Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. The 19th Field Artillery Regiment of the 5th Division arrived in France in May 1918, seeing heavy combat in the St. Die Sector, the Villers-en-Haye Sector, the St. Mihiel Offensive, the Limey Sector, and Puvenelle Sector. This is a stellar named grouping to a Corporal in the Headquarters Company of that regiment, including his uniform, helmet, and trench watch with shrapnel guard.
Henry W. Smith was born in 1896, in Middletown, New York. When he enlisted in the Regular Army on June 21st, 1917 at Ft. Slocum, he was living in Delancey, New York. He was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 19th Field Artillery Regiment, 5th Division, serial number 1043706. His company traveled overseas aboard the USS Tunisian on May 27th, 1918. While overseas, Smith would see combat in St. Die Sector (July 31st - Aug. 23rd, 1918), the Villers-en-Haye Sector (Sept. 8-11th, 1918), the St. Mihiel Offensive (Sept. 12-16th, 1918), the Limey Sector (Sept. 17th - Oct. 3rd, 1918), and Puvenelle Sector (Oct. 4th - Nov. 11th, 1918). Smith returned stateside with his company on July 22nd, 1919, being discharged on July 29th, 1919.
The Grouping includes:
-Smith’s summer-weight cotton uniform jacket with a 5th Division patch on the left shoulder, two overseas chevrons denoting 12-17 months overseas, one discharge chevron, a Corporal rate on the right sleeve, and US & 19th Field Artillery HQ Company Collar Discs. The 19th FA Disc is particularly difficult to find on its own.
-Smith’s summer weight cotton uniform breeches, in very rough condition.
-Smith’s British-made Mk. I Helmet shell, with the insignia of the 5th Division, a red diamond, painted on the front. The chinstrap is partially retained but the liner is absent. The paint on top is chipped heavily, but the insignia is still clearly visible.
-Smith’s paybook and sleeve for the period from October 16th, 1918 onward, the last entry being July 1st, 1919.
-Smith’s trench watch in stiff but good condition, the end of one strap missing. There is a gorgeous shrapnel guard on the watch. It does not appear to be functional.
-Smith’s overseas cap, with a US 19 disc on the front, for the 19th Field Artillery.
This is a phenomenal named grouping to a soldier in one of the most combat-torn divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces, with a very rare trench watch!
Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14.5”
Chest width: 18.5"
Waist width: 17"
Hip width: 19.5"
Front length: 29"
Pants
Waist: 15"
Inseam: 22.5"
The 5th Division was activated on 11 December 1917, just over eight months after the
American entry into World War I, at Camp Logan, near Houston, Texas and began training for deployment to the Western Front. The entire division had arrived in France by 1 May 1918 and components of the units were deployed into the front line. The 5th Division was the eighth of forty-two American divisions to arrive on the Western Front.
The 5th Division trained with French Army units from 1 to 14 June 1918. The first soldiers of the unit to be killed in action died on 14 June of that year. Among the division's first casualties was Captain Mark W. Clark, then commanding the 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, who would later become a four-star general. On 12 September, the unit was part of a major attack that reduced the salient at St. Mihiel. The division later fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest battle fought by the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) (and the largest in the history of the U.S. Army) in World War I. The war ended soon after, on November 11, 1918. The division served in the Army of Occupation, being based in Belgium and Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg until it departed Europe. The division returned to the United States through the New York Port of Embarkation at Hoboken, New Jersey, on 21 July 1919.
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