Charcoal sketch on illustration board of American soldiers eating breakfast as they march through a village during World War I. Depicted are several soldiers in uniform marching down the road while eating. They hold a variety of food and utensils in their hands, including mess kits, canteens, opened tin cans, and bread.. Several soldiers are on horseback pulling wagons. The buildings lining the road are badly damaged and the scene is dark and dreary. The right edge of the illustration board, about one to two inches along the length of the edge, is cracked and separated from the rest of the sketch. Signed at bottom right by the artist, "W. Morgan"
A charcoal and gouache painting on light beige card of the first division headquarters kitchen located on St. Mihiel Drive. The kitchen is in front of a building. There are approximately 27 soldiers in the drawing although most of their faces are not detailed. The soldiers are standing around, eating, resting, or gathering food into their mess kit. There is a tent with the sign "Mud Dog Inn" at left. Rifles are stacked against the building on the right.
Graphite, brush and ink wash sketch. Sketch of trucks lined up in a town square. People and soldiers are depicted; one woman with a child carries an umbrella. Two small dogs in front of the line of trucks. Hills and clouds in background. Sketch is done on white wove paper that is affixed to a larger piece of off-white card.
Pen, ink wash, and graphite sketch of a soldiers' billet in a village near Chateau Thierry, France. An American soldier on a horse rides through a gateway that is connected on each side to a building with a thatched roof. Another soldier stands behind the wooden gate to the right in the sketch. More buildings can be seen in the background through gate. Sketch is on white paper mounted on tan card, which is ruled with decorative graphite lines. Signed at bottom right by the artist, "W.J. Duncan, June 9, '18".
A charcoal and pencil sketch on paper. This landscape shows the view from the village of Belleau looking towards Belleau Wood. Trenches and foxholes constructed by the German soldiers are in the foreground. Stielhandgranate (stick grenades) litter the ground around this abandoned German position.
Colored sketch on white paper. Sketch describes the logistics of the battle in the valley in the sector of the 38th regiment during the Second Battle of the Marne. Smith sketched the valley itself, and then used arrows to point at certain objects in the sketch and wrote a brief description of what happened there along the top. The sketch shows a river flowing through a field. There are trees to the right, left, and behind the field. There are also two groups of houses, one in the background on the left, and the other in the background on the right. There are more fields and another village in the distance. The captions read, (from left to right), "The Sixth Grenadiers / advanced to this point / where they were overwhelm- / ingly defeated by Comps. / H and G", "Mèzy", "Mouth of the Surmelin / River", "Night positions / of one platoon of / Company E", "One platoon of / Company H held / the river bank.", "An attempted / crossing by the / 47th Regiment", "Mont St Père", "The Germans (sixth Grenadiers) / crossed at this point", "Chartéves", and "Left flank of / the French Sector". The sketch's title, "THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE JULY 15-16 A VIEW IN THE VALLEY IN THE SECTOR OF THE 38TH REGIMENT" is written on the bottom of the sketch.
Colored sketch on white paper, mounted on thick paper. Several soldiers stand at the entrance of a building in the background. The soldiers are framed by trees and two wagons in the foreground. The wagons are camouflaged.
Charcoal sketch on white paper of Nieuport 28 planes with the 147th Aero Squadron, First Pursuit Group, taking off for battle. In the foreground, a Nieuport is being pushed into position by three men in uniform: one at each wing and one at the tail. The plane has American insignia on the wings and rudder and the number "11" is painted on the fuselage. The pilot is in the cockpit. In the background, two planes are just taking off and another plane is already in the air.
A charcoal and watercolor sketch on beige paper mounted on brown frame of a bridge at St. Mihiel. The bridge in the center of the sketch appears to have collapsed, but a portion of it is still standing on land with a stone arch near the base. Two soldiers, one wearing brown and one wearing blue (possibly American and French respectively) are seen on the left in front of the bridge. Two other soldiers are also seen on the right near a tall building that is partially damaged. A person is seen under the bridge as well as two people far in the distance beyond the bridge. A river flows on the left in which the bridge was supposed to cross and a reflection can be seen. A pole with wires are seen on the right. The sketch is mostly complete, but not very detailed. The sketch is painted completely. The bridge is colored black, light brown, and some empty spots for the paper to fill in. The sky is painted light blue. The building on the right is painted brown-red tint. The ground has a brown-red tint to it.
Charcoal, ink wash, and white crayon sketch on paper. The work depicts the courtyard of a large chateau in Toul France. One of the walls of the chateau is badly damaged. Several soldiers, equipment, and trucks are in the courtyard. A label attached to the mount, underneath the sketch, reads: "COURTYARD OF RUINED CHATEAU IN THE TOUL SECTOR NOW USED AS/REPAIR WORKS FOR AUTOS AND TRUCKS./PEIXOTTO 173."
Mounted sketch on paper. This work illustrates shell torn buildings during World War I in the French village of Bouresches. Rubble is scattered in the foreground while a tattered tree dominates the center of the composition, partially obscuring a deserted blue wagon behind it. Damage buildings crowd the background of the sketch demonstrating the devastation the conflict brought to the French countryside.
Oil painting on canvas shows an American balloon flying over a small village. Two airplanes, one American and one German, are engaged in combat around the balloon. The American plane has red, blue, and white roundels on its wings. The German plane, with German insignia on the wings, has been shot and is plummeting to the ground. The plane is in pieces and smoke and flames rise into the air.
The slow-moving observation balloons were easy prey for enemy fighter planes and had to be protected by allied planes. If a balloon was hit in battle, the gas in the balloon would catch fire and the balloon pilot would be forced to jump out of the balloon with his parachute. The descending pilot would then have to avoid two dangers: being hit by the burning balloon as it fell to the ground, or being hit by enemy fire from the enemy airplane. Thus, by shooting down the German plane before it could hit the balloon, the American plane gave the balloon pilot a "double escape."
Colored sketch on thick white paper. This work depicts Place du Marche in the Luxembourgish village of Echternach on Luxembourg's border with German Rhineland at the close of World War I. Banners line the facade of Echternach's city hall in the foreground, and the steeples of the basilica rise from the background. The soldiers in the square are likely American, an Army truck is visible on the street to the right, and a Red Cross ambulance is on the street to the left.
Ink and watercolor color sketch on paper. The work depicts a field encampment near Dun-sur-Meuse, France, after the Armistice of World War I. A road cuts through a field where there are a large number of tents pitched. Several graves marked by crosses line one side of the road.
Charcoal and crayon drawing on heavy textured cream wove paper. The work depicts German prisoners of war carrying wounded American soldiers on stretchers at a first aid station. Wounded soldiers - American and German - are shown lying and sitting on the ground in front of a building flying a white flag with a red cross on it. On the far right, in the foreground, a multi-colored camouflaged German helmet hangs on a rifle with its bayonet fixed. A tank, smoke, and fire are visible in the background.
Charcoal sketch on paper of German dugouts and shelters built on the side of a hill near Varennes, France. Shell-torn buildings are visible at the top of the hill at center. Railroad tracks run next to the hill at right. On the left at the top of a set of stairs is apparently a makeshift cemetery with several crosses for gravestones. People can be seen walking among the various shelters and dugouts on the hill.
A pencil and watercolor sketch on paper of a river crossing on the Mosel in Treis, Germany. There is a ferry on the Mosel River in the foreground. On the opposite bank is the small town of Treis.