United States Army 366th Infantry Regiment and other Colored Divisions Collection, ca. 1940-2017
Collection Number: 8501

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
United States Army 366th Infantry Regiment and other Colored Divisions Collection, ca. 1940-2017
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Collection Number:
8501
Abstract:
Collection contains collected information pertaining mostly to the 366th Infantry Regiment.
Creator:
Pratt, James E.
Quanitities:
8.8 cubic feet.
Language:
Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The 366th served with distinction in World War I and II. It faced combat in World War II in Italy with the 92nd Infantry Division. The unit was notable in that, unlike other segregated units, the officers were not white. While many of the members were African American, individuals with dark skin from other ethnicities were also placed with the 366th.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:

United States Army 366th Infantry Regiment and other Colored Divisions Collection, #8501. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

Scope and content

Collection contains collected information pertaining mostly to the 366th Infantry Regiment. Includes publications, photographs, films and video about the regiment, some from Fort Devens, Fort Dix, and Camp Gifu in Kakamigahara Japan. Also an index with photos of tombstones compiled by James E. Pratt of members who were killed in action. Discs of oral histories and presentations conducted by Pratt about the regiment are also included. Also material relating to the rediscovery of a bell given by the 366th found at the Parrocchia Saint Maria Del Carmine in Apulia. Morning Reports for the 366th from March 1941 through March 1945 compiled by Pratt are also included. These reports detail regiment activity before and during combat. Also lists of rosters and payroll for the various companies and units as well as general orders. Also digital files of bios of soldiers from the unit and digital photographs and press coverage from events in Italy in 2017 involving the unit.

Scope and content

Also, DVD of 366th Infantry Regiment training at Fort Devens and material regarding re-discovery of the church bell of Parrocchia S. Maria del Carmine, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, which was given as a gift by the 366th Infantry in 1944.
Restrictions on Use:

Due to the fragility and potential degradation of moving image and sound recordings, viewing and listening is limited to items that have been digitized. If an item is in another media format, you may request to have the item digitized for access. Information on ordering access copies may be found on our Reproductions and Permissions page.

SUBJECTS

Names:
United States. Army -- : Pictorial works. -- : African American troops
United States Army Training Center, Infantry (Fort Dix, N.J.)
Fort Devens (Mass.)
Places:
Fort Devens (Mass.)
Subjects:
World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans.
World War, 1914-1918 -- African Americans.
Military participation -- African American.
African American soldiers.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Series I. Books and Documents
Box 2
Soldiers of the 366th Infantry Regiment At Rest In Italy
2015
Scope and Contents
Document compiled by James Pratt containing photos of gravestones and images of soldiers. Identifying numbers correspond to numbers indicated on copies of photographs included in the collection. See the digital version of the bios for the most up-to-date version.
Box 2
Pictorial History 366th Infantry United States Army, Fort Devens, Massachusetts
1941
Scope and Contents
Formerly owned by Elliotte Johnson Williams. Also a reproduction of the 1941 original.
Box 2
Company I 366th Infantry by Harold E. Russell, Jr.
2008
Scope and Contents
Memoir published by Rosedog Books.
Box 2
No Way Out by Rothacker Smith
2009
Scope and Contents
The War Story of a WWII Black Buffalo Soldier
Box 2
La Battaglia di Sommocolonia by Dario Giannini and Vittorio Lino Biondi
2011
Scope and Contents
Includes English translation by Anne Leslie Saunders, Sommocolonia before World War II and The Battle of Sommocolonia.
Box 2
Morning Reports of the 366th Infantry Regiment
March 1941 - September 1942
Scope and Contents
Photo copies of the reports compiled by James Pratt. NARA Approved. These detail activities of the regiment. Some months are broken into multiple parts.
Box 3
Morning Reports of the 366th Infantry Regiment
October 1942 - October 1943
Box 4
Morning Reports of the 366th Infantry Regiment
November 1943 - June 1944
Box 5
Morning Reports of the 366th Infantry Regiment
June 1944 - December 1944
Box 6
Morning Reports of the 366th Infantry Regiment
January 1945 - March 1945
Box 6
Roster and Payroll lists for Service Company, Regimental Band, Officers
1941 - 1943
Box 7
Roster and Payroll lists for Anti-Tank, Cannon, Company A, B, C, D, E, F, G
1941 - 1943
Box 8
Roster and Payroll lists for Company H, I, K, L, M, Headquarters and Regiment, Battalion 1, 2, 3, Medical Detachment.
1941 - 1943
Box 9
General Orders
1941 - 1945
Box 10 Folder 1
Court Martial of Louis P. Sheppard
December 25, 1941
Box 10 Folder 2
Court Martial of Orville Phoenix
February 6-7, 1942
Box 10 Folder 3
Court Martial of William Gilliard
February 16, 1942
Box 10 Folder 4
Court Martial of Sellers Judkins Jr.
March 13, 1942
Box 10 Folder 5
Court Martial of Hermon Streeter
April 6, 1942
Box 10 Folder 6
Court Martial of Shafter Roberts
March 11, 1942
Box 10 Folder 7
Court Martial of Wilson C. Williamson
August 21, 1942
Box 10 Folder 8
Court Martial of Charles Adkins
November 23, 1942
Box 10 Folder 9
Court Martial of General Lee Grant
January 8, 1945
Box 10 Folder 10
Court Martial of Mansfield Spinks
January 16, 1945
Box 10 Folder 11
Court Martial of Anna C. Morrison, Mary E. Green, Alice E. Young, and Johnnie Murphy
March 10, 1945
Box 10 Folder 12
Court Martial of Charlie Ervin Jr.
July 30, 1945
Box 10 Folder 13
Materials relating to a talks and events surrounding a visit by family members of those who served in the 366th to Italy in 2017.
2017
Scope and Contents
Includes coloring book that has an image of the bell from Parrocchia Saint Maria Del Carmine in Apulia.
Box 11 Folder 1
History of the 366th Infantry Regiment for the month of November 1944
November 1944
Box 11 Folder 2
History of the 366th Infantry Regiment for the month of December 1944
December 1944
Box 11 Folder 3
History of the 366th Infantry Regiment for the month of January 1945
January 1945
Box 11 Folder 4
History of the 366th Infantry Regiment for the month of February 1945
February 1945
Box 11 Folder 5
Operations Instructions 366th Infantry Regiment
February - September 1943
Box 11 Folder 6
Field Orders 366th Infantry Regiment
1943
Box 11 Folder 7
Field Orders 366th Infantry Regiment
November - December 1944
Box 11 Folder 8
Special Orders 366th Infantry Regiment
January 1-31, 1944
Box 11 Folder 9
Investigation of Combat Activities 1st Battalion 366th Infantry Regiment
February 3-23, 1945
Box 11 Folder 10
Investigation of Combat Activities 2nd Battalion 366th Infantry Regiment
February 10-28, 1945
Box 11 Folder 11
Report of Operations of the 3rd Battalion 366th Infantry Regiment
February 8-11, 1945
Box 12
366th Infantry Regiment Soldier Deaths, February 10, 1941 - March 28, 1945, volumes 1-2
2022
Box 12
Pictorial History of the 366th Infantry
Series II. Reproductions of Original Large Format Photographs
Scope and Contents
Originals remain in the possession of the collector.
Mapcase Folder 1
Officers of the 366th Infantry, Fort Devens, Massachusetts
May 16, 1941
Scope and Contents
Original from Thurston Jamison.
Mapcase Folder 1
Company B 366th Infantry, Fort Devens Massachusetts
May 1941
Scope and Contents
CRobert W. Hainsworth, commanding. Original from Thurston Jamison.
Mapcase Folder 1
Company I 366th Infantry, Fort Devens Massachusetts
August 1941
Scope and Contents
Captain Emerson J. Pierce, commanding. Original from Harold Russell.
Mapcase Folder 1
Company D 366th Infantry, Fort Devens Massachusetts
August 1941
Scope and Contents
Captain Frederick O. Petite, commanding. Original from Charles Pratt.
Mapcase Folder 1
First Service Command Tactical School Class 27, Publick House, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
April 1943
Scope and Contents
Original from Charles Pratt. Also a 2nd copy with individuals numbered for identification.
Mapcase Folder 1
First Service Command Tactical School Class 28, Publick House, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
May 1943
Scope and Contents
Original from Charles Pratt. Also a 2nd copy with individuals numbered for identification.
Mapcase Folder 1
Company D 366th Infantry, Fort A. P. Hill
November 1943
Scope and Contents
Original from Thurston Jamison.
Mapcase Folder 1
Cannon Company 366th Infantry, Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia
November 1943
Scope and Contents
Original from Frank Cloud.
Series III. Digital Material
Box Estorage
Digital files
Scope and Contents
Biographies and digitized photographs of many of the soldiers. Also news coverage and media associated with a 2017 events in Italy with family members of those who served in the 366th, including an event in Sammichele di Bari where the soldiers bought a bell for the church.
Box 1 DVD-1208-1211
The Dangerous Missions Collection
2002
Scope and Contents
Includes a segment on the 366th.
Box 1 DVD-1212
Buffalo Soldiers, WWII Home Movies
2008
Scope and Contents
By VFA. Home movies of the 366th Infantry Regiment shot at Fort Devens from 1943-1944. CDV title incorrectly refers to them as Buffalo Soldiers.
Box 1 DVD-1213
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt at the Fort Devens Historical Society
November 9, 2013
Box 12 DVD-4586
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt at the Fort Devens Historical Society
Box 1 DVD-1214
366th Infantry Regiment Various Photos
2014
Scope and Contents
High quality scans of photographs, some used in the creation of the reproductions within the collection.
Box 1 DVD-1215
Interview with Harold E. Russell Jr.
January 2014
Scope and Contents
Also includes digital photographs.
Box 1 DVD-1216
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt at the Publick House, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
May 15, 2014
Scope and Contents
At War in New England, the 366th Infantry Regiment in WWII.
Box 12 DVD-4588
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt at the Publick House, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Box 1 DVD-1217
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt in North Yarmouth Maine
May 17, 2014
Box 12 DVD-4589
Presentation on the 366th by James Pratt in North Yarmouth Maine
Box 1 DVD-1220
Interview with Harold Smith a member of the 92nd Infantry who served in Italy in World War II.
2015
Box 1 DVD-1222-1225
Digitized copies of the movie films from Karen Jamison, including Fort Devens and footage from Japan.Please use these DVDs instead of the film reels listed below.
Box 12 DVD-4587
"The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: a glimpse at home state soldiers in the 366th Infantry Regiment", presented to Lansing, Michigan rotary
2018-07-20
Box 12 DVD-4585
Connecting to One's Own History presentation
2015-09-12
Box 12 DVD-4584
Another Soldier's Story: chronology of the service of Judge Charles A. Pratt
Series IV. 8mm Movie Films
Scope and Contents
Titles are taken from the cans of film, the titles may not be 100% accurate of what is depicted. The films may also have had multiple original reels spliced together to form a new reel. Digitization was done by an outside vendor and placement on DVDs, which may not be in the same order as the reels listed below.Please use DVD copies, not film reels.
Box 1 F-1076
Fort Devens, Koko, Ashtrid, Maine, Fort Dix?
1941
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 1. Digitized on DVD-1222
Box 1 F-1077
Fort Devens, Mac, ?, Davies, S, Club etc., Pet ?
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 2 Digitized on DVD-1222
Box 1 F-1078
Colonel Jim Robinson at ?
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 8. Digitized on DVD-1222
Box 1 F-1079
Fort Devens, Training B Company
1941-1942
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 13. Digitized on DVD-1223
Box 1 F-1099
Mt. Fuji Japan and Fort Dix
Undated
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 3. Digitized on DVD-1224
Box 1 F-1100
Seattle Washington
1947
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 4. Digitized on DVD-1224, DVD-1225. Also has a stag film titled "A Model Must Please" spliced in that shows women in their underwear from 1942.
Box 1 F-1101
Boat Trip to Japan on the S. S. Republic. Color
1948?
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 5. Digitized on DVD-1224
Box 1 F-1102
Gifu Japan. Color
1948-1950
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 6. Digitized on DVD-1224
Box 1 F-1103
Camp Gifu Japan
1947-1950
8mm
Scope and Contents
Jamison reel 7. Digitized on DVD-1225