US disk. This allowed for the simplification of unit disks. Example- 100th Infantry Regiment, Company A became US 100 and Infantry Co. A. There were more soldiers in Infantry Companies A than were in 100th Co. A. Plus the US 100 could correspond to any unit numbered 100- infantry, field artillery, engineers, etc.

I hope that this was not too confusing. If it was, I can post a plate from one of my reference books that probably describes it a bit better in a diagram. As always, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to post them here. I always enjoy passing some of my knowledge on to others.

Here they are in the order I uploaded them in (I hope)
US (Regular Army), Early USNA (Selectees/Draftees), Post 1917 USNA, Early USNG (National Guard/State Units), Post 1917 USR (Reservists) Post 1917 Numbered US, Early State Guard (Texas)

Thanks,
Mike

[Mitter2k1]

These are some of the basic branch of service collar disks that were worn during WWI by the US Army.

Infantry disks were mixed with only the regiment number, regiment number and company letter, only the company letter or plain with no number or letter. At the time, the US Army only had 15 companies in a regiment. Companies were lettered A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, S (Supply), HQ (Headquarters) and MG (Machine Gun). Lower numbered disks were not specifically assigned to any regiment. For example, an infantry disk with the number 1 would be interchangeable between state units through the use of a specific right side disk. Higher numbered disks can be tracked with greater ease and can be pinpointed to a specific regiment if they do not have a company letter.

Disks for artillery were done in a similar manner of numbering and lettering combinations. Batteries were lettered the same as infantry with the exception of MG. There is one thing to keep in mind when it concerns the numbering of artillery disks. If the numbers are above the crossed cannons, it is for Field Artillery. If the numbers are below the cannons, then it is for a Coastal Artillery unit.

Disks- Infantry (Plain), Infantry MG Co., 13th Inf. Regt. Co. H, 342nd Inf. Co. A (86th Division USNA), Plain Artillery, Artillery Battery D, 1st Field Artillery Battery F, Coastal Artillery with the artillery shell superimposed in the center.

Mike

[Mitter2k1]

Here is a recent addition that I have not been able to find in good condition. Here is a M1912 private purchase officer's visor cap that came with a 1st Lieutenant Cavalry uniform. They are quite similar in type of material and I would guess were a close match in color at one time. The coat is also private purchase and is of a smooth wool material. Unfortunately I will need to have the cuff braids replaced as they were completely missing and finding someone to do so may be harder that locating the braids themselves. So here are a couple of photos of the cap and coat for you guys.

Thanks,
Michael

[Bill A]

Hi Micheal, When were collar discs first taken into use? I understand that discs were worn until around the time of the Second World War? But they were distinctly different from the First World War pattern?

[Donny B.]

There is some nice gear there, Mike. Well done! Thanks for posting it.

Donny B.

[Mitter2k1]

Originally Posted by Bill A

Hi Micheal, When were collar discs first taken into use? I understand that discs were worn until around the time of the Second World War? But they were distinctly different from the First World War pattern?

Bill, the first collar disks first came into use in 1907 and were virtually identical to the ones used in WWI. Most of the earlier ones were pin back as opposed to the more commonly seen screw back style that was used during the war. It was changed for the obvious reason that a pin is not as good as a screw and nut and this was something that was experienced with insignia prior to the collar disks. Collar disks are still around today and had moved from the field uniform of WWI to the dress uniform afterwards when they went back to a dress uniform that could be distinguished from a field uniform.

I hope this answers your question,
Mike

[Mitter2k1]

Originally Posted by Donny B.

There is some nice gear there, Mike. Well done! Thanks for posting it.

Donny B.

Thank you. I will try to get a few pictures of some of my field gear posted to show some of the differences in style that were used during the war. I will try to get that done this weekend.

Thanks,
Mike

[Bill A]

Mike, when was the First World War type taken out of service? Is there a good reference for the collar discs, circa the FWW?

[Mitter2k1]

Originally Posted by Bill A

Mike, when was the First World War type taken out of service? Is there a good reference for the collar discs, circa the FWW?

The Type I collar disk lasted from 1907 to 1926.

As for references, there are actually a couple of books that are great. The Collar Disk Story (1907-1999) by L. Albert Scipio II is the one I have and it covers a lot of material with references to original orders. The same author also had a paper backed book titled "E.M. Collar Insignia (1907-1926)

There is a set of 3 or 4 volumes written by Leon Laframboise that are excellent for the US insignia collector in general. They are broken down into sections of branch of service insignia. These have been out of print for quite a while and individual copies are pricey.

The last one that should also be in my library is the Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms by William K. Emerson.

Only Scipio's book focuses solely on collar disks as the others cover just about everything. A copy of The Collar Disk Story runs around $50 usd and his paperback is around $40 usd if you can find it as both are out of print. I found my copy online in brand new condition for what I mentioned above. Emerson's Encyclopedia is close to $100 while a set of LaFramboise's books will be about $100 usd each times 3 or 4 volumes.

If you have any questions about any specific disks, post a picture in this thread of the front and the back without the nut, and I will do my best to answer them for you. The backs are just as important as the front as these are often faked.

Thanks,
Mike

[davidwyke]

Hi Mike

Very interesting posts and excellent uniforms and insignia!

Here is a question for you: a member of my family served in the US Army in WW1. He registered for the Draft in Utah in June 1917 and subsequently served as a PFC in the 218th Field Signal Battalion.

Do you have any idea what collar discs he would have worn? Obviously the "US" disc, or one of the variants, on one collar but what about the other collar? Would it have been the Signal Corps crossed flags or? I 'm not sure if this badge was in use by WW1 but I think it was. I've seen the later WW2 era brass versions.

Any info much appreciated.

David

[Mitter2k1]

Originally Posted by davidwyke

Hi Mike

Very interesting posts and excellent uniforms and insignia!

Here is a question for you: a member of my family served in the US Army in WW1. He registered for the Draft in Utah in June 1917 and subsequently served as a PFC in the 218th Field Signal Battalion.

Do you have any idea what collar discs he would have worn? Obviously the "US" disc, or one of the variants, on one collar but what about the other collar? Would it have been the Signal Corps crossed flags or? I 'm not sure if this badge was in use by WW1 but I think it was. I've seen the later WW2 era brass versions.

Any info much appreciated.

David

Thank you David. As far as disks go, I would have to find something that says whether or not that unit was divisional or just a stand alone battalion. I did a quick search of the 218th Field Signal Battalion and found that they were at Camp Travis, Texas. I also searched a site (I will provide a link below) that has the order of battle for a lot of the units during the war and if you follow the way the numbering was done at the time, I would be inclined to say that they were with the 18th Division. However there is no mention of the 218th F.S. Battalion in the order of battle for the 18th Division. I would have to do some more digging to be 100% sure on the right side collar disk. But the 18th Div. was primarily a regular army division and if the numbering followed the same method as other support units during WWI, It may be the plain US disk. And for the left side (branch of service) it would be a plain Signal Corps disk with the crossed flags.

Here is the link for the order of battle so you can see what I mean about the numbering following a certain trend.

http://www.newrivernotes.com/topical...can_forces.htm

And here is what his collar disks would look like.

I hope this helps and I will check further into the unit specifically to be sure.

Thanks,
Mike