Captured German 19th Shoulder Board by 7th US Inf. 3rd Div. AEF

[nchistory]

Hi, I'm new to collecting WW1, have been a Civil War collector for 40 years. I purchased a grouping from a family in KY, that belonged to their Great Grandfather Cpl. Arthur W May, Co. B, 7th Infantry, 3rd Division AEF. In this grouping their was a single German? shoulder board captured by May and brought home. This single board is grey in color, a red embroidered 19, and yellow piping. I assume this the German 19th infantry. (I don't know what I'm not allowed to post picture?). I read somewhere that only 5 German regiments had yellow piping? What is the significance? My question is does any know when the 19th German Inf. engaged the 7th US Infantry? Would like to conclude when Cpl. May captured this shoulder board. Does anyone have history of the 19th? All help is greatly appreciated in solving this mystery.

Chris Carroll
BA History NCWC
nchistory@hotmail.com

[Chip M]

Hi Chris,

You can post pictures using a free image hosting site. If you want instructions, just PM me.

What is the width of your captured shoulder strap? Yellow piping would be highly unusual for an American soldier to capture. By the time we entered the war, the pattern had been changed for about a year and a half. Almost all infantry units had white piping and of the few that did have yellow, none would have had a number 19 on them. Are you sure the piping is not just faded (discolored) white?

The M1907 German shoulder strap was approximately 5.5 cm wide and would have had a tongue on the back. The Infanterie Regt. Nr. 19 would have had yellow piping. So, perhaps your vet picked up an early war strap that was still being worn in 1917 or 1918. There is a chance too that he did not get this strap in combat, but perhaps got it from a POW or just picked it up as a souvenir in some other way.

Chip