William Craig

Private

Battery D
7th Field Artillery Regiment
1st Infantry Division

Entered the Service from: New Jersey
Died: April 11, 1919

Private William E. Craig was an orphan, and was raised by his foster mother (possibly an aunt), Mrs. Hattie Fisher, of 1321 Broadway, Camden, New Jersey. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1895.

The 1914 Camden City Directory shows Hattie Fisher, widow of John Fisher, at 667 Van Hook Street.

When America went to war in April of 1917 William E. Craig was already a member of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, New Jersey National Guard, and went away with that regiment on July 25, 1917 to Camp Edge at Sea Girt, New Jersey. From there he was sent to Camp McClellan at Anniston, Alabama, and then on to France. Once overseas he was transferred to the 7th Field Artillery Regiment.

During the Battle of Chateau-Thierry Private Craig was participating in the defense of his position during which he shot four Germans to death with his pistol. During the gunfight, two of his horses were shot, and as the animals stumbled, Craig grabbed their reins to save them but in the process he had accidentally knocked his gas mask loose. The Germans had sent over a gas attack, and Private Craig was badly affected.

Private Craig was treated in a number of hospitals in France and finally was brought home to the United States. He had, however, contracted tuberculosis, which led to his death on April 11, 1919 at the Government Hospital at Camp Ottawan, Buncome County, North Carolina. He was 24 years old.

William Craig was survived by his foster mother, of the 1321 Broadway address. Mrs. Fisher was still at that address at the time of the January 1920 census.