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Summer Service Coat. 81st Div.


nchistory
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Private David Smith of Whiteville, N.C. in Army uniform, standing in front of a painted background, served in Company D of the 321st Infantry.

 

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From WW1 Nerd The left hand image was part of the photo collection of Owen Williams of the 3rd Photo Section, Air Service. In the collection, which is now in the custody of Mr. Chuck Thomas, there are a few images of 81st Division Doughboys. According to his diary entry dated October 9 & 10, 1918:

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 9:

 

Lab in morning. Sgt. Broady, Breyer and I went to French artillery repair shops. About 500 Doughboys arrived and were billeted in homes, barns etc. at Baudencourt. (Members of the Wild Cat Div.)

 

 

 

Thursday, October 10:

 

Above Doughboys visited camp and were interested spectators all morning ...

 

 

 

It is thought that the close up of overseas cap was snapped while the men of the 81st Division were visiting the 3rd Photo Section's camp.

 

 

 

The right hand image is a studio shot of an enlisted man wearing a similar insignia on his tailor made overseas cap.

 

 

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the Charles Thomas collection

 

Right hand photo courtesy of the Rogier Van de Hoef collection

 

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From website "Roads to Great War"

 

 

The first official "shoulder patch" as it is worn today was officially introduced into the U.S. Army in October 1918 by soldiers of the 81st Division who wore a hand-embroidered "wild cat" badge on their upper left arm. This reflected the fact that Wildcat Creek ran through Camp Jackson, South Carolina, where the division had been organized on 25 August 1917. The division adopted the name of the "Stonewall" Division after General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson of War Between the States fame. It was further agreed that since the majority of its personnel had come from all the Southern states surrounding South Carolina and were mostly from the mountains and other agricultural and sparsely settled communities, that the wildcat (which was common in the Carolinas) was adopted as the insignia of the division.

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From WW1 Nerd's post

 

Camp Jackson, where the troops of the 81st Division trained featured a small creek named after one of the states woodland predators the Carolina Wildcat. At some point the men began to wear crude cloth badges in the form of a wildcats head on their sleeves to enhance the units esprit de corps. This emblem is said to have been designed by Corporal Dan Silverman of Company I, 321st Infantry Regiment. In May of 1918, a profile of the felines body with its back raised in anger was selected over that of the wildcats head by the division commander, Major General Charles J. Bailey, because he felt that it better represented the fighting spirit of the men he oversaw.

 

 

 

Photo No. 32: The head of an actual Carolina Wildcat is displayed next to the SSI that General Bailey selected as the trademark for the 81st Division. In this case, the black color represents the 306th Engineer Regiment.

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2 Carolina Boys come home after 100 years.

This grouping although identified to unit only 81st Wildcats, the man that donned the uniform is finally verified. I had place a tentative identification using the components of the grouping. Clues, train ticket to Kannapolis, NC, Company C, 321 disk, CPL chevron, and 81st Wildcat shoulder sleeve insignia. The previous owner, said there was no name associated with this grouping, but all came together when found in old house. Digging through the roster of the 321st, there was only 1 Cpl. from Kannapolis in Company C, Robert W. Sloop. I had my name, but no way to validate my hunch. Upon receiving group, I scoured over every square inch, and no name revealed itself until I got to the overseas cap. Diving in, there was (NO) name, but a set of initials, wait 2 sets to be exact. The 1st set meant nothing RPJ, but then I spied my coveted R. W. S., for Robert William Sloop, YES, I DID IT. Just to be sure, my fingers crossed, I reviewed the Company C roster again, and there he was also R. P. J., Rual P Jones of Greenville, NC a PFC. The cap must have originally belonged to Jones, finding it in his Corporal’s hands at war end. It’s a good thing Jones marked the hat, as that’s the only reason Sloop put in his initials, because the rest of Sloop’s gear wasn’t marked. I love it when there is a good ending, and you help preserve history. Welcome home Carolina Boys, CPL Sloop and PFC Jones.

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420156???? Not sure about 5th number, but was stamped in each sleeve, and twice on back both sides? Maybe manufacture #. Not service number. Maybe nomenclature of coat?? No tags inside.

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Chris, et al,

 

I don't have all the specification numbers for the WW 1 era (1916-1918) cotton service coats, but your coat is likely the service coat that matches Specification No. 1264, Olive Drab Cotton Breeches, adopted on August 6, 1917.

 

It was common for returning the returning AEF divisions that hailed from the states with a warmer climate, or from any state during the summer months, to be issued cotton service dress (coat & breeches) instead of wool.

 

if you keep an eye on such things you will notice a pattern showing that many (but not all) of the service coats bearing shoulder insignia from certain divisions, like the 81st, were mustered out of the army wearing cotton rather than wool service coats. This is typically just the result of the weather being hot at the time the soldier was discharged from the army.

 

Remember that for a variety of reasons, not every soldier posted to the same organization returned from Europe or was mustered out of the army at the same time - This probably explains why both wool & cotton service coats turn up with the same unit insignia on the shoulder.

 

Nice coat by the way.

 

WW1 Nerd, can you check out post again? I got numbers off coat and trousers...

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Southern Railway Ticket used by Sloop for 1st Reunion of Wildcat Division 81st September 1920. Further evidence this was Sloop's, as return to home Kannapolis, NC.

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