339

Papers of Captain John Rill, head of Standard Gauge Railway operations.

Various places, 1917-1919
Approximately 200 items (0.3 linear feet), generally minor to moderate wear.

Captain John Columbus Rill (1889-1982) was just one member of the enormous American Expeditionary Force in  Europe, but his role was more specialized than most. With extensive railroad experience, he served the Army Corps of Engineers as a staff officer in charge of Standard Gauge Railway operations. He managed much of the infrastructure which brought that enormous army and its supplies to the front.

The feature of this lot is a comprehensive "Report of Operations, Standard Gauge Railways," produced for the Office of the Chief Engineer, First Army," covering operations from 10 August to 11 November 1918: the St. Mihiel and Argonne-Meuse campaigns. The volume was likely produced in multiples, but we find none others in OCLC or elsewhere. The worn wrappers are printed, with a stylized fortress hand-colored in red, and is signed in ink "by John C. Rill." The contents, bound with a leather boot lace, consist of 200 pages of typescript carbon plus 4 folding maps and 19 schematic blueprints. The volume is erratically paginated and missing some of the sections listed in its own table of contents. It contains copies of relevant memoranda and reports issued from September 1918 to January 1919, plus additional narrative material. It is accompanied by two folders of related reports and memoranda, some of them apparently used in the compilation of the report.  

A typed transcript of Rill's diary on 3 pages covers 16 August to 8 September 1918. Sample entries: "Visited a French Captain De Courtiron, a very pleasant man relative to taking over light railway operations in the south sector of Verdun" (23 August). "In the morning went to Sorcy on motorcycle . . . in connection with the construction of normal gauge siding" (2 September). He makes one philosophical observation: "If it were possible to change the American Army in one night to the extent of removing all of the non-efficient officers and replacing them with efficient men who are now in the ranks, one would not recognize the American Army the next morning" (8 September). 

Also included are a formal portrait photograph of Rill in uniform by Havercamp Studios of Chester, PA, April 1917; a pair of large folding printed maps of the Verdun and Clermont areas; two typescript essays on narrow-gauge railways by French officer Dr. Andre Salmont; and a folder of biographical essays and questionnaires describing Rill's war service.

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