by Holly Horton –
The students of Middlesex High School (MHS) history teacher Nicole Ambrose explored a local perspective of the conflict of World War I (WWI) by touring the Middlesex County Museum and its collections for two days at the end of March.
Images of WWI soldiers A.E. Payne, C.S. Richards, J.E. Hill, J.T. Williams, W.H. Ward, and C. Richardson were presented as puzzles that the students put together. They then discussed the information about the soldier that could be determined by the photo with their class: What branch of the military they were with and any medals that they were wearing. All these soldiers were young, between 18 and 22 years old when they enlisted.
Items from the museum collection of gas masks, helmets, uniforms, and a purple heart medal were each central talking points of the discussion. Geographic maps were utilized, and historical photos of ground tactics of the war were further discussed.
Ultimately, the United States mobilized 4 million men; 370,000 African-American soldiers and sailors entered the fight, with roughly 42,000 of them engaging in combat.
More than 100,000 Virginians served in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines.
Most soldiers served in the Army’s 29th Division, 42nd Division, 80th Division, 510th and 511th Engineer Service Battalions, and Base Hospitals Nos. 41 and 45. More than 3,700 Virginians died from all causes. Approximately 600 Black Virginians gave their lives — most of them from disease (the military was ravaged by a global flu pandemic). Nearly 100 were killed in action or died from battle wounds.
Though the war started in 1914, the United States entered the conflict late on the side of Britain, France, Italy and Russia on April 4, 1917. The military conflict ended on Nov. 11, 1918 with the defeat of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Middlesex soldiers were involved for just the last 19 months of the war.
Soldiers Lucles Thornton, Usty Thornton, Marty Byrd, and Calvin Richardson were all members of the 369th Harlem Hellcats, an all-African American unit that served in France. For their service, each soldier won Croix de Guerre citations for distinguished combat record for their involvement in the battle maneuvers at Belleau Woods from the French government. Because the museum did not have images of these individual soldiers, the students watched a video of the homecoming of the unit when they returned to New York City and were saluted with a ticker tape parade down Fifth Avenue.
The student visit was a great application of our county history fulfilling national and state guidelines and the Middlesex County Museum working in partnership with Middlesex Public Schools.
(Holly Horton is the director of Middlesex County Museum. Email her at middlesexmuseum@va.metrocast.
