Company B, 307th Infantry: Its history, honor roll, company roster, Sept., 1917, May, 1919

In Short

This concise military history documents the wartime existence of Company B, 307th Infantry, 77th Division, from its formation in September 1917 to its muster-out in May 1919. Compiled by unit member Julius Klausner, Jr., the volume detail-tracks the conversion of citizen recruits into battle-hardened soldiers through relentless drills, Atlantic crossings, British training camps, and fierce combat across France. It stands as an enduring record because it balances official military progression with human details—including comprehensive rosters, citation lists, and accounts of support systems like the home-front Family Unit—preserving the collective memory of survival and sacrifice.

The Story

The narrative opens on September 10, 1917, at Camp Upton on Long Island, where civilian recruits arrive with the casual expectation of a picnic. Seven days later, the A New York draft unit forms in the Long Island dust, crosses a U-boat-haunted Atlantic, and fights its way through the mud, gas, and dense thickets of the Western Front.

In Short

Compiled by Julius Klausner, Jr., this book is an intimate operational record of Company B, 307th Infantry—a unit of the 77th "Statue of Liberty" Division raised primarily from New York City during World War I. The text follows these citizen-soldiers from their raw draftee days at Camp Upton, through intensive trench-warfare training under British command, to heavy frontline combat in the Vosges, the Vesle, and the decisive Argonne-Meuse Offensive. Combining chronological campaign narratives, an honor roll of decorated and fallen men, a full roster, and tributes to home-front support groups, it stands as a lasting monument to military fellowship, sacrifice, and civilian endurance.

The Story

The narrative opens in September 1917 at Camp Upton on Long Island, where a diverse group of civilian draftees converges to form Company B of the 307th Infantry Regiment. Under the leadership of officers like Captain Blanton Barrett, these men swap comfortable domestic life for barracks, straw mattresses, and endless drilling in bayonet work, gas defense, and infantry tactics. By early 1918, the raw recruits transform into a cohesive combat unit. In April, they board the giant transport ship Justicia, traveling via Halifax to Liverpool and eventually crossing the English Channel to Calais, becoming among the very first National Army units to land in France.

Once in Europe, Company B undergoes rigorous secondary training alongside British forces in Picardy and Flanders, swapping their American rifles for British Enfields before being deployed to quiet sectors in Lorraine. Their introduction to actual trench warfare occurs in late June 1918 at St. Maurice, where a sudden German artillery barrage delivers a devastating combination of high explosives and phosgene gas, sending seventy-nine men to the hospital and crippling the company's rank-and-file. Weeks later, in July, the company suffers another tragic setback during a daylight raid on German positions; exposed without the element of surprise, seventeen men are killed—including Captain Barrett—and sixteen are captured.

Despite these heavy losses, Company B is reorganized, reinforced with men from other divisions, and pushed into the thick of major Allied offensives. By August and September, they move to the Vesle-Aisne sector, advancing under heavy fire across exposed fields near Merval. In late September, they enter the brutal terrain of the Argonne Forest. There, Company B serves in support during the famous siege of the "Lost" Battalion, helping secure the lines that lead to the rescue of their beleaguered comrades in the 308th and 307th Infantry. They press forward to breach the German line at Grand-Pre, wading across the River Aire and engaging in street fighting.

The final days of the war see Company B driving hard toward the Meuse, capturing strategic French villages such as Fontenoy, Oches, and Stonne from retreating German troops, often outpacing their own supporting artillery. When the Armistice takes effect on November 11, 1918, the men are stationed near Sedan. The narrative concludes with their twenty-four-day march to a winter rest area in Lanty, their eventual return to New York in April 1919, a celebratory parade down Fifth Avenue, and the formation of the Burke-Kelly Post of the American Legion to preserve the memory of their fallen brothers.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins In April 1918, the regiment boards the transport ship Justicia in New York, navigating past a destroyed Halifax harbor while practicing boat drills and evading enemy submarines under destroyer escort. They land in Liverpool before crossing the English Channel to Calais, where they experience their first nighttime air raid by German bombers.

In the trenches of Lorraine Taking over sectors near Ancerviller and Badonviller, the men inhabit ruined villages like St. Maurice, fortifying cellars for protection against heavy shelling. On June 24, a grueling three-hour barrage unleashes a toxic blanket of phosgene and mustard gas, sending nearly eighty soldiers to the hospital.

Tragedy at daylight On July 21, a fifty-two-man patrol launches an afternoon raid against German trenches to gather intelligence, but the enemy anticipates the movement and surrounds them with rifle and machine-gun fire. Captain Barrett and sixteen others are killed in the hour-long battle, necessitating a complete reorganization of the depleted unit.

Pushing to the Aisne Transported in trucks driven by Indo-Chinese drivers, Company B moves into position near Fismes and Bazoches, digging reserve trenches under frequent bombardment. On September 8, the men advance across open fields in single file against German artillery positions at Merval, suffering casualties before taking part in a full assault to reach the river.

The Argonne and Grand-Pre Entering the Argonne-Meuse drive in late September, the company acts in support during the crisis of the "Lost" Battalion before wading across the River Aire to attack Grand-Pre. They engage in fierce house-to-house fighting to capture the town, helping crack the keystone of the enemy's defensive network in the sector.

Drive to the Meuse and homecoming During the final offensive in November, the unit captures a succession of French villages including Stonne and Raucourt, liberating civilians who had endured four years of enemy occupation. Following the November 11 Armistice, they endure months of post-war drilling in France before sailing home to New York in April 1919 for final discharge.

The People

Captain Blanton Barrett As the initial commanding officer of Company B, Captain Barrett is tasked with transforming two hundred and fifty green New York recruits into a disciplined fighting unit at Camp Upton. He leads his men through initial training and early deployments in France, but his career ends tragically during the July 21 daylight raid in Lorraine, where he dies alongside sixteen of his men while attempting to engage enemy lines.

Major General Robert Alexander Serving as the Divisional Commander of the 77th Division, Major General Alexander provides official military framing and oversight for the unit's records. He commends Company B for its essential role in major operations, particularly its participation in the advance to the Aisne and the critical relief of Lieutenant-Colonel Whittlesey's "Lost" Battalion in the Argonne Forest.

The Men of Company B Represented by officers and enlisted soldiers like Sergeant Frank W. Burke, Corporal John E. Kelly, and private-turned-author Julius Klausner, Jr., these soldiers seek to fulfill their military duty and survive the brutal realities of modern war. Originating from New York tenements and rural towns alike, they endure severe gas attacks, high-explosive bombardments, and loss of comrades, ultimately emerging transformed from civilian recruits into hardened, decorated veterans bound by a lifelong post-war veteran association.

In Its Own Voice

"He made us exchange our hair mattresses for straw, our china for tin, our homes for barracks, and they made us like it."

This line captures the sudden, sharp shift in daily life as hundreds of civilian draftees were processed into military routine at Camp Upton.

"A heavy blanket of phosgene, mustard, and lachrymatory gases settled over the position."

The author describes the terrifying aftermath of the June 24 bombardment at St. Maurice, which crippled the unit's leadership and mess staff.

"None of us but felt that we were fighting for our Country; but all of us knew that we were fighting for our Home."

This reflective context highlights the core motivation of the soldiers as they acknowledged the vital moral support provided by their families back in New York.

What It's Really About

At its core, this history is an exploration of collective duty, urban civilian identity transformed by militarization, and the profound costs of total war. Beyond a simple chronicle of tactical movements across France, the text addresses how ordinary individuals—clerks, tradesmen, and city dwellers—adapted to the terrifying realities of industrialized combat, including poisonous gas and artillery barrages. It poses implicit questions about how communities remember their dead and how survivors process collective trauma. By pairing battlefield reports with detailed rosters, award citations, and home-front organization notes, the work argues that a military unit is sustained as much by familial solidarity and personal loyalty as by official orders and tactical victories.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in World War I, military history, or social history will find this volume a uniquely authentic primary document. Rather than offering a distant, high-level strategic overview, it delivers an unvarnished, bottom-up perspective of the war as experienced by a single infantry company. The prose is direct, grounded, and stripped of romantic embellishments, offering a clear window into the logistical micro-details of troop movements, troop ship conditions, and tactical combat.

While readers should be prepared for the specialized structural format of a unit memorial book—complete with extensive name rosters, formal military citations, and detailed geographical listings—these elements add to its poignant realism. The chronicle brings to life the specific human cost behind famous military engagements like the Argonne-Meuse drive. What stays with the reader is the deep sense of localized camaraderie among the New York draftees and the enduring link between the soldiers on the front lines and the "Family Unit" supporting them from home.