World War I
Contemporary Broadside Illustrating American Army Insignia during World War I




This colorful broadside features the distinct insignia for the three Armies, nine Corps, and thirty-eight (later forty-three) Divisions that comprised the American Expeditionary Forces in 1919. It was printed by the 29th U.S. Engineers at the Base Printing Plant at Langres, France.


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[WORLD WAR I.] American Expeditionary Forces Distinctive Cloth Insignia. Base Printing Plant, 29th Engineer Regiment, U.S. Army, 1919. 1 p., 15" x 27". Folds and wrinkles but could be flattened with framing as excellent display piece.

General Joseph Hooker established a system of divisional and corps insignia during his brief tenure as commander of the Army of the Potomac in the Civil War, but they were not established throughout the army until the twentieth century.

With the establishment of a large American Army in 1917, it was natural that unit insignia would appear in the American Expeditionary Forces. Some accounts credit the 81st Division with initiating the trend by arriving at their Port of Embarkation with a “wildcat” patch on their shoulders. Soon, each division had their own distinctive insignia.

Soldiers wore a division emblem on their left shoulder, and they sometimes also wore an army insignia beneath or integrated into their division emblem.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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