By Cherie Acierno and Nicole Milano
Title: American Field Service World War I Records, 1914-1935
Predominant Dates:1915-1918
ID: RG1/001
Creator: American Field Service
Extent: 0.0 Cubic Feet. More info below.
Arrangement:
This collection is into the following four series, based on the administrative structure of the American Field Service during World War I: Series 1: Paris Headquarters; Series 2: Boston Office; Series 3: New York Office; Series 4: Chicago Office; Series 5: Publications and Promotional Material
In many cases, the collection is processed at a box level only; many folders (and individual items) remain unsorted within each series. In some cases, however, boxes were processed at a folder level and a folder list is given. See the individual series descriptions for more information.
The American Field Service (AFS) was a volunteer ambulance and camion corps serving with the French Army during World War I. AFS ceased to exist as an independent entity and was absorbed by the United States military when the United States entered the war in 1917. The American Field Service World War I Records contains reports, printed material, publications, correspondence, and other administrative files of the American Field Service during World War I.
The American Field Service World War I Records contains correspondence, reports, printed material, publications, and other administrative files of the American Field Service during World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, reports, rosters, personnel records, and ambulance donor cards kept at the Paris headquarters, run by Inspector General Abram Piatt Andrew. There is also a smaller selection of correspondence and records from the Boston office, run by Henry Sleeper. There is one folder containing driver application forms from the New York City office. An AFS office in Chicago handled recruitment from the Western states in 1917, and there is one folder of driver application material from that office. There are also several boxes containing publications and promotional material produced or collection by the organized.
See the individual series and subseries descriptions for more information.
Alternate Extent Statement: 55 boxes, four film cans
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research
Use Restrictions: Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the AFS Archives. In the event that this research becomes a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs is required. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition Method: The collection was transferred to the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs (AFS Archives) by AFS staff at unknown dates. A significant percentage of the material from Paris Headquarters was transferred from Red Roof, A. Piatt Andrew’s home in Massachusetts, donated to the AFS Archives by Andrew’s grandnephew Andrew Gray at unknown dates.
Appraisal Information: Twenty-two published books, most of which were written by former American Field Service (AFS) ambulance or camion drivers, and include a privately-printed book of A. Piatt Andrew’s letters home (1916), were separated from this collection and added to the AFS Library. Three typescript manuscripts, including a copy of H. D. Sleeper’s personal letters to Andrew (1985), were also removed to the AFS library. For a list of materials in the AFS library or questions about accessing them, please contact the AFS Archives. In addition to the books and typescripts, personal collections of documents, donated by individual drivers and/or their heirs after the war have been removed from the American Field Service World War I Records and separated into individual archival collections whenever specific donors or drivers have been identified. Post-war material related to the American Field Service Association was also removed from this collection.
Related Materials: For more information about A. Piatt Andrew, consult the A. Piatt Andrew Collection (RG1/050) in the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs., or the Andrew papers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California and the AFS Foundation Headquarters in Switzerland. There is also a collection of American Field Service Records (1917-1919) at the Chicago History Museum, donated by Charles B. Pike. The American Hospital of Paris is still in existence, and maintains an archive. For the official records of the American Field Service during World War II, see the American Field Service World War II Records (RG2/001.)
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], [Date]; American Field Service World War I Records; Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs, New York, NY.
Processing Information: This collection was partially processed by L.D. Geller in 1988 under a grant by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and again by Cherie Acierno in June 2011 and Nicole Milano in 2014. The finding aid written by Geller in 1988 has been superseded to take account of new accessions and a new series-level arrangement. The new preliminary finding aid was written and encoded in EAD by Cherie Acierno in June 2011, which was made possible through the 2010-2011 National Historical Publications and Records Commission Basic Processing grant. The finding aid text and collection arrangement was updated in 2014 by Nicole Milano.
38 boxes
This series contains administrative files, personnel records (Paris Cards), and ambulance donor cards produced by the American Field Service (AFS), which were kept in or nearby Paris. The series encompasses files from when AFS was a section of the American Ambulance Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France (1914 through June 1916), as well as files generated by the independent AFS Headquarters at 21 Rue Raynouard in Paris, France (which opened in July 1916 and was maintained until June 1919.)
The series is arranged into the following subseries, arranged by material type: Subseries 1A: Administrative Files, 1915-1935 (bulk 1915-1918); Subseries 1B: Paris Cards, circa 1914-1917; Subseries 1C: Ambulance Donor Cards, circa 1915-1917.
Subseries 1A includes the administrative files collected or produced by the American Field Service when it was part of the American Ambulance Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France (April 1915 through June 1916, when it was known as the “American Ambulance Field Service”), as well as when it existed independently at 21 rue Raynouard in Paris, France (which opened in July 1916 and was maintained until June 1919.)
The administrative files mostly consist of original incoming and copies of outgoing correspondence (in French and English), as well as some more recent photocopies of original letters. The correspondence is addressed mostly to and from A. Piatt Andrew, although there is also some correspondence to or from other administrators, including Assistant General Inspector Stephen Galatti (who went on to become Director General of the organization in 1936), and Dr. Edmund L. Gros, Chief Physician of AFS (who simultaneously organized a squadron of American pilots fighting for France.) Andrew’s correspondents include ambulance donors, members of the Board of Governors of the American Hospital, American AFS representatives (including his close friend Henry Sleeper, who ran the American Headquarters in Boston), commanders of the French Army, the French Automobile Service, and with Richard Mallet, commander of the French Transport Reserve. There is also field correspondence related to the various ambulance and camion units, which contain important correspondents (such as William Yorke Stevenson in the SSU 1 Field Correspondence; Walter Lovell, Herman A. Webster, and J. Marquand Walker in the SSU 2 Field Correspondence; Oliver Hazard Perry in the SSU 4 Field Correspondence; Austin Mason in the SSU 8 Field Correspondence; and Ralph Richmond in the SSU 30 Field Correspondence) and topics (such as Emily Pottle's published poem from December 1915 in the SSU 2 Field Correspondence folders.) The correspondence related to the units also includes some documents dated after AFS was fully absorbed into the U.S. military. In addition to the correspondence, the series also includes reports and section histories (including the inspection of units at the American Ambulance Hospital before the American Ambulance Field Service was founded in April 1915.)
While most items are produced between April 1915-June 1919, there is also a report of units in the field from early 1915 by A. Piatt Andrew before the American Ambulance Field Service was formed, and a document from 1935 by Commandant Doumenc's regarding his appreciation of the camions service.
The subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic at a folder level. There are also several boxes of unsorted material.
18 boxes
This subseries includes personnel records, referred to as Paris Cards, which consist of a single backed sheet containing a photograph and basic, handwritten information about each ambulance or camion driver’s background and assignment. The cards also include a notation about the volunteer’s service after the American Field Service was absorbed into the U.S. military. These Paris Cards are not comprehensive and include a few very damaged items (the “W” last names in poor condition) that are restricted from access without prior approval, and many volunteers are missing from these files. There are also several blank Paris Cards, as well as orphaned photographs that do not match a specific Paris Card.
The Paris Cards are arranged in alphabetical order by last name.
2 boxes
This subseries includes 698 ambulance donor cards (measuring about 4” x 6”), which record the donor name and brief notes tracking the activities of each donated ambulance. These records do not appear to be a complete record of all ambulance donations.
The ambulance donor cards are arranged alphabetically by donor name.
0.92 cubic feet (3 boxes)
This series contains driver rosters, financial reports, and correspondence kept at the Boston office of the American Field Service, run by Henry D. Sleeper. The bulk of the series consists of letters from Andrew to Sleeper related to recruitment, publicity, personnel, supplies, donations, finances, and internal AFS politics. The correspondence between these two men is arranged chronologically. There is also correspondence with Anne Morgan, daughter of J.P. Morgan and founder of the American Committee for Devastated France regarding fundraising and recruitment, and various other correspondents related to fundraising through the production of books and films, including Our American Boys in the European War. There is also one completed AFS driver application form with a photograph attached.
This series is processed at a box level only; the folders (and individual items) remain unsorted.
0.06 cubic feet (1 folder)
This series consists of one folder containing two completed American Field Service driver application forms with photographs attached.
0.06 cubic feet (1 folder)
This series consists of one folder containing a blank photocopied driver application, one original completed application, and supporting recommendation letters from the Chicago office.
15 boxes
This series includes publications produced by AFS (including the AFS Bulletin from July 1917-April 1919 and various other AFS fliers and printed ephemera), publications collected by staff (including clippings and magazines with articles about AFS), and promotional material (including posters and booklets related to the AFS promotional film Our American Boys in the European War.)
This series is only partially processed. The AFS Bulletin issues are arranged chronologically; all other items remain unsorted.
