Charles R. Rogers: WWI 105th Engineers Soldier from Wilmington

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Charles Raymond Rogers Sr. was born on February 20, 1897, in New Hanover County, North Carolina to Charles and Mary Rogers. In 1900, the Rogers family rented farmland in the Harnett Township of New Hanover County, where his father Charles made a living as a farmer. By 1910, the family had relocated to the Cape Fear Township of northern New Hanover County, where Charles R. Rogers began working as a laborer on his father’s dairy farm.

As the United States was declaring war on Germany for World War I, Charles R. Rogers enlisted in Wilmington, N.C., in the North Carolina National Guard on April 6, 1917, and was assigned to Company A, 105th Engineers. While with Company A, Rogers received two separate promotions, reaching the rank of Private First Class on August 11, 1917; and the rank of Corporal on October 21, 1917.

Opening pages of Charles Rogers’ wartime journal, kept while he was in France. The second page begins on December 4, 1918. The journal includes short day-by-day accounts of Rogers’ time in France, supply lists of various companies, a hand-drawn sketch done by Rogers showing an area clear of mines, French phrases, and addresses of soldiers [from Box 1, Folder 13, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

When the National Guard was called into federal military service for WWI, Company A, 105th Engineers, was assigned to the 30th Division, U.S. Army. Rogers stayed with Company A until March 22, 1918, when he was transferred to Headquarters Company, 105th Engineers. Rogers served under famed North Carolinian Joseph Hyde Pratt, who commanded the 105th Engineers.

Portion of an original embarkation list for members of Headquarters Company, 105th Engineer Regiment, 30th Division, prior to their boarding a troop transport ship — either to or from Europe during WWI. Charles Rogers is listed as Number 25 at left [from Box 1, Folder 7, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

On May 16, 1918, Charles Rogers was promoted to Sergeant just prior to leaving for France. Rogers left the United States for Europe to fight in WWI on May 27, 1918. He served in France during the war from June 1918 until April 1919. During that time, he received three more promotions in rank: 1st Sergeant on July 26, 1918; Stable Sergeant on January 11, 1919; and Sergeant First Class on January 31, 1919.

Page from Rogers’ field training notebook, in which he took Amy training course notes. This particular page details the warnings for and calculation for spread of a gas cloud, and how to use a respirator and gas mask during an Army drill. This training would be needed by Rogers in August 1918 [from Box 1, Folder 14, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

During August 16, 1918, Rogers and Headquarters Company, 105th Engineers, suffered from an attack by the Germans of chlorine and mustard gases that lasted over an hour at Gondrecourt-le-Château, France.

The original A.E.F. chemical gas attack report on the Headquarters Company, 105th Engineers, in Gondrecourt-le-Château, France, on August 16, 1918, during WWI [from Box 1, Folder 3, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

In February 1919, Rogers spent time sightseeing around Paris and the surrounding areas as a tourist, visiting prominent French landmarks such as the Château de la Malmaison and Versailles et les Trianons. After arriving back in the United States on April 13, 1919, Charles Rogers was honorably discharged from active military duty on April 18, 1919.

Memo to Charles Rogers, who worked in the stables of the Headquarters Company, 105th Engineer Regiment, in France in January 1919. Memo requests Rogers to provide a list of the animals in the company’s transport pool. This memo was from the occupation of Europe after WWI by the U.S. Army [from Box 1, Folder 3, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

One of Rogers’ train tickets from a French railroad, used while he was sightseeing in Europe after the end of WWI while the U.S. Army was occupying the continent [from Box 1, Folder 11, Charles R. Rogers Papers, WWI 83, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.].

After the war, Charles Rogers married James Ola Bell (who was named for a male family member) in New Hanover County, N.C., on February 5, 1922. By 1930, Charles and James lived in the Cape Fear township in New Hanover County. As a farmer, Charles began studying electronics, engineering, and engine mechanics through correspondence school courses, which he used on his farm. By 1940, Charles Rogers had moved to the community of Rocky Point in Pender County, N.C., and continued farming. Charles R. Rogers died on April 2, 1985, and was buried in Bell Cemetery in Rocky Point, N.C.

You can learn more about Rogers’ life in the military during WWI by using the Charles R. Rogers Papers (WWI 83) in the World War I Papers of the Military Collection at the State Archives of North Carolina’s public search room.