165th Depot Brigade Band photograph .03 Cubic Feet 1 letter folder
- Creator
- United States. Army. Depot Brigade, 165th
- Abstract Or Scope
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This collection contains a black and white photograph of Black army musicians of the 165 Depot Brigade, Camp Travis, Texas. A typed caption pasted on the back of the photo reads, "#263 Negro Band, Frist [sic] Group, 165 Depot Brigade, Camp Travis, Texas. Taken just outside Army Y.M.C.A. Building No. 1, devoted exclusively to negro troops. (Negro Secretaries in charge.)" Publicity Bureau National War Work Council, Y.M.C.A. Northeastern Dept. 352 Little Bldg. Boston, Mass is stamped in ink on the back. The picture depicts twenty-one men seated and two standing in uniform outside the Y.M.C.A building. The men hold their instruments, which include trumpets, French horns, saxophones, clarinets, trombones, tuba, and drums. The role of Depot Brigades was to receive and organize recruits, provide them with uniforms, equipment, and initial military training, and then send them to France to fight on the front lines. The depot brigades also received soldiers returning home at the war's end and completed their outprocessing and discharges.
- Collection Context