Description
11/13/25 - This is a Colt Model 1911 pistol manufactured in 1915, which belonged to engineer Captain William F. S. Root of the 27th Division. The left side of the slide shows the correct Colt patent and address rollmarks, with UNITED STATES PROPERTY crisply stamped on the dust cover and MODEL OF 1911 U.S. ARMY on the right side of the frame. Proper early features including the long trigger, wide spur hammer, checkered slide stop, thumb safety, and flat mainspring housing. The pistol remains in honest service condition, retaining about 70% of its original brushed blue finish, with thinning and holster wear along the front of the slide, muzzle, and frame. There is visible oxidation throughout both grip straps (most pronounced on the front strap), and within the slide serration grooves on both sides of the pistol. Scattered areas of less severe oxidation on the top and underside of the slide, frame, and trigger guard. Typical handling marks here and there from years of carry. Bore is still shiny and clearly well-maintained, but the rifling is slightly worn from decades of use. Fitted with proper walnut double diamond grips, which are in great overall condition with moderate wear, but sharp checkering and no major chips or repairs. The right side of the slide is neatly engraved with the Officer's initials “WFSR,” matching the name on his equipment and paperwork. Comes with one period-correct two-tone lanyard loop magazine. Magazine removal, and mechanics in general, are fully functional but slightly stiff. Included with the gun are two WWI holsters bearing Root’s name, an original U.S. web belt, his named canvas raincoat stenciled “W. S. ROOT, ENGR. TR. 27TH DIV. U.S.A.,” along with studio portraits of him in uniform, and copies of his personnel records, giving this pistol a level of provenance rarely seen with a U.S. Model 1911.
William F. S. Root was born in Connecticut in 1875 and devoted nearly three decades to the New York National Guard and the U.S. Army. His official service record shows early duty in the state militia with the 74th, 65th, and 69th Infantry regiments, followed by a commission in the 2nd New York Infantry’s quartermaster detachment just before American entry into the First World War, at a time when New York units were being mobilized for the Mexican border crisis. In the mid-1890s, Root attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, though he left the Academy by 1896 before graduating. Root enlisted in the New York National Guard during the Spanish–American War era in 1898 and served in several infantry units over the following decade. He rose from a private in the 74th and 65th Infantry Regiments to a commissioned officer in the famed 69th Infantry Regiment (the "Fighting 69th") in the early 1900s, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. After a brief hiatus from service (1908–1914), Root rejoined the Guard in 1914. During the Mexican Border Mobilization of 1916, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 2nd New York Infantry, helping guard the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa Expedition. He transferred to the engineer branch in 1917 as a first lieutenant with the divisional engineer train, later taking command of the 102nd Engineer Train and serving with the 102nd Engineers of the 27th Division, earning promotion to captain while overseas. Surviving Camp Wadsworth paperwork identifies Root as the recorder of an examining board for provisional engineer lieutenants in February 1918, and his raincoat and other marked gear in this grouping tie him directly to the 27th Division’s engineer train. The 27th, a New York National Guard formation known as the New York Division and nicknamed O’Ryan’s Roughnecks after its commander Major General John F. O’Ryan, sailed for France in 1918, served under British command in Flanders, and later took part in the Somme Offensive and the assault that cracked the German Hindenburg Line in late September. The 102nd Engineers built and repaired roads and bridges, cleared obstacles, and worked with British sappers to push that advance forward, The 27th Division’s successful breaching of the Hindenburg Line and other actions came at the cost of dozens of casualties, though Root survived and ultimately attained the rank of Captain in the Corps of Engineers by the time of his honorable discharge in 1919.
