Biography

Early Life
Morris Walker was born on December 18, 1892, to Frank and Louisa “Lucy” Henderson Walker in Albemarle County, Virginia. Both of Walker’s parents were born in the United States and lived in Virginia their entire lives. Lucy was a washerwoman, while Frank was a tea master and railroad worker. 

In the 1900 census, Morris lived with his mother and siblings, Nellie, William, Clarence, and Ernest. By 1910, William, Clarence, Ernest, and Morris lived with their father, Frank, and older brother Tucker. Frank was listed as a widower. 

Morris worked in the two major industries of the region: farming and brickyard work. His brothers worked on farms, in brickyards, or in sawmills.

Homefront
Morris Walker was from Red Hill, a rural town in Albemarle, Virginia. Red Hill began as Indigenous land of the Saponi people, changing hands numerous times between European colonists and land speculators before becoming a plantation in 1770. The Red Hill plantation would become the home of the famous revolutionary Patrick Henry, and would remain in the Henry family until just before the beginning of World War I. 

While the community grew to include the Charlottesville Woolen Mills and various brick yards, the majority of Red Hill remained agriculturally-based. This became very important when the United States entered World War I. Farmers’ unions, clubs, and community organizations did their part by saving crops, coordinating purchases amongst themselves, and using home gardens to conserve food. 

Women of the Red Hill community were essential to the war effort. Women took over farm roles as men went to war, even running farms solely by women. Women held fundraising and resource-gathering events, collected money, sold bonds and loans, and worked on their farms. This work helped support the burgeoning women’s suffrage movement moving through the surrounding region and the country. Numerous articles detailed National Women’s Party meetings held in nearby cities, advocating for women’s right to vote, especially given their work in the war effort.

Military Experience
Morris H. Walker joined the U.S. Army from his home in Red Hill, Virginia. He joined the 510th Engineer Service Battalion, a segregated unit for African Americans, as a member of Company B. The men in this unit were laborers who worked on infrastructure projects, such as roads and railway tracks. These tasks were essential as they kept the U.S. Army moving in Europe. Walker was initially stationed at Camp Lee, Virginia. Most of the men in Walker’s battalion were laborers, farmers, and brickworkers, so many already had skills in this area. 

Walker and the 510th Engineer Service Battalion departed for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey, on March 22, 1918, aboard USS Powhatan. Powhatan arrived in Pauillac, France, on April 7, 1918, where members of the 510th Engineer Service Battalion then boarded a train headed for Bordeaux, France. 

Shortly after their arrival, Companies A and B were next sent to St. Nazaire, France, and then moved to Camp 9, later known as Camp Montoir, located in Montoir-de-Bretagne, France. Camp Montoir served as a logistical hub for storage and troop movement. 

On April 20, 1918, a group of 150 members of Company B was sent to Base Section Number 3 in England, arriving ten days later in Southampton. Walker was among this group.

Commemoration
Company B of the 510th Engineer Service Battalion remained in service in England until the end of the war. 

Morris Walker died at age twenty-five on September 8, 1918, of pneumonia while stationed in England. He was buried in Brookwood American Cemetery in Surrey, England, in plot B, row 3, grave 3. 

While both Walker’s stepmother and sister wrote to the War Department to join the Gold Star Mothers’ Pilgrimage, a government-sponsored program to European cemeteries for mothers and widows of American soldiers who died in service, the War Department denied both of their requests since neither was a mother, widow, or in loco parentis of Walker.

This profile was researched by Mrs. Erin Curry, a teacher at Stone Bridge High School, as part of National History Day’s Researching Silent Heroes program in the 2025/2026 academic year.

This profile was funded by a contract with the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Bibliography

Primary Sources
“A Box From Home.” The Daily Progress [Charlottesville, VA], September 6, 1918. Newspapers.com (1070412175).

“Fourth Liberty Loan.” The Daily Progress [Charlottesville, VA], September 9, 1918. Newspapers.com (1070412222).

For Victory, Buy War Savings Stamps. Advertisement. The Daily Progress [Charlottesville, Virginia], September 9, 1918. Newspapers.com (1070412218).

Morris Walker. American Soldiers of World War I. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Morris Walker. U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Morris Walker. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Card, 1917-1918. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Morris Walker. Virginia, U.S., Birth Registers, 1853-1911. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Morris Herman Walker. U.S. Veterans’ Gravesites, 1775-2019. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Morris Herman Walker. Official Military Personnel File (partial). 

Morris Herman Walker, World War I Burial Case File, National Archives and Records Administration - St. Louis.

State Records Collection, Virginia War History Commission. Library of Virginia (Record Group 66).

“Suffrage Advocates Conduct Local Campaign.” The Daily Progress [Charlottesville, VA], May 27, 1918. Newspapers.com (1070410360).

Virginia. Albemarle County. 1880 U.S. Census. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Virginia. Albemarle County. 1900 U.S. Census. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Virginia. Albemarle County. 1910 U.S. Census. Digital images. Ancestry Classroom.

Secondary Sources
Duke, Jr., R. T. W. “Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville: A Community History.” New River Notes. Accessed November 5, 2025. https://www.newrivernotes.com/tbuilder-layout-part/ww1-albemarle-charlottesville-county/.

Duke, Jr., R. T. W. Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville in War Time: A Community History. Virginia War History Commission, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

“The Historic Woolen Mills.” Accessed February 24, 2026. https://historicwoolenmills.com/.

“History of Red Hill.” Red Hill: Patrick Henry National Memorial. Accessed December 1, 2025. https://www.redhill.org/red-hill/.

“Morris H. Walker.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed October 6, 2025. https://weremember.abmc.gov/s?q=walker&type=0&v=G&sort=title:ASC.

“Morris H. Walker.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, National Cemetery Administration. Accessed February 24, 2026. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/MorrisHWalker/180F2.

“Morris Herman Walker.” Find a Grave. Updated September 8, 2022. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56503991/morris-herman-walker.

Virginia War History Commission County Source Material, 1919-1927. State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

 Morris Herman Walker’s grave at Brookwood American Cemetery, 2026. Courtesy of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Morris Walker's grave with an American and British flag in front.

An account of the history of the 510th Engineer Battalion compiled by the Virginia War History Commission. State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

An account of Morris Walker's company being transferred from France to England during World War I.

Morris Herman Walker’s World War I draft registration card indicated he was married, June 5, 1917. National Archives and Records Administration.

The Walker family in the 1910 U.S. federal census showing Frank Walker (listed as a widower), his five sons, and a boarder. Morris is 18 years old. National Archives and Records Administration.

MORRIS H. WALKER

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