African American “Bearcats” in World War I: 805th Pioneer Infantry Illustrated Regimental History, Documenting Black Soldiers Serving in France, 1919

African American Bearcats Military Service W W. I Expeditionary Forces

First Edition

[African American] [Military] [World War I] Bliss, Paul S. Victory: History of the 805th Pioneer Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces. St. Paul, Minnesota: Paul S. Bliss, 1919. First edition. Scarce illustrated regimental history of the 805th Pioneer Infantry, the African American “Bearcats” of the American Expeditionary Forces, documenting Black military service in France during World War I. Compiled by Major Paul S. Bliss, the volume includes extensive photographs, portraits, and rosters preserving the identities and service of the regiment’s African American soldiers.

The 805th was organized at Camp Funston, Kansas, in July 1918 and sent to France during the closing months of the war. Composed primarily of Black enlisted men serving under white officers in the segregated U.S. Army, the regiment performed engineering, construction, transportation, and logistical work in forward areas associated with the Meuse-Argonne campaign. Though designated a pioneer rather than conventional combat unit, its soldiers worked in areas exposed to enemy fire and the hazards of active military operations.

The volume is particularly notable for its extensive photographic record. Images include “Company C at Brieulles-sur-Meuse,” showing Black soldiers assembled in formation; men repairing war-damaged structures and posing with captured German artillery; and the regiment assembled during an inspection by General John J. Pershing. Numerous portrait collages identify individual enlisted men and officers. A dramatic frontispiece depicts African American troops advancing across a shell-damaged battlefield with fixed bayonets, presenting the regiment through the contemporary visual language of military courage and patriotism.

More than 350,000 African Americans served during World War I, largely in segregated units, with many assigned to labor, transportation, engineering, and pioneer organizations essential to the American Expeditionary Forces. Published immediately after the war, Victory provides an unusually substantial visual and documentary record of one such Black regiment and the individual soldiers whose contributions were often overlooked in broader accounts of the war.

Bound in original embossed leather boards with gilt and blind-stamped decoration and heavy card-stock leaves printed primarily on rectos. Includes color-printed regimental and national flags. Spine worn and partially split, with rubbing to board edges and scattered foxing and toning; contents remain sound. Overall good condition. Scarce in institutional holdings.

Item #21695

Price: $1,250.00