Class Book Copvri^[rtlN"_ ,ri -1 j- CDnCRlGHT DEPOSm OVERSEAS SKETCHES Being a Journal of My Experiences in Service with the American Red Cross in France By HENRY A. BUTLER Ji3TO '> Three hundred copies of this edition have been printed of which this is number 2P8 COPYRIGHT, I92I By HENRY A. BUTLER Youngstown, Ohio APR -8 1921 0)Ci,A6il534 Affectionately dedicated to the memory of my sister^ Blanche Butler Ford Foreword This relation of every-day experiences in France was first put in typewritten form merely to preserve a record that would naturally be interesting to my own immediate family and per- haps to closely intimate friends. Some have since been kind enough to say that the story might bear printing. Hence the following pages. CONTENTS Pace Chapter I^The Start ___ I5 Chapter II — At Sea 23 Chapter III — London 35 Chapter IV — Paris 43 Chapter V— At Work SS Chapter VI — Brest 63 Chapter VII — The Chateau 73 Chapter VIII — Northern Battle Fronts 81 Chapter IX — Various 105 Chapter X — Bourges 113 Chapter XI— Chateau Thierry, Verdun, Rheims-- 123 Chapter XII — Going Home i35 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS Page Frontispiece— Hotel Regina, Paris 13 Place de la Concorde 45 Avenue Champs-Elysees 45 The Eiffel Tower 49 Cathedral of Notre Dame 49 Distributing Christmas Gifts 57 Brest — The Roadstead 65 Breton Peasants 65 Marriage in Brittany 69 Costumes of Brittany 69 On the Way 77 The Chateau 77 Cathedral and General View — Amiens 83 Captured German Cannon — Near Amiens 83 Trench — Vimy Ridge 85 Monument to Canadian Soldiers at Vimy Ridge 85 Battlefield Graves 85 Ruins in Lens 87 Camouflaged Road in Battle Area 87 Smashed Tank — Ypres 91 Ypres Battlefield 91 German Prisoners — Ypres 91 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS— Co;///;n^^^ Page Cathedral and Cloth Hall — Ypres 95 Farm House, Franco-Belgian Boundary Line 95 Brass Shell Heaps Near St. Quentin 95 German Soldier's Grave 99 Ruined Dwelling — Ham 99 German Prisoners — Noyon 99 American Cemetery — Belleau Wood 103 A Bit of the Hindenburg Line East of St. Quentin _ . 103 The Flag 109 Bridge over the Maine — The Cathedral — Angers 109 Cathedral and Rose Garden of the Adjoining Park — Bourges 115 Rue Mirabeau — Bourges 117 House of the Three Flutes — Bourges 117 Courtyard — House of Jaques Coeur — Bourges 117 Canal and Wash-house — Bourges 117 Cathedral — Orleans 119 Equestrian Statue of Joan of Arc — Orleans 119 Trenches Viewed from the Air 125 Verdun's Famous Gate — "They Shall Not Pass" 125 Rheims 131 Cathedral Apse — Rheims 133 Chapter I The Start OLLOWING arrangements made through Mahoning Chapter, Youngs- town, and Lake Division Head- quarters at Cleveland, and with the American Red Cross, Washington, D. C, I left home Sunday, October 20, at 6:20 p.m., via the New York Central. Several friends had called during the day to say good-bye and members of my family were at the railroad station to see me off. MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, I918 Arrived at Boston exactly on time at 11:55 a.m., left at i :oo p.m. for Exeter, where I arrived at 2:44 and was soon installed in my son's room, there to spend a night and a day with him before leaving for Overseas. A short time after finding Joe's room, he came in with several of his friends and as the boys kept piling in all afternoon, I was soon Overseas Sketches convinced that he had made many friends — all of them nice boys. Later, I was escorted to dinner at Alumni Hall. The entire assemblage, about three hundred in number, applauded loudly as I walked in, this being the usual reception for parents of the students. Fortunately, I had a hunch that the proper thing was to pay no attention whatever to the noisy reception, which proved to be the right course, as I learned afterwards that the boys are particularly pleased whenever a parent attempts to acknowledge the welcome, and considerable good-natured kidding is in store for the luckless individual who tries to bow his thanks. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, I918 I wrote letters and walked about the school campus and the town, while Joe went to his classes in the morning. In the afternoon, I had the pleasure, not unmixed with a certain amount of parental pride, of seeing my son defeat his opponent in the Fall tennis tournament- — two sets 6-4 and 8-6, both very hard fought. Left Exeter that evening for New York, where I arrived at 7:00 o'clock in the morning of October 23rd, and where I was entertained at breakfast by my father, Joseph G. Butler, Jr. 16 Overseas Sketches and my nephew, Arthur Butler McGraw, at the Waldorf. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, I918 I reported at the American Red Cross Head- quarters, after which I put in a busy day, com- pleting arrangements and getting passport vised by French and British Consuls. I also purchased my uniforms and general outfit. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, I918 I met my wife, who arrived at 9:35 a.m. over the Pennsylvania. The next two days were occupied with the completion of final arrange- ments and complying with certain regulations required by the Red Cross and Army authorities. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, I918 I received instructions to report to Steamer No. 501 at Pier No. c,6. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, I918 1 I :00 A.M. I said good-bye to my father at the Hotel and proceeded to the pier, to which point my wife was permitted to accompany me as far as the gates, where we said a hurried farewell. Upon presentation of proper documents, I was permitted to pass the sentry and the gates were closed behind me. Walking toward the end of the pier, I observed a fine-looking large 17 Overseas Sketches steamer moored alongside, which I supposed would be the one to carry our Red Cross Unit overseas. On the other side ot the pier, was a much smaller steamer, and I was somewhat chagrined to learn that we were to embark on this quite small boat. She was a British steamer, the Leicestershire, of the Bibby Line, in ordinary peace times, a regular trader from Liverpool to Rangoon, India, but owing to the great losses from submarine warfare, it had been found necessary to place into service what- ever ships were available, so that this steamer, built for tropical cruising, happened to be the one that was to carry us overseas. She was thoroughly camouflaged in yellowish buff, black, blue and green colors, curiously painted — one might think it haci been done at random, without any organized idea of the effect, but I was told afterwards that the camouflaging of vessels had been reduced to an exact science and that these color mixtures up close did not mean much, but produced an effect at a distance that made it difficult for the enemy to tell the course or the shape of the ship, and altered the general appearance very much. Her name on the bow had been painted over and the way I learned her identity was from the life preservers and furniture in the cabins which, here and there, bore the name. The pier presented a lively scene, as Army 18 Overseas Sketches Officers were embarking about fifteen hundred American Troops. These were boys largely from Camp Pike, Arkansas, but there were also a few small units composed of boys from the East Side of New York and some colored troops. A great many of these soldiers had been quite recently discharged from influenza hospitals and were with difficulty carrying the heavy equipment allotted to each man. The American Red Cross ladies were serving coffee and sand- wiches on the pier, and some of these men told me that they had not eaten for several meals, that they had been forty-eight hours on the way from Camp Pike and were just about worn out, but not one grumbled or complained. Many of these boys were from the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky and had never been away from home before in their lives and their awe of the surroundings was quite noticeable. As they embarked, the Army Nurses, who were already on deck, were singing our stirring war songs to which the boys would answer with hearty cheers. I could not help but feel the patriotic love of country that this scene brought out and it was rather hard to conceal my emotions. Our group of thirty-nine Red Cross Workers went on board at noon. The steamer left the dock without any demonstration whatever at 3:45 in the afternoon and after a short run, 19 Overseas Sketches anchored opposite Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island. Our first night on board ship conse- quently was calm and within a few cable lengths of the shore — the Woolworth Building and some other features of the New York skyline were visible from our anchorage. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2/, I918 Going up on deck before breakfast I found that our always faithful Catholic brethren had just finished conducting services — mass having been sung on the forward deck, with a large attendance. The general services for Protest- ants were held at 1 1 :oo and the Y. M. C. A. had an afternoon meeting at about 3:00, both well attendeci. I must confess, however, that my chief interest, although it was Sunday, was centered on the scenes being enacted around us all day. I witnessed a truly wonderful, moving, living part of the war drama, of which I have tried to make a mental photograph for future use, and at the moment, did not attempt to write, because we had been warned that descriptions of things that we saw on this trip must not be written. We moved out to sea about 4:10 p.m., being the last ship of the third convoy to leave New York Harbor on that day. From notes made later, I shall attempt a 20 Overseas Sketches description of the panorama that was before us all day. It was said that this was the largest single day's embarkation and sailing of troops since the War began. As already mentioned, we were the last of all these ships to sail on that day. There were sixty in all, each one camou- flaged, no two alike and as previously remarked, it was hard to understand the scheme, so curiously worked out — some were striped in plain black and white, like a zebra, others more variously colored. These sixty steamships were all col- lected in the lower bay of New York Harbor and were a truly wonderful sight, each one packed to the limit with soldiers and evidently heavily laden with freight, as they were all pretty low in the water. At about 9:00 in the morning, the great fleet began to manoeuvre and one by one, the steam- ships weighed anchor and slipped away. This group of sixty steamers was divided into three convoys, one of which got away during the morning, the other very shortly after luncheon and the last, our own, late in the afternoon. While the convoys were being lined up, the huge Leviathan, a tree lance, requiring no convoy and no protection beyond her own speed, slipped by us at noon. She was unbelievably large, as compared with the other boats and was absolutely packed, her decks brown with 21 Overseas Sketches the boys in khaki. I learned afterwards that she had ten thousand soldiers on that trip. Finally, our ship, the very last one to leave, weighed anchor at 4:00 o'clock and by a quarter past, was on her way. Thus, we had the extreme good fortune to be able to watch this vast flotilla of three convoys, filing by our anchorage one by one, and as our turn came and we steamed slowly out past Sandy Hook, we were able to observe the pre- cautionary measures taken for our safety. There were two large observation balloons equipped with wireless apparatus, anchored to lighters. There were many air planes whizzing about, skimming near the water or up high in the air, all watching intently for enemy sub- marines. One plane crossed our bows less than fifty yards in front of us, quite close to the water. We could see the operator and observer very plainly; both waved to us. In addition to the protection in the air, there were numerous cruisers and at least fifty destroyers surrounding the convoys. The roar of the air plane engines, the restless moving of the waves, the whole scene and the thought that we were actually starting to have our small share in the tremendous conflict, all went together to make up the most thrilling moment of my life. 22 Chapter II At Sea MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, I918 We were now out at sea and watching our own convoy, which was composed of fourteen trans- ports, one U. S. Cruiser and one U. S. Torpedo Boat Destroyer. It was not possible to find out the names of the other vessels of the fleet until some time later, but I am now inserting these names, which were secured shortly after we landed. The names are not from an official source, but were obtained from other Red Cross Personnel, from the other ships of the convoy, whom we met after landing. Among us, we checked up and finally were able to make out a complete list, which follows: I — Maunganui (New Zealand Trader) 2 — City of London 3 — Threcius 4 — Mentor 5 — Helenus 6 — Tahiti (Also New Zealand Trader) 23 Overseas Sketches 7 — Matagama 8 — Lapland 9-^Minnekhada 10- — Orca 1 1 — Leicestershire (Our Own Boat) 12 — Canada 13 — Cretia 14 — Balmoral Castle 15 — Cruiser 16 — Destroyer These ships were lined vip three and four abreast about two hundred to three hundred yards separating them, somewhat closer at times. The United States Cruiser was in the lead with the Torpedo Boat Destroyer usually following along close in the rear, but often to one side and frequently going on ahead and circling the convoy, being able to do this on account of her greater speed. The Leicestershire was one of the rear line ships, with the Minne- khada and Matagama next to us on the star- board and port sides. The Orca was directly ahead of us. We were not sure of the identity and positions of the other ships of the convoy except the Lapland, with the appearance of which I was familiar and which I could identify as one of the front line ships. The convoy steamed on a zig-zag course a good deal of the time, presumably while travers- 24 Overseas Sketches ing parts of the ocean supposed to be U-boat danger zones. Some of these ships were British and some x'\merican. We never caught up to the other two convoys, which had preceded us by a few hours. The weather was quite warm and some seaweed was floating on the surface of the water, indicat- ing that we were in the Gulf stream, or at least not far out to sea. There seemed to be a disposition on the part of the authorities on board ship to keep every one well occupied. A pretty full schedule was laid out for the day. We had lifeboat drill once every day, sometimes twice. The signal for this was the bugle call by a soldier on the bridge of the ship. No matter what we were doing, we were instructed to hasten at once to the various boats to which we were assigned. Each boat had an Army Officer in command and each one assigned to this boat was given his place and number in the boat. Four of us were drilled in handling the ropes for letting our lifeboat down into the sea, in case we might be needed to help the ship's crew. These lifeboats were swung outboard, hanging from the davits, ready for instant use every minute of the voyage. The fifteen hundred troops were assigned to small life rafts, but I am inclined to the belief that if there had been an accident, there would have 25 Overseas Sketches been considerable confusion, as a great many hundred soldiers were standing during these drills alongside their small life rafts quite near us and it is likely that at least some of them would have stampeded to the lifeboats and it is doubtful if many would have been saved in case of successful submarine attack. As an additional safety precaution, we were obliged to carry or wear our lite preservers at all times. This order was promulgated less than a half hour after leaving Sandy Hook and for thirteen days, each one of us had to lug his preserver with him. It was close by our side while sleeping; it accompanied us to meals — it was always with us. Any one found without his life preserver was fined ten cents each time; the proceeds went to the British Red Cross. I was not caught in this offense, but discovered to my chagrin one morning, that I had gone up on deck without this ever-present companion, and hast- ened below at once to find it hanging alongside my berth in the stateroom. I voluntarily reported this to the proper officer, who was very much amused, but nevertheless took the ten cents. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, I918 Almost uncomfortably warm, sun shining all day. I believe we were still in the Gulf stream. Another time-thief appeared in our midst today 26 Overseas Sketches in the shape of two hours French lesson — one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Father PhilHppe of the Knights of Columbus having kindly consented to conduct classes in this language. In addition to this, the American Red Cross Unit, consisting of thirty-nine workers met for an hour or more each evening. This was a beautiful starry night, but there was no moon. A number of us remained late on deck, watching the sea or looking at the masts sweeping across the sky, seeming to point at the different stars as the steamer rolled and pitched gently. Captain Stanley, Commander of the vessel, noticed our group and entertained us for a time with an instructive talk on the heavens, telling us how navigators were often dependent on reading the stars in order to take observations as to their position, especially at times when it had not been possible to get any observations from the sun at noon and also in many cases to check up their records for accuracy, even though they may have had an opportunity to get a reading with their nautical instruments from the sun at noon. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3O, I918 This was a very beautiful day — still warm and calm. We were apparently doing about 27 Overseas Sketches thirteen knots an hour, the whole convoy being held to that speed, although some of the vessels were capable of much faster time. The inventive mind of our Red Cross leader added another feature in order to fill in time more completely and now we were drilled — that is our Reci Cross Unit (39 men) each after- noon by a lieutenant of the U. S. Army. Our evolutions were not always carried out with success, as frequently, just as we would be executing, for example, "Squads Right," the vessel would give a lurch and sometimes we were nearly tumbled, at least, thrown into confusion. Once the lieutenant, with disgust, after an especially awkward mix-up, gave the command, "As you was — we will try that over again," which occasioned no little merriment and nearly got us into trouble, as some of our number apparently knew more about the con- struction of the English language than they did concerning military tactics. I believe we could have done fairly well on a level and roomy drill ground. We also had entertainments each afternoon on deck, usually three four-round boxing bouts. There was a tall, awkward-looking Jewish boy from a New York regiment who was a real bear-cat and cleaned them all up, and an Irish 28 Overseas Sketches boy, the possessor of a beautiful tenor voice, who sang frequently for us. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3I, I918 This was another beautiful day. I learned that we had access to a part of the deck where one of the compasses was placed, and some of our group stated that we had been on an easterly course ever since leaving Sandy Hook, which probably accounts for the warm weather for the first few days, as we had not yet turned northerly. This was another beautiful starry night. The ladies, a unit consisting of twenty-five Army Nurses, gave a Halloween Party in the main dining room of the first cabin, which was attended by about three hundred people. Cap- tain Stanley, Commander of the vessel, took part in the festivities, being disguised in a rubber life preserver suit and impersonating the god, Neptune. He seemed to have as much fun out of it as anybody. As there were no lights on deck at night, it was absolutely ciark, except the gleam from the stars. The first few nights being clear, we were able to recognize one another, but it was rather a weird effect, walking about the deck and not being quite certain of your neighbor. This effect was heightened later on, when the weather 29 Overseas Sketches became bad, but by this time we had learned to recognize each other by our voices. There were lights in the cabins, but the port holes were all painted black and just inside the doors entering from the decks, there was a double curtain, arranged in such a manner as to make it impos- sible for any rays of light to escape from the interior when a door was opened. We were not permitted to throw anything overboard, as anything floating might be seen by a submarine and lead to our discovery. As an additional precaution against being detected by enemy submarines or raiders, we were not permitted to smoke on deck after dark and were obliged to keep our wrist watches covered, as the watch faces, especially the illuminated hands and figures are visible for about a half mile. I was cautioned once on account of my wrist watch and ordered by the ofiicer of the deck to turn the watch around on the inside of my wrist. This seems like a little matter to record, but indicates how thorough were the regulations looking to our safety. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER I, I9I8 This was the first bad day, foggy and rainy alternately all day long. The usual routine of ship life was observed — the French lesson from 9:30 to io:jo in the morning; lifeboat drill at 30 Overseas Sketches ii:oo; another French lesson from 2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon and Red Cross drill at 4:00 o'clock. We were still on an easterly course and were about one-half the distance across the ocean, as nearly as we could estimate, basing our figures on a daily run of about 2'^^ knots. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, I918 Cloudy with occasional sunshine; the ocean was now beginning to get rough so that we were rolling and pitching a great deal. Some time during the day our course was changed to a more northerly direction — a little east of north- east. There was very little seasickness, due I think to the fine weather of the first few days which enabled us to become accustomed gradu- ally to the motion of the ship. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, I918 About this time we were officially notified that diaries were not allowed and would be taken up and destroyed when we landed, so I desisted and am now returning after some time in an attempt to recall as much as possible of the happenings on board ship during the remainder of the voyage. It is now actually December 8th in Paris, but I am returning for the moment to the days on 31 Overseas Sketches the ocean. On the day that we were told to stop keeping diaries, it began to get much colder and I noticed that we had turned to a little more northerly direction. November 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th were all cold and very dis- agreeable days. We had snow, hail, rain, and as we neared land, fog, or else very thick weather. At about noon on November 6th, having watched the compass for several days and having kept count from time to time of the engine revolutions and in this way computing the estimated mileage, I thought we were about one hundred miles off the northwest coast of Ireland. Shortly after noon, our course was suddenly changed upon the appearance of a British Destroyer, from which some sort of an order was signalled by means of colored flags. Immediately upon receiving this signal, the entire convoy turneci due west, and ran in this direction for nearly five hours at top speed — about 14 knots. At nightfall, we again turned to a northeasterly course and on the next morn- ing, November 7th, very early, we had land on both bows — Ireland on the starboard and Scot- land on the port, being headed in a southerly direction. The weather was very thick; the sea was very rough; the wind was the strongest I have ever faced. During the day we steamed in a southerlv direction on the Irish Sea, passing Overseas Sketches close by the Isle of Man, which, however, we could not see, as it was shrouded in thick weather. The manoeuvering of this fleet of fourteen transports was wonderful enough day and night crossing the Atlantic, but the handling of these vessels on this black, stormy night, all sailing so closely together and in restricted waters, not a ship showing a light of any kind, was truly a remarkable piece of seamanship. Our American escorts, the Battleship Cruiser and the Torpedo Boat Destroyer had left us the afternoon before and we were now being con- voyed by British Destroyers — one to each vessel of the convoy. I distinctly remember the one alongside our ship, rolling and pitching and disappearing in the angry waters, always coming up again — a fine example of cheery British grit. It was a comfort to have her alongside. She was painted a dead black and was numbered 58 in large gray letters on her hull. At daybreak, Friday, November 8th, we anchored off the Mersey and at noon the Leicestershire docked at Liverpool. We were, of course, stunned at the news of the probable cessation of hostilities. The afternoon was consumed in debarkation of our soldiers, and we witnessed the unusual spectacle of American troops marching on British soil. Our Red Cross group was kept on board until 5:00 p.m., at 33 Overseas Sketches which time we set foot on land, after a voyage of thirteen days. During these thirteen days, we had no news from the Great War, with the exception of one httle item that leaked through from the flagship of our convoy, to the effect that the Italian offensive had been successful against Austria. It seems that our wireless apparatus was tuned for short distance only, with the exception of that on the flagship, and this wireless apparatus was used primarily for intercommunication in navigating the convoy. We were, as afterwarcis realized, too com- fortably housed in Liverpool at the Adelphi Hotel, where I had a room with all the comforts of a big New York hotel. Captain Kelly, of the American Red Cross, met us at the dock, looked after our comfort and made all arrangements for hotel accommodations and travel, so we were not subjected to travelers' usual troubles, such as looking after baggage, getting tickets, etc. 34 Chapter III London The next day, Saturday, November 9th, we were escorted to the railroad station and entrained in several special cars reserved for our Red Cross group, now considerably aug- mented by additions from other vessels of the fleet. The cold was very penetrating; the cars were not heated and we suffered considerably on the six-hour trip to London. I presume, however, that this was nothing compared to what our boys had to undergo in France. We arrived at London at 7:00 o'clock in the evening. It was nearly pitch dark — practically no lights whatever, only a few very dim ones at import- ant corners, which were screened with black, so as to be invisible from air planes. Our group was driven to the Hotel Cosmo on Southampton Row. I think this is the coldest place I ever slept in in all my life. The beds were damp; there was absolutely no heat whatever and although I went to bed with all my clothes on, removing only my shoes, I suffered all night long and was glad to get up early in the morning to stir around and get my blood in circulation. The only heat in the hotel was a small grate fire in the coffee room, which radiated feebly for 35 Overseas Sketches about two feet and might well have been dis- pensed with for all the comfort we got from it. The thermometer was not registering very low. It was the dampness that made the cold so penetrating. Food regulations reflected the war status. It was necessary to secure bread tickets and also permits authorizing the purchase of sugar, butter and jam, if these supposedly necessary trimmings were desired with meals. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER lO, I918 I obtained leave for the day from our Red Cross leader and proceeded by underground tube and train to Hounslow Heath to call on my adopted daughter's great uncle, where I was hospitably entertained with hot tea, sand- wiches, cakes and wonder of wonders — a cheery coal fire in the parlor grate, which was lighted in honor of my call, and which I was loath to leave. I returned to the heatless hotel and spent another cold night and was glad to get up again on Monday, November ii, which at 1 1 too o'clock in the morning, became ARMISTICE DAY The news of the signing of the Armistice was officially announced by an aerial bomb, which 36 Overseas Sketches was exploded at exactly ii:oo o'clock in the morning. In company with others of our American Red Cross Unit, I had just come out of the office of the A. P. M. (Assistant Provost Marshall) of the United States Army Head- quarters. As we had been busily engaged all forenoon, going through various formalities in connection with our registration, in order to satisfy the Army authorities as well as the British regula- tions, we had not had time to become acquainted with the latest news, nor did we fully realize that an armistice was to be signed that day. For a moment, we were startled, thinking possibly that this might be a German air attack, but this fear soon vanished when the people began to shout, "The War is over," "The Armis- tice is signed," etc. Within a very few minutes the streets were literally jammed with people and vehicles; stores were emptied of their patrons and clerks as well. The entire populace was bent on a holiday and well they might be after the strain of over four years. We worked our way as soon as we possibly could through the dense crowd to Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square and the Strand, where the excitement was intense. The predominant note was one of wild joy, but we also saw some sad 37 Overseas Sketches faces and weeping, mainly on the part of older people, who we imagined had lost loved ones during the War. The excitement increased; all thought of business was over for the day; soldiers were embraced; Americans were cheered; all this kept up until about 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, when a heavy rain dampened the ardor somewhat, but when it cleared off toward evening, the night became a tremendous spec- tacle. Mingled in the crowd were soldiers of all the Allied Nations, who happened to be on leave or on military business in London. Traf- algar Square was a seething whirl of people and we had the remarkable experience of seeing the Britisher lose his composure. The tension was over at last — the Great War won by the Allied Nations! Late in the evening we tried to get into some of the more prominent cafes and restaurants, where the scenes absolutely beggar description. We were not able to secure places, so merely had a look in here and there and finally found our way to our own little hotel on Southampton Row, where by reason of being guests, we were finally able to secure a table. There was a great deal of enthusiasm even in this little hostelry — a great deal of singing, cheering and shouting going on. I remember particularly one heavy- set, red-visaged Englishman, who climbed up on 38 Overseas Sketches the table, about which were seated a number of his enthusiastic compatriots and waving a champagne glass, roared out with great empha- sis, "I say, England for the English!" but seeing our American uniforms, he came over and shook hands with us all around and patted us rather heavily on the shoulders. The next morning, I was cornered in the coffee room or perhaps, smoke room, as we would call it, by a very drunken Scotch Captain, who insisted upon telling me over and over again of the exploits of the Scottish 79th, or some regi- ment, I cannot remember the number exactly. This was rather interesting the first or second time, but the repetition proved monotonous. He had served in trenches where the mud at times was nearly up to his hips, and his joy and excitement in trying to realize that it was all over were such that he simply had to express it to somebody, who in this particular instance, happened to be myself. If I had consumed all of the Scotch high-balls that this officer tried to force upon me, I should not be here to tell the experience. There were to be seen in this part of London several areas where business blocks had been ruined as the result of air raids. In particular, there was one such across the street, directly opposite our hotel, and the front walls of the 39 Overseas Sketches hotel Itself were noticeably scarred by fragments from the explosion. In the afternoon of this day, November I2th, we left for Paris, via Southampton and Havre. At Southampton I succeeded in obtaining leave from the ship and securing a pass from the British Major in charge of the wharf, I found after some difficulty, the park overlooking the harbor, where on the monument commemorat- ing the Pilgrim Fathers, I saw the bronze tablet to the memory of my sister, Blanche Butler Ford. As it was dark by the time I found the monument, I was only able to see the tablet by climbing on the iron fence which surrounded the monument and lighting matches, assisted by a kind-hearted New Zealand soldier, who, on leave for convalescence from wounds, had been sitting nearby in the park. We had a very rough trip across the channel on a small steamer. Our Red Cross group occupied a part of the steerage and it was indeed a welcome relief to come on deck at daybreak. The contrast between this stuffy hole, all too suggestive of sea-sickness, and the refreshing salt air, was almost worth the night's confine- ment below. During this trip the same pre- cautions were observed as during war times; even though the Armistice had been signed, the 40 Overseas Sketches vessel was navigated without any lights what- ever and all other war-time regulations followed. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER I3, I918 We docked early in the morning at Havre, where we had a fine sunny day, but still quite cold. We practiced saluting French Officers as we had been told that this was customary — it at least afforded us a chance to become more familiar with this military greeting, which, as we found later, was strictly adhered to between Americans, but it was rather unusual for an exchange of salutes to be made between Ameri- cans and British and Americans and French or between Americans and soldiers of the other Allied Nations. 41 Chapter IV Paris In the evening we took train for Paris, where we arrived shortly before midnight, November 13th. It was a very comfortable train, inckid- ing a dining car, on which we had, I think, the best meal since leaving New York. We learned afterwards, however, that the train service to the west and south of Paris was still pretty good, but that to the north and east, towards the battle fronts, the railroads were in very bad shape. We were met in Paris by a Red Cross repre- sentative who loaded us into army trucks and took us to a small hotel, just off the Champs Elysees, the Hotel Beaulieu — not too good. As in London, so here, the rooms were stone cold. The next morning we were introduced to our frugal continental breakfast — one roll and one pot of coffee with jam on the side if you cared to spend the money, extra. On the morning of November 14th we were marched a matter of about two miles to the Red Cross headquarters, which comprised an office 43 Overseas Sketches of over one thousand people, and occupied the building which in peace times was the Hotel Regina, on the Rue de Rivoli, opposite the Tuilleries. Here we spent the morning register- ing and listening to talks by various heads of departments of the American Red Cross, some of whom, with less vision than others, told us that as the Armistice had been signed, we might stick around a few days or a week but that before long, we should be sent home; others told us that the real work would just begin, caring for the refugees and looking after the wants of our own soldiers, who could not possibly be sent home all at once. NOVEMBER I5 AND 16, I918 We were in and out of Red Cross headquarters for the most part, finding our various jobs with the Red Cross. I was asked by Captain Burritt, Chief of the Home Service Section of the Home and Hospital Bureau to assist him for a while and found later on, that he wanted me to succeed him as he was obliged to return home in a short time. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER I7, I918 I was oneof about five hundred of the American Red Cross who took part in a stupendous parade in honor of Alsace-Lorraine Day. There were one hundred and fifty thousand people in the 44 Place de la Concorde Avenue Chanips-Khsees 45 Overseas Sketches parade, which never reached the reviewing stand, being literally swallowed by the crowd of two million enthusiastic on-lookers. The parade made very little progress, moving a few feet at a time and then being stopped. The excitement was intense; the spectators crowded out into the streets with the paraders and the joy of the populace was frantic. I could not help but think of other exciting days, long ago in Paris, particularly of the mobs of the Revolu- tion, although, of course, this was an entirely different occasion and the spirit displayed of quite another nature. While this parade, or rather while this attempt at a parade was going on, there was a wonderful exhibition of ciaring on the part of about thirty air planes, which flew back and forth over the heads of the marchers, part of the time high in the heavens, at other times, altogether too low for safety. Fortunately, none of these machines met with any accicient or fell into the crowd, although the daring aviators were pulling off all kinds of thrilling stunts, such as nose dives and flip- flops in the air. These air men, as it turned out afterwards, were all court-martialled for the part they played in the afternoon's demonstra- tion, as they were out without authority. The great enthusiasm of this immense crowd was something that I can never forget. 46 Overseas Sketches Our company of Red Cross marchers, when it was discovered that the parade could not possibly be finished according to the line of march laid out, watched for our opportunity and at the first side street that offered a chance, we turned and worked our way out of the entanglement of people and were glad of the chance to disband for the day. In the evening I met my nephew, Captain John W. Ford, U. S. Air Service, and together we dined and later heard and saw the beautiful opera La Tosca, which proved to be but the preliminary to many other enjoyable evenings spent later on at the Opera Comique. NOVEMBER l8, I918 Captain Ford rescued me from the none too comfortable quarters at the Hotel Beaulieu, inviting me to make my home with himself and three other officers in the Air Service, which was indeed a very agreeable change. These officers were keeping house in an apartment at 24 Avenue Charles Floquet, quite near the Eiffel Tower, where we lived very comfortably, the group of men proving most congenial and Madeleine an excellent cook and motherly housekeeper. The first letters from home came on this date and were indeed welcome. 47 Overseas Sketches NOVEMBER I9 TO 23, I918 I was quite busy with Captain Burritt of the Red Cross, trying to assimilate the details of the Home Service Section. This briefly was a welfare work with the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces and consisted chiefly in allaying their fears and anxieties about condi- tions at home, concerning which they might not have heard for various reasons. Captain Burritt had first intended to send me to St. Nazaire as a Home Service Worker, which would have been very agreeable indeed, as I really preferred getting out with the soldiers or work of that character, but later with Major Hutchins' approval, he decided that he wanted me to succeed him, which meant that I was hooked for an executive job, with headquarters in Paris — the very thing I was trying to avoid, but it proved to be most interesting, although I think the hardest work I ever did in my life. This Department had three hundred people — seventy-five in the Paris ofiice and about two hundred and twenty-five representatives in the field with the various army divisions, camps, hospitals and embarkation centers and ports. NOVEMBER 24 AND 25, I918 Everyone seemed to be marking time, waiting for the end of the thirty-six days' armistice. 48 49 Overseas Sketches There were many war relics to be seen in Paris. In the Garden of the Tuilleries there were German cannon, wrecked air planes, Zep- pelins, and on the Place de la Concorde, a large number of big German guns — really a great spectacle. Both sides of the Champs Elysees were lined with smaller captured German can- non, extending the entire length of this beautiful and historic Avenue. Nothing of particular note happened until Thursday, November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, which all Americans felt in duty-bound to celebrate in a manner fitting not only to the particular day, but with the cessation of hostili- ties in mind. We were obliged to work in the morning at the American Red Cross Head- quarters, but at noon enjoyed a turkey luncheon at the American Aero Club, from the veranda of which, after luncheon, we saw King George V and the Prince ot Wales drive by. MONDAY, DEC. 2 AND TUESDAY, DEC. 3, I918 I was sent to Bourges, a city due south of Paris, about six hours' ride on the train, to check up American Red Cross records at the Central Records Office of the American Expeditionary Forces. I was much impressed with the work of the Army Clerks in keeping up the card index 50 Overseas Sketches system of the two million soldiers oi the A. E. F. — building after building filled with card index files, although cold statistics, yet they were to me a thrilling sight. The files devoted to those killed in action were most impressive. As I was stationed here for a month later on, I shall not devote much space to Bourges at this time, except to say it is a most interesting old town with a fine cathedral. On the train returning from Bourges, it so happened that my seat was in the same com- partment with the celebrated French artist, M. L'Hermitte, a very old gentleman, who, with his servants had moved all his paintings from the studio in Paris to Bourges when Paris was threatened with German invasion. He was now taking back to Paris four or five examples of his work, which had been placed for safe- keeping in a vault at Bourges. Rather than risk these paintings in the express car, they were being carried by hand, wrapped in rugs and pieces of carpet. The old gentleman was extremely agreeable and paid close attention to my poor attempts at French, but I finally made him understand that my father was very much interested in Art and that just a year previous he had lost his entire collection of paintings by fire and that he was now building an Art Museum and getting another 51 Overseas Sketches collection together, all of which interested M. L'Hermitte sufficiently to elicit from him a cordial invitation to visit his studio in Paris as soon as he had it again in order. I have mentioned this chance meeting with the artist, M. L'Hermitte as an example of the people who left Paris when the War was at its height. The Americans who first arrived in Paris found the city half emptied; houses were not occupied, apartments could be had for very low prices. Captain Burritt secured a room in one of the leading hotels at ten francs per day in June; when I arrived November 13th, this same room commanded three or four times as much, because nearly every one had returned and the demand for housing and rooms had become abnormal. All of this may not seem much like War, but we had a very good picture of the Front every day in our office correspondence and records, upon which I cannot take time to dwell, other than to say we had stories of hardships and war experiences at first-hand, going through us to be communicated to the folks back home. DECEMBER 6, I918 Captain Burritt invited me to call with him at the home of M. and Mme. Fasty (pronounced 52 Overseas Sketches "Fatey") where we were delightfully enter- tained in this charming French home at Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, near the Bois de Boulogne. In this circle I was content to sit quietly listening to the beautiful French of M. and Mme. and the more or less successful efforts of Captain Burritt, who really spoke very well. In this connection, comes the opportunity of offering an alibi for the failure of most of us to make much headway with the French language. When it is considered that we were in an office every day with nearly a thousand Ameri- cans, transacting business much the same as we would be doing at home, using English almost entirely and when it is considered also that for the most part we lived with Americans, it will be seen that we did not have sufficient contact with the French people to learn their language beyond the every-day requirements. Through Captain Burritt's courtesy, I was enabled to spend the next evening in his com- pany at the Cercle Volney, a French Club, where after a formal dinner, we met an inter- esting group of intellectual people and listened to a good musical program. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, I918 Captain Ford and I attended services at the American Church in the morning. In the 53 Overseas Sketches evening, I had Captain Burritt and Captain Ford as my guests to dinner, after which we went to the Opera Comique and heard La Tosca again. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, I918 As Captain Burritt was to sail Wednesday, December nth, I was definitely assigned to his position as Chief of the Home Service Section in France and received my commission in the American Red Cross. 54 Chapter V At Work DECEMBER lO, I918 TO FEBRUARY 22, I9I9 December loth I took hoki of the work as Chief of the Home Service Section of the Home and Hospital Bureau of the American Red Cross, naturally finding a great deal to learn and a tremendous lot of work to be done every day. It seemed strange to be in Paris and to be obliged to go through a regular routine of work each day, with no time for sight-seeing, as on previous visits to the French capital, I had never done anything but follow my own wishes. I shall not dwell upon the details of this branch of the work, for the reason that doing this would mean a volume in itself, moreover, that is a matter of official record in the annals of the American Red Cross. It is perhaps suffi- cient to say that soldiers brought their questions, their wants and their troubles to our representa- tives in the field, who either gave aid and counsel on the spot or else sent these cases into the Paris office for action there, or if needed, for 55 Overseas Sketches communication or query to the soldiers' families in the United States. The general nature of the work was officially summarized by the American Red Cross as follows : "Rendering general welfare service to soldiers, with particular emphasis on secur- ing, in response to their requests, sympa- thetic, prompt and accurate information as to their problems here and at home, in this way quieting their fears, relieving their anxieties, not only helping the man himself but thereby aiding the cause by making him more fit to do his duty as a soldier." Captain Paul F. Peck, Professor of History, Grinnell College, Iowa, was Assistant Chief of the Section; Captain John P. Rusk, of La Grande, Oregon, and Lieutenant C. T. M. Law, of Boston, acted in the capacity of special agents; Miss Lenore M. Little, of Hartford, Conn., was in charge of the work of the seventy- five women personnel in the Paris Office; Miss Anna S. Murphy, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was my Secretary. I ought to mention each one of these three hundred efficient, hard-working, loyal men and women in the department. The friendships made among them, I value highly. On Christmas Eve I tried to get in the Made- leine for Christmas Mass, but the crowd was so 56 Major Je.s^L I'. Matteson, A. R. C, Distributing Christmas Gifts in the Devastated Region 57 Overseas Sketches large that it was impossible even to get inside the outer gates. While waiting outside the Madeleine Christ- mas Eve, hoping to get in for Midnight Mass, I met my good friend. Major Matteson, who invited me to go out with him before daybreak Christmas morning to distribute gifts to children in the battle area. As I was not able to secure leave and obtain travel permit on such short notice, I could not accept this invitation, but the accompanying illustration showing the Major discharging this pleasant duty will be of interest. "Matty," as we called him upon closer acquain- tance, gave me the photograph and I am also indebted to him and his civilian friend, Mr. E. T. Gundlach, for several other photographs which we took with their cameras while on the trip to the battle fronts. Christmas Day somehow did not seem a bit like Christmas. In the afternoon I took a walk and wrote letters; in the evening I read the Bible, the first and second chapters of St. Luke, the story of the birth of Jesus. I read this aloud to two young officers who lived with us, and they listened attentively. New Year's Eve was celebrated in a lively manner downtown, but I stayed at home, read- ing and writing letters, much to the disgust of the other members of our family, who were 58 Overseas Sketches younger men — officers in the Air Service and could not understand why I preferred to spend the evening at home. After January ist letters from home began to come in greater frequency and were most wel- come. While I had not been able to get out to the Front, nevertheless, I saw a great deal of the War on paper; through the letters and reports that came in to our office from our field repre- sentatives and also in talks with them when they came in to headquarters. My evenings' dissipation was confined to grand opera, which Captain Ford and I attended as often as we could afford the time and money. On January nth I did not feel very well and the next morning was sent to No. 3 American Red Cross Military Hospital in the Rue de Chevreuse, a tiny street in the Latin Quarter. I had bronchial influenza — temperature ranging from loi to 103 and was quite miserable for about a week; then rapidly changed for the better and on the morning of January 24th, after an appeal to the doctor. Captain Rossem, he permitted me to go home at noon of that day. On that same evening, my nephew. Captain Ford, came home at dinner-time, very ill, hardly able to drag himself along, and in the morning he was sent to the same hospital, from 59 Overseas Sketches which I had just returned — his case, diagnosed as influenza, developed into pneumonia on January 30th. He was seriously, dangerously ill; his crisis, February loth and nth, was just barely passed. He eventually recovered fully after seventy-three days in the hospital. During all this time, the Peace Conference had been going on; President Wilson had been to Paris; had gone back home; returned; the Armistice had been extended twice and things were getting more muddled up every day. The cordial feeling of welcome first extended to President Wilson by the French was now swing- ing in the other direction and we frequently heard our good friends among the French criticizing him severely for his dictatorial ways. Being in uniform, I discussed the matter very little, my opinion, however, being at the time that it was a mistake to prolong the delibera- tions; that the Treaty of Peace should have been signed with as little delay as possible and President Wilson's ideal of a League of Nations might well be considered after the Peace Treaty itself was signed. The French people at first believed that we were all in accord with Presi- dent Wilson's ideas, but gradually began to understand that some of us were not of the same political faith and that President Wilson really 60 Overseas Sketches did not represent the opinion and wishes of the American people as a whole. Shortly after my nephew's illness developed, I was offered a place on the American Red Cross Commission to Germany, with headquarters at Berlin. This would have been something of an experience to be among the first Americans to reach Berlin after the Armistice, but for reasons which could not be denied, I was reluctantly obliged to decline the appointment. The work which the American Red Cross was undertaking through this Commission to Germany consisted of caring for a large number of Russian prisoners, still held by Germany, because the Red Govern- ment refused to allow them to return to Russia and they were such a burden to the German people that it was thought necessary for the American Red Cross to assist in caring for them. The weather all through December, January and February was very disagreeable and it was a penetrating cold with dampness and rain every day with the exception of about two weeks, the last week in January and the first week in February, when it was quite cold — temperature about 25° Fahrenheit with some snow. I noticed people carrying skates, probably on the way to the ponds in the Bois de Boulogne. It is said that they seldom have skating in Paris. Toward the latter part of February there was 61 Overseas Sketches a great deal of excitement over the attempt to assassinate Premier Clemenceau, who, consider- ing his advanced age, made a remarkable recovery from a gun shot wound. 62 Chapter VI Brest On February 27th I went to Brest to inspect the work of the Home Service Section in that important embarkation port and also at Camp Pontenezen. My nephew was very good about letting me go, as he had been counting on my daily visits to the hospital. I was obliged to sit up all night on the train and did not sleep much, because the French people in the same compartment would not allow me to open the windows for a little fresh air. The train was overcrowded and the trip was very uncomfort- able, lasting sixteen hours. As good luck would have it, during the two days at Brest, we had bright sunshiny weather, very unusual and cold enough to make it pleasant. Just before the train pulled into the railroad station at Brest, there was a fine view of the harbor. Outside the breakwater were anchored the Leviathan; the New Amsterdam of the Holland-American Line; the Mauretania of the Cunard Line, sistership of the illfated Lusitania, victim of Germany's greatest atrocity; a large White Star Liner, the name of which I did not secure 63 Overseas Sketches and a great many other smaller steamers, all waiting to transport troops home — really an inspiring sight, when one thinks of the many soldiers who are about to embark for home after their experiences in the Great War and when one also thinks of the welcome awaiting them on the shores of our beloved land. I proceeded at once to the American Red Cross Office, Rue de Chateau, and there met Captain Graeme Turnbull of the American Red Cross, a shipmate on the Leicestershire, who was the Assistant Director of all Red Cross activities in the Brest District. I was hos- pitably entertained at his house; he and three other Red Cross men had leased a furnished villa and were as comfortable as one could be in Brest. There was a fine garden here; pear trees trained against the walls and some vegetables even growing at this time of the year. I spent a good part of the afternoon in discussion of Red Cross activities with special reference to Home Service, which was the main business of my trip. I took a walk about this old walled town of many ancient buildings. The Chateau, a part of the fortification, with moat and drawbridge, is situated facing the harbor and harbor entrance. Doubtless in its time strong enough, it is now a very interesting relic of the former greatness of (34 i*-^ m Brest — The Roadstead tJn Mo»ia);c en Bnsse HirilaitJK: ^.^2 Q ■1^* -"^ • . ^ . IWIW ^BnjM^^ '" J ■ ¥^^ ^^ lfe.l . i i^S^tt J-' \ 1 m ' -ijr ''• »"'!*''^- ^^Si-iP»«««K5^-*^^ HH^^ , „ 4051. Dan-scttBjclouncs In < , ..tr - . ^ Breton Peasants G5 Overseas Sketches the place as a fortified stronghold. Some of the old cannon are still emplaced; the walk inside the town wall commands a striking view of the harbor. On the water front near the piers was a great lot of steel products — sheet steel, some of it badly rusted, barb wire, and quite a ton- nage of steel billets, and in the warehouses other supplies. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, I9I9 I Spent the evening and night pleasantly and comfortably at Captain Turnbull's and in the morning started by motor for Camp Pontenezen, an embarkation camp, six miles from Brest, on a hill back of the city. If Brest was well filled with American soldiers, then Pontenezen was jammed. It was a tre- mendous camp, capable of holding 120,000 men, laid out like a city, but at this time it did not present as finished an appearance as our camps in America. It was begun last Autumn and has been the subject of much complaint, as at first there was the greatest discomfort, for, before it was even taking definite shape, the army authorities began to ship men home, via Brest, and the Engineers, who had started to lay out the camp and put up the barracks, were swamped with soldiers pouring in before it was at all ready for their reception. The site was origi- G6 Overseas Sketches nally one of Napoleon's embarkation camps and has still the original buildings, of concrete or stucco. It is said that here Napoleon assem- bled the troops he intended to use in his invasion of Great Britain. Now, in contrast to these old buildings, we saw hastily constructed, but com- fortable wooden barracks, hospitals. Red Cross rest rooms and canteens and other war aid activities; army kitchens, bake shops, small mill for sawing cord wood, quarry and crusher for much needed road material, the necessary delousing plant, and a great area of brown tents, where the incoming men were first installed, before going through the process of delousing and later medical inspection. This going home of the men was a great big process, admirably arranged and well carried out. Roads good now — were very bad at first. On Napoleon's old parade ground were parked a great number of trucks. There passed into this camp loaded trucks at the rate of one every forty-eight seconds. There were about twenty thousand men permanently stationed at Brest and Pontenezen. I believe I saw at least one hundred thousand U. S. soldiers or evidence of their actual presence. Just out of Brest I saw several long trains of box cars, filled with American doughboys, on their way home. These trains were drawn by 67 Overseas Sketches American locomotives. The men were detrained at Brest, fed there, if they arrived late at night, then marched up to Camp Pontenezen, where this part of the process of going home took a week to ten days or perhaps a little longer, varying with conditions that governed. Indi- vidual cases there were of course, that would for some special reason be kept there for a much longer time. For instance, those unfortunates, not many I am glad to say, who had contracted certain diseases, could not go home until cured, and, too, there were cases of various other illnesses that detained, and a few insane patients. Several units of the 27th Division, New York and Brooklyn boys, were marching down the hill to Brest, there to be taken on lighters to the ships at anchor out in the roads. Only ships of small tonnage can dock in the shallow depth of Brest harbor. I believe about five thousand tons is the limit. The Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., and K. of C. activities were all in good hands here. Returning to Brest, I saw German prisoners, apparently well fed and happy, working on the docks and streets, guarded by American soldiers, armed with loaded guns, bayonets fixed. The Breton Peasant was everywhere, in his costume, handed down for generations — the men's hats being the real feature — a broad- 68 OQ U 69 Overseas Sketches brimmed felt hat, rim slightly turned up and a black ribbon about a foot long hanging down the back. The lace caps of the women are very pretty, but not as large nor as striking as the Dutch, or the Alsation headgear. The Bretons really looked like Celts, like Irish or Welsh. I was told that they could converse with Welsh people and also that they readily took up the commoner English expres- sions with good accent. They are very religious. I saw a pathetic funeral procession — a boy in black, carrying a crucifix at the head of the horses, drawing the hearse — a mere wagon with a top, the whole looking something like a hearse, but so rickety — ^just four posts and a canopy, like bed posts; the coffin was covered with heavy black cloth; walking close behind the hearse, were presumably the widow and two children, boy and girl — all poorly dressed. We stopped, faced the street and stood at attention, saluting according to custom until this pitiful cortege passed by. The widow and mother looked our way for an instant, seemingly grate- ful for our recognition of their grief. Later we saw the funeral procession again and there had been two accessions to the mourners — a one- legged man, hobbling along on crutches, barely able to keep up with the others, and by his side, a man who had but one arm. 70 Overseas Sketches Earlier in the morning I saw a more cheerful sight, two young Breton women on their way to church, in their best attire, although sombre, with pretty white lace head dress, and beneath it their abundant hair, dark brown, nearly black, flowing about their shoulders. They were pretty girls with good sweet faces. Thus, in two days at Brest, there fronted my vision these varied things — Ancient Brittany, Modern America and the Closing War. At S''3'^ I Isft for Paris, having secured an uncomfortable couchette for the night, at the modest, or perhaps immodest price of twenty- seven francs — the less said about my night's rest, the better. Important stations on the route to and from Brest to Paris: Chartres, Le Mans, Rennes, and St. Bruec, where one may embark to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. SATURDAY, MARCH I, I9I9 Back in Paris again — early in the morning. I was obliged to stand in line for nearly an hour in the railroad station, checking in with the army authorities, who exercise strict super- vision over the arrivals and departures of all soldiers and officers. I was much pleased to find my nephew very much better. He was permitted to sit up for the first time and was now out of danger. 71 Chapter VII The Chateau On Friday, March 7th, in company with Major Jesse F. Matteson, of the American Red Cross and three civihan friends of his from Chicago, I started on what would have been a wonderfully interesting trip if all had gone as planned. We had a fine looking seven-passenger touring car turned over to us for the purpose of making a tour of inspection of the American Red Cross warehouses in Northern France and Belgium. After proceeding about fifty to sixty kilo- meters northeast of Paris, the car stopped on account of engine trouble, near the village of Noailles. Examination of the engine disclosed a broken piston rod, which could not be repaired until the car was towed back to Paris, so our trip had to be abandoned for the time being. We took our belongings out of the car and trudged on to Noailles, where, after learning that the morning train for Paris had just left, we went into executive session; all sorts of 73 Overseas Sketches plans were suggested by our civilian friends, such as taking train to Amiens, thence to Brussels, etc., but Matty and I both counselled, wisely, I think, to put back to Paris by the evening train. Our opinion finally prevailed, so after depositing musette bags and blankets with the lady baggage master at the railroad station, we proceeded to look the village over. Matty went to the Post Office to telephone to Paris for help for our chauffeur in order to get his car towed back; the three civilians sought liquid refreshment at the inn, while I was purchasing picture postal cards of local views. I asked the woman in charge of the little shop a few questions about Noailles and surrounding country, and upon seeing a picture of a chateau, got her to tell me where it was and how far. I also asked others of the townspeople similar questions and was astonished to learn how little the natives seemed to know or care about this fine example of architecture and landscaping, which I shall attempt to describe later; they did not seem to realize that only six kilometers distant was this chateau of historic memory. Perhaps they are used to having it near them, and in their every-day life know of it rather sub-consciously, just as there are people in Buffalo who know of a Niagara close by, but who also have other things on their minds. 74 Overseas Sketches Well, to discontinue trying to analyze the ways of humanity, I then herded our party together and, after luncheon, made them take the walk of six kilometers to Chateau Mouchy. It was worth every bit of the effort and helped us forget our bad luck and our spoiled trip. After a pleasant walk, gaining the brow of the last hill, we saw the distant spire of a church and the usual collection of small village build- ings clustered about it. The crowd began to guy me about the Chateau. "Where is it?" "Is that your Chateau?" etc. "All right now," I said, "be game, come on, I'm sure it's on the other side of that church, let's see what the village is like anyway." It proved to be as I had hoped, for soon we could see two slender towers just beyond the church. We entered the village, none too prosperous looking and correspondingly dirty, and just around the corner of the market place and to the rear of the old church, we found the gate to the Chateau grounds, which are on a level a few feet lower than that of the village; this explained why. the Chateau was not visible from the road as we approached. The poor village just outside was in contrast indeed to the beautiful park, to this gem of a Chateau, set in a velvet green lawn of about ten 75 Overseas Sketches acres, with here and there a tremendous, really magnificent tree of ancient days. I wondered if these trees were infants when hands now long since crumbled to dust were building this home for their Feudal Lords. We had entered the grounds through the back door, so to speak, and what we saw after circling the building and gaining the portico in front, compensated, to an extent, for our misfortunes of the morning, at least saved the day from utter loss. The view was refreshing and restful. The Chateau, built on the edge of a hill, commands a stretch of country that is a delight to the eye. Just before us, the Chateau's estates, woods, a lake, fields already verdant with grass and winter grains, gave promise of still greater beauty when the forests are in new leaf. Beyond the Chateau lands roll hills of graceful, wooded and tilled beauty, miles away to the enemy front of 19 14- 15. None of the Duke de Mouchy's family was in residence, but the caretaker who now joined our group, said that although enemy aviators had made a few attempts to bomb the building, that there had been but one hit, and that the damage was only slight. In the early Autumn of 1914, German Outposts had been quite near and Uhlans had galloped through the grounds but the Chateau had never been in real danger of 76 On The Wav i '?' ; ^^^J ^K ilB The Chateau 77 Overseas Sketches seizure. We noticed stretched out on the floors in several rooms, a number of oil paintings. According to the caretaker, these paintings belonged to another Chateau, vandalized by the enemy — a chateau owned by a relative of this Duke de Mouchy, and these paintings had been cut out of their frames and carried ofl^ into Germany, and were now being returned, as many as could be located — some of them were soiled, torn and scratched, one or two nearly ruined. The original home of these paintings, another Chateau, was destroyed — the work of the Huns. But the real interest in this chance visit to Chateau de Mouchy was that during the later months of the war it was one of Marshal Foch's headquarters. Here much of the strategy of the greatest war in the World's history was planned and its execution directed. I now understood why the artistic sense of the French people had permitted the grounds of the Chateau to be marred by unsightly telephone poles, heavy with many wires. I tried to picture the great military strategist in this room surrounded by his stafi-'. Doubtless such a scene will one day be on canvas, and in genera- tions to come, school boys will be told of it. I had another thought too, anci it was of our 78 Overseas Sketches own boys, who came over here in the nick of time, without whom — well, who will dare to say what might have happened? The walk back to Noailles was not so full of pep, for we were all somewhat weary. An hour's wait at the inn was enlivened by one of our party, a multi-millionaire, who invited the entire community in to have a drink with him. All responded readily enough, including the Mayor, the Postmaster, and the Notary. There were cries of "Vive I'Amerique," "Vive la France," "A la Victoire" and various enlivening toasts. Our millionaire compatriot grew just a bit too enthusiastic, I thought, and when we left for the station, insisted on kissing the ladies good-bye — the innkeeper's daughters and even the innkeeper's wife, but in the end, every- body laughed good-naturedly over it, and it seemed harmless enough, although one of the girls was for a time, very angry. At 5:30 we took the narrow gauge train from Noailles to Beaumont, a two-hour ride over lovely rolling country with here and there trenches and barb wire entanglements, which we were told, were part of the plans to defend Paris in the last stand, but had never been used in actual warfare. Reaching Beaumont at 7:30, we changed to the main line, and after an hour's wait, finally 79 Overseas Sketches reached Paris at eleven, tired out, but really having had a fine day of it, although not as per schedule, which was to have been to Amiens, and on up toward the Belgian frontier. 80 Chapter VIII Northern Battle Fronts On Tuesday, March nth, we made a fresh start on our tour of inspection, this time, the Transportation Department of the American Red Cross turned over a Ford touring car, which took us safely over the route, as this remarkable species of automobile is usually able to do. For a good part of the distance traveled, we were in the Meuse and Somme districts, which had been the theatre of heavy and almost con- tinuous fighting. Leaving Paris at 8:00 o'clock in the morning, we again passed through Noailles, where we had suffered the breakdown a few days previously, Beauvais, Grandvilliers,Warlius, Marseille (lack- ing but one letter, the final "s", of being spelled exactly the same as the great French seaport on the Mediteranean), Poix, and Amiens, which we reached at noon. Inside of an hour after leaving Paris we began to see the effects of the War — here and there a shell hole, an occasional house partly ruined 81 Overseas Sketches by shell fire or stray shells, and now and then a roadside soldier's grave. But the villages just named had practically escaped the ravages of War and were typical French villages — narrow streets, low-roofed, stone, brick or plaster houses — a frame house or a frame barn building, such as we have in our rural districts, being a most unusual sight, in fact, seldom found. At Amiens we began to see the first real effects of the German artillery fire. About every third or fourth house had been struck and the railroad station had been hit a great many times; here temporary repairs had been made, but the roof was no longer a protection against the elements, being riddled and the glass sky- lights all broken. We spent an hour at the American Red Cross warehouse and were so busily occupied there that I was not able to see much of the town. I had to content myself with a glimpse of the cathedral as we drove by. The beautiful cathedral was practically intact, having been struck only once. A shell dropped through the roof to the crypt; fortunately did not explode. Shells which failed to explode have been nick- named "duds" — a term which we heard used very often thereafter. After finishing up our business in the Ameri- can Red Cross warehouse at Amiens, we motored 82 Cathedral and General View — Amiens 1 ^ k"-.--:»vibi3*.w ^4t.*.n Captured German Cannon — Near Aniici 83 Overseas Sketches in a northerly direction through the towns of Villersbocages, Doullens and Beaumetz, all of them pretty well shot up, to Arras. Arras was the first real ruins that we had yet seen. Practically every building in the town had been struck, some buildings completely ruined, others partially so. There were very few people about. It was a desolate scene as we thought, but soon to be greatly overshadowed by the awful devastation which we were to see in a few hours. Between Amiens and Arras the road was lined on both sides with a great array of cap- tured German guns — huge fellows, each one camouflaged with green and yellow paint — an amazing number of them. About 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at Vimy Ridge — the scene of days and days of awful struggle and the ultimate triumph, brought about by the remarkable bravery of the Canadian troops, to whose memory already there had been erected a temporary wooden shaft, reciting their brave deeds. This battlefield was a series of trenches, extending along a ridge several miles in length, commanding a wonderful view of the mutilated valley spread out before us; beyond and between the trenches and dugouts, were the intricate 84 Trench — Vimy Ridge Monument to Canadian Soldiers at Vimy Ridge Battlefield Graves 85 Overseas Sketches barb wire entanglements, stretching across No- Man's Land. We were the only human beings on the battle- field at this quiet hour in the afternoon. It was one of the most impressive moments ot my life. I tried to picture the scene of this awful struggle; I tried to think of the din of battle — the whole effect of my imaginings, however, doubtless were but feeble in comparison with the awful reality. The ground was thickly strewn with unex- ploded hand grenades and shells. It was necessary to exercise the greatest caution in walking about this battlefield, as there was great danger of stepping on these unexploded missiles of destruction, which, while lying dor- mant, were apt, with the slightest concussion, to let go, with terrible consequences. We had fortunately been warned of the danger and I had constantly in mind the terrible accident that befell a Red Cross friend of mine, who, after serving over a year and facing many dangers, paid a final visit to the battle area before his sailing date and wishing to take home a souvenir from one of the battle fronts, picked up an unexploded hand grenade and in so doing, the hand grenade was sufficiently jarred to explode it and my friend lost his right hand. We spent nearly an hour at Vimy Ridge and 86 Ruins in Lens Camouflaged Road in Battle Area Overseas Sketches in this hour, I believe for the first time, I more nearly understood the awfulness of this World conflict. Our next stop was at Lens, which lay a few miles distant in the valley beyond Vimy Ridge. Lens is the coal mining and manufacturing town which was fought over throughout the War, with the result that the entire city, I think a city of about fifty thousand inhabitants, was utterly and entirely destroyed. I cannot find words to describe the complete ruin of this town. There was not a single second-story left standing. Here and there one could see what once was a ground floor room, with perhaps a fireplace and mantelpiece standing; if an organized attempt had been made to wreck and lay waste this town, it could not have been done more thor- oughly. There remained only the task of hauling away the debris. Two main streets, crossing at right angles, had been cleared of refuse and these were the only avenues of ingress and egress to and from the town. On the outskirts of the town, were the ruins of the coal mines — the only thing standing up any height being the shattered coal tipples, where here and there twisted broken structural material still stood — beams and channels, apparently almost ready to fall, hanging by a few bolts or by a shred of 88 Overseas Sketches steel, where the shell or other missile had not quite severed the structural steel. The mills and factories were in complete ruin; here and there one could see the wreck of a boiler plant or what was once a nice piece of machinery, and I recall seeing two or three flywheels, partly shattered, but still standing between their housings. A few families of refugees had returned and were engaged in a pathetic attempt to rehabili- tate their former homes. The best they could do would be to clean out the old cellars and cover over a little corner with pieces of corrugated sheet iron or a few stray boards or timbers. It was said that these people had such a strong affection for their old homes, that rather than avail themselves of temporary quarters in wooden buildings, erected by the British Army Authorities, where they were provided with bunks and blankets, they would perhaps sleep a few nights in these comparatively comfortable and warm buildings and then take the blankets that had been given them and hunt up the ruins of their former homes. We did not attempt to dig up souvenirs from the ruins, exercising great care here, as well as on the battlefield of Vimy Ridge. Warning signs were posted conspicuously all through the city of Lens against the dangers lurking in ruins. Overseas Sketches The impression that this awful scene made upon me was such that I soon grew weary of looking at these dreadful ruins. At dusk we left Lens, passing through the villages of Carvin and Seclin. We arrived at Lille at 8:00 o'clock in the evening, where we spent the night, hos- pitably entertained at the British Officers' Club. Lille was not badly damaged by German fire. It was seized and occupied by the German troops very early in the War and they had been there for four years. We talked with several of the natives, asking them how they had been treated by the German authorities and they all shrugged their shoulders in the manner characteristic of the French people, and while they did not go into details as to their treatment, being apparently afraid to commit themselves, nevertheless, their feel- ings were that of supreme contempt of and utter disgust at the Boches. Undoubtedly they had been through a great many hardships. That the Kaiser intended to hold Lille as a permanent German possession is evidenced by the fact that during the four years of German occupancy, he caused to be erected a national theatre — a fine marble building, with suitable German inscription on the cornerstone and with the Kaiser's own name carved in large letters on the cornice of the imposing front of this beautiful building. 90 Smashed Tank — Ypres Ypres Battlefield German Prisoners — Ypres 91 Overseas Sketches While the city of Lille had suffered little damage, there was an occasional building par- tially destroyed and the city appeared to be in an unsanitary condition. The streets were very dirty; there was refuse of all kinds and ill- smelling garbage piles right on the main streets. The city was evidently in need of organized civic rule. At the time of our visit, however, it was still in the section under British military rule. Doubtless, everything possible was being done; order was fully preserved, but there was much to be desired in the way of making it a healthful place to live. We could not tell much about the ordinary living conditions, because we were fed and lodged where officers' accomodations and rations were available, but were told that living condi- tions there were none too good, as might be expected only a few months after the Armistice. We left Lille at io:oo o'clock in the morning of Wednesday, March 12th, passing rapidly through the villages of Madeleine, Bondues and Rouq. We drove along the famous Menin Road, which led through the ruins of several villages — absolutely destroyed, laid waste. At noon we came to the celebrated battlefield of Ypres, and were now in Belgium. As far as the eye could reach, there extended a rolling expanse of utter desolation. What had 92 Overseas Sketches formerly been a beautiful forest, dotted here and there by chateaus and estates and clearings, where agriculture was practiced and flocks were tended, was now an unrecognizable mass of shell holes, battle-torn roads, ruined trenches, dug-outs, broken down, smashed tanks, air planes, twisted and torn barb wire entangle- ments, occasional stumps of trees, left from the beautiful forest, unexploded ammunition, broken guns, gas masks — in fact, all the paraphernalia of modern warfare, wrecked, broken, abandoned, strewn about in the greatest confusion. We had the good fortune to meet a British Army Ofiicer, a Major, who had been through the struggles back and forth over this battle- field. He had a map and was tracing the operations of his own battalion and very kindly told us something about that immediate part of the battlefield, on which we were standing at that moment. He said, ''Gentleman, you will believe this with difiiculty, but right here, near where we are standing, was the driveway and entrance to a beautiful chateau, with its sur- rounding estate. As you see, there is absolutely no trace of this now left. If you will come with me, I will show you what is left of the ruins of the chateau." We walked with him a few hun- dred yards, and if he had not directed our atten- tion to the mere suggestion of what was once a 93 Overseas Sketches chateau, we should never have seen it. There were a few foundation stones left — the rest of the building was all gone. He told us that in the grove of trees which formerly stood in front of the chateau, he had his look-outs stationed in the tree tops, ascertaining and signaling the whereabouts of the German guns. Now there were practically no trees of this grove left — only a stump here and there. In fact, all over this battlefield, the ground was so torn that the shell holes overlapped and the depressions made in the ground by these shell holes were filled with water. It was difficult to understand how the British troops held this place so long in the face of such terrific fire and too, considering the fact that when they attempted to dig in to find cover, they were sure to encounter water within eighteen inches or two feet of the surface of the ground. The contour of this battlefield is something like the shape of a saucer — the Germans having the advantage of holding the high ground, comparable to what would be the rim of a saucer. This gave me a dim idea of the remark- able defense of the British troops, although it is most difficult to understand how any human being could have existed in such a position. The only thing about this battlefield that had been restored was the main road, which was 94 Cathedral and Cloth Hall — Ypres Farmhouse, Franco-Belgian Boundary Line Brass Shell Heaps Near St. Quentin 95 Overseas Sketches in very good condition and which at the time of our visit was being repaired by German prisoners, assisted by French Colonial troops — Annamites as they were called, I believe recruited from French Indo-China. After about two hours amid this scene of recent horror, we proceeded to the town of Ypres, not far distant from the battlefield and there beheld in ruins about as complete destruction as we had seen at Lens, the previous afternoon. The cathedral and ancient cloth hall were practically destroyed. A jagged part of the cathedral tower still reared its head courage- ously, but the ruin was indescribably awful. I talked to an English Chaplain, who told me that while the town was under fire, he held services in the crypt of this cathedral, which were well attended by British "Tommies." We then went on through the town of Ypres along the famous Paaschendaal Ridge. On either side of the road our eyes were met with continuous battle panorama. I saw the carcasses of many horses, and if we had had time to explore the trenches at some distance from the road, morbid curiosity might have been re- warded by the sight of corpses of the enemy, but lack of time did not permit this sort of exploration. I had heard a good deal about battlefield sightseeing resulting in the discovery 96 Overseas Sketches of partly decomposed remains of German soldiers and in a way I am just as well satisfied that I was spared anything more awful than that which had already been seen. It is enough perhaps merely to mention the numerous battlefield cemeteries and the scattered roadside graves, some marked "Unknown," often with the soldier's steel helmet laid on the mound or else hanging on the wooden cross which was sometimes decorated with a faded wreath. Shortly after leaving the Paaschendaal Ridge District we stopped at a peasant's house in the village of Roulers to see what could be done in the way of lunch. One side of the building which this Belgian family occupied had been partially shot away and the wall had been temporarily supported by timbers and the roof patched. The peasant, his wife and two child- ren were as hospitable as could be expected under the circumstances, and furnished us with some very dirty looking black bread, some extremely mussy looking dried herrings and a bottle of sour wine, but we were hungry enough to manage a part of this repast and proceeded on our way, arriving at Ghent at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. We stopped here two hours to inspect the large and important American Red Cross ware- 97 Overseas Sketches house and then hurried on to Brussels, where we spent what was left ot the evening and the night of March r2th. We had been told that Brussels was a real wide open town, exceeding Paris in this respect. A walk through the principal streets just before midnight seemed to justify this claim for the Belgian capital, and a visit to two or three cabarets, filled with British and American officers, where entertain- ment in the way of dancing by very good looking and strikingly gowned girls, and very expensive drinks, was afforded, still further substantiated the view of those who had told us that Brussels was pretty lively. We really did not see very much of Brussels, as we were obliged to leave early in the morning of March i^uh in order to get back to Paris on schedule time. At the close of the day one of our party remarked that we had accomplished something on this date that the Kaiser would have liked to do in 1 9 14, and that was a motor trip from Brussels to Paris in fourteen hours. Our driver made that little Ford car fairly fiy over the roads, which were mainly quite good. During the morning we passed through the towns of Hal, Soignees and Mons, where the famous retreat from Mons was begun by the first British army, which valiantly attempted, 08 German Soldier's Grave Ruined DwcHiml; — 1 1. mi (icrnian PiisuiR-i 99 Overseas Sketches without proper artillery to back it, to stem the tide of the onrushing horde of Huns who had poured across Belgium. For a time also, we followed the Hindenburg Line, after passing through the towns of Bavay, Berlaiment, St. Remy, Avesnes, La Capelle, Guise, St. Quentin, Ham, Guiscard and Noyon. The last four were pretty well shot up. Just outside of St. Quentin there were many ammunition dumps and one storage yard for a great quantity of exploded brass shells. I could not begin to estimate the amount of brass that had been collected from the surrounding battle- fields, but there were a number of immense piles of the different sizes, from the smaller one-pound shell up to the seventy-five millimeter and larger. We stopped to examine these heaps of brass shells, and as there were no troops guarding this valuable collection, we took the liberty of appropriating one or two shells apiece to take home as souvenirs, although there was scarcely room for them in our already crowded car. We did not get out of the car at Ham, but slowed up while passing through the Public Square in order to get a glimpse of the ruined cathedral. The walls and roof were still stand- ing, but the windows were all shot out and the 100 Overseas Sketches interior was filled with broken stones and refuse, with the altar and some of the images still standing. At the village of Guiscard we stopped to buy gasoline. We found a soldier working over a sorry-looking French truck, which was standing in a half-ruined building, then being used temporarily as a garage, but were not able to purchase any gasoline, as the man asserted positively that he had none to spare. He noticed, however, that we had an extra supply of oil, of which he was in need and after some dickering, we made a trade, giving him oil in return for gasoline, or essence, as they call it in France. We were glad to get the gasoline, as without it we might have had to suffer delay and possibly might not have reached Paris by night, as we had planned to do. While our driver was negotiating the trade for gasoline, I looked about the village for a few minutes and was much interested in a shrine at the crossroads. There was a life-sized figure of Christ on the Cross, which had been hit a great many times by bullets and shell fragments. While badly scarred, it was still standing. Crossing the street, I explored a ruined dwelling, and climbing a rickety staircase to the second floor, found that a cat had returned with her family of kittens, probably to her old home, 101 Overseas Sketches although her owners were not about, and the house was badly wrecked — the roof a sieve and one end of the house entirely shot away. At Noyon we found it interesting enough to stop for about an hour. The once beautiful cathedral was badly smashed, and the ancient guildhall adjacent, entirely ruined. The cathe- dral was fenced off, so that it was not possible to get close enough lor a good view of the interior, but it was badly wrecked, seemed but a skeleton of its former self. The walls had been braced on the outside with timbers, and it appeared as if complete restoration would be most difficult. More of the inhabitants at Noyon had returned, attempting to resume their old life, than in any of the ruined towns yet visited. The place was under French military rule and there were a large number of German prisoners engaged in cleaning up the streets, which were filled with refuse from ruined buildings as well as with unexploded shells and pieces of shrapnel. The space in front of the cathedral was fairly carpeted with ragged slivers of steel from the shells which had hit the cathedral and exploded. Towards sundown we reached Compiegne, which was not so badly shot up as Noyon. As we neared Paris, the ruins became less frightful. We rushed by Senlis at dusk, and at io:oo o'clock, drove through the outer walls of Paris, 102 American Cemetery — Belleau Wood A Bit of the Hindenburg Line East of St. Quentin 103 Overseas Sketches having made a remarkably quick trip, con- sidering the fact that we made several stops for sight-seeing. The distance including detours was about two hundred miles. 104 Chapter IX Various This journal lapsed from March 14th to July 15th. During the interval, the routine of my regular work in the Paris office of the American Red Cross continued with occasional items of interest, which I shall attempt to recall. I have not given space to description of the points of interest in Paris, keeping rather to the narrative of every-day experiences while there. However, shortly after arriving, during the days of waiting for definite assignment, I did find time to visit the following: Notre Dame Cathedral, the interior of which was beautifully decorated with flags of the Allied Nations — a mass of color; the exterior was still protected by timbers and sand bags, and the stained glass of the famous Rose Window, as well as that of the other windows had been removed elsewhere for safety and had been replaced by ordinary panes of glass. St. Gervais, ruined by the"Big Bertha" shell on Good Friday, 191 8, when many worshipers were slain. The Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), the Louvre, 105 Overseas Sketches the Garden of the Tuilleries, the Luxemburg Gardens and Palace, the Pantheon, the Made- leine, Napoleon's Tomb, the Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, used as a wireless station and no longer open to visitors, which we saw from our windows daily, the Bois de Boulogne and other familar scenes. A favorite diversion during occasionally free daylight hours was a walk along the Seine, close to either bank of which stream of historic memory, much of the sight-seeing of Paris could be done. The unusual sight of a great many Americans in the uniforms of various branches of the service, making up a goodly percentage of the crowds on the streets, avenues, boulevards, in the subway, in theatres, cafes, in fact all over Paris, soon ceased to attract more than ordinary attention, but if one were to return, their absence from the familiar haunts would be noticeable. In going about Paris, one occasionally saw spots where ruin had been wrought by air planes, bombs or shells from "Big Bertha" — the wreck- age of such places, however, had been cleared away and the area fenced in so that the sight was no longer horribly obtrusive. While stationed in Paris, it was my pleasure to meet or receive calls from a number of home 106 Overseas Sketches town men and women who were in their coun- try's service overseas. If I were to attempt to list the names of these friends I feel that it would be incomplete. I have also omitted mention of many friendships formed among associates in the work and have likewise failed to list a number of cordial acquaintanceships among the French people, whom I found always hospitable and certainly appreciative of our country's assistance in the War. After the Armistice, food conditions in France, more particularly in Paris, were still regulated by the requirement of bread and sugar tickets, but gradually these were less urgently demanded by markets, stores and restaurants, and by the Spring of 1919, formalities of this sort began to be ignored. Our own experience in respect to food supply was undoubtedly happier than that of the average French citizen, for we had access both to Army and Red Cross commissary stores; coupled with our housekeeper's exceptional ability as a buyer in the French markets, this made it possible for us to live pretty well. A good deal has been said of an ill feeling between French and American soldiers in the months after the signing of the Armistice, but when the facts are sifted, such bad feeling as existed usually grew out of personal quarrels over shopkeepers' prices or else arose from ill 107 Overseas Sketches advised arguments as to who won the War. I think that by and large, they were grateful and so were we and we would go over again if a real necessity should arise. On March i6th I went to Angers, ten hours by rail from Paris, to visit Lt. Wm. McKelvey, of Youngstown, who was in Base Hospital No. 69 very ill with pneumonia. I spent two days there and had several satisfactory visits with Lt. McKelvey, whose mother was a classmate and frienci of my school days. Lt. McKelvey later on was able to be removed to the Hospital Ship "Mercy," sailing from Bordeaux for home late in April, but his strength gave out and he passed away in New York soon after landing. I had practically no time for sight-seeing at Angers, but attended services at the beautiful cathedral, which is on a hill in the center of the town and commands a fine view of the valley of the Maine. My nephew. Captain Ford, after a three weeks' convalescence leave to Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo, sailed for home on May 28th, on the "President Grant" from Brest. Memorial Day, May 30th, was observed by the American Red Cross, that organization granting a full holiday to all workers who were not actually needed in relief measures. A goodly number of the one thousand Red Cross 108 The Flag Bridge Over the Maine — The Cathedral — Angers 109 Overseas Sketches workers in Paris went out to the American Cemetery at Suresnes, where President Wilson deHvered the Memorial Day address, but I chose to spend the day quietly in the Louvre Art Galleries. The Liquidation Committee of the American Red Cross ordered the activities of the Home Service Section to close on June loth. I con- sidered this a mistake, but we were obliged to obey orders, although we felt that we still had a big job ahead and could have done good work in July and perhaps in August in the Army of Occupation and at embarkation ports, but in line with the Liquidation Committee's plans for a gradual termination of the work, in order to have the force well cut down by July ist, our work was practically stopped. Accordingly, on June ist I voluntarily retired as Chief of the Home Service Section, because I wished Captain Paul F. Peck, my able assist- ant, to have the honor of being Chief of the Section, if only for a brief time, having already recommended that he be left in charge during the months of July and August, before knowing that the Liquidation Committee would close our work as early as June loth. Later on the Liquidation Committee reconsidered its decision and the Home Service Section was continued with a smaller organization during July and a no Overseas Sketches part of August under Captain Peck's leadership, taking excellent care of the soldiers' needs under the changing conditions, while the remaining American troops in France were being rapidly sent home. Ill Chapter X Bourges I was all set for a nice vacation and had about decided on a trip through the South of France, my plans including a stop of perhaps a week in the French Alps. But a serious condi- tion of the Red Cross work in the Central Records Office of the American Expeditionary Forces at Bourges, was drawn to my attention. It was this: The Home Communication Section, which was a branch of the Home and Hospital Bureau, and in a way, sympathetically allied with the work of the Home Service Section just termi- nated, had an accumulation in the Red Cross work at Central Records Office of the American Expeditionary Forces at Bourges, as the head of our Bureau thought, of about ten thousand inquiries from the families of enlisted men, who had been killed, wounded or missing, or else had been careless about writing home, and of whom their people had lost track. This work seemed like an appeal, so, enlisting the aid of five volunteers — all American business 113 Overseas Sketches men, who like myself, were waiting for a sailing date home, I went to Bourges and had the satis- faction of directing the completion of this work. With the splendid co-operation of those who accompanied me, and with the earnest and efficient labor of those already on the job, we soon had the situation smoothed out, anci in three weeks cleaned up nearly twenty thousand of these inquiries. Shortly after we started this work, we found that there were really about thirty thousand of these inquiries, instead of the ten thousand as at first supposed. The Central Records Headquarters were in a French barracks on the outskirts of the city. There was a force of some five thousand Ameri- can soldiers, a large number of whom were at work compiling the records of the individuals of the American Expeditionary Forces, and here also, during the night shift, a large number of men were detailed to re-adciress properly soldiers' delayed mail, of which a great quantity had accumulated. The experience at this important army camp provided a more intimate acquaintance with actual army life than office work in Paris. We were accorded the privilege of eating at officers' mess and received the most courteous treatment at the hands of Colonel Stone, the Commander 114 o 115 Overseas Sketches of the American Forces at Bourges, and Colonel Nelly, in charge of the Army Records and Card Index Systems. By far the most interesting sight in Bourges is the cathedral. The present structure, begun during the twelfth century, was completed during the sixteenth century. Since the destruc- tion of the Rheims Cathedral, Bourges shares first rank among French cathedrals with Char- tres. Bourges cathedral is one of the few five-aisled examples of Gothic architecture and is famous also for two splendid towers; the later one, built in the sixteenth century, called the Butter Tower, was built from funds accumulated from butter sold by the parishioners for a long term of years and donated for building the Tower. The stained glass windows of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are noted for their beautiful coloring and design. In the crypt there is to be seen a part of the original foundation of the first church, built about 400 A. D. These ancient foundation stones, it is said, were originally a part of the walls erected by the Romans, who came to Bourges at an early ciate. I spent as much time as I could spare in this beautiful structure, as well as many of my evenings in the Archbishop's garden, and another beautiful park joining the cathedral grounds 116 I k( 1 i^J mm 3 ..!.;-■ ^ f^#^s^itii4:,: ■^m 1 IPjP t V ., , Rue Mirabeau Bourges House of the Three Flutes Bourges Courtyard — House of Jaques Coeur — Bourges 117 Canal and Wash-house Bourges Overseas Sketches with the residence of the Archbishop and the Town Hall. In this park there took place a Rose Festival, beginning early one Sunday morning and lasting throughout the day, with an interesting program of French folk dances, choral singing and other simple entertainments, all highly interesting and a pleasing insight into French life. There are two very interesting buildings in Bourges dating back to mediaeval times — ^the house of Jacques Coeur, Chancellor under Charles VIII and the Hotel L'Allemant, both excellent and well preserved types of mediaeval homes. The original part of Bourges is made up of ancient buildings and narrow, crooked streets. A small sluggish stream, called the Yevre, affords the city a none too adequate supply of rather dirty water. Along the banks of this stream are erected wash houses with wooden platforms close to the water's edge, where the women of Bourges do their washing. It was said that Americans frequently contracted the itch from having their laundry done by Bourges laundresses, on account of hlth in the water of this sluggish stream. I think that this was a story manufactured by one of our doughboy lis 119 Overseas Sketches wits. At all events, I escaped the distinction and braved the terrors of washday in Bourges with impunity. One of the interesting features in the daily life of Bourges was the herd of goats that was driven into town morning and evening, going through the principal streets, affording the citizens the opportunity of securing their daily supply of milk. This survival of mediaeval milk delivery was an interesting sight. The approach of the herd was heralded by a plaintive melody of about a half dozen notes blown on a peculiar looking instrument by the goatherd, the sound very much resembling a piccolo or ocarina. This was quite shrill and could be heard at some distance. I used it for my alarm clock, as about 7:00 each morning the herd usually passed by our hotel. Housewives who wished to avail themselves of this milk supply would send out one of the members of the household with a bowl or pitcher and with the payment for the milk, sometimes money and sometimes in the shape of scraps of bread or other food for the goats. The goatherd would then halt the line of march and proceed to milk one of the goats. During my stay at Bourges I embraced the opportunity of motoring to Orleans, for a Sunday in the city made famous by the Heroine of France. Joan of Arc's bronze equestrian 120 Overseas Sketches statue on the Public Square is impressive. In the cathedral is a beautiful white marble statue of the Maid just behind the altar with a back- ground of crimson curtains — a striking effect. There is also a museum close by filled with relics pertaining to her life and times — very- interesting. The cathedral at Orleans while very beautiful, does not quite measure up to that of Bourges. As the train passed through the railroad yards of the towns on the route, both to and from Bourges, there were to be seen a great many German freight cars and a correspond- ingly large number of German passenger cars. These had been turned over to the French after the Armistice, doubtless to replace the equip- ment seized from the French early in the war. My own sailing date being near at hand, I left a trusted friend, Captain Davidson, in charge of the twenty-five personnel doing the work at Bourges, and on June 28th, returned to Paris, where for a few days I was engaged in writing a historical outline of the work of the Home Service Section in France. During these few days I also went through the tedious process of red tape required by the Department of Personnel of all those who were being released for return home. On July 4th Americans in Paris were privi- 121 Overseas Sketches leged to see a regiment of American soldiers, selected from one of the crack divisions of the Army of Occupation, execute drill manoevres on the Place de La Concorde, which were immeasurably better done than the drilling of the French troops, also present. In the evening, sitting on our balcony, over- looking the Champs de Mars and Eiffel Tower, we could see about five miles distant, the Ameri- can fireworks on display at Pershing Stadium. 122 Chapter XI Chateau Thierry, Verdun, Rheims On Saturday, July 5th, in company with Captain John P. Rusk and Lt. C. T. M. Law, associates in Home Service work, we started on a two days' motor trip, having been granted permission by the authorities to see something of the American battle front before we sailed for home. Starting at 9:00 o'clock in the morning, we reached Chateau Thierry at noon and visited some of the places made famous by America's participation in the War. We could not devote as much time to Chateau Thierry as we wished, and were soon on our way to Verdun, which we reached late in the afternoon. Part of the route taken was by way of the Valley of the Marne. Between Chateau Thierry and Verdun we had occasion to stop to secure gasoline at a French army station, where gasoline tickets, issued by the American authorities, were hon- ored. Here a Second Lieutenant and a Sergeant 123 Overseas Sketches were in charge of about fifteen French soldiers and it seems they were celebrating something or other, I am not just sure what, but at all events, they were having a good time and would not let us go until we stood up and sang "Yankee Doodle" for them, which they encored several times, supplying us with bottles of excellent wine between encores. Before this party broke up some one on our side had to make a speech of thanks to these enthusiastic Frenchmen, and I was selected as our spokesman; the less said about my speech in the French language, the better. We spent about two hours wandering in the trenches outside Verdun, and here again as at Vimy Ridge, we were as far as we could see, the only human beings on the battlefield. As it was now eight months since the Armistice was signed there were practically no relics of value left on the battlefield. There were a great number of unexploded shells and other ammuni- tion, but these were too dangerous to touch. There were a great many empty machine gun shells, and here and there, a few weather-beaten, half-rotted gas masks. But sight-seers and salvage workers had already cleaned up every- thing of real value, although I did find a small German trench spade. However, the trenches themselves, zig-zagging across the battlefields, 124 Trenches Viewed from the Air Verdun's Famous Gate — "They Shall Not Pass" 125 Overseas Sketches and the many dug-outs and everywhere shell holes and the various evidences of the struggle, were of enough interest to make our trip many times worth while. Most interesting of all was Dead Man's Hill, where one hundred thousand lives were lost in the defense of Verdun. From the contour of the surrounding country, it was easily understood why it was impossible for the Germans to capture this stronghold. Verdun is protected by rolling hills and is inaccessible to invasion except through several ravines, which could be guarded, and the only other way of approach was by storming these hills, which was practically impossible against the defense offered by modern engines of war. Turning back to the town itself, we entered through the famous gate in the wall which surrounded the town. This was the gate made famous during the War by the song entitled, "They Shall Not Pass." The town itself was pretty badly ruined but not destroyed. I noticed particularly that the walls encircling the town had seldom been struck, from which it would appear that the Germans had con- centrated their artillery fire on the buildings inside the walls. Probably two-thirds of the buildings in Verdun had been hit, some few entirely destroyed. We found a restaurant in a 126 Overseas Sketches building that had not been hit at all, where we were furnished a pretty good meal, if one was not too persnickety and overlooked the evi- dences of filth on the street, on the sidewalk, in the yard, in fact, everywhere. We proceeded, however, on the theory of "What you don't know won't hurt you" and thought also of the old adage, ''Hunger makes the best sauce." Not wishing to stay over night at Verdun, we drove a couple of hours to a small town called St. Mennehoude. This town had not been under fire at all and here we were comfortably lodged at the principal hotel and were just congratulating ourselves on such good fortune, when an American Colonel stepped up to us and said, "Who is the leader of this group?" I acknowledged this somewhat doubtful honor, when the Colonel said fiercely, "What are you doing here? Do you realize that this is out of bounds and that no one connected in any way with the American Expeditionary Forces is per- mitted to be here without proper authority? Let me see your papers." I began to feel scared, but thought the best way out of it was to tell the absolute truth and nothing but the truth, so I informed the Colonel that the only papers we had were instructions which the American Expeditionary Forces had 127 Overseas Sketches issued to our driver, who was an enlisted man in the service of the American Red Cross, and that we had been told that our trip to Chateau Thierry and Verdun, scheduled to return to Paris by way of Rheims, was permissible and that passes and other authorization were no longer required by the army. The Colonel dici not like this very well and told us bluntly that we would have to move on, or submit to arrest and probable trial by Court Martial. After the use of a little diplomacy and the art of gentle persuasion and by reason of the fact that we did not try to lie out of our predica- ment, the Colonel finally softened, and on our promise to leave St. Mennehoude by 7:00 o'clock the next morning, he graciously permitted us to spend the night there. Later on the Colonel turned out to be a real pleasant sort of a fellow and told me of the many escapades that Young America had pulled off and said that for this reason he had to be strict; that he was stationed in St. Mennehoude for the very purpose of apprehending several lieuten- ants who were out without authority. The next morning, Sunday, July 6th, we kept our word and got away early, before the Colonel had a chance to change his mind, and had a most interesting drive to Rheims. We were now in the Champagne Country, which was the 128 Overseas Sketches scene of hard fighting throughout the War. The roads were not nearly so good. We were lost once. We came to a place where the road was no longer passable. I had heard the term, "shell-torn roads" and now fully realized what this meant. We had to retrace for a good many miles and drove a long detour before we got on another road to Rheims. We were all glad, however, to have the experience, as the place where we were lost was indeed interesting. We got out of the machine and spent hours wandering through the trenches and dug-outs. It was remarkable how close up the trenches were, as here, we would see what had been the German trenches and perhaps two or three hundred yards oppo- site, often nearer, would be the French trenches. The whole battlefield was a maze of trenches and if we had not continuously shouted to one another, we could easily have been hopelessly lost. The dug-outs were very interesting — here were beds, bunks in the walls, pieces of rude furniture still left, but again as at Verdun, there was very little left in the way of valuable relics. There were a good many ammunition dumps that were placed at intervals, where unexploded shells, cartridges, hand grenades and other missiles had been gathered together, otten 129 Overseas Sketches fenced in with barb wire and always with danger signs, warning not to handle or touch. At one place I saw a ribbon of unexploded machine gun shells, which I estimated to be sixteen feet long. During the morning's drive, we overtook a lone figure trudging along the road, a woman in deep mourning, who proved to be the widow of a French soldier. She was going about in search of her husband's grave. She carried a basket containing a wreath and a small head- stone with a suitable inscription, to be erected as soon as she found the grave. She had a certificate from the French Army Authorities, giving the location and description of the cemetery and the number of the grave and appealed to us for assistance, explaining that she had become separated that morning from her brother, who was helping her in her quest; she believed that he was farther up the road. We made room for her as well as the heavy basket, and in a short time overtook her brother, whereupon she left our car with thanks that I am sure were heartfelt. They had been out searching for days and had already visited many battlefield cemeteries without success. I have often speculated as to whether this faithful widow's search was ever rewarded. 130 cc; 131 Overseas Sketches After spending the entire morning in this most interesting way, we reached Rheims at about 2:oo o'clock. Just outside of Rheims the trenches were badly torn and evidences of the fierce encounter were on every side. Here the scene was a little more lively, as the French authorities had begun to operate excursions from Paris to Rheims, and there were perhaps a thousand or more sight-seers wandering around the trenches and more particularly inspecting the ruins of the great fortress, which bore the brunt of the German attack throughout the War. At a distance from the city the cathedral appeared to be intact, but upon closer inspec- tion the havoc wrought by German guns was apparent. The roof and sides were pierced in many places. It was said that early in the War the more important stained glass windows were taken out and removed elsewhere for safety. The interior of the building was piled high with refuse and the exterior was badly scarred, especially the rear of the building. The Bishop's palace next door was entirely ruined. The city itself was badly shot up, scarcely a building that was not hit — many of them utterly de- stroyed. The city v/as crowded with sight-seers, but Cathedral Apse — Rheims 133 Overseas Sketches we succeeded in finding places at a restaurant within a stone's throw of the cathedral. Late in the afternoon we started for Paris and made the trip in three hours. The thorough organization of equipment behind the lines tor bringing up men, ammuni- tion and supplies, is worthy of comment. There were narrow gauge railroad tracks with locomotives and equipment still there, just as they had been used; there were thousands of trucks along the roadways, just where they had been abandoned when the Armistice was signed; there were first-aid stations and field hospitals, army kitchens and everything that was needed in order to supply the army in the front battle line and to care for the wounded. All this ruin and havoc cannot possibly be cleaned up and rebuilt for years to come, con- sequently, those who are not able to get over to see the battlefields right away, need have no fear — there will be something left to see for a good while yet. i:!4 Chapter XII Going Home On Monday, July 7th, at exactly noon, I left Paris for London, crossing the English Channel, via Bologne and Folkstone. I was fortunate in having with me as traveling companion. Cap- tain H. O. Barnes, A. R. C, of the Department of Personnel. We had about forty-eight hours in London, pretty well taken up with Army and Red Cross registration and other similar require- ments by the authorities. There was conse- quently not much chance for sight-seeing in London. On July 9th we entrained at Paddington Station for Falmouth, where we were scheduled to meet the Steamer Rotterdam, of the Holland- America Line, sailing on July loth. The ship was detained in dry-dock at Souths ampton and did not get away until Saturday evening, July 12th. While we were somewhat impatient at the delay, we spent, nevertheless, two pleasant and restful days at Falmouth — 135 Overseas Sketches a beautiful harbor on the coast of Cornwall, a short distance from Cape Land's End. Falmouth is a very interesting old Cornish seaport. It is a summer resort, and is called in the English advertisements, the "Riviera of the North," but I am inclined to think that some optimist chose this descriptive name. Penzance, a town westernmost in the county, brought to mind Gilbert & Sullivan's Opera, "The Pirates of Penzance," which I recalled was a favorite of my father's years ago. Retracing our steps for a moment, I must say that the train ride across England, in particular through Devonshire, was most interesting — the country was beautiful, the fields and farms well kept and the hills were lovely in their different colors of varied vegetation and trees. Plymouth, through which we passed, is a larger and more prosperous looking port than Falmouth, and at Plymouth we saw, from the car windows, literally hundreds of British war vessels lying along the river banks, representing what must have been an important part of the Great British Fleet, which did its share in blockading Germany and keeping the Enemy's fleet bottled up. On July nth we took a carriage drive in and about Falmouth and over the surrounding hills. 136 Overseas Sketches It seemed restful and an agreeable change to go back twenty years and have this pleasant drive behind horses, as of the days before the auto- mobile. We also took several interesting walks through the old town, whose streets are narrow and crooked, and whose ancient buildings reminded me somewhat of the architecture of Bourges. On rising, July 12th, our eyes beheld a most welcome sight. From our window we saw the Rotterdam, which had slipped into the harbor during the night. This ship rode a stately picture, towering above all else in the harbor. At 9:00 o'clock we reported at the pier and had the rather doubtful pleasure of standing for over two hours, closely packed in a bull pen, awaiting our turn for another passport visa, this time by the British authorities. Here I was pleased to meet a home friend, Mr. L. C. Haworth, and to learn that he also was to sail on the Rotterdam, after having com- pleted some special work in France for the Y. M. C. A. It was not until noon that we were released and by i :oo o'clock we were taken out on a small steamer and were soon settled in our stateroom on the Rotterdam. Late comers from the last London train came on board in 137 Overseas Sketches time to permit our ship to leave Falmouth at 8:00 o'clock in the evening. It was still broad sunlight. The harbor, the town, the surround- ing hills and the sea, presented a lovely picture — I believe I shall always remember it. Sunday morning, July 13 th, we were at anchor just outside the breakwater at Brest, where we were scheduled to stop to take on coal, supplies, officers, about two thousand troops from the 5th Division and a good many women — some Y. M. C. A. workers and some army nurses. A blind man with reasonably good hearing would have known it, but these girls were having a great time, were on their way home after many hardships, and why should we have cared if they did chatter inces- santly? The colored stevedores were very slow hand- ling the coal. It was shoveled into baskets and handed along into the ship from the lighters by these American soldiers, who had been assigned the unpleasant duty of coaling the ship which was to carry others home ahead of them. We could see that they were not too well pleased with their task. They took a great many spells and during these spells amused themselves with their national game — African Golf. On Monday morning, July 14th, we woke to find our ship still at anchor in the harbor at 138 Overseas Sketches Brest. This is France's big "Fourth of July." Just as I came on deck at 8:00 o'clock, the French war ships stationed in the harbor broke out their colors and fired a tremendous salute — most impressive. The American vessels all ran up their colors but fired no guns. The Rotter- dam, a Dutch ship, apparently did not recognize the day at all, having only the Dutch flag flying. During the night somewhat better progress had been made by our colored friends on the coal piles alongside the ship. At noon they were nearly finished, and at i rjo in the after- noon on July 14th, we weighed anchor and at last, were Homeward Bound! There were over four thousand people on board, oi whom about two thousand were enlisted men, the largest unit being the 21st Field Artillery. There were also a good many casual companies, the whole force including about two hundred officers, said to be the largest passenger list ever carried by this ship. In the first cabin list were two hundred Y. M. C. A. women workers, more than one hundred army nurses, a few Red Cross workers, the majority of them women, about a dozen K. of C. men and a tolerable sprinkling of civilians. During the afternoons and evenings the band of the 2 1 St Field Artillery discoursed very good music and the dancers enjoyed themselves on 139 Overseas Sketches the smooth decks, as the weather was not rough and the ship steady. The voyage was uneventfully pleasant. Every day a few ships were sighted and passed. On Sunday, July 20th, there was an open air church service. A Y. M. C. A. quartette sang several numbers and an Army Chaplain preached a short sermon with a punch in it. His text was: "Don't forget France; don't forget America; don't forget God." As we passed beyond mid-ocean, it began to appear as if we might dock some time in the afternoon of Tuesday, July 22nd, which after- wards proved to be a close prognostication, as we began debarkation at Hoboken at a quarter to five in the afternoon mentioned. Following are the days' runs of the ship: Knots Total y's Run, Noon, July 15th 389 " i6th 397 786 " 17th 380 I 166 " i8th 373 1539 " 19th 379 I918 " 20th 364 2282 " 2lSt 378 2660 " 22nd 380 3040 On the pier, ready to receive me, were all the members of my family, except my mother. 140 Overseas Sketches I nearly got into trouble by running past the sentries, in order to meet my daughter, who had started forward a few steps and was the first to greet me. I showed the sentry a cancelled pass- port, which I had kept only as a memento, and which had almost no value, but it seemed to satisfy him. On the morning of July 23rd, after going through the usual requirements, I was released from the service of the American Red Cross, after which we all proceeded to Squirrel Island, Maine, where I was greeted at the pier by the only remaining member of my family, whom I had not yet seen — my mother. A few minutes after arriving at Squirrel Island I was out of uniform and in civilian garb, and once more knew the comforts of lay-down coat collars and loose trousers. 141 The Edwards & Franklin Co. Publishers Cleveland, Ohio Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: ^^y onn* PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724) 779-21 11