Brief History of the 80th Division

Unprocessed Material

Identifier: ViU-2025-0018

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains one typed manuscript titled “Brief History of the 80th Division.” The folder that originally contained this document notes that “this mimeographed copy was apparently used as primary copy for one of the Richmond papers.” The manuscript documents the actions of Adelbert Cronkhite (1861-1937), who served as a Major General with the 80th Division during the First World War. It describes the formation of the Division, training of men, action seen in France, the Division’s Richmond and Newport News headquarters, and the deactivation of the Division at the conclusion of the First World War. This manuscript copy was published in celebration of the accomplishments of the largely Virginian 80th Division by the Richmond News Leader, a now-defunct Richmond newspaper. One of the pages is stamped with the following "News Copy 1936 Aug 6 PM 2:48." The 80th Division operated within the 305th Field Signal Battalion of the United States Army. The Division was activated on August 5, 1917, at Camp Lee, Virginia. The bulk of recruits for the 80th were from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, with the Division bestowed the nickname “The Blue Ridge Division.” The 80th Division was deployed to France on June 8, 1918, where they would go on to participate in the Battle of the Somme, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The 80th suffered 6,029 casualties, with 880 men killed and another 5,149 wounded. The Division was inactivated in May 1919 but was reactivated during the Second World War.