Well, yes, but the devils in the details. The 1911 offered a small, but still real capacity advantage over those revolvers. 8 rounds vs 6 is a nice increase. Modern duty handguns in 9mm carry 17 rounds which is a HUGE increase over the 1911.
Secondly though, the ".38s" that were being carried in that war were not .38 Specials - they were Colt New Army's in .38 Long. Typical energy delivery from one of those rounds is in the ballpark of 175 ft/lbs.
Now, the .45 ACP closer to the 400 ft/lbs range. Over double the energy. 9mm Luger - 360 ft/lbs or so (obviously for both this is variable and both can go a lot higher with +P rounds). Slightly less than the .45 but in the same ballpark and nowhere close to .38 Long.
Bottom line, trying to imply that the modern service handgun shares any deficiencies with the Colt New Army is not even an apples to oranges comparison - it's more like and apples to cucumbers comparison.