Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General [OQMG]
(Record Group 92) 1774-1985 (bulk 1774-1962), 24,850 cu. ft.
http://gopher.nara.gov:70/0/inform/guide/10s/rg092.txt
[PART 3 of 4]

92.7 RECORDS OF THE CONSTRUCTION DIVISION 1819-1941, 575 lin. ft.

History: Sixth Division (Barracks and Quarters) established by General Order 62,
OQMG, December 23, 1864, implementing QMD reorganization act of July 4, 1864.
Acquired responsibilities, previously assigned to individual staff officers, for
constructing cantonment buildings, and locating and marking U.S. Army
combatants' graves. Assumed functions of securing federal title to lands
intended as national cemeteries, and maintaining the cemeteries, pursuant to an
act of February 22, 1867 (14 Stat. 399), charging Secretary of War with those
responsibilities. Pursuant to Special Order 20, OQMG, August 19, 1867, replacing
OQMG divisional structure with branches, Sixth Division abolished, with
construction functions transferred to newly established Barracks and Quarters
Branch; and cemeterial functions transferred to newly established Cemeterial
Branch (SEE 92.8). Barracks and Quarters Branch assigned, with Reservation
Branch, to newly established Construction and Repair Division (C&RD), 1895. C&RD
reorganized, effective March 1, 1911, to include Construction, Reservation,
Mechanical, and Miscellaneous Branches, by an unnumbered OQMG memorandum, March
2, 1911. Expanded to include Drafting Branch, 1912. Pursuant to U.S. involvement
in World War I, responsibility for construction of new camps transferred from
C&RD to newly established Cantonment Division, by letter from the Adjutant
General of the Army to QMG, May 19, 1917. C&RD abolished, with remaining
functions transferred to Cantonment Division, October 10, 1917. Cantonment
Division transferred to WDGS and assigned to Operations Division, by General
Order 14, War Department, February 9, 1918. Redesignated Construction Division
(CD) and made a separate War Department unit, March 13, 1918. Assigned to OQMG
by General Order 42 (1920), and redesignated Construction Service. Redesignated
Construction Division, effective June 15, 1930, by Office Order 22, OQMG, June
2, 1930. Organized into Real Estate Branch and New Construction, Repairs, and
Utilities Branch. Abolished, with functions transferred to Office of the Chief
of Engineers, December 16, 1941, implementing an act of December 1, 1941 (55
Stat. 287).

92.7.1 General records

Textual Records: Letters sent, 1865-70, 1884-89, with partial index. List of
letters received, 1865-67. Letters received, 1873-88, with partial indexes.
Record cards and indexes to correspondence, 1890. Numbered letters, 1941. Annual
reports, 1903-15, 1918-19. Correspondence and reports of construction
quartermasters, Galveston, TX, 1900-2 (in Fort Worth); Fort Leavenworth, KS,
1910 (in Kansas City); Newport, RI, 1902-3 (in Boston); Portland, ME, 1901-6 (in
Boston); Mexican Border Project, 1918-20 (in Fort Worth); and Skiff Creek Dam,
Lee Hall, VA, 1918-19 (in Philadelphia). Project completion reports, 1917-38,
with accompanying plans and photographs. Specifications, descriptions,
construction registers, and other records relating to buildings, property, and
utilities at Army Supply Base, Brooklyn, NY, 1918 (in New York); Fort Sheridan,
IL, 1929-39 (in Chicago); Camp Custer, Battle Creek, MI, 1916-17 (in Chicago);
Camp Bowie, TX, 1917 (in Fort Worth); Camp Fremont, Palo Alto, CA, 1918 (in San
Francisco); Edgewood Arsenal, MD, 1918 (in Philadelphia); and Delaware Ordnance
Depot, Pedericktown, NJ, 1919 (in New York). Engineer field books, port terminal
construction at Newark, NJ, 1917-18 (in New York). Abstracts of disbursements by
quartermasters at Army Reserve Depots, New Cumberland, PA, 1917-20 (in
Philadelphia); East Columbus, OH, 1917-20 (in Chicago); Fort Riley, KS, 1917-20
(in Kansas City); and Camp Shelby, MS, 1917-20 (in Atlanta). Miscellaneous
records, 1819-1912. Historical file, 1919. Real Estate Branch record of titles
to U.S. military reservations, Hawaiian Department, 1920 (in San Francisco).

Maps and Charts (1 item): Construction Division activities throughout United
States, 1917-20. SEE ALSO 92.16.

Architectural and Engineering Plans (14,573 items): Buildings constructed by QMC
on army posts and hospital and cemeterial grounds, in depots, and at ports of
embarkation, in the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, China, and Philippine
Islands, 1890-1926 (14,000 items). Standard plans of cantonments, 1916-39 (258
items). Buildings and utilities, Army Supply Base, Brooklyn, NY, 1919 (143
items, in New York). "Utility Atlas," Army Supply Base, Boston, MA, 1919 (162
items, in Boston). Reconstruction of Ordnance Machine Shop, Fort Adams, RI, 1921
(10 items, in Boston). SEE ALSO 92.16.

Photographic Prints (6,300 images): Construction of forts, hospitals, depots,
coastal defenses, and other army facilities, 1909-36 (CD). SEE ALSO 92.17.

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Construction Division in
RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Construction
Division, 1890-1945, in RG 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers.

92.7.2 Records of the Reservation Branch 

History: Established during FY 1889, with responsibility for preserving title
papers of all military reservations under War Department purview, and for
conducting correspondence relating to such reservations. Assigned, with Barracks
and Quarters Branch, to newly established C&RD, 1895. Pursuant to OQMG
reorganization, effective March 1, 1911, by unnumbered OQMG memorandum, March 2,
1911, land purchase and title oversight functions assigned to Construction
Branch of C&RD, with Reservation Branch assigned to construction and/or
maintenance of grounds, roads, and railways, and fire protection and sewage
systems on military reservations.

Textual Records: Letters sent, 1888-89. Registers and indexes of letters
received, 1888-89. Record cards, registers, and indexes to correspondence, 1890.
Case files, 1888-89, with index. Narrative histories of various posts, camps,
and stations, 1890. Records relating to licenses issued to, and withdrawn from,
private firms doing work on military reservations, 1893-1903. Descriptions of
land purchased in continental United States and in Philippine Islands, 1908-11.

92.7.3 Records of the Real Estate Branch

History: Real Estate Unit, in Purchase Section of Purchase and Supply Branch,
PS&TD, WDGS, established by Supply Circular 32, PS&TD, June 22, 1918.
Responsible for handling all War Department real estate matters, including
procurement. Redesignated Real Estate Section and transferred to Facilities
Department, PS&TD, August 27, 1918. Redesignated Real Estate Service, and made a
separate War Department unit, by General Order 43, War Department, April 1,
1919. Assigned to OQMG by General Order 42, War Department (1920). Redesignated
Real Estate Division and assigned to Construction Service of OQMG, 1920.
Redesignated Real Estate Branch, with Construction Service redesignated
Construction Division, effective June 15, 1930, by Office Order 22, OQMG, June
2, 1930.

Textual Records: Decimal correspondence, 1917-22.

Related Records: Records of the Real Estate Branch, 1917-44, in RG 77, Records
of the Office of the Chief of Engineers.

92.8 RECORDS OF THE MEMORIAL DIVISION 1828-1962, 3,978 lin. ft.

History: Sixth Division (Barracks and Quarters) established by General Order 62,
OQMG, December 23, 1864, implementing QMD reorganization act of July 4, 1864.
Acquired responsibilities, previously assigned to individual staff officers, for
constructing cantonment buildings, and locating and marking U.S. Army
combatants' graves. Assumed functions of securing federal title to lands
intended as national cemeteries, and maintaining the cemeteries, pursuant to an
act of February 22, 1867 (14 Stat. 399), charging Secretary of War with those
responsibilities. Pursuant to Special Order 20, OQMG, August 19, 1867, replacing
OQMG divisional structure with branches, Sixth Division abolished, with
construction functions transferred to newly established Barracks and Quarters
Branch (SEE 92.7); and cemeterial functions transferred to newly established
Cemeterial Branch (CB). CB redesignated National Cemeteries Branch (NCB) and
assigned to newly established Mail and Records Division, 1895. Pursuant to OQMG
reorganization, effective March 1, 1911, by unnumbered OQMG memorandum, March 2,
1911, NCB redesignated CB and assigned to newly established Administrative
Division.

Pursuant to U.S. involvement in World War I, CB transferred, with all other
units of Administration Division (formerly Administrative Division), to WDGS,
and assigned to General Administrative Division of ODPS, PS&TD, October 28,
1918. ODPS redesignated P&SS and made a separate War Department unit, April 11,
1919. CB consolidated with Headquarters, Graves Registration Service (SEE
92.9.1) to form Cemeterial Division by Purchase and Storage Notice 43, P&SS,
February 26, 1920.

Pursuant to General Order 42, War Department (1920), Cemeterial Division
transferred to OQMG, 1920. Redesignated Graves Registration Service, effective
March 15, 1922, by Office Order 25, OQMG, March 10, 1922. Redesignated
Cemeterial Division and assigned to Administrative Service, about 1924.
Redesignated Memorial Branch, with Administrative Service redesignated
Administrative Division, effective June 15, 1930, by Office Order 22, OQMG, June
2, 1930. Redesignated Memorial Division (MD) by Office Order 144, OQMG, December
27, 1940.

Pursuant to OQMG reorganization following assignment of QMC to SOS, March 1942,
MD assigned to newly established Service Installations Division by Office Order
84, OQMG, March 31, 1942. Redesignated Memorial Branch by Office Order 184,
OQMG, July 31, 1942. Separated from Service Installations Division and
redesignated Memorial Division by Office Order 25-78, OQMG, May 6, 1944.

92.8.1 General records

Textual Records: Letters sent, 1866-89, with partial indexes. Letters received,
1862-82, with partial indexes. General correspondence, 1864-90, with index,
register, and record cards. Record cards to correspondence, in the OQMG central
correspondence file, relating to the removal of remains, 1890-1914. Decimal
correspondence, consisting of the cemeterial affairs portion of the OQMG central
correspondence file (decimals 247-314), 1914-22. Burial case files, consisting
of decimal 293 of the OQMG central decimal correspondence file, 1915-39. War
Department and OQMG issuances relating to cemeteries, 1866-1905. Various lists
of deceased army personnel, most with grave locations indicated, 1828-99, with
partial indexes. Records of the Post Quartermaster, Chattanooga, TN, relating to
both post and national cemeteries, 1864-74 (in Atlanta). 

92.8.2 Records relating to the administration of national cemeteries 

Textual Records: Letters and reports received, arranged by name of cemetery,
1865-1914. Subject correspondence, 1907-19. Decimal correspondence, 1920-60.
Correspondence concerning construction and maintenance of cemetery approach
roads, 1877-90. Burial registers, 1862-1918. Burial registration forms, 1928-62.
Inspection reports, 1865-1910. Monthly interment reports from various national
cemeteries, 1914, 1928-29. Rosters of, and issuances concerning, national
cemetery superintendents, 1867-1926. Correspondence and other records concerning
the selection of two unidentified deceased U.S. combatants of World War II and
the Korean War, respectively, for burial at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Arlington National Cemetery (May 30, 1958), 1957-58.

Photographic Prints (700 images): National cemeteries, 1881-1907 (CA, 621
images). U.S. cemeteries in Belgium, France, and United Kingdom for World War I
combat dead, 1919-22 (CAP, 79 images). SEE ALSO 92.17.

92.8.3 Records of specific national cemeteries

Textual Records: Records of Fort Gibson National Cemetery, OK, 1885-1931 (in
Forth Worth); Fort McPherson National Cemetery, NE, 1874-1921 (in Kansas City);
New Mexico National Cemetery, Santa Fe, NM, 1895-1914 (in Denver); and San
Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, TX, 1874-1920 (in Fort Worth).

92.8.4 Records relating to the administration of post cemeteries

Textual Records: Letters and reports received, arranged by name of cemetery,
1865-1914. Correspondence and other records of cemeteries located at abandoned
army posts, ca. 1874-1947. Reports, burial lists, and other records of post
cemeteries in the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, 1894-1917.

92.8.5 Records relating to the furnishing of headstones

History: QMC assumed responsibility for headstone procurement and issuance
pursuant to an act of February 22, 1867 (14 Stat. 399), charging Secretary of
War with marking every grave in national cemeteries with a headstone.
Responsibility for furnishing headstones extended to include graves of U.S. Army
combatants buried in private cemeteries, by an act of February 3, 1879 (20 Stat.
281). Further extended to include graves of Confederate Army combatants buried
in national and private cemeteries, by an act of February 26, 1929 (45 Stat.
1307). Further extended to include graves of all members of the U.S. armed
forces deceased while in service or honorably discharged from service, by an act
of July 1, 1948 (62 Stat. 1215).

Textual Records: Lists of headstones and of headstone inscriptions, 1861-1916.
Card record of headstone contracts, 1861-1903. Headstone applications, 1909-62.

92.9 RECORDS OF GRAVES REGISTRATION ORGANIZATIONS 1917-54, 686 lin. ft.

92.9.1 Records of the Graves Registration Service (GRS)

History: Established as a QMC field activity by General Order 104, War
Department, August 7, 1917. Responsible for maintaining a burial registration
system; acquiring land in France for cemeteries; and maintaining such
cemeteries. Headquarters GRS established in Zone of the Lines of Communication
(ZLC), American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), by General Order 30, Hq. AEF,
February 15, 1918, acquiring functions previously performed by Burial
Department, established in Hq. AEF by General Order 27, Hq. AEF, August 29,
1917. ZLC redesignated successively Service of the Rear by General Order 31, Hq.
AEF, February 16, 1918; and Services of Supply (SOS), March 31, 1918, by
correction to General Order 31. Pursuant to deactivation of GRS by Commanding
General, SOS, effective July 1, 1919, Headquarters GRS transferred to newly
established Cemeterial Division of P&SS, February 26, 1920. Residual functions
performed by Cemeterial Division and its successors (SEE 92.8).

Textual Records: Numbered burial reports, 1918-19. Various burial registers and
cemetery lists showing grave location of U.S., other Allied, and Central Powers
combatants, 1917-22. Registers of disinterments and reburials, 1919-31.
Correspondence relating to Federal Government-sponsored visits to U.S.
combatants' graves in Europe by mothers and widows ("Gold Star Mothers' and
Widows' Pilgrimage to Europe"), 1930-33.

Maps and Charts (350 items): Graveplot charts of temporary battlefield
cemeteries, 1917-21. SEE ALSO 92.16.

92.9.2 Records of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS)

History: Established, with QMG as Chief, by Circular 206, War Department,
September 11, 1943, confirming an unnumbered restricted War Department circular,
February 18, 1943, establishing a graves registration service in the QM's office
in each theater of operations and defense command outside the continental United
States. Field activities coordinated in OQMG by Memorial Branch (SEE 92.8). In
anticipation of an act of May 16, 1946 (60 Stat. 182), authorizing AGRS to
repatriate World War II dead, AGRS reorganized into area and zone commands
outside continental United States by General Order 125, War Department, December
29, 1945. Field activities coordinated in OQMG by Memorial Division (formerly
Memorial Branch; SEE 92.8). Terminated December 31, 1951, at expiration of time
limit given in an amendment of August 5, 1947 (61 Stat. 779), with residual
functions transferred to Memorial Division.

Textual Records: Registers of presumed deceased U.S. military personnel
(1941-45) with unknown grave locations, compiled 1951-54. Records relating to
plans for repatriating deceased U.S. military personnel from various theaters of
war, 1945-48. Records compiled by the U.S. Air Force, consisting of reports on
missing air crews, 1943-45, with index; and lists of Allied air crashes prepared
From German sources, 1939-45.

Microfilm Publications: M1380.

Maps and Charts (1,800 items): Graveplot charts of temporary battlefield
cemeteries (1941-45), compiled 1946-51. SEE ALSO 92.16.

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