Possible Increase of Focus for Question September 24, 2009
Posted by rosspatterson in : Uncategorized , add a commentAs it has been stated before, the current question for my topic is the following:
“How was the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne perceived by the American troops, as seen through their eyes in their remembrances and morale reports?”
It is possible to narrow this question further to better outline the focus of my research. The men whose remembrances I am using were in the sectors maintained by the American V Corps, the American III Corps, and the French XVII Corps, all parts of the First Army. All were of enlisted rank, and sound to not be of the Old Army cadre.
As such, it could be argued that the “American troops” could be narrowed to “relatively new American enlisted troops of the First Army” to bring the question forward as such:
“How was the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne perceived by the relatively new American enlisted troops of the First Army, as seen through their eyes in their remembrances and morale reports?”
Furthermore, since the divisions of two men and the Corps of the third are known, the morale reports can be increasingly focused as well, leading to the following question:
“How was the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne perceived by the relatively new American enlisted troops of the First Army, as seen through their eyes in their remembrances and their Divisional and Corps morale reports?”
The Project so far September 10, 2009
Posted by rosspatterson in : Uncategorized , add a commentFor My History 299 Research Proposal, I am focusing on the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne during the Franco-American Offensive of 1918. More specifically, I am going to be examining how this battle effected the American Infantrymen involved by answering the question, “How was the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne perceived by the American troops, as seen through their eyes in their remembrances and morale reports?”
In order to do this, I plan on utilizing several primary sources, but mainly using three:
A collection of six letters (February 4 – July 10, 1918) written by Private H. N. Brown, 147th Field Artillery, 32ndDivision that can be used as a pre-battle reference
A 1919 account by William Benjamin West, a 37th Division truck driver, which is titled The Fight for the Argonne
A 1920 copy of the Michelin Illustrated Guides to the Battlefields (1914-1918): Verdun and the Battles for its Possessionthat contains the written notes and accounts of a American soldier who was on and off the front lines in the Verdun/Fleury section from about October 28-November 11, 1918
These three sources give me a before, during, and after window into the minds of three unique American soldiers who were all present in the same sector of the Front, which, when combined with data from unit history morale reports and secondary sources such as Robert H. Ferrell’s America’s Deadliest Battle and the American section of Osprey Publishing’s War on the Western Front,should provide a solid research platform for me to work with.
About Me August 26, 2009
Posted by rosspatterson in : Uncategorized , add a commentMy name is Ross Patterson II. I am from Yorktown, Virginia and am the son of a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. I plan on double majoring in both History and Historic Preservation based on my love of military history and my desire to see it preserved for future generations. I have collected militaria for years, assembling a collection of items and documents from the Roman Empire to modern times, with the main concentration being from the American Civil War through the Korean War and Vietnam (including my great-grandfather’s 1942 Ford GPW, which is in the process of being restored). I have a fascination with photographs from conflicts and accounts by those who were there, and as a result I have albums, letters, and memoirs written from the First and Second World Wars, and count among people I consider my friends veterans of World War II, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. In an effort to pass knowledge on to younger generations, I am heavily involved with a Civil War plantation and summer camp in my area, along with a World War II camp held at the same location by the Virginia War Museum. For the past three years I have guest lectured about the First and Second World Wars for my aunt’s middle school classes, and have done military history displays for my old middle school for years.
I love history, and it is my goal to pass that love onto those who come after me.
Endview Plantation, Summer 2008
Hello world! August 24, 2009
Posted by rosspatterson in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farWelcome to UMW Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! If you need some help getting started please refer to the support documentation here.