The book chronicles the extensive training and heroic service of the New York National Guard's 104th Field Artillery Regiment from the period of 1916 to 1919. The regiment, initially called the 1st Field Artillery Regiment, served as border patrol in Texas during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 1916, and trained at the gunnery field at La Gloria, Texas. During World War I, they trained by the Glassy Mountains at Camp Wadsworth in South Carolina, and then at the School of Fire of Camp de Souge near Bordeaux, France. Because of this extensive training, elements of the 27th Division were splintered off and placed within a number of other divisions. The 52nd Field Artillery Brigade, under which the 104th Field Artillery Regiment served, was attached to the 33rd Division as their artillery, and then the 79th Division for the entire Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Verdun. Using field diaries, photos and letters, their story of courage under extreme conditions including enemy shelling and gas is recorded and their memory preserved.

"New York's pride is the pride of things done. Her leadership is no more due to her great wealth or her large population than to the patriotism of her citizens and the uses to which her wealth is put. In every war in which this country has engaged, she has shown a spirit of sacrifice that has made her preeminent among the States." It was with these words that New York State Governor Charles S. Whitman urged his fellow New Yorkers to purchase Liberty Bonds in support of the war effort on April 6, 1918. He reminded New Yorkers and the nation that the Empire State once again led all others in the numbers of men, the amount of money, and the tonnage of material supplied to American forces during World War I. A companion catalog to the New York State Museum exhibition of the same name, A Spirit of Sacrifice documents the statewide story of New York in World War I through the collections of the State's Office of Cultural Education comprised of the New York State Museum, Library, and Archives. Within these world-class collections are the nearly 3,600 posters of the Benjamin W. Arnold World War I Poster Collection at the New York State Library. By interweaving the story of New York in the Great War and utilizing the tremendous artifacts within the pictorial history revealed by the posters of the era and primary source documentation, this exhibition catalog serves as both a display of poster art and a more comprehensive examination of the primacy of the state's contributions to America's foray into World War I. Posters and objects from museums, libraries, and historical societies from across New York State as well as iconic artifacts and images are all included here. Brought together they tell the story of New York State's essential role in the First World War.