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White Steam Cars 1905 and White Company Trucks, World War I

DonHoke

The Army began experimenting with automobiles about 1905, including steam cars manufactured by the White Sewing Machine Company, which was named The White Company in 1906.  The White Company supplied some 18,000 trucks to the allies in World War I and received the French Croix de Guerre following the war.

Where would I look for information on the Army Manuvers in 1905?  Similarly, White Company cars and trucks during World War I.

We'll get around to Holt Tractors later!

Thank You!

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    Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

    The Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) has custody of records that may or may not contain files related to the White Company or White Motor Company as it came to be known. Please note that according to Army disposition schedules, contracts prior to November 1966 were systematically destroyed by the Army once their administrative use ended. The National Archives has custody of correspondence between contractors and Army ordnance or quartermaster units. However, they rarely include copies of the contract as an enclosure or specific information concerning the contractor. Records of private contractors remained in the custody of the contractor. We located White Motor Company Records held by the Western Reserve Historical Society here:

    https://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/view?docId=ead/MS5319.xml;query=white%20motor%20company;brand=default 

    You could also try contacting the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, ATTN: Research Library, 300 Washington Boulevard, Besson Hall, Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5260. The telephone number is (757) 878-1115.

    Searching Army records at the National Archives could identify series of interest arranged by the War Department Decimal File System (WDFS). For example, Record Group 120 Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) includes the series General Correspondence of the Office of the Director General of Transportation, 1917–1919. After performing a search of the WDFS for 1917 we identified the decimal 451.2 which covers general information about the use of trucks. Using that decimal within a series of this type could help you identify files of interest. A general search of the Catalog did not yield much, but we did identify a picture of the White Steam Car which you can see here: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/234118161 

    We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 

    We hope this assists you with your research! 

    Sincerely,

    Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

    [RR2RR 24-59845-VVT]

Reply
  • 0

     

    Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

    The Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) has custody of records that may or may not contain files related to the White Company or White Motor Company as it came to be known. Please note that according to Army disposition schedules, contracts prior to November 1966 were systematically destroyed by the Army once their administrative use ended. The National Archives has custody of correspondence between contractors and Army ordnance or quartermaster units. However, they rarely include copies of the contract as an enclosure or specific information concerning the contractor. Records of private contractors remained in the custody of the contractor. We located White Motor Company Records held by the Western Reserve Historical Society here:

    https://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/view?docId=ead/MS5319.xml;query=white%20motor%20company;brand=default 

    You could also try contacting the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, ATTN: Research Library, 300 Washington Boulevard, Besson Hall, Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5260. The telephone number is (757) 878-1115.

    Searching Army records at the National Archives could identify series of interest arranged by the War Department Decimal File System (WDFS). For example, Record Group 120 Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) includes the series General Correspondence of the Office of the Director General of Transportation, 1917–1919. After performing a search of the WDFS for 1917 we identified the decimal 451.2 which covers general information about the use of trucks. Using that decimal within a series of this type could help you identify files of interest. A general search of the Catalog did not yield much, but we did identify a picture of the White Steam Car which you can see here: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/234118161 

    We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 

    We hope this assists you with your research! 

    Sincerely,

    Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

    [RR2RR 24-59845-VVT]

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