On January 8th another hike with everything packed was accomplished, the outfit getting back to Blancheville at 12:30 p. m. All the materiel was left out along the road leading from the village that night, so all that was needed for an early start the following morning was for the horses to be hitched to the guns, caissons and supply-wagons.
The battery left Blancheville at 7:30 a. m., Thursday, January 9th, proceeding to Andelot where the entire regiment a.s.sembled on the road for the journey. A detail of men were left at Blancheville to cleanup; overtaking the outfit later on single mount.
After leaving Andelot the route was through Vignes and Busson; halt for noon-mess was made at the latter place. A distance of 22 kilometers was set for the day"s journey, terminating at the village of Epizon, which was reached at 3:30 p. m. The regiment parked its materiel and established its picket line in a large grain field, then had to wait for two hours until the supply train brought up the forage. The battery men found sleeping quarters for the night in the barns and sheds of the village.
The outfit was astir at 4:45 o"clock the next morning and was moving on the road at 8:30 a. m. Stop was made at noon at Soulaincourt, where the 311th pa.s.sed the 211th motorized French artillery regiment, going in the opposite direction along the narrow road. In the afternoon the regiment pa.s.sed through the town of Montiers and went into park for the night at 6 p. m., at Morley. The village furnished an abundance of haylofts for the artillerymen to crawl into the straw for the night.
Sat.u.r.day, January 11th, found the regiment ready to resume the journey at 7:15 a. m. The trip continued through Le Bouchon, Serenier and Stainville, the latter place being the noon-mess stopover junction.
Here the train of horses were watered by bucket. During the afternoon Bazincourt, Haironville, and Bullon were invaded in order. The horses were watered in the community watering trough in the village of Combles at 3:30 p. m., after which the regiment proceeded to Veel and stopped for the night. It rained heavy during the night, but the outfit was fortunate in locating a number of army barracks in the village that furnished a night"s shelter.
Sunday, January 12th, it was raining when the troops answered reveille at 5 o"clock. The rain turned into snow an hour later when the regiment was ready to resume the journey. Under a canopy of snow the troops pa.s.sed through the city of Bar Le Duc. After leaving Naives in the distance, stop was made at noon at Le Pet.i.t Rumont.
The cannoneers were forced to walk a great part of the distance. They were also compelled to wear their field shoes on the march instead of the rubber boots which the drivers wore. They trudged along the slushy road with wet feet, while it grew colder and more miserable. It was welcome relief when camp was ordered for the night at Violette and the troops a.s.signed to old hospital barracks for the night.
A farming community, named Benoite Vaux, in the Department of Meuse, about twenty-five kilometers from the celebrated American battle sector of Saint Mihiel, was selected as the new billeting district for the regiment. Benoite Vaux was reached at noon on Monday, January 13th, after the regiment had been on the road for the day since 8 a.
m., pa.s.sing through Belrain, Pierrefitte and Courouve.
Benoite Vaux was a quiet hamlet of a score of peasant homes and an old stone church. The 2nd Battalion was stationed in and about the town; Battery D was a.s.signed to barracks that formerly were used as a French army hospital. The 1st Battalion was scattered here and there on the hills and in the woods outside the village.
CHAPTER XXI.
WAR ORPHANS AND HORSE SHOWS.
Almost every outfit of the A. E. F., in France, adopted a mascot--a real, live mascot, to be sure; not out of mere pet fancy, but the natural outcrop of the American spirit of benevolence. Through the Bureau of War Orphans of the American Red Cross, units of the A. E. F.
made contributions to the Adoption Fund for French War Orphans. The aid in each case was administered by the Red Cross to the welfare of an orphan.
The members of Battery D adopted little four-year-old Denise Ferron during the month of February, 1919, as their mascot, and, by additional contributions a ward was selected in memory of First Sergeant James J. Farrell. The second ward was three-year-old Georges Lemoine, who was much in need of a.s.sistance.
Denise Ferron, with brown eyes and brown hair, was born April 25, 1914, the daughter of Madame Vve Ferron, of Fericy, Seine et Marne, France.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferron had just established a butcher shop when war came on. The father was then mobilized at the first call. He went to the front where he was wounded. In 1916 at Verdun, he held the Croix de Guerre and was mortally wounded in April, 1918.
When he joined his regiment his wife was left with no resources, having given all of their earnings for the purchase of the butcher shop. The difficulty to find meat and some one to help her, forced her to give up her business.
She had another child, Simonne, who was born July 8, 1917. This blonde, grey eyed brother of Denise was cared for by another A. E. F.
unit. As her children were too small, Mme. Ferron was not able to take any work and her only means of support was a military allocation amounting to 105 francs monthly.
Although his body rests in the American military cemetery at La Courtine, France, the memory of James J. Farrell is revered in unison by all who knew him and the family of Vve Memoine, Ville Billy, St.
Lunaire, Ille et Vilaine, France, who have come to know him in spirit since the youngest son, Georges, was adopted. Georges Lemoine was born February 1, 1915. He had five other brothers and sisters, viz; Pierre, Louis, Marie, Marcelle and Anna, the oldest 15 and the youngest 6 years.
These children were in a truly lamentable plight. Their father was a farmer but on such a small scale that what he got from his small piece of land was insufficient for the needs of his family. He was conscripted but sent back because he was the father of six children.
He had never been strong, and during the prolonged stay at the front tuberculosis developed, from which he died on May 18, 1917.
Unfortunately his wife contracted this terrible illness. But before she realized her plight she had taken over a neighboring farm, for she was anxious to shoulder her burden as well as possible. This overtaxed her strength and hastened her decline.
These are pa.s.sing incidents of the period the battery spent in Benoite Vaux. Other incidents of import to the battery were the erection of stables and the conduct of horse shows.
When the outfit arrived at Benoite Vaux there were stable accommodations for some of the batteries encamped out in the woods but Battery D, stationed in the village, was without accommodation for the horses. For the first few weeks of the stay the horses were kept out in the open on picket lines. The weather and the mud became very severe and temporary stables were secured in a wooded section near where Battery C was stationed. These stables were about two kilometers from the battery billets. While the horses were stabled there the soldiers had to hike the two kilometers three times a day and drive the horses to the watering troughs in the center of the village.
Orders were soon issued for the battery to build stables in the woodland on the opposite side of the road from the battery quarters.
The ground selected as the site was very muddy. The first duty, therefore, was the opening of a stone quarry and the hauling of many loads of cracked stone to form the base of the new stable. Between the work of building the stables and preparing for the horse shows, the time of the troops at Benoite Vaux was well occupied.
On February 21st, the 2nd Battalion of the 311th conducted a Horse Show to pick entries for the regimental Horse Show which was announced. In this show Battery D carried off a good share of the ribbons. John E. Jones, of Hazleton, Penna., was awarded the blue ribbon and a cash donation of francs, as first prize winner for individual mounts. Concetti Imbesi, of Scranton, Penna., captured the second place in this event and was awarded the red ribbon. Imbesi was a prize winner in the hurdling, taking the yellow ribbon.
For the entry of 75 mm. gun and caisson with personnel, Battery D took second and third places. The 2nd section of D took the red ribbon and the 1st section received the yellow decoration. Each battery had six mounted sections in this event. Battery F took first in this event.
The battalion, as well as the regimental show, was held on a specially constructed course between Benoite Vaux and Issoncourt.
In the regimental show, which took place on Monday, February 24th, John E. Jones was adorned with the blue ribbon for guidon mounts.
Jones also finished third in the regimental hurdles, in which event Imbesi also cantered from the track with the blue ribbon on his bridle.
The officers of Battery D added their share to the trophies of the day. First Lieutenant C. D. Bailey, in the officers" single mounts and hurdles, captured second place in both events. The 2nd section of 75 mm. gun and caisson, the Battery D winner in the battalion show, was ruled out of the regimental decision. Battery A took first in this event, while the 1st section of Battery D got the yellow ribbon.
The Divisional Show was held at Pierrefitte on Thursday, February 27th. The best Battery D could do in the divisional compet.i.tion was a good record of two third places with the yellow ribbons. The show was conducted in inclement weather, a combination of rain, hail and snow worrying many of the high-spirited chevaux as they walked, trotted and cantered over the course. Jones was judged third for guidon mount and Capt. A. L. Smith got third for officer"s saddle horse.
The official standing of the organizations in the regimental show was as follows:
Headquarters Company 27 Battery D 18 Battery B 18 Battery F 13 Supply Company 10 Battery E 7 Battery A 5 Battery C 5 Medical Detachment 0
The points scored at the Divisional Show were:
311th Field Artillery 38 310th Field Artillery 29 315th Infantry 25 313th Infantry 15 304th Signal Battalion 10 304th Sanitary Train 8 154th F. A. Brigade Hqrs. 6 Headquarters Troop 6 314th Infantry 6 79th Military Police Company 5 311th Machine-Gun Battalion 5 316th Infantry 3 312th Machine-Gun Battalion 3 158th Infantry Brigade Headquarters 3 304th Ammunition Train S. O. L.
The Ninth Army Corps held a Horse Show at Lerouville, March 21, 1919, with the 79th, the 88th and the 9th Army Corps Detachment, competing.
Honors were awarded as follows:
79th Division 137 points 88th Division 87 points 9th Corps Det. 26 points
At this show Jones, of Battery D, won third prize in the quarter mile race.
The horse shows entailed a large amount of work. The soldiers were kept busy shining harness, grooming horses and painting materiel. The road between Benoite Vaux and Issoncourt, where the battalion and regimental shows were held, was a stretch of mud. It was a serious proposition to get the horses to the show-course without having them look as if they had taken a mud bath.
In the regimental show Arthur H. Jones, familiarly known to the battery members as "Boundbrook," the name of the New Jersey town he claims as home, had entered the battery water cart in the show. The water cart was one of the most valuable of battery vehicles. While at Benoite Vaux all the water for drinking and cooking purposes had to be hauled to the battery kitchen from a well about a kilometer distant.
"Boundbrook" Jones had charge of the cart, driving to the well for water several times each day. "Boundbrook" also prided himself as having the best horse of any of the water carts in the regiment. When it came time for the regimental horse show Jones was certain that his charge would carry off first prize in the water cart entry.
To the great chagrin of "Boundbrook" Battery D"s cart was disqualified by the judges because it did not have the proper spigots attached to the water tank. Jones drove back to Benoite Vaux in a dejected mood.
Meeting Lieut. Bailey he exclaimed: "Say, Lieutenant, I thought this was a horse show and not a plumbing show."
During the stay in Benoite Vaux the Battery members took advantage of every opportunity afforded to visit battle sectors. St. Mihiel was visited by many, while Verdun, with its underground city, and the country in that vicinity was also explored to great extent. The soldiers were granted mounted pa.s.ses at times, which ent.i.tled them to saddle battery horses to go on a day"s sight-seeing trip.
During the latter part of February Capt. Smith was ordered to Paris on temporary duty in the Inspector General"s Department. Lieut. Yeager and Lieut. Julian were also detached from the battery at Benoite Vaux.
Lieut. Yeager gained admission to an English University, while Lieut.
Julian was admitted to a French inst.i.tution under the A. E. F.
educational plans.