The 13th Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. It was established at Camp Lewis, Washington, in 1918, during World War I. [1] The war ended before the division saw combat, and it was inactivated in 1919. [2]
The 13th Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. It was established at Camp Lewis, Washington, in 1918, during World War I. [1] The war ended before the division saw combat, and it was inactivated in 1919. [2]
The 13th Division was activated at Camp Lewis, Washington on 16 July 1918 as part of the U.S. military mobilization for World War I. [2] It was manned and trained at Camp Lewis in preparation for combat in France, Several existing Regular Army units, and cadres taken from these units, formed the division's nucleus, while draftees, predominantly from California, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, North Dakota, and Utah, filled out the rest of the division. [2]
The "square" 13th Division's complement of four regiments included the 1st, 44th, 75th, and 76th Infantry Regiments. [2] In August 1918, the regiments were organized to form two brigades—the 25th (1st and 75th Regiments, plus the 38th Machine Gun Battalion) -- and the 26th Brigade (44th and 76th Regiments, plus the 39th Machine Gun Battalion). [2]
Cornelius Vanderbilt III served as the division's interim commander in the summer of 1918. [2] As they had for the recently departed 91st Division, community leaders welcomed Vanderbilt at a formal reception which took place at the newly-constructed Camp Lewis gymnasium, and included an orchestra, and more than 1,000 guests, including Governor Ernest Lister. [2] In addition to the reception for Vanderbilt, the civilian community welcomed the 13th Division's soldiers with public events, including a picnic and a track meet. [2]
Horace R. Cayton Sr., the publisher of Cayton's Weekly and Seattle's first African American journalist, criticized Vanderbilt for barring black troops from Camp Lewis's most popular recreation center. [2] He had also segregated the camp's Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) Hostess House, which was widely popular among soldiers. [2] Vanderbilt lifted the bans in September as the result of the public outcry generated by Cayton's articles. [2]
The 13 Division was briefly commanded by Brigadier General Frank B. Watson, with Vanderbilt taking command of the 25th Brigade. [2] When the permanent commander, Major General Joseph D. Leitch arrived in October 1918, Watson assumed command of the 26th Brigade. [2]
In late September 1918, the Spanish influenza epidemic reached Camp Lewis, and the post soon averaged 10 deaths per week. [2] In early October, the 213th Engineer Regiment arrived for assignment to the 13th Division, and brought even more ill soldiers into the camp. [2] In an effort to halt the widening epidemic, Leitch imposed a quarantine on 19 October. [2]
A Tacoma Daily Ledger fundraising campaign to erect the world's largest flagpole at Camp Lewis culminated on 12 October 1918, when soldiers attempted to raise a 60-by-90-foot American flag which was mounted on a 314-foot-tall pole made from a Douglas fir tree. [2] The event was sparsely attended because of the flu quarantine, and soon after the pole went up, a gust of wind whipped the flag hard enough to snap the pole in three places. [2] An attempt to raise a 214-foot pole in November also met with failure, as the wind caught the flag during the dedication ceremony, snapped the pole into two pieces and shredded the flag. [2] A third, more traditional flagpole was successfully erected later in November. [2]
Major Alexander P. Cronkhite was a company commander in the 213th Engineers and the son of Major General Adelbert Cronkhite. [2] He arrived at Camp Lewis in early October, and was soon hospitalized with influenza. [2] Major Cronkhite was released on 21 October, and joined his company for a cross-country hike. [2] Because he was still recovering, another officer was temporarily in command. [2] When the group stopped to rest and eat lunch, Cronkhite used a borrowed handgun to engage in target practice by shooting at a tobacco tin on a nearby fence post. [2] While engaged in this activity, Cronkhite sustained a gunshot wound and died at the scene. [2] Subsequent investigation found that it was accidental and self-inflicted. [2]
Adelbert Cronkhite did not accept this finding, and pushed for several years to have the investigation reopened. [2] In the mid-1920s, the sergeant and captain who had been with Alexander Cronkhite when he died were arrested and charged with murder. [2] Because the captain was Jewish, Adelbert Cronkhite's cause was taken up by anti-Semitic newspapers, creating a nationwide story. [2] When the sergeant was tried, defense attorneys were able to demonstrate that an accidental shooting was the most likely possibility. [2] He was acquitted, and charges against the captain were soon dismissed. [2]
The armistice of 11 November 1918 ended World War I before the 13th Division could complete its training and depart for France. [2] Within a few days, Leitch began permitting the release of officers who were no longer needed, as well as soldiers who requested discharge so they could return home to support their families. [2] The 13th Division held a demobilization parade on 22 November 1918, with members of the local community watching primarily from their automobiles as a precaution against the spread of influenza. [2]
The division was nearly demobilized by February 1919, except for the 13th Field Artillery Brigade, which was briefly employed in Seattle to help restore order during a labor strike. [2] Demobilization resumed again on 25 February, and the soldiers of the 13th Field Artillery Brigade were soon discharged to civilian life. [2]
The 13th Division's shoulder sleeve insignia was approved by the War Department shortly before the division demobilized. [2] It consisted of a blue circle featuring the number 13 in white. [2] A black cat depicted above a red horseshoe open at the top were intended to represent hoodoo that the Germans could not defeat, and the good luck that the division expected to have during combat in France. [2]
The 2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead") is a formation of the United States Army. Since the 1960s, its current primary mission is the pre-emptive defense of South Korea in the event of an invasion from North Korea. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division, with 10,000 of them stationed in South Korea, accounting for about 35% of the United States Forces Korea personnel. Denoted the 2nd Infantry Division-ROK/U.S. Combined Division (2ID/RUCD), the division is augmented by rotational Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) from other U.S. Army divisions.
The 1st Infantry Division (1ID) is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First." The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas.
The 80th Training Command is a formation of the United States Army Reserve.
The 97th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. Nicknamed the "Trident division" because of its shoulder patch, a vertical trident in white on a blue background, it was originally trained in amphibious assaults as preparation for deployment in the Pacific Theater. It was deployed to Europe in 1944 when casualties from the Battle of the Bulge needed to be replaced.
The 76th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I, World War II and the Cold War. The division was inactivated in 1996 and has been reconstituted as the 76th US Army Reserve Operational Response Command in 2013.
The 9th Infantry Division is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army. It was formed as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas. In later years it was an important unit of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Vietnam War. It was also activated as a peacetime readiness unit from 1947 to 1962 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Carson, Colorado, and from 1972 to 1991 as an active-duty infantry division at Fort Lewis, Washington. The division was inactivated in December 1991.
The 41st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army National Guard composed primarily of units from the Pacific Northwest. The division saw active service in World War I and World War II, receiving the nickname “Jungleers” during the latter.
The 38th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army and part of the Indiana National Guard. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and contains Army National Guard units from across the Midwest.
The 37th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. It was a National Guard division from Ohio, nicknamed the "Buckeye Division". Today, its lineage is continued through the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, with battalions from Ohio, Michigan, and South Carolina.
The 31st Infantry Division ("Dixie") was an infantry division of the United States Army National Guard, active almost continuously from 1917 to 1968. Composed of men from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Mississippi at various points in its existence, the division saw service in both World War I and World War II, and was mobilized during the Korean War, although it was not sent overseas in the latter.
The 33rd Infantry Division was a formation of the U.S. Army National Guard between 1917 and 1968. Originally formed for service during World War I, the division fought along the Western Front during the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of Hamel, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, at the Second Battle of the Somme, and at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. It was re-formed during the inter-war period, and then later activated for service during World War II, seeing action against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific. In the post war era, the division was reconstituted as an all-Illinois National Guard division. In the late 1960s, the division was reduced to a brigade-sized formation, and its lineage is currently perpetuated by the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
The 40th Division was an infantry division of the British Army active during the First World War, where it served on the Western Front. It was a division of Lord Kitchener's New Army volunteers, mostly "bantam" recruits of below regulation height. It was later briefly reformed as a deception formation in the Second World War, and during the early years of the Cold War was recreated a third time to garrison Hong Kong.
The 39th Infantry Division was an infantry formation of the Army National Guard, originally formed as the 18th Division in 1917. The division consisted of troops from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. After training at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, the division was deployed to France but did not see combat before the end of World War I. In July 1923 the division was re-designated as the 31st Infantry Division. The 39th Infantry Division was reactivated after World War II with troops from Louisiana and Arkansas and its headquarters in Louisiana. In 1967, the 39th Infantry Division was reorganized to become the 39th Infantry Brigade (Separate). Its headquarters was in Little Rock and the unit consisted entirely of troops from Arkansas.
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The 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an Air Defense Artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted in 1918 in the Regular Army during World War I. During World War II the unit served as the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment
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73rd Division was a short-lived infantry division of the British Army during World War I. It served in Home Forces and never went overseas.
Adelbert Cronkhite was a career officer in the United States Army. He was notable for his command of the 80th Division during World War I. He also served as interim commander of IX Corps and commander of VI Corps after the war. In addition, his later command assignments included the Newport News Port of Debarkation, the Coast Artillery Training Center, and Third Corps Area.
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