The Battle of Château-Thierry during World War I was fought in July of 1918 and during which the various offensive maneuvers of the U.S. and French soldiers dealt decisive blows to the German forces's push towards Paris.
In 1919 Gertrude Whitney devoted most of her time to various war pieces including Château-Thierry, Refugees, Honorably Discharged, Orders, Spirit of the Red Cross Nurse, The 102nd Engineers, and Private in the 15th . These works relate to two relief panels Whitney created for Thomas Hastings' Victory Arch, which was to be erected in Madison Square, New York. Whitney completed two reliefs for the arch from which she later drew the individual war monuments noted above. While the arch did not survive, Whitney had her two reliefs cast in bronze and as a result they survived intact.
On November 4th, 1919 Whitney opened an exhibit of her own sculpture at the Whitney studio, called Impressions of the War. She exhibited twenty four pieces including the seven works noted above.