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Records of the War Department Claims Board [WDCB]

(Record Group 191)
1917-22
576 cu. ft.

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

• 191.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  
• 191.2 RECORDS OF THE APPRAISAL SECTION, WDCB, AND ITS PREDECESSOR, THE BOARD OF APPRAISERS 1918-22 147 lin. ft.
  
• 191.3 RECORDS OF THE APPEAL SECTION, WDCB, AND ITS PREDECESSOR, THE BOARD OF CONTRACT ADJUSTMENT 1918-22 200 lin. ft.
  
• 191.4 OTHER RECORDS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT CLAIMS BOARD 1919-22 179 lin. ft.
  
• 191.4.1 General records
  
• 191.4.2 Records of technical committees
  
• 191.4.3 Records of sections
  
• 191.5 RECORDS EXTRACTED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD 1917-19 42 lin. ft.
  

191.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: In the War Department by Circular 26, War Department, January 20, 1919.

Predecessor Agencies:

In the War Department:

• Board of Appraisers (1918-20)
  
• Board of Contract Adjustment (1918-20)
  

Transfers: To the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War, March 15, 1921.

Functions: Supervised and coordinated the work of War Department agencies that settled claims arising from termination of contracts and other World War I procurement obligations of the department.

Abolished: Effective March 1, 1922, by General Order 9, War Department, February 28, 1922.

Successor Agencies: Office of the Assistant Secretary of War (pending cases); Judge Advocate General (records).

Finding Aids: Stuart Portner and Victor Gondos, Jr., comps., "Preliminary Checklist of the Records of the War Department Claims Board, 1918-1922," PC 5 (1943).

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the War Department Claims Board in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government.

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191.2 RECORDS OF THE APPRAISAL SECTION, WDCB, AND ITS
PREDECESSOR, THE BOARD OF APPRAISERS
1918-22
147 lin. ft.

History: Board of Appraisers established by General Order 30, War Department, April 1, 1918, to adjudicate cases concerned with government requisitioning and property commandeering. Assigned to the WDCB, effective July 1, 1920, by General Order 40, War Department, June 26, 1920, and redesignated the Appraisal Section.

Textual Records: Minutes, 1920-22. Case files, 1919-22. Decimal file, 1918-22. Records concerning rejected claims, 1918-22. Reports of awards, 1918-20. Record of adjustments, 1918-21. Statistical summary of cases, 1918-21.

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191.3 RECORDS OF THE APPEAL SECTION, WDCB, AND ITS PREDECESSOR,
THE BOARD OF CONTRACT ADJUSTMENT
1918-22
200 lin. ft.

History: Board of Contract Adjustment established by General Order 103, War Department, November 6, 1918, to hear and determine claims and disputes arising under contracts made by the War Department. Assigned to the WDCB, effective July 1, 1920, by General Order 40, War Department, June 26, 1920, and redesignated the Appeal Section.

Textual Records: Minutes, 1918-20. Decisions, 1918-22. Case files, 1918-22. Appeals, 1919-21. Miscellaneous dockets, 1919-20. Correspondence, 1918-22. Reports, 1920-21. Daily record of regular and registered mail sent, 1918-21, and telegrams sent, 1919-21.

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191.4 OTHER RECORDS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT CLAIMS BOARD
1919-22
179 lin. ft.

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191.4.1 General records

Textual Records: Minutes, 1919-22, with an index. Files for cases presented to Congressional committees, 1919-21, with indexes. Files of Assistant Secretary of War and Board Chairman Benedict Crowell, 1919-20. Records of the vice-chairman, recorder, personnel officer, and statistician, and of board members, 1919-22.

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191.4.2 Records of technical committees

Textual Records: Records of the Technical Advisory Committee, 1919-22. Records of the Special Auditing Committee, 1919-22. Records of the Director of Munitions Committee, 1920. Minutes of the Standing Committee, 1919-22, with index.

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191.4.3 Records of sections

Textual Records: Reports and register of contracts of the Air Service Section, 1918-20. Minutes of the Chemical Warfare Section, 1919-20. Reports of the Construction Section concerning settlement of claims, 1919-21. Weekly report of the Engineers Section on suspension and termination of contracts and agreements, 1919. Case files and reports of the Ordnance Section, 1918-21. Correspondence and reports of the Purchase Section, 1918-20.

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191.5 RECORDS EXTRACTED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE WAR INDUSTRIES
BOARD
1917-19
42 lin. ft.

History: War Industries Board established by and in the Council of National Defense (CND), July 28, 1917, to regulate production in critical defense industries. Became an independent agency by EO 2868, May 28, 1918. Abolished by EO 3019-A, December 31, 1918; liquidation completed, July 22, 1919. (For a detailed administrative history of the War Industries Board and its predecessors, SEE RG 61.)

Textual Records: Records of the Wood Chemicals and Platinum Sections, 1918-19. Reports of Colonel W.A. Starret, Chairman, Committee on Emergency Construction, 1918. Specifications of ordnance contracts for new facilities, 1917-19.

Related Records: Records of the War Industries Board, RG 61. Record copies of publications of the War Industries Board in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government.

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Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.

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