First World War – Object #4 – Arkansas Primary Source Sets

302nd Eng. repairing road over trench and 92nd Div. (colored) machine gunners going into action, Argonne Forest, France

<p>Nine black soldiers, dressed in long coats and helmets and with gas masks and gear, stand in a trench. The trench has wooden beams across it. A group of eleven white engineers, dressed in overalls and long sleeved shirts, stands above the trench on the road. All of the soldiers are looking at the camera. There are large trees on the horizon.</p>

Engineers of the 302nd Engineer Regiment repairing a roadway over a trench and African American soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division (Buffalo Soldiers) in a trench headed into action in the Argonne Forest, France, during World War I, ca. 1918

Questions:

Describe the soldiers you see in this photograph.

Describe the trench. Based on the letter, diary and photograph, what do you think it would be like to live and fight in a trench?

What does this photograph tell you about the U.S. role in the First World War?

How do you think the war impacted these soldiers?

Citations

302nd Eng. repairing road over trench and 92nd Div. colored machine gunners going into action, Argonne Forest, France. Argonne France, 1918. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.