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3  1833  02814  6709 

Gc    974.901    C14h 

Hist  o  r y    o f    C  a  m  d  e n    C  o  u n t  y     i  n 
the    Great    War,     1917-1918 


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10 


HISTORY 

OF 


CAMDEN   COUNTY 


IN    THE 


GREAT  WAR 


1917—1918 


Authorized  by  the  Victory  Jubilee  and 
Memorial  Committee  and  published  by 
the    Publicity   and    Historical    Committee 


FRANK  SHERIDAN, 
Chairman 


CAMDEN,    NEW    JERSEY,      :      NINETEEN    NINETEEN 


Mien  C 
900  V 
P0  Bi 

COPYRIGHT 

BY 

FRANK  SHERIDAN. 


x^SjIsv 


©HAPRSS&EWWG, 


HON.  WOODROW  WILSON 
President  of  the  United  States 


FOREWORD 

RECORDS  and  facts  published  in  this  history  were 
gathered  from  authoritative  sources.  When  the 
Publicity  and  Historical  Committee  was  authorized  by  the 
Victory  Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee  to  compile  this 
history  the  Government  was  asked  for  an  official  list  of  the 
heroic  dead  of  Camden  county.  The  War  Department 
replied  that  it  was  a  physicial  impossibility  for  their 
bureaus  to  furnish  such  information  because  of  the  great 
number  of  men  in  service  of  the  nation.  The  members 
of  the  committee,  with  the  aid  of  che  police,  secured  the 
information  for  their  records  by  visiting  the  homes  of 
those  who  died  in  the  war  and  having  their  relatives  fill 
out  questionnaires  printed  by  the  Victory  Jubilee  and 
Memorial  Committee. 

The  members  of  the  Publicity  and  Historical  Com- 
mittee were  newspapermen  of  the  city  and  county  and 
the  facts  relative  to  Camden  county's  part  in  the  war 
were  gathered  from  accounts  written  by  them  during  the 
war.  The  histories  of  the  famous  Twenty-ninth  and 
Seventy-eighth  Divisions  were  written  from  the  records 
published  in  official  newspapers  of  the  American  Ex- 
peditionary Forces  and  from  data  supplied  by  officers  of 
these  divisions. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


Publicity  and  Historical 
Committee 

® 

Frank   Sheridan,    Chairman 
Frank  H.  Ryan,  Secretary 
Benjamin  W.  Courter 
Frank  S.  Albright 
Charees   J.    Haaga 
James  L.   Poek 
Charees  H.  Schuck 
Wieeiam  B.  Wells 
Richard  B.   Ridgway 
Daniel  P.   McConnell 
Alvah  M.  Smith 
Daniel  M.   Stevens 
John  D.   Courter 
William  H.  Jeeeerys 
William   Roth  man 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


INTRODUCTORY 

WHEN  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States 
against  the  Imperial  Government  of  Germany 
after  many  overt  acts  that  had  aroused  the  ire  of  every 
patriotic  American,  Camden  entered  into  the  preparation 
made  throughout  the  country  to  administer  the  decisive 
blow  against  the  enemy  with  a  spirit  that  evidenced  its 
thorough  sincerity  in  the  great  cause  of  civilization.  Men 
and  women  in  all  walks  of  life  not  only  volunteered  their 
services  for  whatever  work  that  might  be  assigned  to 
them,  but  were  so  insistent  in  being  accepted  that  those  in 
charge  of  the  various  phases  of  the  war  program  had 
great  difficulty  in  making  selections.  As  time  went  on 
there  was  real  work  for  everyone  and  it  may  be  stated 
there  were  no  shirkers  in  Camden  city  or  county. 

At  the  very  outbreak  of  hostilities  many  Camden 
county  boys  enlisted  immediately  in  the  various  army  or 
navy  services.  They  were  scattered  over  the  country  in 
many  camps  and  on  the  high  seas.  Particular  interest 
was  manifested  in  the  old  Third  Regiment,  with  a  glor- 
ious history  stretching  back  to  the  days  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment  formed  soon  after  the  Civil  War;  Battery  B; 
the  newly  formed  company  of  Engineers  and  the  Naval 
Reserves.  Their  service  has  cast  enduring  honor  upon 
Camden  and  all  the  towns  and  boroughs  within  the 
county.  Some  failed  to  return  because  they  made  the 
great  sacrifice,  either  on  land  or  sea,  and  these  will  re- 
main Camden  county's  heroes. 

Charles  H.  Ellis,  Mayor  of  Camden,  formed  a  Public 
Safety  Committee  of  the  city's  leading  men  early  in  the 
war,  and  this  body  of  staunch  Americans  looked  after 
the  many  problems  that  presented  themselves  in  the  pre- 
liminaries. This  body  continued  in  service  throughout  the 


IO  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

war  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  various  activities.  It 
was  finally  resolved  into  the  Victory  Committee  after  the 
signing  of  the  armistice  and  under  this  name  planned  the 
home-coming  receptions  to  the  heroes  of  the  city  and 
county. 

From  time  to  time  there  were  campaigns,  drives  and 
the  like  and  in  every  instance  the  county  arose  to  the 
emergency.  In  the  four  Liberty  Loans  and  one  Victory 
Loan  nearly  $39,000,000  was  raised  by  the  citizens,  giving 
substantial  evidence  of  regard  for  country.  In  the  Red 
Cross,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Knights  of  Columbus,  Salvation 
Army,  Y.  M.  H.  A.  and  other  drives,  including  the 
United  War  Work  Campaign,  there  was  even  more  than 
generous  response,  because  in  every  instance  the  quota 
sought  was  exceeded.  It  was  not  only  the  man  of  means 
who  subscribed,  but  the  man  or  woman  who  worked  for 
comparatively  small  wages  who  was  willing  to  make  the 
sacrifices  necessary  and  thus  exemplify  their  sincere 
patriotism. 

In  an  industrial  way  Camden  has  occasion  to  feel  very 
much  elated  over  what  was  accomplished.  The  great 
shipyards,  employing  thousands  of  men,  worked  day 
and  night  under  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation  turn- 
ing out  ships  "and  more  ships,"  establishing  a  world 
record  at  the  New  York  Shipbuilding  plant  in  launching 
the  Tuckahoe  in  twenty-eight  days  after  the  keel  was 
laid.  The  factories  were  transformed  into  munition 
works  and  throughout  the  city  and  in  various  parts  of  the 
county  everything  was  given  over  to  a  variety  of  work 
necessary  to  the  war.  Camden  workers  not  only  made 
ships,  but  airplane  parts,  ammunition  and  all  sorts  of 
machinery.  All  entered  into  the  task  with  the  true 
American  spirit  to  accomplish  the  work  presented  to  them 
and  it  is  unnecessary  to  add  their  efforts  were  not  in  vain. 

In  connection  with  the  work  of  the  draft  boards  it  was 
a  revelation  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  young  man- 
hood responded.     As  members  of  the  78th  Division  or 


y 

CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE   C-REAT    WAR.  II 

other  units  that  went  over  the  seas  they  acquitted  them- 
selves with  honor.  The  draft  boards  were  composed  of 
some  of  the  county's  leading  men  who  devoted  much 
time  without  compensation.  That  it  was  hard  and  diffi- 
cult work  was  recognized  by  all  who  came  in  contact  with 
the  task. 

When  the  armistice  was  signed  on  November  n,  1918, 
Camden  was  in  the  very  midst  of  wartime  activity.  It 
was  rather  difficult  for  a  time  to  retard  the  motion  of 
this  rapidly  moving  machine,  but  in  the  subsequent 
months  of  reconstruction,  as  important  as  in  the  height 
of  war  itself,  the  city  and  county  continued  to  do  their 
share  of  the  work  in  bringing  back  normal  conditions. 
There  was  co-operation  along  all  lines,  evidencing  the 
very  sensible  balance  maintained  here  as  distinct  from 
the  upheavals  that  marked  some  places  in  other  parts  of 
the  country.  In  looking  over  the  two  and  more  years  of 
war  and  reconstruction  in  which  the  community  played 
a  prominent  part,  the  citizens  cannot  help  but  feel  very 
much  gratified  with  what  was  accomplished.  What  was 
done,  what  our  boys  did  and  the  many  activities  incident 
to  Camden  in  wartime  is  given  in  the  succeeding  pages  in 
some  circumstantial  detail. 


12  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


'  \  A  /  E  weep  to-day  over  their  graves  be 
V  V  cause  they  are  our  flesh  and 
blood,  but  even  in  our  sorrow  we  are 
proud  that  they  so  nobly  died,  and  our 
hearts  swell  within  us  to  think  that  we 
fought  beside  them.  To  the  memory  of 
these  heroes  this  sacred  spot  is  consecrated 
as  a  shrine  where  future  generations  of 
men  who  love  liberty  may  come  to  do 
homage.  It  is  not  for  us  to  proclaim 
what  they  did;  their  silence  speaks  more 
eloquently  than  words.  But  it  is  for  us 
to  uphold  the  conception  of  duty,  honor 
and  country  for  which  they  fought  and 
for  which  they  died.  It  is  for  us,  the 
living,  to  carry  forward  their  purpose 
and  make  fruitful  their  sacrifice. 

"And  now,  dear,  comrades,  farewell. 
Here  under  the  clear  skies  on  the  green 
hillsides  and  amid  the  flowering  fields 
of  France,  in  the  quiet  hush  of  peace, 
we  leave  you  forever  in  God's  keeping." 

GENERAL  JOHN  J.  PERSHING, 


At  Argonne  Forest  Memorial  Day,  1919. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    Till-    GREAT    WAR.  1  } 


[Copyright  by  Harris  &  Ewing] 

GENERAL  JOHN  J.   PERSHING 
Commander-in-Chief  of  American   Expeditionary    Forces 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


15 


(Ilctmben  (ilintnty's  ffwaic  Jleaft 


William  S.   Ablett 
Lawrence    S.    Adams 
John    Robert   Adams 
Thomas  J.   Allen,  Jr. 
Albert   J.    Atger 
John    Benj.    H.    Baker 
Arlington    Baltimore 
David    Barnaby 
Frederick    H.    Baynes 
Otto    H.    Bean 
Edwin    Beckley 
Charles    Behrend 
Walter   J.    Behrer 
Ralph    Benner 
Chester   L.   Bennett 
Carl    F.    Bicker 
David    T.    Borland 
Benjamin    Borstein 
Allen    H.    Bossert 
Henry  J.    Bowes 
George  A.    Bowers 
John   Otto    Boyson 
Jack   Brody 
Joseph     Brznszkiewicz 
William    J.    Burke 
Walter    Ernest    Butsch 
Frank   J.    Carver 
Robert    H.    Carr 
Howard    W.    Cassady 
Louis  J.    Certain 
Robert   F.   Christy 
John   Joseph   Clynes 
William   Coonrod 
Joseph    F.    Covert 
William   Craig 
John   Cunningham 
Jacob    F.    Currie 
Charles   T.    Daniels 
Gean    Davidson 
Tasker   H.    Davidson 
John   T.    Deighan 
Philip    Diaz 
Leon    A.    Dickinson 
Alfred   W.    Dilks 
Edward    H.    Dorsey 
Otto    Dreher 
Ernest    Eckersley 
Ralph    B.    Elder 
Hammitt    K.    Elliott 
Christopher   Evans,   Jr. 
Frank   M.    Falls 
Nicola    Fanello 


William    J.    Farrell 
Henry    P.    Favereau 
Jacob   Feidman 
James   Fornek 
Raymond   C.    Freeh 
Silas   Furbush 
Richard   Giest 
Stanislaw    Gontarski 
Fred   W.   Grigg 
H.    Rowland   Gross 
Howard    W.    Haines 


William    S.    Hey 
William    M.    Hickman 
Percy    L.    Hollinshed 
William    Hoyle 
Elmer  Hunt 
John    T.    Hyland 
Howard    Jordan 
Emerson    J.    Kane 
Clarence    E.    Kantz 
Enos   S.    Kimble 
Herman   John    King 
Walter  J.    Kirk 
Wm.   S.    Laskowski 
Leon   A.    Lippincott 
Edgar   Burton    Lloyd 
Edward   M.   McGowan 
James   A.    McGuckin 
Hersey   Mander 
Anthony   Martin 
Charles   A.    Mathews 


Edwin    M.    Matthews 
Edward    B.    May 
Robert    E.    Meggett 
John    H.   Meisle 
Allan    Irving    Morgan 
Angelo    Mucci 
James   L.   Murray 
Walter  Murray 
James    Murtha 
Norman    Nicholson 
John    A.    Overland 
Noah   J.    Palmer 
Leon    P.    Parker 
Bert    Pennington 
Oliver  R.   Purnell 
John    Howard    Read 
Cornelius   Redd 
Samuel   J.   Reichard 
Richard    L.    Reighn 
James   E.    Reynolds 
Harry   Roles 
David    H.    Ross 
Benjamin    J.    Sandlow 
A.    T.    Schleicher,   Jr. 
William   Schucker 
John    J.    Sheldon 
Kenneth    L.   Steck 
Harry    A.    Steeple 
Edw.    J.    Steigerwald 
Fred    D.    Stimpson 
Eben   Stout 
William   P.   Tatem 
George    E.    Trebing 
Raymond    C.    Thoirs 
Albert   C.    Thompson 
Joseph  A.  Tinsman 
William    Troutt 
William    E.   Truxton 
Walter  Tucker 
Frank    H.   Valentine 
Gaetano   Vincignerra 
Harry   C.   Wagner 
Martin    R.   Waldvogel 
August    F.    Walter 
Elizabeth    H.   Weimann 
Philip   C.    Wendell 
Earl   C.   Willett 
Norman  W.   Wohlken 
John    Wojtkowiak 
Thomas    H.    Wright 
Ellwood    K.   Young 
Townsend  C.  Young 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  IJ 


RECORDS  OF  HEROIC  DEAD 

JUST  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  men  and  one 
woman  from  Camden  county  made  the  supreme 
sacrifice  in  the  Great  War.  Sixty-two  were  either  killed 
in  action  or  died  as  the  result  of  wounds  received  in 
action,  while  disease  claimed  sixty-two  lives  in  army 
camps  here  or  in  France.  Some  few  of  the  men  died  at 
home  from  disease  while  on  furloughs. 

The  army's  losses  were  the  heaviest  in  the  war,  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  dying  in  that  branch  of  the  ser- 
vice from  this  county.  The  casualties  of  the  other 
branches  of  the  service  were  as  follows;  Navy,  seven; 
Marine  Corps,  six;  Red  Cross  nurse,  one;  British 
army,  two;  Merchant  Marine,  one. 

Fourteen  died  of  wounds  received  in  action.  Six  died 
at  sea,  five  losing  their  lives  in  action  with  enemy  ships. 
Six  died  from  accidents,  three  of  whom  were  aviators 
and  there  was  one  accidental  drowning  in  France.  The 
sole  woman,  who  died  in  the  service  of  the  nation  from 
this  county,  was  Elizabeth  H.  Wiemann,  a  Red  Cross 
nurse. 

The  records  of  each  of  Camden  county's  heroic  dead 
follow : 

WILLIAM  S.  ABLETT,  Private,  of  603  South  Third  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on 
October  27,  1918.  Ablett  enlisted  in  Company  B,  104th  Engi- 
neers, when  that  company  was  organized  in  this  city  on  April 
27,  1917.  He  was  sent  to  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt,  and  later  to 
Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Alabama.  He  was  shot  in  the  arms 
and  legs  in  the  Argonne  Forest  battle.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  James  Ablett,  of  603  South  Third  street. 

ALBERT  J.  ATGER,  Private,  of  154  North  Twenty- fifth  street, 

Camden,  was  connected  with  Battalion  A,  45th  Artillery,  and 

was  stationed  at  Camp  Stanley,  Texas.     He  died  November  27, 


l8  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

1918,  at  the  Base  Hospital.  Fort  Sam  Houston,  Texas,  from 
pneumonia.  He  enlisted  May  31,  1918,  in  the  cavalry  and  was 
sent  to  Camp  Stanley  for  training  in  Troop  G,  305th  Cavalry. 
He  was  later  transferred  to  the  45th  Artillery.  He  was  the  son 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gaston  Atger,  of  154  North  Twenty-fifth  street. 

LAWRENCE  S.  ADAMS,  Corporal,  of  553  Bailey  street,  Cam- 
den, was  mortally  wounded  in  action  on  October  25,  1918, 
in  the  Argonne  Forest  battle.  He  was  a  member  of  Company 
D,  309th  Machine  Gun  Battalion,  and  on  the  morning  of 
October  25,  his  company  was  firing  a  barrage  and  the  enemy 
answered  it  with  artillery  fire.  A  shell  struck  two  of  the  com- 
pany's guns  and  Corporal  Adams  was  so  severely  wounded  that 
he  died  that  same  day  in  a  hospital.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Camden  Police  Department  when  called  in  the  draft  and  sent 
to  Camp  Dix  for  training.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D 
J.  Adams,  of  553  Bailey  street. 

JOHN  ROBERT  ADAMS,  Private,  of  644  Erie  street,  Camden, 
died  of  pneumonia  November  3,  1918,  in  a  hospital  in  France. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  303d  Trench  Mortar  Battery  and  was 
drafted  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  on  April  25,  1918.  His  unit  sailed 
for  overseas  three  weeks  later.  He  was  twenty-five  years  old 
and  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  S.  Adams,  of  644 
Erie  street. 

THOMAS  J.  ALLEN,  JR.,  Private,  of  Lawnside,  was  drowned 
in  an  accident  in  France  after  serving  in  three  battles  in 
the  war  and  escaping  uninjured.  His  death  occurred  at  Bay 
City,  France,  April  25,  1919.  He  was  called  into  service  in 
October,  1917,  and  sent  to  Camp  Hill,  Virginia,  where  he  became 
a  member  of  Company  I,  304th  Stevedore  Regiment.  He  sailed 
for  France  in  April,  1918,  and  was  transferred  to  Company  M, 
301st  Infantry,  and  later  to  Company  M,  811th  Infantry.  His 
parents  reside  at  Lawnside. 

JOHN  BENJAMIN  H.  BAKER,  Private,  of  1004  Spruce  street. 
Camden,  died  in  Base  Hospital  No.  35,  in  France,  on  Sep- 
tember 17,  1918,  from  blood  poison  as  the  result  of  bullet  wounls 
received  in  action.  He  was  drafted  June  28,  1918,  and  sent  to 
Camp  Dix.  He  sailed  for  France  on  August  26,  1918,  and  was 
attached  to  the  Medical  Detachment  of  the  312th  Field  Signal 
Battalion  and  was  wounded  carrying  wounded  from  the  field  of 
battle.  He  was  28  years  old  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Keese,  of  1004  Spruce  street. 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  19 

ARLINGTON  BALTIMORE,  Corporal,  of  713  Cherry  street, 
Camden,  died  of  Spanish  influenza,  at  Camp  Dix,  on  October 
5,  1918.  He  was  drafted  September  26,  1918,  and  sent  to  that 
cantonement  as  a  member  of  Company  C,  5th  Battalion,  153d 
Depot  Brigade  and  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Henry  Baltimore.  His 
death  occurred  nine  days  after  being  sent  to  camp. 

DAVID  BARNABY,  Private,  of  521  Hunter  street,  Gloucester 
City,  was  fatally  injured  when  he  was  kicked  by  a  horse 
over  the  right  eye,  near  Hausen,  Germany,  on  February  2,  1919. 
He  was  a  member  of  Battery  F,  76th  Field  Artillery,  in  the 
Army  of  Occupation,  and  was  sent  with  a  detail  for  horses  to 
Hausen.  On  the  return  Barnaby  asked  permission  to  fall  out 
to  adjust  his  saddle.  The  detail  had  gone  but  one  hundred  yards 
when  Corporal  Hayes  saw  him  fall.  When  the  detail  reached 
Barnaby  they  found  him  badly  injured  and  he  was  taken  to  the 
hospital  at  Mayen,  Germany,  where  he  died  on  February  5.  He 
was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Rebecca  Barnaby,  of  521  Hunter  street, 
Gloucester  City. 

FREDERICK  H.  BAYNES,  Sergeant,  of  935  Monmouth  street, 
Gloucester  City,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Meuse-Argonne 
offensive  on  October  9,  1918.  He  enlisted  in  the  old  Third 
Regiment,  National  Guard  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  sent  with 
the  regiment  to  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt,  on  July  25,  1917,  and 
later  transferred  to  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.  He  be- 
came a  member  of  Company  G,  when  the  regiment  was  changed 
to  the  114th  Infantry.  He  was  the  son  of  Frederick  H.  and 
Rebecca  Baynes,  of  Gloucester  City. 

OTTO  H.  BEAN,  of  445  Berkley  street,  Camden,  was  first 
assistant  engineer  of  the  American  steamer  Tuscarora, 
which  was  lost  at  sea  after  it  had  sailed  from  New  York  on 
December  6,  1917,  for  Halifax.  The  Tuscarora  is  believed  to 
have  been  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocky  coast  of  Halifax.  The 
last  heard  of  the  vessel  was  when  it  passed  Father  Point  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  river.  The  ship  was  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  Shipping  Board.  First  Assistant  Engineer  Bean  was 
39  years  old  and  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Bean,  of 
445  Berkley  street. 

EDWIN  BECKLEY,  Private,  of  314  Mechanic  street,  Camden, 
died  of  pulmonary  tuberculosis  in  France  on  November 
30,  1918.  He  was  drafted  in  November,  1917,  and  sent  to  Camp 
Dix.  He  was  the  son  of  William  S.  and  Lillie  M.  Beckley,  of  314 
Mechanic  street. 


20  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

CHARLES  BEHREND,  Gunner,  of  809  Penn  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  St.  Mihiel  on  September  26,  1918, 
when  a  high  explosive  shell  of  the  enemy  burst  near  him. 
Behrend  was  drafted  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix,  where  he  was 
assigned  to  Company  C,  309th  Infantry.  He  sailed  for  France 
in  May,  1918,  and  spent  his  twenty-sixth  birthday  anniversary 
in  the  trenches  before  St.  Mihiel.  This  soldier  was  an  orphan 
and  was  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Lillian  Walker,  of  925  South  Paxson 
street,  Philadelphia. 

WALTER  J.  BEHRER,  Private,  of  3284  Westfield  avenue, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  September  II,  1918,  while 
bringing  ammunition  up  to  his  battery.  He  was  a  member  of 
Battery  D,  307th  Field  Artillery.  One  other  comrade  was 
killed  and  four  wounded  together  with  Behrer  when  a  German 
shell  burst  over  their  battery.  Behrer  was  24  years  old  and  was 
drafted  April  1,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.  His  regiment 
sailed  for  France  in  May.  His  parents  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph 
Behrer,  of  3284  Westfield  avenue. 

RALPH  BENNER,  Private,  of  828  North  Sixth  street,  Cam- 
den, died  of  nervous  and  mental  diseases  at  Base  Hospital, 
No.  214,  Saveney,  France,  fifteen  miles  from  St.  Nazaire,  on 
April  26,  1919.  He  was  a  member  of  the  medical  detachment 
of  the  314th  Infantry,  of  the  79th  Division,  and  was  in  five  bat- 
tles during  the  war.     Private  Benner  was  drafted  in  September, 

1917,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.     He  sailed  to  France  in  February, 

1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Clinton  C.  Benner,  of  828  North  Sixth 
street. 

CHESTER  L.  BENNETT,  Private,  of  34  Kresson  avenue,  Had- 
donfield,  was  killed  in  action  July  19,  1918,  at  Chateau 
Thierry  at  the  beginning  of  the  allies'  major  offensive  after 
having  participated  in  the  battle  of  Cantigny.  Machine  gun 
bullets  through  the  abdomen  caused  his  death.  He  was  the  son 
of  Mrs.  Hattie  E.  Bennett  and  enlisted  in  the  regular  army 
January  27,  1917,  before  America  entered  the  Great  War.  He 
was  sent  to  Eagle  Pass,  Texas,  being  attached  to  the  30th  Infan- 
try. He  was  later  transferred  to  the  Machine  Gun  Company 
of  the  16th  Infantry. 

CARL  F.  BICKER,   Private,   of   1636   Broadway,   Camden,  en- 
listed in  the  United  States  Marine  Corps  in  the  fall  of  191/ 
while  attending  college  at  Winona  Lake.     He  was  in  service  a 
year  when  stricken  with  the  pneumonia  at  Camp  Quantico,  Va. 


RECORDS    OE    HEROIC    DEAD.  21 

He  died  September  29,  1918.  Private  Bicker  was  the  son  of  the 
late  Dr.  Francis  J.  Bicker  and  was  a  nephew  of  Mrs.  H.  D. 
Burroughs,  of  1636  Broadway. 

DAVID  T.  BORLAND,  30  years  old,  lived  with  his  parents,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  David  Borland,  at  2305  Howell  street,  Camden. 
He  was  a  member  of  Company  C,  312th  Infantry,  and  went  to 
Camp  Dix  on  February  26,  1918,  sailing  overseas  in  May.  He 
was  killed  in  action  on  October  24,  1918,  during  the  great  battle 
in  the  Argonne. 

BENJAMIN  BORSTEIN,  Corporal,  of  1200  Everett  street, 
Camden,  died  at  his  home  while  on  a  furlough  from  Camp 
Dix  on  September  30,  1918,  from  influenza.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  No.  41,  T.  R.  B.  153d  Depot  Brigade.  He  was 
drafted  July  16,  1918,  and  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Celia 
Borstein. 

ALLEN  H.  BOSSERT,  Sergeant,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
H.  Bossert,  of  113  Chestnut  avenue,  Woodlynne,  entered 
the  service  in  August,  1917,  and  was  assigned  to  Company  K, 
311th  Infantry,  at  Camp  Dix.  He  was  later  assigned  to  the  311th 
Machine  Gun  Company,  and  was  overseas  from  May.  1918,  until 
October  3,  1918,  when  he  was  killed  by  shrapnel.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  about  to  be  sent  to  school  to  study  for  a 
lieutenancy.  His  body  rests  in  France.  Sergeant  Bossert  was 
the  only  Woodlynne  boy  to  make  the  supreme  sacrifice. 

HENRY  J.  BOWES,  Lieutenant,  of  Wellwood  avenue  and 
Volan  street,  Merchantville,  lost  his  life  when  the  Submarine 
Chaser  209  was  sunk  off  Fire  Islands  on  August  27,  1918.  He 
was  in  command  of  twelve  chasers  when  the  armed  merchant- 
man Felix  Paussip  took  the  chasers  for  German  submarines 
and  opened  fire,  sinking  the  209.  The  fatal  mistake  was  made 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  off  Fire  Islands,  after  three  destroy- 
ers had  left  the  twelve  chasers.  Two  other  chasers  were  sunk 
in  the  battle.  Lieutenant  Bowes  enlisted  in  the  Naval  Reserves 
before  this  country  entered  the  war  in  April,  1917,  and  was  a 
junior  grade  officer.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Evelyn 
Humphreys  Bowes,  of  Merchantville. 

GEORGE   A.   BOWERS,   Private,    of   420   Broadway,   Camden, 

died  from  influenza  and  pneumonia  in   France   on  January 

24,  1919.     He  was  a  member  of  Company  B,   104th  Engineers, 

and  enlisted  in  Camden  in  April,  1917,  and  was  sent  to  Sea  Girt 


22  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

with  his  company  on  July  25,  1917.  He  served  with  his  com- 
pany north  of  Verdun  after  being  sent  to  France  from  Camp 
McClellan,  Anniston,  Alabama.  He  was  the  son  of  Louis  and 
Emma  Bowers,  of  420  Broadway. 

JOHN  OTTO  BOYSON,  Private,  of  629  Birch  street,  Camden, 
died  from  peritonitis  on  October  5,  1918,  at  American  Hos- 
pital No.  1,  France.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  D,  Casual 
Department,  Medical  Unit,  and  was  assigned  to  the  hospital 
where  his  death  occured.  The  son  of  Mrs.  Anna  L.  Boyson, 
of  629  Birch  street,  he  enlisted  on  May  14,  1917,  and  was  sent 
to  Fort  Slocum,  New  York,  and  assigned  to  Company  B,  57th 
Infantry.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  Company  D,  Casual 
Department,  Medical  Unit,  at  Fort  Jay,  New  York,  and  from 
this  camp  he  was  sent  overseas. 

JACK  BRODY,  Private,  of  101  Chestnut  street,  Camden,  was 
killed  in  action  on  September  27,  1918,  in  the  Argonne 
Forest  and  buried  at  Mount  Blainville.  He  was  the  son  of 
Solomon  Brody  and  enlisted  in  the  Third  Regiment,  National 
Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  in  July,  1917.  He  was  assigned  to  a 
camp  in  West  Philadelphia  and  later  was  sent  to  Camp  Han- 
cock, Georgia,  with  the  regiment  which  became  the  110th  Infan- 
try. Brody  was  assigned  to  Company  G  and  the  regiment  sailed 
for  France  in  May,  1918. 

JOSEPH  BRZNSZKIEWICZ,  Private,  of  1412  South  Tenth 
street,  Camden,  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  in  France 
on  November  14,  1918.  He  was  a  member  of  Headquarters 
Company,  7th  Training  Battalion,  Field  Artillery  Replacement 
Depot.  He  was  drafted  under  the  name  of  Joseph  Briskle.  He 
was  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Maggie  M.  Iwanoski,  of  1412  South  Tenth 
street. 

WILLIAM  J.  BURKE,  Private,  of  710  North  Sixth  street, 
Camden,  died  from  spinal  meningitis  following  an  attack 
of  Spanish  influenza  on  October  23,  1918.  at  United  States 
Army  Hospital,  No.  3,  Colonia,  N.  J.  He  was  a  member  of 
Company  H,i6th  Battalion,  United  States  Guards.  He  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Michael  Burke,  of  710  North  Sixth  street. 

WALTER    ERNEST    BUTSCH,    Bugler,    of   620    North    Fifth 

street,    Camden,   died   on    November  6.    1918,    from   wounds 

received   in  action.     He  was   a   member  of   Company   K,  311th 

Infantry.     He  was  drafted  September,   1917,  and  sent  to  Camp 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  2$ 

Dix.  His  unit  left  for  France  on  May  20,  1918,  and  he  was 
wounded  at  Lancon,  near  Grand  Pre,  France,  on  October  30, 
1918,  in  the  Argonne  Forest  battle  and  was  carried  to  a  base 
hospital  in  partially  shell  wrecked  church  at  Vichy  by  Sergeant 
Theodore  Roller,  a  comrade,  where  he  died  seven  days  later. 
Butsch  was  24  years  old  and  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ernest 
Butsch,  of  620  North  Fifth  street. 

FRANK  J.  CARVER,  Corporal,  of  67  South  Twenty-ninth 
street,  Camden,  died  of  pneumonia  at  Hempstead,  Long 
Island,  on  October  21,  1918.  He  enlisted  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
one  years  in  the  Aviation  Corps  on  December  1,  1917,  and  was 
sent  to  Camp  McArthur,  Waco,  Texas,  where  he  was  assigned 
to  the  340th  Aero  Squadron  on  December  20.  He  was  trans- 
ferred to  Camp  Greene,  North  Carolina,  in  March,  1918,  and  on 
August  1  was  transferred  to  Hempstead.  He  was  the  son  of 
Mrs.  Eleanor  Carver. 

ROBERT  H.  CARR,  Private,  of  222  Amber  street,  Camden, 
died  from  pneumonia  in  France  on  October  18,  1918.  He 
was  drafted  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  and  was  a  member  of  Com- 
pany E,  34/th  Infantry.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Carr,  of  222  Amber  street. 

HOWARD  W.  CASSADY,  Sergeant,  of  420  Webster  street, 
Camden,  was  stricken  with  Spanish  influenza  aboard  the 
United  States  ship  Reina  Mercedes.  He  was  removed  to  the 
United  States  Naval  Hospital  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  where 
he  died  on.October  19,  1918.  He  was  buried  in  Camden.  Ser- 
geant Cassady  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Marine  Corps  in 
January,  1917,  and  was  sent  to  Paris  Island,  South  Carolina,  for 
training.  He  was  later  transferred  to  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis  and  then  assigned  to  the  Reina  Mercedes.  He  was 
the  son  of  Joseph  P.  and  Bella  Cassady,  of  2005  Arlington 
street,  and  was  22  years  of  age. 

LOUIS  J.  CERTAIN,  Private,  of  337  Spruce  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  action  on  October  12,  1918,  in  the  Argonne- 
Meuse  battle.  Enlisting  in  the  old  Third  Regiment,  National 
Guard  of  New  Jersey,  in  June,  1917,  he  went  to  Camp  Edge, 
Sea  Girt,  on  July  25,  with  the  regiment.  He  also  accompanied 
the  regiment  to  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.,  where  it  be- 
came the  114th  Infantry.  Mrs.  Rose  Certain,  of  725  North 
Eleventh  street,  Philadelphia,  was  his  mother. 


24  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

ROBERT  F.  CHRISTY,  Private,  of  1183  Haddon  avenue,  Cam- 
den, died  of  Spanish  Influenza  and  pneumonia  in  France  on 
October  5,  1918.  He  enlisted  on  May  6,  1918,  at  the  age  of  43 
years,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum,  New  York,  on  May  13.  He 
was  assigned  to  Company  K,  2d  Infantry.  One  month  later  he 
was  transferred  to  Camp  Humphreys,  Va.,  and  assigned  to  Com- 
pany F,  116th  Engineers,  and  sailed  for  France  in  August,  1917. 
He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Susan  Christy,  of  1183  Haddon 
avenue,  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Christy. 

JOHN  JOSEPH  CLYNES,  Sergeant,  of  60  North  Thirty-second 
street,  Camden,  died  at  Base  Hospital  No.  8,  Otisville,  New 
York,  on  June  24,  IQIQ,  from  tuberculosis  contracted  while  in 
training  at  Camp  Dix.  Clynes  was  25  years  old  and  was  drafted 
on  May  27,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.  He  was  assigned  to 
the  4th  Company,  4th  Battalion,  153d  Depot  Brigade,  as  a  private 
and  later  promoted  corporal  and  then  sergeant.  Burial  was 
made  in  Camden  on  June  28.  Sergeant  Clynes  was  the  son  of 
John  and  Mary  Clynes,  of  60  North  Thirty-second  street. 

WILLIAM  COONROD,  Private,  Camden,  died  at  Camp  Dix 
October  5,  1918,  from  Spanish  influenza.  His  nearest  of  kin 
was  given  by  the  Government  as  Mrs.  Edith  Wentworth.  The 
investigating  committee  and  the  police  were  unable  to  locate  his 
relatives.    No  street  address  was  given  by  the  Government. 

JOSEPH  F.  COVERT,  Private,  of  1146  Whitman  avenue,  Cam- 
den, died  from  pneumonia  in  France  on  March  22,  1918.  En- 
listing in  June,  1917,  he  was  sent  to  Base  Hospital  No.  34,  Allen- 
town,  Pa.,  for  training  in  the  ambulance  service.  He  was  sent 
overseas  in  September,  1917.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  H.  Covert, 
of  1 146  Whitman  avenue,  were  his  parents. 

WILLIAM  CRAIG,  Private,  of  1321  Broadway,  Camden,  died 
April  11,  1919,  at  Camp  Ottawan,  Government  Hospital, 
North  Carolina,  from  the  effects  of  chlorine  gas  received  under 
heroic  circumstances.  He  was  a  member  of  Battery  D,  7th 
Field  Artillery,  First  Division,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Chateau-Thierry.  Craig  shot  four  Germans  to  death  with  his 
pistol  and  in  the  fight  two  of  his  horses  were  shot  and  as  the 
animals  stumbled,  Craig  grabbed  their  reins  to  save  them  and 
in  doing  so  accidentally  knocked  his  gas  masked  loose.  The 
Germans  had  sent  over  a  gas  attack  and  he  was  badly  affected. 
He  was  in  a  number  of  hospitals  in  France  and  finally  brought 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC   DEAD.  25 

back  to  this  country  suffering  from  tuberculosis,  which  caused 
his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  the  old  Third,  New  Jersey 
National  Guard,  and  went  away  with  that  regiment  July  25, 
1917,  to  Camp  Edge,  and  then  to  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston, 
Ala.  He  was  transferred  to  the  7th  Field  Artillery  in  France. 
Mrs.  Hattie  Fisher,  of  1321  Broadway,  was  his  foster  mother, 
he  being  an  orphan. 

JOHN  CUNNINGHAM,  Private,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George 
Cunningham,  of  1748  Fillmore  street,  Camden,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  303d  Ammunition  Train  and  was  crushed  to  death  be- 
tween two  motor  trucks  in  France,  on  January  28,  1918.  He  was 
buried  with  full  military  honors  at  Semur,  France.  He  was  the 
husband  of  Mrs.  Olive  M.  Cunningham. 

JACOB  F.  CURRIE,  Corporal,  of  12  North  Twenty-fifth  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on 
October  25,  1918.  He  was  drafted  on  Good  Friday,  March,  1918, 
and  sent  to  Camp  Dix,  where  he  was  assigned  first  to  the  9th 
Company,  153d  Depot  Brigade,  on  March  29.  He  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  309th  Machine  Gun  Company  and  was  promoted 
corporal  in  April.  He  served  in  the  Chateau-Thierry,  St.  Mihiel 
and  Argonne  battles.  Corporal  Currie  was  the  son  of  Jacob 
and  Catherine  Currie,  of  12  North  Twenty-fifth  street. 

CHARLES  T.  DANIELS,  a  mess  boy  of  the  American  oil 
tanker  Atlantic  Sun,  was  drowned  at  sea  when  a  lifeboat 
capsized  in  English  waters  after  the  tanker  was  sunk  by  a 
submarine  on  March  18,  1918.  The  lifeboat  was  nearing  the 
shore  when  the  high  sea  and  surf  upset  the  craft  and  Daniels 
was  drowned.  His  brother,  George  E.  Daniels,  a  cook  on  the 
same  ship,  was  saved.  Daniels  was  23  years  old  and  was  the 
husband  of  Mrs.  Florence  Daniels,  of  507  North  Sixth  street, 
Camden. 

GEAN  DAVIDSON,  Private,  of  613  Liberty  street,  Camden, 
died  in  a  local  hospital  in  October,  1918,  from  Spanish  in- 
fluenza, contracted  while  on  a  leave  of  absence  from  Camp  Dix. 
Davidson  was  thirty  years  old  and  was  drafted  in  June,  1918, 
and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  training.  No  living  relatives  of  him 
can  be  found. 

TASKER  H.  DAVIDSON,   Private,   of   Oaklyn,  was  killed   in 

action   at   Grand   Pre,    France,   in   the   Argonne    Forest,   on 

October  27,    1918.     Drafted   in   April,    1918,   he   left  for   France 

the  following  month  with   Company  F,  312th  Infantry,  after  a 


26  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

short  training  at  Camp  Dix.  He  was  buried  at  a  little  place 
called  Senuc,  France.  Mrs.  George  R.  Snyder,  of  Bettlewood 
and  Cold  Springs  avenues,  Oaklyn,  is  his  nearest  of  kin. 

JOHN  T.  DEIGHAN,  Private,  of  839  Elm  street,  Camden,  died 
at  his  home  from  Spanish  influenza  and  pneumonia  on 
October  12,  1918.  He  was  drafted  September  5,  1918,  and  sent 
to  Camp  Humphreys,  Va.,  where  he  was  assigned  to  Company 
F,  7th  Engineers.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Catherine 
Deighan  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Ellen  Deighan  Parks.  He  was 
buried  in  Camden  with  full  military  honors. 

PHILIP  DIAZ,  Private,  of  Second  avenue,  Ashland,  was  killed 
in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on  October  24,  1918.  At 
least  that  is  the  last  date  given  by  the  War  Department  to  his 
parents.  On  two  other  occasions  different  dates  were  given  for 
his  heroic  demise.  The  son  of  Anna  Rose  Diaz,  of  Ashland, 
he  was  drafted  in  May,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  training 
and  assigned  to  Company  C,  312  Infantry. 

LEON  A.  DICKINSON,  Sergeant,  of  915  Newton  avenue,  Cam- 
den, was  first  reported  missing  in  the  battle  of  Chateau- 
Thierry  on  July  20,  1918.  In  May,  1919,  the  War  Department 
changed  his  status  on  the  casualty  list  as  having  been  killed  in 
action.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Dickinson  and  he  first  enlisted 
in  the  Navy  in  1912  and  served  all  of  his  enlistment  on  the  bat- 
tleship Vermont.  His  enlistment  expired  just  as  the  Mexican 
border  trouble  occurred  and  he  enlisted  in  the  regular  army. 
He  was  with  General  John  J.  Pershing's  Punitive  Expedition, 
which  penetrated  Mexico.  When  America  entered  the  Great 
War,  Sergeant  Dickinson  went  overseas  with  the  first  50,000  as  a 
member  of  Company  G,  28th  Infantry. 

ALFRED  W.  DILKS,  23  years  old,  of  704  Federal  street,  Cam- 
den, was  a  member  of  the  3d  Regiment,  National  Guards  of 
New  Jersey,  part  of  which  afterwards  became  Company  K,  of 
the  114th  Infantry.  He  went  to  Sea  Girt  with  his  old  command 
and  later  to  Anniston,  going  to  France  in  June,  1918.  He  was 
killed  in  the  Argonne  on  October  12,  1918. 

EDWARD   H.   DORSEY,   Corporal,   of  760  Van   Hook  street, 

Camden,   died   at   Camp   Dix   in   early   October,    1918,   from 

Spanish  influenza  and  pneumonia.     Drafted  in  November,   1917, 

he  was  sent  to  Camp   Dix  and  assigned  to  Company  E,  350tk 


RECORDS   OF    HEROIC   DEAD.  2J 

Field  Artillery.  The  funeral  took  place  in  Camden  October  8, 
1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Benjamin  H.  Dorsey,  of  760  Van  Hook 
street. 

OTTO  DREHER  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  George  Dangel,  of  530 
Elm  street,  Camden.  He  had  lived  here  virtually  all  his 
life,  but  went  to  Waterbury,  Conn.,  where  he  enlisted  and  sailed 
for  France  as  a  member  of  Bakery  Company,  No.  327,  in  January, 
1918.  He  was  stricken  with  pneumonia  and  died  in  the  arms  of 
his  brother  William,  also  in  the  service,  on  October  1,  1918.  He 
was  survived  by  a  6-year-old  daughter. 

ERNEST  ECKERSLEY,  Private,  of  1005  Penn  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  action  in  April,  1918,  while  fighting  with  the 
Lancashire  Fusileers  of  the  British  Army.  He  was  rejected 
three  times  for  enlistment  in  the  American  Army  and  finally 
went  to  the  Canadian  Recruiting  Mission  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  was  accepted.  He  was  24  years  old  and  the  son  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  David  Eckersley,  of  1005  Penn  street. 

RALPH  B.  ELDER,  Corporal,  of  30  North  Twenty-sixth  street, 
Camden,  died  from  wounds  on  November  27,  1917,  received 
in  the  Argonne  Forest  on  October  12.  He  was  a  member  of 
Company  E,  114th  Infantry,  and  was  one  of  three  men  who 
rushed  a  German  machine  gun  nest.  One  of  his  comrades  was 
shot  to  pieces,  the  other  shot  through  the  lungs  and  Elder  was 
shot  through  the  eye,  which  wound  caused  his  death.  He  was 
also  gassed  in  September.  He  was  a  member  of  the  old  3d  Regi- 
ment, National  Guards  of  New  Jersey,  before  the  war  and  went 
away  with  the  regiment  July  25,  1917.  Elder  was  23  years  old 
and  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Frances  Elder,  of  30  North  Twenty- 
sixth  street. 

HAMMITT  KENNETH  ELLIOTT,  Lieutenant,  of  306  Wash- 
ington Terrace,  Audubon,  was  killed  at  the  United  States 
Aviation  Field  at  Houston,  Texas,  on  February  27,  1918,  wnen 
he  lost  control  of  the  aeroplane  he  was  driving  350  feet  above 
the  ground.  He  was  caught  in  a  heavy  gust  of  wind  trying  to 
make  a  tail  spin  and  failed  to  regain  control  of  his  machine. 
J.  H.  Geisse,  a  cadet  flying  with  him,  escaped  with  slight  in- 
juries. Elliott  enlisted  in  the  Signal  Reserve  Corps  Aviation 
Service  in  October,  1917,  and  was  sent  to  Princeton  Flying 
School  on  October  20,  1917.    He  was  sent  to  Houston  two  weeks 


28  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

later.  The  day  before  he  was  killed  he  was  commissioned  a 
lieutenant  at  the  age  of  19  years.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hammitt  K.  Elliott,  of  306  Washington  Terrace,  Audubon. 

CHRISTOPHER  EVANS,  JR.,  Wagoner,  of  Twenty-ninth  and 
Saunders    streets,    Camden,    died    at    Camp    Sam    Houston, 
Texas,  from  hemorrhages  on  October  3,  1918.    He  was  a  member 
of  the  Supply  Company  of  23d  Artillery. 

FRANK  M.  FALLS,  Private,  of  14  Park  Place,  Camden,  died 
of  pneumonia  on  January  18,  1919,  in  France.  He  was 
gassed  on  the  day  the  armistice  was  signed,  November  11,  1918. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Anti-Aircraft  Corps,  Company  B,  1st 
Machine  Gun  Battalion,  to  which  he  was  transferred  from 
Company  D,  old  3d  New  Jersey  National  Guard.  He  was  the 
son  of  Mrs.  Lena  Falls,  of  44  Newkirk  Place,  and  was  24  years 
old. 

NICOLA  FANELLO,  Private,  of  1107  South  Fourth  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  during  a  gas  attack  in  the  Argonne 
Forest  on  September  27,  1918.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Fanello,  and  was  drafted  on  April  26,  1918,  and  sent  to 
Camp  Dix,  where  he  became  a  member  of  Company  H,  309th 
Infantry. 

WILLIAM  F.  FARRELL,  Private,  of  940  North  Fifth  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  September  30,  1918,  at  Mont- 
faucon,  France,  in  the  Argonne  Forest  drive.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  H,  147th  Infantry.  Private  Farrell  was  drafted 
April  26.  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.  After  six  weeks  training 
he  was  sent  to  Camp  Lee,  Virginia,  and  two  weeks  later  sailed 
for  France.  He  was  survived  only  by  a  sister,  Mary  Farrell, 
940  North  Fifth  street. 

HENRY  PHILIP  FAVEREAU,  of  1307  Lansdowne  avenue, 
Camden,  lost  his  life  .  with  William  Laskowski,  of  1151 
Haddon  avenue,  on  December  6,  1917,  when  the  United  States 
destroyer  Jacob  Jones  was  sunk  by  an  enemy  submarine  in 
foreign  waters.  He  was  thirty-three  years  of  age  and  enlisted 
in  the  United  States  Navy  as  an  apprentice  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years.     He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Bertha  Favereau. 

JACOB  FELDMAN,  Lieutenant,  of  17  West  Park  avenue,  Mer- 
chantville,  was  killed  under  heroic  circumstances.     He  was 
attached  to  Company  D,  noth  Infantry,  formerly  the  3d  Regi- 
ment, National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania.    He  was  mortally  wound- 


RECORDS    OE    HEROIC    DEAD.  2Q. 

ed  on  September  12,  1918,  in  the  Marancourt  sector,  in  the  ad- 
vance on  Hill  No.  212.  All  of  the  officers  of  the  company  were 
casualties  and  Feldman  assumed  command  and  reformed  the 
unit  and  ordered  the  charge.  As  they  dashed  across  the  open 
he  was  hit  in  the  stomach  by  an  explosive  bullet  and  fell.  He 
struggled  to  his  feet  and  beckoned  his  men  on.  He  was 
struck  by  two  more  bullets  and  fell.  Handing  his  papers  to 
First  Sergeant  Harold  M.  Nash,  he  shouted,  "Forward,  men!" 
He  died  in  an  ambulance  on  the  way  to  the  hospital.  He  was 
buried  at  Reddy  farm,  near  Cohan,  the  following  day.  Lieuten- 
ant Feldman  had  been  a  member  of  the  National  Guard  eleven 
years  and  was  thirty-one  years  old.  His  regiment  went  over- 
seas in  April,  1918,  and  he  participated  in  the  Cheateau-Thierry 
battle.     He  was  the  son  of  Isaac  Feldman,  of  Merchantville. 

JAMES  FORNEK,  Private,  of  1269  Atlantic  avenue,  Camden, 
died  from  pneumonia  on  October  6,  1918.  This  young  man 
was  drafted  May  22,  1918,  and  sent  to.  Camp  Crane,  Allentown, 
Pa.,  where  he  was  assigned  to  Hospital  No.  11.  He  was  the  son 
of  Mrs.  Mary  Fornek,  of  1269  Atlantic  avenue,  and  went  over- 
seas a  member  of  the  ambulance  corps  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years. 

RAYMOND  C.  FRECH,  Cook,  of  625  Elm  street,  Camden,  was 
killed  in  action  August  11,  1918,  in  France.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Headquarters  Company,  18th  Field  Artillery,  3d  Division. 
Freeh  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Navy  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years.  He  served  two  enlistments  and  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Vera  Cruz,  during  the  armed  intervention  in  Mexico.  He 
was  wounded  twice  in  the  attack  on  Vera  Cruz.  His  enlistment 
in  the  Navy  expired  in  October,  1917,  and  he  enlisted  in  the  army 
and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum.  From  there  he  went  to  Fort 
Bliss,  Texas,  and  was  wounded  in  a  battle  with  Mexicans,  who 
made  a  raid  on  the  border.  He  was  sent  to  France  in  April, 
1918.  Freeh  was  an  orphan  and  his  next  best  friend  was  Ella 
Hearing,  625  Elm  street. 

SILAS  FURBUSH,  Sergeant,  Camden,  was  listed  as  having  been 
killed  in  action  in  France  by  the  War  Department.  His 
nearest  of  kin  was  given  as  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Furbush.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Quartermaster  Corps.  His  relatives  could  not 
be  found  by  the  investigating  committee  or  the  police,  and  the 
War  Department  was  unable  to  give  a  better  address. 


30  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE)    GREAT    WAR. 

RICHARD  GIEST,  Private,  of  835  York  street  Camden,  died 
at  Camp  Greene,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  on  January  II, 
1918.  He  was  a  member  of  Battery  F,  16th  Field  Artillery,  and 
was  stricken  with  spinal  menigitis  and  pneumonia  on  January 
10  and  died  the  following  day.  Giest  enlisted  in  October,  1917, 
and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum  and  was  transferred  to  Camp 
Greene.  He  was  24  years  old  and  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  G.  Giest. 


STANISLAW  GONTARSKI,  Private,  of  931  Mechanic  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  on  October  12,  1918,  in  the 
Argonne  offensive.  He  was  first  a  member  of  Company  K,  327th 
Infantry,  and  was  among  the  first  draftees  to  go  to  Camp  Dix 
on  September  20,  1917.  Gontarski  went  overseas  as  a  member 
of  Company  L,  327th  Infantry.  A  shot  in  the  abdomen  caused 
his  death  in  battle.  He  was  the  son  of  Jan  Gontarski.  of  931 
Mechanic  street. 


FRED  W.  GRIGG,  Corporal,  was  killed  in  the  Argonne  Forest 
and  Meuse  drive  in  October,  1918.  He  was  struck  in  the 
stomach  by  a  fragment  of  shrapnel.  Grigg  resided  at  Mer- 
chantville  with  his  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred.  Grigg.  Grigg 
was  a  member  of  Company  E,  113th  Infantry.  He  first  saw 
service  with  Battery  B,  1st  New  Jersey  Field  Artillery,  on  the 
border  during  the  armed  intervention  with  Mexico  in  1916. 
When  the  battery  returned  to  Camden  he  was  mustered  out  of 
service.  He  was  working  in  Trenton  when  America  entered 
the  Great  War  and  enlisted  in  the  Second  New  Jersey  National 
Guard  and  was  first  placed  on  guard  duty  in  this  State.  Later 
he  was  sent  to  Camp  McClellan.  Anniston,  Ala.,  and  sailed  for 
France  in  June,  1918. 


H.  ROWLAND  GROSS,  Corporal,  of  Delair,  was  killed  in  action 
on  September  6,  1918,  while  crossing  the  Vesle  river,  in 
France,  north  of  the  town  of  Magneaux,  in  the  face  of  enemy 
machine  gun  fire.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  F,  109th 
Infantry,  enlisting  on  March  25,  1917.  The  first  important  task 
of  this  regiment  was  to  guard  bridges  until  it  was  sent  to  Camp 
Hancock,  Georgia,  for  eight  months  training.  The  regiment 
sailed  for  France  in  May,  1918.  Gross  was  22  years  old  and  was 
the  son  of  Mrs.  Florence  Gross,  of  Velde  avenue,  Delair. 


RECORDS    OE    HEROIC    DEAD.  3I 

HOWARD  W.  HAINES,  of  Laurel  Springs,  died  at  Great 
Lakes  Training  Station  Hospital,  on  September  24,  1918, 
from  disease.  He  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Navy  a  few 
months  before  and  was  a  victim  of  pneumonia.  He  was  the  son 
of  Daniel  Haines,  of  Laurel  Springs. 

WILLIAM  S.  HEY,  Corporal,  of  No.  9  Haddon  avenue,  Cam- 
den, was  killed  in  action  in  October,  1918,  in  the  Argonne 
Forest  battle.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  G,  114th  Infan- 
try, and  was  a  member  of  the  3d  Regiment,  New  Jersey  National 
Guards  before  that  regiment  was  sent  to  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt, 
and  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.,  and  merged  into  the  114th 
Infantry  .  He  was  23  years  old  and  was  survived  by  a  sister. 

WILLIAM  M.  HICKMAN,  Private,  of  613  Market  street,  Glou- 
cester City,  was  killed  in  action  on  September  29,  1918. 
He  was  one  of  twelve  volunteers  who  endeavored  to  capture 
a  German  machine  gun  nest  in  the  Argonne  Forest.  He  was 
shot  in  the  hip  and  as  he  fell  he  was  shot  in  the  forehead  and 
instantly  killed.  He  was  the  only  one  of  the  twelve  to  be  slain. 
Private  Hickman  was  a  member  of  Company  B,  145  Infantry, 
and  was  drafted  April  29,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Lee  Virginia, 
for  training.  He  arrived  in  France  on  June  22,  1918.  This  young 
soldier  was  the  son  of  William  C.  and  Elizabeth  Louise  Hick- 
man, of  Gloucester  City. 

PERCY  LINCOLN  HOLLINSHED,  of  Delair,  died  of  wounds 

on  June  7,  1918.     He  was  a  member  of  17th  Company,  5th 

Regiment,  United  States  Marine  Corps,  and  enlisted  April  14, 

1917.  He  spent  four  months  at  Paris  Island  Training  Camp  and 
one  month  at  Quantico.  He  sailed  from  Philadelphia  on  the 
transport  Henderson  on  August  1,  1917,  landing  at  St.  Nazairre, 
France.  A  short  time  was  spent  in  training  at  St.  Nazairre  and 
at  Bordeaux.  He  was  in  the  trenches  at  Verdun  and  took  part 
in  skirmishes  that  led  up  to  the  battle  of  Belleau  Wood,  where 
he  was  fatally  wounded.  He  was  28  years  old  and  the  son  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Hollinshed,  of  Delair.  ■ 

WILLIAM  HOYLE,  Private,  of  in  Seventh  avenue,  Haddon 
Heights,   died  from  pneumonia  near  Paris,  on   October   11, 

1918.  He  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  began  service  with  University  Unit  No.  4,  in  May,  1917. 
He   was    sent    to   Allentown,    Pa.,   for   training   and    sailed   for 


32  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

France  on  August  21,  1917.  Hoyle  was  23  years  of  age  and  the 
son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  L.  Hoyle,  of  m  Seventh  avenue, 
Haddon  Heights. 

ELMER  HUNT,  Private,  of  819  Fern  street,  Camden,  died  from 
Spanish  influenza  on  October  5,  1918,  at  Camp  Dix.  He 
was  drafted  on  May  27,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix,  where 
he  was  assigned  to  the  23d  Company,  Military  Police.  He  was 
the  son  of  I.  Hunt. 

JOHN  T.  HYLAND,  Lieutenant,  of  820  Haddon,  Camden, 
died  from  disease  at  Tours,  France,  in  June,  1918.  He  was 
attached  in  an  official  capacity  to  the  American  Expeditionary 
Force's  Post  Office.  Lieutenant  Hyland  acted  as  postmaster 
of  Havana,  Cuba,  during  the  American  occupation  of  the  island 
during  the  Spanish  American  War.  He  was  attached  to  the 
Camden  post  office  when  called  in  the  great  war  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Camden  County  Bar.  He  was  fifty  years  of  age,  and 
was  summoned  into  the  army  service  on  March  21,  1918,  and 
sailed  for  France  April  15,  reaching  there  on  May  1.  He  was 
first  sent  to  the  headquarters  of  General  John  J.  Pershing,  at 
Chaumont.  Two  weeks  later  he  was  sent  to  Tours,  where  he 
was  stricken.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Emma  E.  Hyland, 
of  820  Haddon  avenue. 

HOWARD  JORDAN,  Private,  of  1134  Clover  street,  Camden, 
was  drafted  in  May,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.    Pneumonia 
caused  his  death  on  December  4,  1918.     He  was  the  son  of  Jerry 
and  Kate  Jordan. 

EMERSON  J.  KANE,  Private,  of  1807  Kossuth  street,  Camden, 
died  of  wounds  in  the  Argonne  Forest  at  the  beginning  of 
that  major  offensive  in  September,  1918.  Kane  was  drafted  on 
January  3,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Meade,  Maryland,  for  train- 
ing in  the  1st  Company,  Training  Battalion,  154th  Depot  Brigade. 
He  was  the  son  of  Lewis  Kane,  of  1807  Kossuth  street. 

CLARENCE  E.  KANTZ,  Sergeant,  of  420  South  Second  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  near 
Grand  Pre,  France,  on  October  26,  1918.  He  was  cited  for 
bravery  and  awarded  a  Distinguished  Service  Cross  by  General 
John  J.  Pershing,  commander-in-chief.  Kantz  was  drafted  and 
sent  to  Camp  Dix  on  September  8,  1917,  and  went  to  France  on 
April  13,  1918,  as  a  member  of  Company  E,  311th  Infantry. 
His  mother  was  Mrs.  Minnie  Kantz,  of  420  South  Second  street. 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  33 

ENOS  S.  KIMBLE,  Private,  of  625  Birch  street,  Camden,  died 
on  June  18,  1918,  from  meningitis  at  Camp  Dix.  He  was 
drafted  May  27  and  was  ill  the  day  he  left  for  camp.  He  grew 
rapidly  worse  and  died  in  the  base  hospital  before  he  was  ever 
assigned  to  a  regiment.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walter  Kimble,  and  was  22  years  old. 

HERMAN  JOHN  KING,  of  208  North  Thirty-seventh  street, 
Camden,  lost  his  life  on  the  United  States  collier  Cyclops, 
which  was  sunk  on  June  14,  1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Arno  B. 
King  and  enlisted  in  the  United  States  Navy  at  Indianapolis, 
Indiana,  on  March  4,  1917,  and  became  a  first  class  fireman. 
King  was  24  years  old. 

WALTER  J.  KIRK,  Private,  of  1838  Fillmore  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  action  in  France  on  July  29,  1918.  He  was 
a  member  of  Company  M,  110th  Infantry,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  and  enlisted  in  Company  M,  3d  Regiment,  National 
Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  on  March  28,  1917.  He  was  sent  with 
his  company  to  guard  tunnels  when  war  was  declared  between 
the  United  States  and  Germany.  Later  he  was  sent  to  Camp 
Hancock,  Georgia,  for  training  and  sailed  for  France  on  May 
1,  1918.  He  was  18  years  old  and  had  won  a  sharpshooter's 
medal.  His  parents  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Kirk,  of  1838 
Fillmore  street. 

WILLIAM  S.  LASKOWSKI,  Fireman,  of  1151  Haddon  ave- 
nue, Camden,  lost  his  life  when  the  United  States  destroyer 
Jacob  Jones  was  sunk  by  an  enemy  submarine  on  December  6, 
1917,  in  European  waters  together  with  Henry  Philip  Favereau, 
of  1307  Lansdowne  avenue.  Laskowski  enlisted  under  the  name 
of  William  S.  Laskon,  and  had  followed  the  sea  for  ten  years 
before  his  tragic  end.  When  the  destroyer  sprung  a  leak  in 
the  Delaware  Bay  during  his  enlistment  he  went  down  in  the 
hold  and  made  the  repairs  at  the  risk  of  his  life.  He  was 
wounded  in  the  arm  and  leg  when  Mexicans  fired  on  his  ship 
during  the  Mexican  armed  intervention.  He  was  27  years  old 
and  the  son  of  William  S.  Laskowski,  of  1151  Haddon  avenue. 

LEON  ATKINSON  LIPPINCOTT,  Private,  of  611  Bailey 
street,  Camden,  was  killed  in  action  on  October  5,  1918,  in 
France.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  H,  18th  Infantry,  and 
was  rejected  by  the  regular  army  recruiting  officers  in  Camden 


34  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

because  of  his  eyesight.  He  was  drafted  in  September,  1917,  and 
sent  to  Camp  Dix.  His  unit  sailed  for  France  in  January,  1918. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  leg  on  July  18,  but  recovered  and  was 
killed  in  the  major  offensive  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on  October 

5.  Private  Lippincott  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  S. 
Lippincott  and  was  23  years  old. 

EDGAR  BURTON  LLOYD,  Lieutenant,  of  Haddonfield,  was 
killed  in  an  aeroplane  accident  at  Gerstner  Field,  Lake 
Charles,  Louisiana,  on  January  17,  1918.  He  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Marine  Corps  on  April  12,  1917,  in  Philadelphia, 
and  was  sent  to  Lake  Charles,  where  he  became  a  member  of 
Reconnoissance  Company,  United  States  Marine  Corps,  1st 
Aviation  Squadron.  He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  George  Millpaugh, 
Tracy  Apartments,  Philadelphia,  and  made  his  home  with  his 
grandfather,  Samuel  C.  Paris,  Haddonfield.  He  was  21  years 
old. 

EDWARD  M.  McGOWAN,  Private,  of  47  Marlton  avenue, 
Camden,  died  from  pneumonia  at  Camp  Hancock,  Augusta, 
Georgia,  January  15,  1919.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Emily 
E.  McGowan,  of  47  Marlton  avenue,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
9th  Company,  3d  Division  Barracks.    He  was  buried  in  Camden. 

JAMES  ANTHONY  McGUCKIN,  Private,  of  1037  Haddon  ave- 
nue, Camden,  died  in  action  in  France  on  October  4,   1918. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  49th  Company,  5th  Regiment,  United 
States  Marine  Corps.     Private  McGuckin  was  wounded  on  June 

6,  1918,  in  battle  but  recovered  to  be  killed  in  the  later  action. 
He  was  32  years  old  and  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Mary  A.  McGuckin, 
of  1037  Haddon  avenue.  He  enlisted  in  the  Marine  Corps  in 
1915  and  served  in  the  Philippines,  Panama  Canal  and  on  the 
Mexican  border. 

HERSEY  MANDER,  Private,  of  707  Baxter  street,  Camden. 
died  at  Camp  Dix  from  heart  disease  on  December  26,  1918. 
Mander  was  drafted  April  26,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix, 
where  he  was  assigned  to  Battery  D,  349th  Field  Artillery.  He 
was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Mary  Mitchell. 

ANTHONY  MARTIN,  Private,   of   1027   Pine   street,  Camden. 

died  of  wounds  on  October  II,  1918,  in  the  Argonne  Forest 

battle.      Private    Martin   was    drafted    September   21,    1917,   and 

sent  to  Camp  Dix.    He  was  in  Battery  B,  319th  Field  Artillery, 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  35 

82d  Division,  and  was  sent  to  Camp  Gordon,  Georgia,  on 
NoYcmber  13,  1917.  In  April,  1918,  he  was  transferred  to  Camp 
Mills,  Long  Island,  to  sail  for  France.  Martin  was  28  years  old 
and  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Martin,  of  1027  Pine 
street. 

CHARLES  ALBERT  MATHEWS,  Corporal,  24  years  old,  of 
24  North  Thirty-fourth  street,  Camden,  died  in  France  on 
October  14,  1918,  from  wounds  received  in  the  Argonne  Forest 
battle.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  G,  114th  Infantry,  and 
was  a  gas  instructor  for  his  company.  Mathews  enlisted  in  the 
3d  New  Jersey  National  Guard  and  was  sent  with  the  regiment 
to  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt,  on  July  25,  1917,  and  to  Camp  Mc- 
Clellan,  Anniston,  Ala.,  in  September,  1917,  where  the  3d  Regi- 
ment became  the  114th  Infantry.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Charles  E.  A.  Mathews,  of  24  North  Thirty-fourth  street. 

EDWIN  M.  MATTHEWS,  Wagoner,  of  334  Warren  avenue, 
Camden,  was  drafted  May  21,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix, 
where  he  was  assigned  to  the  14th  Company,  153d  Depot 
Brigade.  On  May  27  he  was  attached  to  the  407th  Engineers 
as  wagoner.  He  died  at  Camp  Dix  on  October  1,  1918,  from 
Spanish  influenza  and  was  buried  in  Camden.  He  was  the  son 
of  Clarence  and  Catherine  D.  Matthews,  of  334  Warren  avenue. 

EDWARD  M.  MAY,  Private,  of  428  Pearl  street,  Camden, 
came  home  on  a  furlough  to  spend  the  Christmas  holidays 
in  1918  and  contracted  scarlet  fever,  dying  on  December  29. 
He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Woltjin,  and  enlisted  on 
June  IS,  1918,  at  the  age  of  18  years.  He  was  sent  to  Fort 
Slocum,  New  York,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Insurance 
Department,  Quartermaster's  Corps.  He  was  transferred  to 
Debarkation  Hospital  Medical  Corps,  No.  1,  Ellis  Island. 

ROBERT  E.  MEGGETT,  Private,  of  423  Trenton  avenue,  Cam- 
den, died  at  Camp  Humphreys,  Va.,  from  Spanish  influenza 
on  October  16,  1918.  He  enlisted  on  August  8  and  on  August 
16,  1918,  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum,  the  last  enlisted  man  to 
leave  Camden.  After  that  date  all  voluntary  enlistments  were 
cancelled  by  the  government  and  all  men  were  drafted.  He  was 
transferred  to  Camp  Humphreys  in  October  and  contracted  a 
severe  cold  enroute,  which  resulted  in  influenza  developing. 
Meggett  was  a  member  of  Company  M,  5th  Engineer  Training 
Regiment,  and  was  the  son  of  William  J.  and  Mamie  D. 
Meggett,  of  423  Trenton  avenue.     He  was  nineteen  years  old. 


36  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

JOHN  H.  MEISLE,  Corporal,  of  51  Perm  street,  Camden,  died 
from  wounds  on  July  24,  1918.  He  was  wounded  north  of 
Belfort,  Alsace,  France,  by  an  enemy  shell.  He  was  a  member 
of  Company  E,  114th  Infantry,  and  was  not  in  battle  when 
wounded.  He  enlisted  in  the  3d  New  Jersey  National  Guards 
and  was  sent  with  the  regiment  to  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt,  on  July 
25,  1917,  and  was  transferred  in  September  to  Camp  McClellan, 
Anniston,  Ala. 

ALLAN  IRVING  MORGAN,  Corporal,  of  Lowell  Lane,  West- 
mont,  died  on  a  transport  enroute  to  France  from  disease 
on  March  22,  1918,  and  was  buried  at  Brest,  France.  He  was  a 
member  of  Troop  G,  15th  Cavalry,  and  enlisted  December  22, 
1915,  in  Philadelphia.  He  served  on  the  Mexican  border  in  1916 
and  spent  18  months  in  the  Philippines.  He  was  28  years  old 
and  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  Morgan,  Westmont. 

ANGELO  MUCCI,  Private,  of  220  Pine  street,  Camden,  son 
of  Domenico  Mucci,  was  killed  in  action  on  October  12, 
1918,  in  the  Argonne  Forest.  He  was  a  member  of  Company 
I,  314th  Infantry,  and  was  drafted  on  August  15,  1917,  and  sent 
to  Camp  Meade,  Maryland,  for  training. 

JAMES  L.  MURRAY,  Private,  of  Audubon,  died  of  pneumonia 
at  Red  Cross  Military  Hospital,  No.  3,  Paris,  on  October 
20,  1918,  from  pneumonia.  He  enlisted  on  May  30,  1917,  and 
was  sent  to  camp  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  for  training  in  the  United 
States  Army  Ambulance  Corps.  He  was  an  ambulance  driver 
during  the  battle  of  Belleau  Wood  and  the  bombardment  of 
Paris.  He  arrived  in  France  December  23,  1917.  He  was  the 
son  of  Mrs.  Annie  E.  Murray,  of  Audubon. 

WALTER  MURRAY,  First  Lieutenant,  of  Park  and  Sylvan 
avenues,  Oaklyn,  was  killed  in  an  aeroplane  accident  at 
Hooten  Park,  Cheshire,  England,  on  May  27,  1918,  when  the 
wings  of  his  machine  collapsed  while  making  a  vertical  dive. 
Lieutenant  Murray  was  20  years  old  and  the  son  of  Lieutenant 
J.  W.  Murray,  U.  S.  N.  Lieutenant  Walter  Murray  enlisted  in 
the  2d  Pennsylvania  Field  Artillery  during  the  Mexican  border 
trouble  in  1916  and  was  ordered  to  the  border.  He  served  in 
the  cavalry  and  as  a  machine  gunner  also  while  on  the  border 
and  finally  passed  examinations  to  enter  West  Point  but  was 
rejected  because  of  his  eye  sight.  When  America  entered  the 
world  war  he  tried  to  enlist  in  the  United  States  Aerial  Service 


RECORDS    OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  37 

but  was  rejected  because  of  his  sight.  He  finally  enlisted  in  the 
Royal  British  Flying  Corps  and  trained  in  Canada  and  Texas, 
and  went  to  England  for  final  training,  where  he  was  killed. 

JAMES  MURTHA,  Private,  of  322  Point  street,  Camden,  was 
killed  in  action  on  October  7,  1918,  in  the  Argonne  Forest 
battle.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  L,  337th  Infantry,  and 
was  first  reported  as  missing  in  action.  Murtha  was  the  son  of 
Mrs.  Emma  Murtha,  of  322  Point  street. 

NORMAN  NICHOLSON,  Private,  of  45  West  End  avenue, 
Haddonfield,  died  from  pleural  pneumonia  at  Camp  Dix  on 
October  4,  1918.  He  was  called  to  the  colors  on  May  27,  1918, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years  and  was  attached  to  the  153d 
Depot  Brigade.  Owing  to  his  impaired  health  he  was  assigned 
to  the  camp  post  office  as  a  clerk,  and  when  the  Spanish  influ- 
enza epidemic  broke  out  he  was  stricken  and  pneumonia  quickly 
developed.  He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Nicholson,  of 
Haddonfield. 

JOHN  ALBERT  OVERLAND,  a  drummer  boy,  of  the'  15th 
Company,  6th  Machine  Gun  Battalion,  United  States  Marine 
Corps,  was  killed  in  action  in  Belleau  Woods,  France,  June  15, 
1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Albert  G.  Overland,  of  517  Borton 
street,  Camden,  and  enlisted  in  the  Marine  Corps  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  as  a  bugler  on  July  21,  1914.  He  was  among  the 
first  troops  to  land  in  France.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
rated  a  drummer  boy. 

NOAH  J.  PALMER,  Private,  of  701  Baxter  street.  Camden,  died 
in  France  on  December  5,  1918,  from  pneumonia.  He  was 
drafted  April  25,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  to  become  a 
member  of  Battery  D,  349th  Field  Artillery.  He  was  the  hus- 
band of  Mrs.  Clara  Palmer  and  son  of  Mrs.  Mary  Anderson. 

LEON  P.  PARKER,  Private,  of  139  North  Twenty-sixth  street, 
Camden  died  at  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.,  on  October 
13,  1918,  from  plural  pneumonia.  He  enlisted  in  Company  B, 
Camden  Engineers,  in  April,  1917,  and  left  with  the  company 
for  Sea  Girt  on  July  25,  1917.  In  August  he  was  transferred 
to  Camp  McClellan,  where  the  company  became  part  of  the 
104th  Engineers.  He  was  injured  at  the  camp  and  an  operation 
prevented  him  from  going  to  France  when  the  regiment  sailed 


38  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

in  June.  1918.  After  recovering  from  the  operation  he  was  de- 
tained at  the  camp  in  a  clerical  capacity  and  succumbed  during 
the  Spanish  influenza  epidemic.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Annie  Parker,  of  Parkertown,  N.  J.,  and  made  his  home  with  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Alice  P.  Farrell,  of  139  North  Twenty-sixth  street. 
Parker  was  twenty-two  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

BERT  PENNINGTON,  Private,  of  900  Penn  street,  Camden, 
died  of  pneumonia  in  France  on  October  7,  1918.  Penning- 
ton enlisted  on  June  3,  1918,  and  was  sent  to  Camp  Humphreys, 
Va.,  where  he  became  a  member  of  Company  M,  2d  Engineers. 
From  there  he  was  sent  overseas,  where  he  died.  He  was  the 
husband  of  Mrs.  Laura  Pennington  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Ann  Pennington,  of  952  South  Ninth  street. 

OLIVER  R.  PURNELL,  Private,  of  917  North  Thirty-second 
street,  Camden,  died  from  odemia  of  lungs,  brought  about 
as  the  result  of  mustard  gassing  by  the  enemy  in  the  Chateau- 
Thierry.  His  death  occurred  on  July  5,  1918.  He  enlisted  on 
April  3,  1917,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum,  New  York,  where  he 
was  assigned  to  Company  I,  30th  Infantry.  He  was  transferred 
to  Company  I,  38th  Infantry,  then  the  Machine  Gun  Company  of 
the  23d  Infantry,  and  later  to  Company  D,  5th  Machine  Gun 
Battalion.  He  was  the  son  of  Oliver  and  Emily  Purnell,  of  917 
North  Thirty-second  street. 

JOHN  HOWARD  READ,  Regimental  Sergeant  Major,  of  2926 
Westfield  avenue,  Camden,  died  of  pneumonia  in  France 
on  February  17,  1919.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  John  R.  Read, 
then  pastor  of  Asbury  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Camden. 
Sergeant  Major  Read  was  drafted  on  February  27,  1918,  and 
sent  to  Camp  Dix.  He  was  a  stenographer  and  was  immedi- 
ately attached  to  headquarters  of  the  78th  Division.  He  was 
promoted  Battalion  Sergeant  Major  in  June,  1918,  just  as  the 
division  was  sailing  for  overseas.  He  was  promoted  Regimental 
Sergeant  Major  in  France. 

CORNELIOUS  REDD,  Private,  of  1814  Mulford  street,  Cam- 
den, died  from  Spanish  influenza  at  Camp  Dix  on  October 
7,  1918,  after  two  weeks  service  in  the  army.  He  was  drafted 
on  September  26,  1918,  and  sent  to  the  cantonement,  where  he 
was  assigned  to  Company  5,  Section  S,  Colored  Detention 
Barracks.  He  was  buried  in  Camden  county.  Private  Redd 
was  twenty-one  years  old  and  the  son  of  Mrs.  Clara  Redd,  of 
1046  Ferry  avenue. 


RECORDS  OF  HEROIC  DEAD.  39 

SAMUEL  J.  REICHARD,  Private,  of  1138  Louis  street,  Cam- 
den, was  killed  on  October  12,  1918,  during  the  initial  attack 
on  Bois  de'Ormont,  north  of  Verdun,  France.  He  was  attempt- 
ing to  capture  a  German  machine  gun  position  when  he  was 
missed.  He  was  reported  missing  first  by  the  Government.  It 
was  first  believed  he  had  been  taken  prisoner,  but  it  later  de- 
veloped that  he  had  been  killed.  Reichard  was  a  member  ot 
Company  G,  114th  Infantry,  and  left  Camden  with  the  3d  Regi- 
ment New  Jersey  National  Guard,  on  July  25,  1917.  He  was 
the  son  of  Jacob  Reichard,  of  1138  Louis  street. 

RICHARD  L.  REIGHN,  Private,  resided  at  15  East  Atlantic 
avenue,  Haddon  Heights,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  old  3d 
Regiment,  New  Jersey  National  Guard,  in  1916.  He  went  to  Sea 
Girt  with  the  regiment  on  July  25,  1917,  and  also  to  Camp 
McClellan,  Anniston,  Alabama,  when  the  New  Jersey  Guards- 
men were  sent  there.  When  the  Twenty-ninth  Division  was 
formed  he  became  a  member  of  Company  F,  114th  Infantry,  and 
went  overseas  with  that  unit.  Reighn  was  killed  in  action  on 
October  12,  1918,  in  the  Argonne  Forest.  At  first  he  was  re- 
ported missing,  but  the  Government  later  confirmed  his  death. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  and  Marie  Reighn,  of  428  Evans 
street,   Camden. 

JAMES  E.  REYNOLDS,  Sergeant,  of  458  Liberty  street,  Cam- 
den, died  from  disease  contracted  on  a  return  trip  to  this  city 
in  quest  of  a  deserter.  He  located  the  deserter  at  Riverton,  but 
was  stricken  with  pneumonia  and  died  at  Cooper  Hospital  on 
April  10,  1918.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  G,  114th  Infan- 
try, and  was  a  member  of  the  3d  New  Jersey  National  Guard 
ten  years  before  the  regiment  went  to  Camp  McClellan,  Annis- 
ton, Ala.  He  came  from  Anniston  to  Riverton  to  capture  the 
deserter.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Fannie  Reynolds,  of  458 
Liberty  street. 

HARRY  ROLES,  of  no  Lawnside  avenue,  Collingswood,  died 
at  Great  Lakes  Naval  Station  on  October  3,  1918,  from  spinal 
meningitis,  following  an  attack  of  Spanish  influenza  and 
pneumonia.  He  was  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Eva  Roles,  of  Atlantic 
avenue,  Collingswood,  and  the  son  of  William  M.  Roles,  of 
Knight  avenue,  the  same  borough.  At  the  age  of  thirty  years 
he  enlisted  in  the  Naval  Aviation  Corps  on  June  27,  1918,  but 
was  not  called  to  service  until  September  9.  He  was  dead  in 
less  than  a  month  after  entering  the  service. 


40  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

DAVID  H.  ROSS,  Private,  of  844  Spruce  street,  Camden,  died  at 
Camp  Meade,  Maryland,  September  28,  1918,  from  pneu- 
monia. He  was  the  son  of  Horace  and  Sarah  Ross  and  the  hus- 
band of  Mrs.  Thelma  Porter  Ross.  He  was  drafted  August  28, 
1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Meade,  where  he  was  assigned  to  the 
12th  Company,  154th  Depot  Brigade.  Later  he  was  transferred 
to  Company  D,  32d  Machine  Gun  Battalion. 

BENJAMIN  J.  SANDLOW,  Private,  of  1238  Mechanic  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  on  July  18,  1918,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Allies  major  offensive.  He  enlisted  right  atfer  the 
United  States  entered  the  Great  War  and  was  sent  to  Fort 
Slocum.  He  was  assigned  to  Company  F,  9th  infantry.  Sandlow 
was  reported  missing  on  July  18  and  a  year  later  the  Government 
officially  declared  him  dead.  He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Sandlow,  of  1238  Mechanic  street. 

ALBERT  T.  SCHLEICHER,  JR.,  lived  on  Jackson  avenue, 
North  Merchantville.  He  entered  the  service  in  August, 
1918,  in  the  ground  aviation  service.  He  spent  two  months  at 
Camp  Humphreys,  and  died  there  of  Spanish  influenza  on 
October  9,  1918. 

WILLIAM  SCHUCKER,  Private,  of  935  Pearl  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  action  in  France  on  October  16,  1918.  Schucker 
was  a  member  of  the  Machine  Gun  Company  of  the  309th  Infan- 
try when  he  was  killed  in  the  Argonne  Forest.  He  was  drafted  in 
February,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix,  prior  to  which  time  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Camden  City  Fire  Department.  He  was 
the  son  of  Mrs.  Mary  Schucker. 

JOHN  J.  SHELDON,  Private,  of  Gloucester  City,  died  at 
Syracuse  Recruit  Camp,  Syracuse,  New  York,  on  October 
13,  1918,  from  pneumonia.  The  young  man  was  drafted  July 
29,  1918,  and  sent  to  Syracuse,  where  he  was  assigned  to  Battery 
A,  126th  Field  Artillery.  He  was  the  son  of  Louis  and  Mary 
Sheldon,  and  resided  at  100  North  Broadway,  Gloucester 
City. 

KENNETH  L.  STECK,  Private,  of  214  North  Fifth  street, 
Camden,  died  from  pneumonia  in  April.  1918,  at  Camp  Mc- 
Clellan,  Anniston,  Ala.  He  enlisted  in  the  Camden  Engineers 
and  became  a  member  of  Company  B,  104th  Engineers,  when 
his  outfit  reached  Anniston  for  training.  Private  Steck  was  24 
years  old  and  was  the  son  of  Rev.  A.  R.  Steck,  of  Carlisle,  Pa. 


RECORDS   OE    HEROIC    DEAD.  41 

HARRY  A.  STEEPLE,  Private,  of  826  South  Fifth  street,  Cam- 
den, was  killed  in  a  heroic  manner  at  Vaux,  France,  July 
2,  1918.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  E,  9th  Infantry,  and  he 
gave  his  life  while  participating  in  the  capture  of  500  Germans. 
His  body  was  buried  at  Monnaux,  France.  He  was  a  dispatch 
bearer  or  runner  and  was  taking  a  dispatch  for  his  command- 
ing officer  while  his  company  was  forcing  the  enemy  to  retreat 
when  he  was  killed.  Private  Steeple  enlisted  in  the  Navy  when 
America  entered  the  war.  He  marched  away  with  the  Second 
Battalion,  New  Jersey  Naval  Militia,  to  League  Island,  on  Easter 
Day,  1917,  but  was  rejected.  On  July  20,  1917,  he  enlisted  in 
the  army,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum.  He  sailed  for  France 
on  September  7,  1917.  The  young  soldier  was  the  only  son  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Steeple,  of  826  South  Fifth  street. 

EDWARD  J.  STIEGERWALD,  Private,  of  605  South  Third 
street,  Camden,  was  drafted  April  17,  1918,  and  sent  to 
Camp  Dix,  where  he  was  assigned  to  Battery  A.  307th  Field 
Artillery.  He  was  badly  wounded  in  the  Argonne  Forest  battle 
on  October  21,  1918,  and  died  two  days  later.  He  was  the  son 
of  Edward  Stiegerwald,  of  605  South  Third  street. 

FRED  D.  STIMPSON,  Private,  of  325  Walnut  avenue,  Audu- 
bon, died  from  pneumonia  on  October  12,  1918,  shortly  after 
he  arrived  in  France.  He  was  a  member  of  Battery  F,  73d  Rail- 
way Artillery  Regiment.  He  enlisted  in  the  Coast  Artillery  on 
May  15,  1918,  at  the  age  of  21  years,  and  was  sent  to  Fort 
Slocum,  New  York.  He  was  transferred  to  Fort  Adams,  Rhode 
Island,  and  sailed  for  France  in  September  and  arrived  on  the 
last  day  of  the  month.  He  died  thirteen  days  after  reaching 
France.     He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  P.  Stimpson. 

EBEN  STOUT,  Private,  of  1140  South  Tenth  street,  Camden, 
was  killed  in  action  on  September  26,  1918,  in  the  Argonne 
Forest  battle.  Stout  entered  the  service  November  28,  1917,  and 
was  sent  to  Camp  Merritt  as  a  member  of  Company  M,  15th 
New  York  Infantry.  This  became  Company  M,  of  369th  Infan- 
try, and  sailed  for  France  in  January,  1918.  He  was  the  son  of 
George  and  Isabella  Stout. 

WILLIAM  P.  TATEM,  Private,  of  885  Haddon  avenue,  Col- 

lingswood,  died  at  Camp  Devons,  Massachusetts,  from  pneu- 
monia on  March  30,  1918.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  he 
enlisted  on  March  1,  1918,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  the  month 


42  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

he  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum.  From  there  he  was  transferred 
to  Camp  Devens  in  a  few  days  and  assigned  to  Company  B, 
33d  Engineers.  His  death  occurred  within  a  month  from  the 
day  he  enlisted.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  R.  Tatem,  of 
Collingswood. 

GEORGE  E.  TREBING,  Private,  of  508  North  Fifth  street, 
Camden,  died  of  wounds  on  October  19,  1918,  in  a  church 
partially  wrecked  by  the  enemy  at  Grand  Pre,  which  was  being 
used  as  a  hospital.  He  was  charging  with  his  squad  in  Com- 
pany D,  309th  Infantry,  when  he  was  shot  in  the  side  by  German 
machine  gunners  and  fell.  A  comrade  carried  him  back  to  the 
old  church,  where  he  died.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Carl  E.  Trebing,  and  was  29  years  old  when  drafted  on  February 
25,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  training. 

RAYMOND  C.  THOIRS,  Corporal,  of  524  Market  street,  Cam- 
den, died  of  wounds  on  October  5,  1918.  He  was  a  member 
of  Companjr  B,  104th  Engineers,  and  his  regiment  had  just  left 
Malincourt  and  was  on  its  way  to  the  Argonne  Forest  when  he 
was  wounded  on  September  25,  1918.  Corporal  Thoirs  enlisted  in 
the  Camden  Engineers  and  was  sent  to  Camp  McClellan, 
Anniston,  Ala.,  for  training.  The  regiment  sailed  for  France  on 
June  20,  1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  M. 
Thoirs,  and  was  twenty-two  years  of  age. 

ALBERT  CHARLES  THOMPSON,  Private,  of  425  Market 
street,  Camden,  was  killed  in  action  on  October  19,  1918,  at 
Boisi  Loge,  between  Grand  Pre  and  St.  Juvin,  France.  He  was 
a  member  of  Company  D,  309th  Infantry,  and  joined  the  2d 
New  Jersey  Field  Artillery,  which  was  recruited  soon  after 
this  country  entered  the  world  war.  He  secured  his  discharge 
from  the  artillery  so  that  he  could  be  drafted.  He  was  called 
on  February  25,  iqi8,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix.  His  regiment  left 
the  cantonement  for  France  on  May  29,  1918.  Thompson  was 
twenty-four  years  old  and  the  son  of  Sergeant  Charles  F. 
Thompson,  of  Company  A,  Camden  Battalion,  State  Militia 
Reserve. 

JOSEPH  A.  TINSMAN,  First  Lieutenant,  husband  of  Katherine 
Ormsby  Tinsman,  410  North  Centre  street,  Merchantville, 
was  commissioned  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  where  he  was  an  assistant 
engineer  for  the  State  Department  of  Health.  He  was  called 
to  service  on   November   17,   1917,  entering  the  Sanitary  Corps, 


RECORDS   OE   HEROIC   DEAD.  43 

26th  Engineers,  Company  E,  and  was  sent  to  Camp  Dodge, 
Iowa.  He  stayed  there  for  six  months  and  then  went  to  Camp 
Wheeler,  Georgia,  for  one  month.  On  August  17,  1918,  he 
sailed  from  New  York  for  Liverpool.  Soon  after  landing  he 
was  sent  to  Le  Havre,  France,  where  he  began  active  service  im- 
mediately. He  was  in  the  battle  at  Argonne  Forest.  While  rush- 
ing one  of  his  motor  water  purification  tanks  to  the  front 
lines,  over  a  shell  swept  road  between  St.  Pierre  and  Sommath, 
he  received  his  mortal  wound  in  October. 

WILLIAM  TROUTT,  Private,  of  321  Oakland  avenue,  Audu- 
bon, was  killed  in  action  on  October  18,  1918,  in  the  Argonne 
Forest.  He  went  to  France  as  a  member  of  Company  D,  312th 
Infantry,  arriving  there  on  June  6,  1918.  Troutt  was  drafted 
February  28,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  training.  His 
parents  are  deceased,  and  his  oldest  sister  is  Mrs.  Frank  Kelly, 
of  220  Merchant  street,  Audubon. 

WILLIAM  E.  TRUXTON,  Private,  121  North  Twenty-first 
street,  Camden,  died  at  the  Camden  County  Tuberculosis 
Sanitorium  at  Ancora  from  pneumonia  and  tuberculosis  on  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1918.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  K,  311th  Infantry, 
and  was  drafted  on  September  20,  1917,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix. 
He  had  been  ill  a  year  and  when  subjected  to  army  life,  he 
quickly  wasted  and  became  so  ill  on  a  visit  home  that  he  was 
unable  to  return  to  camp.  He  was  removed  to  the  county  hos- 
pital, where  he  died.  Private  Truxton  was  twenty-one  years  old 
and  was  the  son  of  George  E.  and  Rose  B.  Truxton,  of  454  East 
Main  street,  Moorestown. 

WALTER  TUCKER,  Private,  of  Haddonfield,  was  killed  in 
action  September  20,  1918,  near  Belfort,  France,  in  the  Alsace 
sector.  He  was  a  member  of  Company  G,  114th  Infantry,  and 
left  Camden  with  the  3d  Regiment,  New  Jersey  National  Guard, 
on  July  25,  1917,  for  Camp  Edge,  and  later  was  sent  with  his 
regiment  to  Camp  McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.,  for  several 
months  training  before  going  overseas. 

FRANK  H.  VALENTINE,  Private,  of  nil  Penn  street,  Cam- 
den, was  killed  in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on  Novem- 
ber 6,  1918.  Drafted  on  May  13,  the  same  year,  he  was  sent 
to  Camp  Hancock,  Georgia,  and  became  a  member  of  Company 
II,  Machine  Gun  Training  Center.  When  transferred  for  over- 
seas duty  he  was  attached  to  the  Machine  Gun  Company  of  the 
i02d  Infantry.     He  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Clara  Sophia  Valentine. 


44  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

GAETANO  VINCIGNERRA,  Private,  of  912  Locust  street, 
Camden,  was  killed  in  action  in  the  Argonne  Forest  on 
October  4,  1918.  The  son  of  Alfred  Vincignerra,  he  was  drafted 
on  February  25,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  training.  He 
became  a  member  of  Company  D,  309th  Infantry,  and  sailed 
to  France  wfth  that  regiment  in  May,  1918. 

HARRY  C.  WAGNER,  Private,  of  641  Pine  street,  Camden, 
was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Philip  Wagner.  He  enlisted 
June  2,  1917,  as  a  member  of  Battery  B,  79th  Field  Artillery, 
first  going  to  Camp  Slocum,  then  to  Camps  Riley,  Merritt  and 
Fort  Sam  Houston.  He  sailed  for  overseas  September  18,  1918, 
and  died  at  Pont  du  Lac,  France,  March  27,  1919,  from 
pneumonia. 

MARTIN  R.  WALDVOGEL,  Private,  of  Atco,  was  stricken  on 
November  14,  1918,  and  died  two  days  later  from  pneumonia. 
He  served  in  Headquarters  Company,  312th  Infantry,  78th 
Division,  in  all  the  important  battles  that  division  was  in.  He 
was  drafted  February  25,  1918.  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  train- 
ing. He  sailed  for  overseas  with  his  regiment  in  the  following 
May.  The  young  soldier  was  the  son  of  Martin  and  Daisy 
Waldvogel,   of  Atco. 

AUGUST  F.  WALTER,  Private,  was  30  years  old,  and  resided 
at  1033  South  Fifth  street,  Camden,  where  he  left  his 
widowed  mother,  Mrs.  Emma  Walter,  when  he  departed  as  a 
selectman  on  May  27,  1918,  going  to  Camp  Dix.  He  left  for 
France  August  24  as  a  member  of  Company  C,  312  Engineers. 
He  contracted  pneumonia  and  died  in  France  on  October  22, 
1918. 

ELIZABETH  H.  WEIMANN  was  a  nurse  at  Cooper  Hospital 
until  she  enlisted  with  the  American  Red  Cross  and  went 
abroad.  She  did  splendid  work,  especially  in  connection  with 
the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish  influenza.  Miss  Weimann  con- 
tracted this  malady  and  died  on  November  6,  1918.  Her  mother 
is  Mrs.  Bertha  Helen  Weimann,  of  217  Ninth  avenue,  Haddon 
Heights.  She  was  the  only  woman  in  the  service  from  Camden 
county  to  give  her  life  in  the  Great  War. 

PHILIP  C.  WENDELL,  Private,  of  320  Point  street,  Camden, 
was  drafted  August  28,  1918,  and  went  to  Camp  Meade  as 
a  member  of  the  12th  Company,  3d  Training  Battalion,  154th 
Depot  Brigade.  He  died  from  pneumonia  at  Camp  Meade  in 
November,  1918. 


RECORDS   OF    HEROIC    DEAD.  45 

EARL  C.  WILLETT,  Private,  of  571  Mickle  street,  Camden, 
died  on  October  16,  1918,  in  Cooper  Hospital  from  Spanish 
influenza.  He  was  a  member  of  Battery  E,  7th  Field  Artillery, 
and  was  gassed  so  badly  in  the  battle  of  Toul,  France,  on  March 
26,  1918,  that  he  was  sent  back  to  this  country  to  recuperate. 
He  suffered  from  a  throat  and  lung  affection  as  the  result  of 
the  gas  attack  and  was  being  treated  at  the  Government  Army 
Hospital  at  Otisville,  New  York.  While  home  on  a  furlough 
during  the  influenza  epidemic  he  contracted  the  disease  and 
died.  He  was  21  years  of  age  and  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Matilda 
Willett.  He  enlisted  May  8,  1917,  and  was  sent  to  Fort  Slocum, 
New  York.  He  was  transferred  to  Fort  Sam  Houston,  Texas, 
from  which  camp  he  went  overseas. 

NORMAN  W.  WOHLKEN,  Private,  of  2006  Cooper  street, 
Camden,  died  of  wounds  in  the  Argonne  Forest  battle  on 
October  26,  1918.  He  was  wounded  in  the  back  and  succumbed 
from  the  loss  of  blood.  Wohlken  was  drafted  February  25, 
1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Dix,  where  he  was  assigned  to  Company 
C,  309th  Infantry,  78th  Division,  with  which  regiment  he  sailed 
for  France  in  May,  1918.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  H.  Wohlken,  of  2005  Cooper  street. 

JOHN  WOJTKOWIAK,  Private,  of  1212  Chestnut  street,  Cam- 
den, was  killed  in  action  on  November  1,  1918,  near  St. 
George's,  in  the  Meuse,  by  shell  fire.  Death  came  instantly  to 
this  young  man,  who  was  a  student  for  holy  orders.  He  was 
drafted  July  9,  1918,  and  sent  to  Camp  Humphreys,  Va.  He  was 
a  member  of  Company  D,  4th  Engineers.  He  was  the  son  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  L.  Wojtkowiak,  of  1212  Chestnut  street. 

THOMAS  H.  WRIGHT,  Private,  was  22  years  old  and  the  son 

of  Mrs.  Margaret  Wright,  of  34  York  street,  Camden.  He 
was  one  of  the  selectmen,  entering  the  service  September  9, 
1918,  as  a  member  of  Company  L,  E.  T.  R.  He  went  to  Camp 
Humphreys,  where  he  remained  four  weeks  and  two  days,  when 
he  died  from  pneumonia  on  October  n,  1918. 

ELLWOOD  K.  YOUNG,  Private,  of  21  West  Stiles  avenue, 
Collingswood,  died  from  pneumonia  on  December  2,  1918, 
just  two  days  after  being  pronounced  cured  from  wounds  re- 
ceived during  an  accident  in  the  Argonne  Forest.  Young  was 
a  motorcycle  runner  and  in  rising  from  a  shell  hole  during  an 


46  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

attack  his  belt  became  fastened  in  something  and  was  torn  from 
his  waist.  When  the  pistol  in  the  holster  fastened  to  the  belt 
fell,  the  weapon  exploded  and  he  was  wounded.  He  recovered 
only  to  contract  pneumonia.  Young  was  twenty  years  old  and 
enlisted  July  21,  1917,  in  the  old  3d  Regiment  four  days  before 
its  departure  for  Camp  Edge,  Sea  Girt.  He  went  to  Camp 
McClellan,  Anniston,  Alabama,  with  the  regiment  and  was 
transferred  to  Company  B,  111th  Machine  Gun  Battalion.  He 
was  the  son  of  William  H.  and  Azza  Young,  of  Collingswood. 

TOWNSEND  C.  YOUNG,  Private,  of  Gloucester  City,  wa? 
killed  in  action  on  October  12,  1918,  north  of  Verdun 
when  the  29th  Division  entered  the  Argonne-Meuse  battle.  He 
was  a  member  of  Company  G,  114th  Infantry,  and  went  away 
from  Camden  with  the  3d  New  Jersey  National  Guard,  on  July 
25,  1917,  and  was  trained  at  Camp  Edge,  New  Jersey,  and  Camp 
McClellan,  Anniston,  Ala.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Young,  of  Gloucester  City. 


48 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


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£ 


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CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  49 

DEPARTURE  OF  TROOPS. 
Navae  Militia. 

THE  first  military  organization  to  be  called  into  ser- 
vice immediately  after  America  entered  the  war 
was  the  Second  Battalion,  Naval  Militia,  National  Guard 
of  New  Jersey.  The  organization  was  ordered  mobilized 
on  the  night  of  the  day  that  war  was  declared,  April  6, 
1 9 17,  and  within  three  hours  85  per  cent,  of  the  men 
had  reported  to  their  barracks  on  the  fourth  floor  of  the 
Temple  Building.  They  marched  away  on  Easter  Sun- 
day morning,  April  8,  in  command  of  Commander 
Francis  W.  Hoffman.  City  Solicitor  E.  G.  C.  Bleakly 
bade  them  farewell  on  behalf  of  the  city  and  Rev.  John 
B.  Haines,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  Centenary  M.  E.  Church; 
Rev.  George  H.  Hemingway,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  Rev.  Homer  J.  Vosburgh,  D. 
D.,  pastor  of  North  Baptist  Church,  presented  each  man 
with  New  Testaments  on  behalf  of  the  Christian  ministry 
of  the  city. 

There  were  225  officers  and  men  in  the  battalion  con- 
sisting of  three  divisions  of  seamen  and  one  division  of 
engineers.  They  left  for  League  Island  Navy  Yard  to 
report  aboard  the  United  States  cruiser  Chicago  for 
training.  These  men  soon  became  seasoned  seamen  and 
were  transferred  to  different  branches  of  the  Navy. 
Quite  a  number  remained  aboard  the  Chicago  during  the 
war.  Some  of  the  former  militiamen  went  into  Siberia 
with  the  American  forces. 

The  officers  of  the  battalion  were:  Commander,  Fran- 
cis W.  Hoffman;  Lieutenant  Commander,  William  G. 
Hodgson;  Lieutenants,  Edward  O.  Holloway,  William 
J.  Auten  and  George  W.  Keefe;  Lieutenants,  junior 
grade,  Henry  R.  De  La  Rente,  Stewart  Johnson,  Wilton 
R.  Cole,  Townsend  E.  Boyer;  Ensign,  James  G.  Wil- 
liamson; Assistant  Surgeon,  David  F.  Bentley,  Jr.,  M. 


50  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

D. ;  Past  Assistant  Paymaster,  Albert  F.  Wayne ;  Assist- 
ant Paymaster,  Dr.  Harold  I.  Cragin. 

Departure  of  Guardsmen 

Wednesday,  July  25,  1917,  was  one  of  those  humid, 
sticky  midsummer  days  with  the  early  morning  sun  hid- 
den behind  a  midst.  The  night  before  had  been  hot,  but 
it  did  not  prevent  the  relatives  of  the  boys  of  the  Camden 
companies,  of  the  old  Third  Regiment,  Battery  B  and 
Company  B,  104th  Engineers,  crowding  the  armories  to 
see  as  much  of  their  boys  before  the  departure  as  pos- 
>ible.  Many  took  their  final  leave  then  and  the  scenes 
all  about  were  very  affecting.  As  for  the  youthful  sol- 
diers themselves,  they  did  not  have  very  much  time  for 
sentiment  because  everything  had  to  be  in  readiness  for 
the  departure  the  next  morning.  It  was  indeed  a  hustling 
scene,  although  in  later  days  and  after  the  gruelling  ex- 
periences with  actual  warfare  their  efforts  then  were 
rather  amateurish.  But  the  spirit  was  willing  and  what 
they  lacked  in  training  they  made  up  in  energy,  so  that 
by  sunup  on  the  25th  all  was  in  readiness  for  the  leave- 
taking  from  their  armories. 

With  Mayor  Ellis  at  the  head,  the  Public  Safety  Com- 
mittee planned  to  see  the  Battery,  the  Engineers  and  the 
old  Third  off,  but  the  artillerymen  had  entrained  before 
it  was  possible  to  assist  in  escorting  them  to  the  train  on 
Border  street,  just  opposite  the  Camden  Iron  Works. 
However,  the  committee  arrived  before  the  train  left  and 
the  young  guardsmen  were  given  a  royal  sendoff.  One 
of  the  cars  bore  the  legend  in  chalk : 

"Battery  B  off  to  give  the  Kaiser  hell." 

That  showed  the  spirit  of  the  boys  and  caused  many 
smiles  amidst  the  tears  of  those  left  behind.  The  young- 
sters in  khaki  yelled  their  farewells  to  relatives  and 
friends  and  were  quite  anxious  to  get  off  because  the 
partings  in  most  cases  had  touched  them  deeply.     They 


DEPARTURE    OF   TROOPS.  5 I 

waved  their  hands  and  the  crowd  yelled  as  exactly  at  8 
o'clock  the  train  pulled  up  the  grade  and  left  for  Sea 
Girt. 

Then  the  committee,  with  the  mayor,  hurried  to  the 
Third  Regiment  armory  where  Companies  B,  C,  D  and 
M,  under  command  of  Major  Winfield  S.  Price,  to- 
gether with  the  company  of  engineers  in  command  of 
Captain  Howard  B.  Keasby,  were  getting  ready  to  leave. 
There  was  a  great  throng  along  Haddon  avenue  waiting 
for  the  big  armory  doors  to  open  and  finally  they  slowly 
raised.  There  was  heard  a  bugle  call  and  then  the  tramp, 
tramp  of  hundreds  of  feet.  And  with  Colonel  Thomas 
D.  Landon  at  the  head,  issued  forth  the  gallant  old 
Third  with  the  regimental  band  playing  "Auld  Lang 
Syne."  There  was  a  thrill  and  sudden  silence  on  the 
throng  and  then  it  burst  into  such  cheers  as  the  city  had 
never  heard  before.  Rank  after  rank  followed  the  col- 
onel and  with  heavy  army  accoutrement  the  boys  took 
up  the  march  to  the  Federal  street  terminal  to  entrain. 

This  soul-stirring  procession  was  headed  by  Police 
Captain  William  E.  Alberts  and  a  squad  of  mounted 
policemen,  then  the  mayor  and  the  Public  Safety  Com- 
mittee afoot  followed  by  the  guardsmen  and  the  engi- 
neers. All  along  the  way  the  curbline  was  crowded  by 
thousands  and  it  was  quite  evident  that  virtually  all  the 
city  and  county  was  out  to  give  the  boys  off  to  war  God 
speed.  It  was  one  of  those  inspiring  scenes  never  to  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  witnessed  the  marching  away 
of  those  in  whom  the  heart  of  the  community  was 
centered. 

At  the  terminal  there  were  many  affecting  scenes  as 
mother  or  sister  or  sweetheart,  and  in  a  few  instances 
wives,  parted  from  their  loved  ones.  Quite  a  number 
swooned  and  even  some  of  the  boys  who  had  but  a  day 
before  been  working  in  factory  or  office  and  who  were  not 
altogether  physically  trained  for  the  march  with  heavy 
accoutrements   collapsed  and   had  to  be   carried   to  the 


52  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

waiting  train.  This  was  held  in  readiness  under  the 
great  trainshed  where  the  relatives  and  friends  as  well 
as  the  city's  official  representatives  went  and  remained 
until  at  9  o'clock  when  the  signal  was  given  and  the  start 
to  Sea  Girt  was  made.  And  at  the  time  the  murkiness 
of  the  skies  cleared  and  the  sun  peeped  forth  as  the  train 
carrying  all  the  hopes  of  Camden  county  disappeared 
down  the  tracks,  taking  the  loved  ones  to  the  great  un- 
known adventure.  It  was  considered  a  happy  omen  by 
many  a  bleeding  heart,  but  in  that  great  subsequent 
Armageddon  some  were  destined  to  be  disappointed,  even 
though  most  of  them  did  come  back. 

On  the  way  to  Sea  Girt,  the  guardsmen  took  up  the 
other  companies  located  in  various  parts  of  South  Jersey 
so  that  by  the  time  camp  was  reached  that  momencous 
day  Colonel  Landon  had  virtually  all  his  men  with  him. 
For  several  weeks,  the  Third,  the  battery  and  the  engi- 
neers remained  at  Sea  Girt  and  then  wenc  to  Anniston. 
When  they  left  the  local  contingents  had  the  following 
officers : 

Colonel  Thomas  D.  Landon,  Bordentown;  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Daniel  O.  Mathers,  Woodbury;  Majors  C.  W. 
Shivers,  Woodbury;  Winfield  S.  Price,  Camden,  and 
Raymond  G.  Nixon,  Woodbury;  Captain  and  Adjutant 
J.  Walter  Scott,  Camden;  Captain  and  Quartermaster 
Walter  H.  Leedom,  West  Collingswood ;  Captain  and 
Commissary  Edmund  DuBois,  Woodbury;  Chaplain 
Charles  B.  Dubell,  Woodbury;  First  Lieutenant  and  Bat- 
talion Adjutants  Vernon  L.  D.  Stultz,  Glassboro,  and 
W.  H.  Carpenter,  Camden;  Second  Lieutenant  and  Bat- 
talion Quartermaster  Edgar  A.  Anderson,  Camden ;  Gar- 
rett R.  Schenck,  Woodbury,  and  Carl  Voelker,  Ventnor 
City;  Medical  Officers — Major  Albert  B.  Davis,  Cam- 
den ;  Captain  Rubert  Stevers,  Bordentown ;  First  Lieu- 
tenant E.  M.  Duffield,  Glassboro;  First  Lieutentant 
Thomas  Lewis,  Merchantville ;  Major  and  Disbursing 
Officer  William  H.  Chew,  Merchantville;  Line  Officers — 


54 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


D 


DEPARTURE    OF   TROOPS.  55 

Captains  Landon  E.  Angel,  Queen  Lane,  Pa.,  Co.  A. ; 
William  J.  Gore,  Camden,  Co.  B ;  George  L.  Selby,  Cam- 
den, Co.  C;  Henry  E.  Ankener,  West  Collingswood,  Co. 
D;  James  F.  Long,  Mt.  Holly,  Co.  E;  First  Lieutenants 
Harry  Mayhew,  Co.  F;  Vance  L.  Ealy,  Ocean  City,  Co. 
G;  Walter  L.  Auten,  Asbury  Park,  Co.  H ;  Albert  G.  Jag- 
gard,  Sewell,  Co.  I ;  Leonidas  Coyle,  Bridgeton,  Co.  K ; 
Abasalom  S.  Wescott,  Atlantic  City,  Co.  L;  Edward  B. 
Stone,  Burlington,  Co.  M. 

Battery  B — Captain  John  H.  Dittess,  First  Lieutenants 
Charles  D.  Dickinson  and  John  W.  Hicks,  Second  Lieu- 
tenants Charles  S.  Richards  and  George  S.  Middleton. 

Company  B,  104th  Engineers — Captain  Howard 
Keasby,  Salem;  First  Lieutenants  Beale  M.  Schmucker, 
Haddon  Heights,  and  Maxwell  B.  Allen,  Wenonah ;  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  W.  W.  Schultz,  East  Orange.  On  the 
day  Co.  B  left  Camden  it  was  joined  by  twenty  men 
recruited  at  East  Orange  by  Lieutenant  Schultz. 


56  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


TWENTY-NINTH   DIVISION   IN   FRANCE. 

THE  first  elements  of  the  29th  Division,  which  be- 
came known  as  the  Blue  and  the  Gray  Division 
because  it  was  made  up  of  National  Guardsmen  from 
New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia  and  District  of  Colum- 
bia, arrived  in  France  on  June  28,  1918,  debarking  at 
St.  Nazaire.  The  division  was  considered  able  to  fight 
without  further  training  and  entered  the  Alsace  line, 
where  it  stayed  two  months,  holding  two  different  sec- 
tors, the  first  quiet  and  the  second  enlivened  by  hot  raids 
and  heavy  shell  fire. 

The  Germans  here  tried  their  famous  trick  of  dress- 
ing up  in  French  uniforms  and  running  into  the  Amer- 
ican lines,  shouting  in  French,  "Don't  shoot !"  This  was 
followed  by  a  big  raiding  party  which  hit  the  line  at  a 
point  held  by  Company  H,  113th  Infantry.  Lieutenant 
Mayer  organized  resistance,  even  calling  up  cooks  from 
behind  the  lines.  The  raid  was  checked  and  a  counter 
raid  that  was  carried  out  later  wrecked  the  German 
positions. 

The  Germans  also  sprang  an  entirely  new  trick  on  the 
29th,  pouring  cresote  on  them  from  aeroplanes.  This 
medieval  performance  was  ineffectual. 

The  29th  had  a  career  different  from  most  American 
divisions,  because  it  was  in  closer  touch  with  the  French 
throughout  and  ably  co-operated  with  them,  often  using 
their  methods.  Some  French  experts  served  with  the 
29th  in  the  Alsace  trenches. 

On  September  24  the  division  pulled  out  of  Alsace 
and  went  to  Verdun  as  a  resrve  for  the  Argonne  attack. 
It  had  a  long,  terrible  march  up  what  the  French  call  the 
"Sacred  Way"  from  Bar  le  Due  to  Verdun.  Near 
Verdun  there  was  a  great  assemblage  of  lorries  with 


CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN   THE   GREAT    WAR.  57 


MAJOR-GENERAL  CHARLES  G.  MORTON 
Commander  of  the  Twenty-Ninth  Division 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE.  59 

Chinese  drivers  ready  to  take  them  to  the  Argonne  in 
case  of  necessity. 

Headquarters  were  posted  in  the  Verdun  citadel  and 
the  men  slept  two  nights  on  the  roadside  in  buses.  The 
division  moved  northward  October  7,  starting  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  morning  in  black  dark  and  pouring  rain. 
It  hiked  all  night,  soaked  to  the  skin. 

This  whole  Meuse  region  wherein  the  29th  operated 
was  covered  by  constant  shell  fire  and  drenched  with 
deadly  gases,  which  hung  in  the  woods  and  reeked  in 
the  valleys,  making  it  one  of  the  worst  in  the  war. 

Plan  oe  Battle. 

General  Claudel,  of  the  17th  French  Corps,  com- 
manded the  front  into  which  the  29th  Division  was  sent, 
with  the  33d  and  26th  Divisions.  The  plans  of  General 
Claudel  contemplated  that  the  attack  should  be  begun  by 
his  two  French  divisions  in  line,  the  18th  and  the  26th. 
The  1 8th  lay  in  its  trenches  with  its  left  on  the  Meuse, 
at  Samogneux,  and  its  right  about  two  and  one-half  kilo- 
meters east  of  there.  The  26th  lay  to  the  right  of  the 
18th  as  far  as  Beaumont,  also  on  a  front  of  about  two 
and  one-half  kilometers.  Still  further  to  the  right  was  a 
French  Colonial  Corps,  with  the  15th  Colonial  Division, 
next  to  the  right  of  the  26th  Division,  and  the  10th 
Colonial  Division  still  to  the  right  of  that. 

The  18th  Division  was  to  attack  straight  north,  taking 
Haumont,  the  Bois  de  Brabant  and  Ormont  Farm.  The 
26th  Division  was  to  take  the  Bois  des  Caures,  directly 
in  its  front,  and  later  the  village  of  Flabas,  north  and 
slightly  east  of  the  woods.  The  15th  Colonial  Division 
was  to  actively  protect  the  right  of  the  26th  by  advanc- 
ing and  occupying  the  ridge  of  Caurrieres  and  the 
southern  part  of  l'Herbebois.  The  10th  Colonial 
Division,  curving  round  the  bend  in  the  front  which  ran 
southeastward  toward  Fresnes  and  the  old  St.  Mihiel 


60  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

salient,  was  to  stand  fast,  but  ready  to  attack  if  events 
warranted. 

Only  after  the  18th  Division  should  have  advanced 
some  distance  would  it  be  possible  for  troops  of  the  33d 
and  29th  Divisions  to  move  forward,  when  they 
would  cross  the  river  and  swing  in  on  the  left  flank  of  the 
1 8th  Division  in  the  widening  space  between  that  flank 
and  the  Meuse.  For  this  purpose  the  58th  Brigade  of 
the  29th  Division  only  was  at  first  attached  to  the 
1 8th  French  Division,  and  was  assembled  on  the  west 
side  of  the  canal,  which  had  been  wrested  from  the 
enemy,  between  Samogneux  and  Brabant.  From  the 
latter  point  to  Consenvoye,  two  and  one-half  kilometers 
northwest,  troops  of  the  33d  Division  lay  west  of  the 
river  ready  to  advance  at  the  proper  time. 

The  mission  of  the  58th  Brigade,  29th  Division,  was 
to  clear  the  Bois  de  Consenvoye,  the  ravines  and  the 
edges  of  the  Bassois  Bois  and  the  Bois  Plat-Chene,  north 
of  it,  and  thereafter  to  direct  their  attack  northeastward. 
The  mission  of  the  33d  Division  was  to  clear  the  east 
bank  of  the  Meuse  northward  to  Sivry  and  toward  the 
westward  bend  at  Vilesnes;  this  with  their  left  flank, 
while  further  east,  they  would  take  the  Bois  de  Chaume 
and,  in  conjunction  with  the  58th  Brigade,  the  Bois 
Plat-Chene,  later  coming  up  on  the  escarpments  of  the 
Grande  Montagne.  The  26th  U.  S.  Division  was,  for 
the  present,  held  in  reserve  at  Verdun. 

Battle  Begins. 

The  attack  was  calculated  to  be  a  surprise  and  it  went 
over  the  top  without  artillery  preparation  at  5  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  October  8.  A  vigorous  barrage  was 
started  at  the  instant  that  the  infantry  moved  for- 
ward. The  desired  surprise  was  effected  and  the  re- 
sults of  the  first  day  were  highly  satisfactory.  For  the 
establishment  of  communications  across  the  river,  dur- 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


61 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE-  63 

ing  the  previous  night  the  ioth  Division  Engineers  at 
Samogneux  and  the  17th  Army  Corps  Engineers  at 
Regnsville  had  built  bridges,  while  at  dawn  and  under 
intense  shell  fire  the  ioth  Engineers  of  the  33d  Division 
threw  one  bridge  about  120  feet  long  across  the  river 
at  Brabant  and  another  at  Consenvoye,  later  repairing 
the  permanent  bridge  at  Consenvoye,  and  these  bridges 
the  American  troops  utilized  in  carrying  out  their  part 
of  the  attack.  The  13th  and  26th  Divisions  attained 
their  normal  objectives,  the  latter  taking  the  Bois  de 
Caures  and  approaching  Flabas,  the  former  going  ahead 
about  three  kilometers  into  the  Bois  de  Bribant. 

The  58th  U.  S.  Brigade,  29th  Division,  under  com- 
mand of  Col.  B.  A.  Caldwell,  attacked  from  the  canal 
bank  with  the  115th  Infantry  on  the  left  and  the  116th 
on  the  right  and  protected  by  an  accurate  barrage  from 
the  15th  Field  Artillery  Brigade.  The  advance  pushed 
on  rapidly  and  with  few  casualties,  driving  the  enemy 
ahead  and  taking  many  prisoners,  to  a  line  through  the 
southern  part  of  the  Bois  de  Consenvoye  and  around  into 
the  Bois  de  Brabant,  on  the  edge  of  the  Haumont  ravine, 
where  it  had  liaison  with  the  rest  of  the  19th  Division. 
It  had  broken  through  two  intrenched  lines  and  captured 
the  formidable  heights  of  Malbrouck  Hill  and  Hill  338. 
About  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  two  battalions  of  the 
I32d  Infantry  of  the  33d  Division  crossed  the  river  at 
Brabant  and  attacked  north  against  the  Bois  de  Chaume, 
•  taking  the  whole  woods  to  its  north  edge,  but  later  draw- 
ing back  to  the  south  edge  to  maintain  liaison  with  the 
flank  of  the  58th  Brigade,  which  was  not  so  far  north 
in  the  Bois  de  Consenvoye. 

As  soon  as  the  Germans  recovered  from  the  confusion 
caused  by  the  first  surprise  attack  on  the  second  day's 
battle,  their  immense  artillery  and  machine  gun  strength 
began  to  utilize  the  advantage  of  conditions,  and  there- 
after the  progress  of  the  French  and  American  divisions 
was  made  more  slowly  and  at  heavy  cost.     But  the  pro- 


64  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

gress  accomplished,  amounted,  in  substance,  to  a  gradual 
right  turn  on  the  pivot  of  the  26th  French  Division 
near  Beaumont,  which,  as  the  rest  of  the  front  advanced 
northeastward  slowly  worked  its  left  up  toward  Flabas, 
while  the  18th  Division,  further  west,  swung  on  a 
slightly  larger  arc  toward  Crepion  and  Moirey. 

The  58th  Brigade  of  the  29th  Division  lay  on  its  line 
through  the  Bois  de  Consenvoye  on  October  9,  because 
the  1 8th  Division,  to  its  right,  was  not  far  enough 
advanced  to  warrant  a  further  attack.  Consequently, 
when  the  attack  was  resumed  on  the  10th,  the  enemy  was 
thoroughly  prepared  and  efforts  in  conjunction  with  the 
33d  Division  on  the  left,  to  secure  the  whole  of  the  Bois 
de  Chaume  and  the  Bois  Plat  Chene,  were  repulsed  until 
toward  evening,  when  part  of  the  last-mentioned  wood 
was  secured.  Facing  a  shell  fire  the  next  day,  chiefly 
from  the  Grande  Montagne  and  the  Bois  d'Etrayes,  so 
terrific  that  it  eventually  cut  down  all  the  thick  underbush 
in  the  Bois  de  Consenvoye,  the  58th  Brigade,  29th  Di- 
vision, now  under  its  own  division  command,  pushed  up 
to  the  south  edge  of  the  Molleville  Farm,  clearing  and 
consolidated  positions,  thence  west  through  the  Bois  Plat- 
Chene,  which  were  held  until  the  15th. 

Meantime,  on  October  12,  the  57th  Brigade,  with  the 
114th  Infantry  on  the  right  and  the  113th  on  the  left, 
endeavored  to  clear  the  Bois  de  la  Reine  and  the  Bois 
d'Ormont,  in  liaison  with  the  18th  Division,  but  the 
resistance  was  very  violent,  and  little  progress  was  made. 

October  12  will  remain  in  the  memory  of  the  troops  of 
the  1 14th  Infantry  as  long  as  they  live.  The  2d  Battalion, 
formerly  members  of  the  old  3d  Regiment,  New  Jersey 
National  Guards,  began  action  without  artillery  support. 
They  succeeded  in  advancing  1,000  meters  in  a  sector 
where  the  French  had  tried  five  times  and  failed  to  gain. 
After  making  the  advance  named  they  held  on  for  five 
days,  300  meters  in  advance  of  the  French  Division. 
When  they  began  action  on  this  eventful  day  they  had 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  65 


-MAJOR   GEORGE    L.    SELBY 
Commander  of  Company  G,  114th  Infantry;  promoted  for  br 
ery  on  the  field  after  the  famous  charge  in  the  Argonne 
Forest  October  12th,  1918 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE.  67 

one  French  battery  for  support  and  the  enemy  located 
this  battery  and  put  it  out  of  commission  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  battle.  The  battalion  was  then  dependent 
on  the  one  pounders  of  Headquarters  Company  in  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Albert  S.  Howard,  of  Camden, 
which  were  blown  to  atoms.  Four  hundred  and  eighty 
men  in  the  regiment  were  killed,  fifteen  hundred 
wounded  and  gassed,  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  officers  killed 
or  wounded  and  out  of  3,500  men  in  the  114th  Regi- 
ment, who  went  into  battle,  but  681  were  fit  for  duty. 
Most  qf  these  men  suffered  machine  gun  bullet  wounds 
in  the  knees  and  recovered.  Captain  Williams,  of  Com- 
pany E,  and  Captain  Shumacker,  of  Company  F,  were 
killed.  Captain  George  L.  Selby,  of  Company  G,  and 
Captain  Edward  B.  Stone,  of  Company  H,  were  pro- 
moted majors  on  the  field.  Lieutenant  Edward  West, 
of  Camden,  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  captain  for 
bravery. 

When  the  second  big  phase  of  the  battle  began  October 
23,  the  113th  joined  the  116th  in  the  attack  on  the  final 
objective,  d'Etrayes  Ridge.  Toward  5  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  two  caterpillar  rockets  soaring  from  Hill  361 
announced  the  ridge  taken.  A  fine  machine  gun  offen- 
sive action  featured  this  attack.  Groups  of  gunners  pre- 
ceeded  the  infantry,  barraging  perpendicularly  across 
their  advance,  this  enfilading  the  enemy  and  clearing  the 
way.    The  machine  gunners'  casualties  were  heavy. 

On  October  26,  while  the  113th  repulsed  counter- 
attacks on  d'Etrayes  Ridge  the  114th  helped  the  French 
on  the  right  in  attacking  the  Bois  Belleau.  Difficulties 
were  increased  b)^  the  activities  of  a  pure  white  boche 
aeroplane  which,  almost  invisible,  sailed  overhead  direct- 
ing- artillery  fire. 

By  October  28,  the  115th  and  116th  Infantry,  having 
gained  Grande  Montagne,  all  the  Meuse  heights  were 
taken,  and  the  Allies  were  able  to  debouch  into  the 
Woevre  plain  to  flank  the  German  line  and  the  Argonne 


68  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

offensive  was  enabled  to  proceed  without  danger  from 
enfilading  fire. 

The  29th  was  relieved  October  28  by  the  79th 
Division.  During  this  action  three  Medals  of  Honor, 
approximately  200  Distinguished  Service  Crosses  and 
71  Croix  de  Guerre  were  awarded  to  the  division,  which 
lost  5,796  officers  and  enlisted  men  in  casualties  and 
captured  2,148  prisoners  and  much  artillery  and  material 
and  gained  seven  kilometers  of  ground  in  twenty  days 
of  as  bitter  fighting  as  troops  were  ever  called  upon  to 
endure. 

Division  is  Cited. 

Because  of  the  accomplishments  and  bravery  of  this 
division  the  following  citation  was  issued  by  Major 
General  Charles  G.  Morton,  the  commander : 

HEADQUARTERS  29TH   DIVISION. 

American  E.  F.,  1  Nov.  18. 
General  Orders  No.  59. 

Now  that  its  part  in  the  action  north  of  Verdun  is  finished, 
the  Division  Commander  wishes  to  take  occasion  to  express 
his  deep  appreciation  of  the  skill,  endurance  and  courage  shown 
by  the  officers  and  men  of  the  division,  including  both  staff  and 
line,  in  a  most  difficult  and  prolonged  fight. 

Everything  was  opposed  to  our  success.  We  had  a  most 
determined  enemy  in  our  front  and  one  skilled  by  four  years 
of  warfare,  whereas  this  was  the  first  real  fight  of  our  division. 
On  most  days  the  weather  was  bad  and  the  ground  difficult, 
added  to  the  fact  that  the  fighting  was  largely  in  woods.  On 
account  of  the  woods,  ravines  and  dampness,  gassing  of  our 
troops  was  easily  accomplished  and  full  advantage  of  this  fact 
was  taken  by  the  enemy  to  whom  the  use  of  gas  was  an  old 
story. 

Without  exception  the  organizations  of  the  division  and  their 
commanders  responded  heroically  to  every  call  upon  them  and 
at  the  end  of  the  fight  we  had  not  only  gained  our  objectives, 
but  we  had  therm  and  turned  them  over  to  our  successors.  We 
advanced  some  eight  kilometers  through  the  enemy's  trenches, 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  69 


CAPTAIN    EDWARD    WEST 
Promoted  for  Bravery  in  Argonne  Forest  on  October  12th,  1918 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE.  7 1 

and  captured  over  2,100  prisoners,  7  cannons,  about  200  ma- 
chine guns  and  a  large  quantity  of  miscellaneous  military  prop- 
erty. We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  two  hostile  divisions  with- 
drawn from  our  front,  one  of  which  was  composed  of  some  of 
the  best  troops  of  the  German  army.  On  many  occasions 
captured  prisoners  stated  that  our  attack  was  so  rapid  and  our 
fire  so  effective  that  they  were  overwhelmed  and  had  nothing 
to  do  but  to  retire  or  surrender. 

In  this  brief  summing  up  the  results  of  its  first  fight  the 
Division  Commander  feels  that  every  officer  and  man  partici- 
pating, whether  in  planning  or  in  executing,  should  feel  a  just 
pride  in  what  has  been  accomplished.  This  is  but  repeating  the 
praise  that  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  division  by  both  Ameri- 
can and  French  superior  commanders. 

By  command  of  Major  General  Morton: 

S.  A.   COLEMAN, 
Colonel  of  Infantry,  Chief  of  Staff. 
Official: 

HARRY   KOOPE, 
Adjutant   General,  Adjutant. 


Co.  B,  104th  Engineers 

Company  B,  First  Battalion,  New  Jersey  Engineers? 
was  organized  in  Camden  April  of  191 7  and  was  mobi- 
lized at  Sea  Girt  on  July  25,  of  the  same  year.  It  was 
composed  of  men  recruited  from  Camden  and  surround- 
ing communities  by  Major  Harry  C.  Kramer,  together 
with  a  small  group  enlisted  at  Newark  by  Second  Lieu- 
tenant William  W.  Schultz.  The  original  company  when 
mobilized  at  Sea  Girt  included  164  men  commanded  by 
Captain  Howard  B.  Keasby,  First  Lieutenant  Beale  M. 
Schmucker,  First  Lieutenant  Maxwell  B.  Allen  and  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  Schultz.  On  August  17,  1917,  Company 
B  left  Sea  Girt  and  entrained  for  Camp  McClellan,  An- 
niston,  Alabama,  where  they  arrived  August  21.  After 
arriving  at  this  camp  the  company  was  detailed  to  work 
with  Major  Dulin  in  completing  the  building  of  the 
camp,  then  in  the  first  stages  of  construction. 


J2  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

When  Camp  McClellan  was  completed  the  First  Bat- 
talion, N.  J.  Engineers,  was  made  into  a  regiment  by 
adding  three  companies  of  picked  infantry  and  was  given 
the  name  of  the  104th  Regiment  Engineers.  It  was  then 
composed  of  six  companies,  A,  B,  C,  D,  E  and  F,  con- 
sisting of  250  men  to  a  company.  The  winter  and  the 
following  spring  were  spent  at  Anniston,  while  the  men 
were  instructed  in  work  essential  to  a  sapper  regiment. 
On  June  19,  19 18,  the  regiment  sailed  for  France  on  the 
transport  "Northern  Pacific,"  and  the  trip  across  was 
without  incident  except  on  the  third  day  out,  Sunday, 
June  3,  when  guns  fore  and  aft  fired  on  a  supposed  sub 
which  turned  out  to  be  a  buoy. 

On  Wednesday,  June  26,  the  transport  dropped  anchor 
in  the  harbor  at  Brest.  This  was  5  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon and  the  landing  took  place  the  following  day,  the 
regiment  marching  to  the  Pontanezan  Barracks  where  it 
camped  for  seven  days.  On  July  3  the  people  of  Brest 
presented  the  regiment  with  the  American  colors  and 
these  were  carried  by  the  engineers  in  the  Fourth  of  July 
parade.  On  Friday,  July  5,  the  regiment  left  Brest  and 
by  easy  stages  traveled  across  France  toward  Alsace, 
billeting  at  the  towns  of  Coublanc,  Giromagny,  Chever- 
mont  and  Grosne  and  arriving  at  Courtlevant,  Alsace, 
Saturday,  July  27.  Company  B  immediately  took  up  the 
work  of  constructing  dugouts  on  the  Swiss  border.  On 
August  19  Company  B  left  Courtlevant  and  proceeded 
to  Montreaux  Vieux,  arriving  at  the  front  on  Friday. 
August  30,  where  it  was  split  into  two  detachments — two 
platoons  going  to  Hagenbach,  the  remaining  three  being 
sent  to  Ballersdorf.  Both  towns  were  constantly  under 
shell  fire  from  the  enemy  during  the  stay  of  the  detach- 
ments, but  there  were  no  casualties.  The  work  was  con- 
fined to  the  construction  of  machine  gun  emplacements 
and  observation  posts  in  the  front  line  trenches. 

Saturday,  September  21,  Company  B  marched  out  of 
Ffagenbach   and    Ballersdorf,   proceeding   to    Nouvillard 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE.  7$ 

and  then  to  Belfort  where  the  command  entrained  with 
the  regiment  and  proceeded  to  Mussy,  thence  to  Marrot 
le  Grande  and  by  auto  to  Avocourt  on  the  western  front, 
arriving  September  27.  The  transportation  section  pro- 
ceeded to  Avocourt  by  way  of  Mallancourt  and  arrived 
three  days  later,  having  been  caught  in  the  traffic  jam. 
At  Avocourt  the  command  was  under  enemy  shell  fire 
while  constructing  and  maintaining  highways  necessary 
for  the  advance  of  the  artillery,  infantry  and  ammuni- 
tion. Saturday,  October  5,  the  company  marched  to 
Samogneux,  north  of  Verdun  sector,  arriving  four  days 
later.  The  work  of  restoring  and  maintaining  the  road- 
ways was  resumed  in  addition  to  reconstructing  bridges 
and  filling  in  mine  holes  made  by  enemy  shells.  Constant 
firing  from  the  enemy  often  destroyed  the  work  as  soon 
as  it  was  finished. 

While  at  Samogneux  two  platoons  of  Company  B,  in- 
cluding eighty  men  and  three  officers,  were  sent  to  the 
Bois  du  Consenoye  and  from  there  proceeded  to  a  point 
near  the  Molleville  Farm,  about  700  yards  from  the 
enemys  trenches,  carrying  German  spiral  wire  for  the 
construction  of  entanglements.  On  the  night  of  October 
30  the  company  left  this  point  and  marched  to  Hauden- 
ville,  proceeding  from  there  to  Mongeville  by  auto.  The 
command  then  marched  to  Sommelonne,  leaving  that 
town  Monday,  November  18.  The  regiment  proceeded 
to  Nant  le  Grande,  then  to  Ligny  and  then  entrained  and 
proceeded  to  Jussy.  On  detraining  Company  B  marched 
to  Blondefontaine,  arriving  Wednesday,  November  20. 
The  company  was  later  billeted  in  several  towns  includ- 
ing Bourbonne  les  Baines,  Fresnes  sur  Aspance  and  Bour- 
beville.  Saturday  morning,  April  29,  19 19,  the  company 
marched  from  the  latter  town  to  Jussy,  entrained  and 
marched  to  Montoir  (Camp  Gutherie),  neart  Saint 
Nazaire.  Here  the  regiment  was  deloused  and  prepared 
for  embarkation  to  the  United  States.  On  the  morning 
of  May  11  the  regiment  marched  from  Montoir  to  St. 


74  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

Nazaire,  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  where  the  boys  board- 
ed the  transport  Manchuria,  which  pulled  out  for  home 
at  2  p.  m.  Ten  days  of  a  very  calm  voyage  and  the  Sta- 
tue of  Liberty  was  greeted  with  glad  acclaim.  The  regi- 
ment landed  at  Hoboken  May  22  and  proceeded  to  Camp 
Merritt  where  it  remained  for  four  days.  On  Monday, 
May  26,  the  regiment  paraded  in  Newark  and  Trenton 
and  then  proceeded  to  Camp  Dix,  remaining  several  days. 
Company  B  was  honorably  discharged  Thursday,  May 
29,  1919. 

Of  those  who  went  overseas  all  returned  save  First 
Class  Private  William  C.  Ablett,  who  was  killed  in  action 
in  the  Meuse-Argonne  offensive;  First  Class  Private 
Frank  Randle,  who  died  of  disease  on  furlough  in  Eng- 
land, and  First  Class  Private  George  A.  Bowers,  who 
died  of  disease  while  on  furlough  at  Aix-les-Bains. 

When  the  company  returned  the  officers  were :  Captain 
Percy  H.  Ridgway,  of  Washington ;  First  Lieutenant 
Beale  M.  Schmucker,  First  Lieutenant  Frank  Errico,  Jr., 
First  Lieutenant  William  W.  Schultz  and  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Coleman  B.  Burdette,  all  of  New  Jersey,  and  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  Louis  P.  Veil,  of  Ohio. 


112TH  Field  Artillery. 

Sailing  from  New  York,  on  the  H.  M.  S.  Melita, 
June  28,  1918,  the  112th  Heavy  Field  Artillery,  includ- 
ing Battery  "B"  of  Camden,  arrived  at  Liverpool, 
England,  on  the  morning  of  July  12.  Immediately  en- 
training they  traveled  throughout  the  day,  arriving  at 
Southampton  at  midnight,  where  they  went  into  camp. 
On  July  13  they  boarded  the  swift  steamer.  Prince 
George,  which  turned  her  nose  toward  the  submarine 
invested  English  Channel  shortly  before  dusk  and  raced 
desperately  for  safety  during  the  night,  arriving  at  dawn 
July  15,  in  the  port  of  Le  Havre,  France. 


TWENTY-NINTH    DIVISION    IN    FRANCE.  75 

After  resting  twenty-four  hours  in  the  camp  on  the 
heights  beyond  the  port  of  Le  Havre,  the  Camden  artil- 
lerymen entrained  on  July  15  and  proceeded  to  Poitiers, 
in  the  Department  of  Vienne,  where  they  arrived  at  mid- 
night July  17.  The  men  here  experienced  their  first 
French  billets,  being  quartered  in  a  huge  and  very  old 
stone  barn  located  in  the  village  of  Biard,  two  kilometers 
from  Poitiers. 

Completing  a  month  of  preliminary  training,  during 
which  elementary  knowledge  of  French  artillery  was 
gained,  the  organization  entrained  on  Sunday,  August 
22,  for  Camp  de  Meucon,  near  Vannes,  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Morbihan,  where  they  arrived  at  dawn  on 
August  24. 

Six  weeks  training  in  the  intricacies  of  artillery 
support,  augmented  by  daily  practice  and  frequent 
assumed  warfare  problems,  here  made  the  regiment  ready 
for  the  battle  line. 

Having  completed  the  course,  the  men  idled  until 
Sunday,  November  10,  when  they  entrained  for  an 
unknown  destination.  Word  was  received  enroute  of 
the  armistice  being  signed  and  on  November  13,  during 
the  frigid  early  morning,  they  were  ordered  to  detrain 
at  Liefold  le  Grande,  in  the  Department  of  Haute  Soane, 
and  the  Camden  battery  was  billeted  with  regimental 
headquarters  in  the  tiny  hamlet  Trampot.  The  second 
battalion  of  the  regiment  was  quartered  at  Chambron- 
court,  two  kilometers  distant. 

While  the  training  at  Camp  de  Meucon  had  been  in 
progress  word  was  definitely  received  that  the  54th 
Field  Artillery  Brigade,  of  which  the  112th  Regiment 
was  a  part,  had  been  discontinued  as  a  part  of  the  29th 
Division.  During  the  stay  at  Trampot  the  brigade  was 
independent. 

Orders  were  received  late  in  November  re-assigning 
the  organization  to  the  Blue  and  Gray  Division,  and  in 
the  driving  rain  of  a  French  winter  the  112th  H.  F.  A. 


y6  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

began  a  five  day  overland  hike  on  December  6,  1918,  for 
the  Bourbone  les  Baines  area,  where  the  division  was 
stationed. 

Jussey,  in  the  Department  of  Haute  Soane,  was  allo- 
cated as  the  regimental  area  and  headquarters  were 
established  there  on  December  11,  19 18.  The  Camden 
men  were  billeted  in  the  village  of  Condrecourt,  two 
kilometers  from  Jussey,  where  First  Battalion  headquar- 
ters were  set  up. 

A  vigorous  training  schedule  was  followed  at  this 
village  until  April  11,  1919,  when  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  the  Le  Mans  area  for  preparation  to  return 
home.  Battery  B  did  not  accompany  the  regiment  to 
Le  Mans,  but  was  designated  to  remain  in  the  billeting 
area  until  April  25,  1919,  when  they  proceeded  directly 
to  St.  Nazarine,  the  port  of  embarkation. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  JJ 


SELECTIVE  SERVICE 

THE  Seventy-eighth  Division,  which  became  known 
as  the  Lightning  Division  and  won  fame  in  the 
capture  of  St.  Mihiel  and  in  the  Argonne  Forest  by  the 
capture  of  Grand  Pre,  was  organized  under  the  Selective 
Service  Law  passed  by  Congress  on  May  18,  191 7.  The 
men  drafted  under  this  law  became  part  of  the  National 
Army.  The  majority  of  the  men  called  under  the  Selec- 
tive Service  Act  or  Draft  Law,  were  sent  to  Camp  Dix 
and  assigned  to  the  Seventy-eighth  Division. 

After  this  law  was  passed  it  was  necessary  for  the  War 
Department  to  arrange  for  the  registration  of  every  male 
citizen  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  thirty-one 
inclusive.  On  June  5,  1917,  every  citizen  of  the  ages 
prescribed  in  the  law,  not  in  the  army,  navy  or  marine 
corps,  was  compelled  to  register  under  the  law.  The 
mayor  of  each  city  was  held  responsible  for  the  registra- 
tion of  every  man  in  his  city.  The  men  registered  at  the 
polling  booth  of  their  district  with  the  election  board  in 
session  and  the  chairman  of  the  board  as  registrar.  Under 
the  act  the  mayor  of  each  city  named  division  boards  sub- 
ject to  the  approval  of  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

On  May  25,  19 17,  Mayor  Ellis  named  the  following 
division  boards : 

First  Division — First,  Second  and  Tenth  Wards : 
Judge  Frank  T.  Lloyd,  chairman;  Harry  R.  Humphreys, 
secretary;  Dr.  E.  A.  Y.  Schellenger,  medical  examiner. 

Second  Division — Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth  and  Ninth 
Wards :  Ralph  W.  E.  Donges,  chairman ;  Rev.  Holmes 
F.  Gravatt,  D.  D.,  secretary;  Dr.  Marcus  K.  Mines, 
medical  examiner. 

Third  Division — Seventh,  Eighth  and  Thirteenth 
Wards :  Rev.  John  B.  McCloskey,  chairman ;  Baptist  S. 
Scull,  secretary;  Dr.  Grant  E.  Kirk,  medical  examiner. 


7&  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

Fourth  Division — Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Wards : 
George  W.  Kirkbride,  chairman;  Samuel  Wharton,  sec- 
retary; Dr.  Charles  F.  Hadley,  medical  examiner. 

Disorder  was  threatened  throughout  the  country  by 
those  who  opposed  the  draft  but  Camden  was  ready. 
City  firemen  were  sworn  in  as  special  officers  by  the 
mayor  and  every  member  of  the  Public  Safety  Commit- 
tee called  on  to  stand  ready  to  assist  the  police  in  quelling 
any  riots.  The  day  passed  off  without  disorder.  It  was 
a  general  holiday  and  11,299  registered  in  the  city  and 
4,269  in  the  county.  Camden  was  the  first  city  in  the 
State  to  complete  its  returns  and  report  them  to  the  ad- 
jutant general  of  the  State.  The  entire  registration  in 
Camden  was  in  charge  of  William  D.  Sayrs,  Jr. 

On  July  20  the  serial  numbers  were  drawn  at  Wash- 
ington and  the  first  number  drawn  was  258.  The  men 
were  called  for  service  in  order  of  their  serial  numbers. 
The  draft  boards  sat  on  August  7  for  the  first  to  examine 
men  called  both  for  dependencies  and  physical  fitness. 
This  plan  was  later  changed  when  the  Government  issued 
questionnaires  in  which  the  men  subject  to  the  draft  were 
permitted  to  answer  all  questions  as  to  their  dependencies 
and  physical  fitness  and  file  other  claims  with  affidavits 
attached.  These  questionnaires  were  passed  on  by  the 
draft  boards  and  saved  considerable  time. 

The  division  boards  which  compiled  the  registration  of 
men  eligible  to  army  service  were  named  by  Mayor  Ellis 
as  Draft  or  Exemption  Boards.  Judge  Frank  T.  Lloyd 
and  Harry  R.  Humphreys  resigned  from  the  First  City 
Exemption  Board  and  were  succeeded  by  Thomas  E. 
French  as  chairman  and  Joseph  H.  Forsyth.  Dr.  J.  Lynn 
Mahaffey  succeeded  Dr.  Schellenger  as  medical  examiner 
after  the  latter's  death.  Ralph  W.  E.  Donges  resigned 
from  the  Second  City  Board  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Holmes  F.  Gravatt  as  chairman  and  John  F.  Griffee  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  on  the  board.  Dr.  A.  B. 
Reader  succeeded  Dr.  Grant  E.  Kirk,  who  enlisted  in  the 


SELECTIVE  SERVICE.  79 

army,  as  medical  examiner  for  the  Third  City  Draft 
Board.  Judge  Lloyd  became  Food  Administrator,  Harry 
R.  Humphreys  assumed  a  responsible  official  position  with 
the  New  York  Shipbuilding-  Corporation  and  Ralph  W. 
E.  Donges  was  commissioned  in  the  army.  Oswin  D. 
Kline  succeeded  Samuel  Wharton  on  the  Fourth  City- 
Board  and  Dr.  Lee  K.  Hammitt  succeeded  Dr.  Haclley 
as  examining  physician.  Two  county  boards  were  named 
as  follows :  First  County  Board — W.  Penn  Corson, 
chairman ;  Francis  F\  Patterson,  secretary,  and  Dr.  Frank 
O.  Stem,  medical  examiner ;  Second  County  Board : 
Henry  J.  West,  chairman;  Maurice  B.  Rudderow,  sec- 
retary; Dr.  Edward  S.  Sheldon,  medical  examiner.  The 
clerks  of  the  boards  were :  First  City,  Albert  McAllister ; 
Second  City,  Albert  Austermuhl;  Third  City,  Miss  Julia 
M.  Carey ;  Fourth  City,  Miss  Maude  Hicks ;  First  Coun- 
ty, Howard  E.  Truax ;  Second  County,  Edgar  R.  Holme. 

The  appeal  agents  for  the  boards  were  as  follows  :  First 
City  District,  James  H.  Long;  Second  City  District, 
Howard  J.  Dudley;  Third  City  District,  Ralph  D.  Chil- 
drey;  Fourth  City  District,  Francis  B.  Wallen;  First 
County  District,  Ephraim  T.  Gill,  of  Haddonfield;  Sec- 
ond County  District,  Thomas  W.  Jack,  Collingswood. 

The  first  men  were  sent  to  Camp  Dix  on  September  5, 
19 1 7.  They  were  followed  on  consecutive  days  by  sev- 
eral more  men.  A  parade  was  given  in  honor  of  the  selec- 
tive service  men  on  September  4  and  Battery  B,  First 
New  Jersey  Field  Artillery,  came  down  from  Sea  Girt 
to  participate  in  the  demonstration. 

Before  the  armistice  was  signed  43,516  had  been  reg- 
istered and  3,333  men  were  accepted  at  army  camps. 
The  available  records  show  that  1,067  men  enlisted  in  the 
army,  navy  and  marines.  The  records  also  show  that 
4,960  men  of  Camden  county  were  in  the  service. 


8o  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


SEVENTY-EIGHTH  DIVISION. 

THE  Seventy-eighth  Division  was  formed  from  the 
units  of  Selective  Service  men  sent  to  Camp  Dix 
from  New  Jersey  and  New  York.  To  be  exact  there 
were  11,806  from  this  State  and  11,064  from  New  York. 
On  August  24,  1917,  the  first  companies  of  the  311th 
Infantry  were  organized  at  Camp  Dix  and  by  September 
there  were  two  companies  from  Camden.  As  other  regi- 
ments were  formed  the  Camden  city  and  county  boys 
became  scattered  through  the  division.  The  following 
units  were  organized:  309th,  310th,  311th  and  312th  In- 
fantry; 307th,  308th  and  309th  Field  Artillery,  303d 
Trench  Mortar  Battery,  303d  Engineers,  303d  Ammuni- 
tion Train,  303d  Sanitary  Train ;  307th,  308th  and  309th 
Machine  Gun  Battalions,  beside  Field  Hospital  and  Am- 
bulance Corps. 

The  division  remained  at  ,Camp  Dix  under  intensive 
training  until  the  following  spring,  receiving  additional 
men  continually  from  New  Jersey  and  New  York  com- 
munities. Under  command  of  Major  General  J.  H. 
McRae,  the  division  began  sailing  for  France  in  May. 
The  infantry  and  artillery  sailed  on  separate  transports. 
The  artillerymen  left  Camp  Dix  for  Hoboken,  the  port 
of  embarkation,  on  May  6  and  boarded  the  great  British 
liner  Cedric,  which  was  then  being  used  as  a  transport. 
The  infantry  followed  a  few  days  later.  Both  the 
artillery  and  infantry  landed  at  Liverpool.  The  infan- 
try proceeded  across  England  and  boarded  a  transport, 
crossing  the  English  Channel  and  landed  at  Calais. 
France.  The  artillery  reached  Liverpool  May  14  and 
left  for  Southampton.  They  made  the  trip  across  the 
channel  from  this  port  to  La  Havre.     The  infantry  and 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  8l 


MAJOR-GEXERAL  JAMES  H.  McRAE 
Commander  of  Seventy-Eighth  Division 


SEVENTY-EIGHTH    DIVISION.  83 

artillery   never  joined   as   a   division   until   the   famous 
battle  in  the  Argonne  Forest. 


Infantry  at  Arras. 

The  doughboys,  as  the  infantry  was  termed,  went  to 
a  rest  camp  two  miles  from  Calais.  They  stayed  there 
four  days  and  during  their  sojourn  at  this  camp 
enemy  aeroplanes  made  an  attack.  None  of  the  soldiers 
was  killed  but  several  coolies,  employed  as  laborers, 
were  slain.  From  here  the  infantry  was  sent  to  Belquine 
in  northern  France,  from  which  place  the  roar  of  cannon 
could  be  heard.  The  division  stayed  at  Belquine  for  a 
month  under  intense  training.  They  were  moved  to 
Framecourt  toward  the  Arras  sector.  They  stayed 
there  for  a  month  and  then  hiked  twenty  miles  full  pack 
for  two  days  to  a  place  called  Duisans,  three  miles  from 
Arras,  on  the  British  front. 

Officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  were  sent  into 
the  lines  for  observation  and  experience.  The  78th  In- 
fantry expected  to  go  in  any  day  with  the  British.  On 
August  5  they  got  orders  that  they  would  go  south  to 
the  American  sector  at  St.  Mihiel.  The  doughboys  were 
visited  by  King  George  on  August  8. 

Six  weeks  of  training  in  every  kind  of  warfare  made 
the  Seventy-eighth  one  of  the  crack  units  of  the  American 
Expeditionary  Forces  and  it  became  known  as  the  Light- 
ning Division. 

The  first  battle  in  which  the  78th  Division  Infantry 
participated  was  in  the  St.  Mihiel  sector.  This  drive 
opened  on  the  morning  of  September  12,  and  the 
Lightning  Division  troops  were  given  one  of  the  most 
important  sectors  on  the  line.  They  went  into  the  bat- 
tle with  a  will,  fought  in  the  open  area  and  emerged 
victorious.  They  had  met  the  enemy  and  conquered, 
but  it  was  hard  fighting. 


84  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

The  infantry  stuck  to  its  guns  and  for  seventeen  days 
held  the  foe  and  pushed  him  back  in  one  of  the  greatest 
battles  in  history.  An  appropriate  word  picture  of  the 
battle  in  this  sector  is  hardly  possible.  At  one  time  the 
Germans  were  not  more  than  fifty  feet  from  the  Amer- 
icans, the  enemy  steadily  retreating  before  the  onslaughts 
of  the  infantry. 

The  311th  Infantry  lost  two  officers  and  fifty-four 
men,  killed  in  action  in  this  sector,  while  eight  officers 
and  221  men  were  wounded.  Forty-six  men  were 
gassed  and  one  was  reported  missing. 

The  boys  came  out  of  the  lines  on  October  5,  worn 
and  muddy,  but  with  spirits  running  high.  They 
missed  the  comrades  who  fell  before  the  enemy  fire. 

Artillery  Movements. 

Brigadier  General  Hern  commanded  the  153d  Field 
Artillery  Brigade,  made  up  of  the  78th  Division's  artil- 
lery regiments.  When  these  gunners  reached  Le  Havre 
on  May  17,  19 18,  they  were  sent  to  Camp  De  Meuchon 
for  six  weeks  training,  after  which  the  three  regiments 
were  sent  to  the  Toul  sector.  They  remained  in  position 
for  three  weeks,  but  did  not  get  into  action. 

The  307th,  308th,  and  309th  Artillery  first  went  into 
action  on  the  morning  of  September  12  in  front  of  St. 
Mihiel.  They  supported  the  90th  Division.  It  was  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  when  that  sensational  artillery 
duel  opened.  The  307th  and  308th  were  termed  as  Light 
Artillery  and  they  manned  the  famous  French  75's,  or  75 
millimeter  guns,  while  the  309th  was  designated  as 
heavy  artillery  and  they  fired  155  millimeter  guns.  It 
was  one  o'clock  on  that  famous  morning  that  the  whole 
sector,  which  prior  to  that  time  had  been  a  quiet  one  for 
four  years,  belched  forth  the  greatest  cannonading  the 
world  has  ever  known.  The  Lightning  Division  gun- 
ners were  firing  three  shells  per  minute  from  their  pieces. 


I'AMDKN     I'ol'NTV     IN    Tlllv    GREAT    WAR. 


85 


— -        A 


1 


SEVENTY-EIGHTH    DIVISION.  87 

At  five  o'clock  they  began  to  pour  their  shells  over  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  minute  from  each  cannon  and  it  seemed 
as  though  all  of  the  powers  of  hell  had  let  loose.  And  at 
five  o'clock  under  the  cover  of  this  terrible  fire  the  dough- 
boys, with  rifles  in  hand,  went  over  the  top.  They  were 
from  the  north,  south,  east  and  west.  They  advanced 
in  skirmish  line  formation,  after  the  custom  of  the  Amer- 
ican indians,  and  in  those  ranks  of  freedom  were  whites, 
indians,  negroes  and  mongolians.  They  advanced  on  St. 
Mihiel  and  captured  it  and  for  two  weeks  battered  the 
enemy  back  until  they  reached  a  position  nine  kilometers 
from  the  supposed  impregnable  fortress  of  Metz. 

The  Germans  had  fortified  Metz  for  years  and  it  was 
the  main  bulwark  against  the  Rhineland.  The  Ameri- 
cans were  eager  to  capture  the  city  and  could  have  done 
so  but  for  the  strategy  of  the  Germans.  All  of  the  Amer- 
icans taken  prisoners  by  them  were  gathered  in  Metz,  and 
when  American  aviators  learned  this,  the  assault  on  the 
city  was  not  pressed  with  vigor.  During  this  action  the 
78th's  Artillery  made  a  two-day  raid  on  Limy  in  this 
sector  with  success.  The  barrage  laid  down  by  the  Light- 
ning gunners  pleased  the  commanding  officer  of  the  90th 
Division  so  well  that  he  sent  word  back  to  General  Hern 
that  it  was  the  most  perfect  barrage  he  had  ever  received 
and  he  had  participated  in  four  other  big  drives 

But  the  assault  on  Metz  and  the  capture  of  St.  Mihiel 
proved  only  to  be  a  feint  to  keep  the  enemy  busy  while 
General  John  J.  Pershing  was  mobilizing  his  great  army 
in  the  Argonne  for  the  greatest  battle  in  the  world's  his- 
tory, and  last  battle  in  the  world  war,  which  caused  the 
crushing  defeat  of  the  German  autocracy  and  its  great 
military  machine. 

The  Lightning  Division's  Artillery  was  withdrawn 
from  the  St.  Mihiel  sector  and  sent  to  the  Argonne  to 
support  the  78th  Division  Infantry  for  the  first  time. 


88  camden  county  in  the  great  war. 

Meuse-Argonne. 

One  of  the  last  and  most  decisive  battles  was  that  of 
these  Meuse-Argonne  sector.  The  Lightning  Division 
became  the  corps  reserve  on  October  13,  and  the  follow- 
ing day  received  orders  to  be  ready  on  one  hour's  notice 
to  advance  into  the  line.  October  15  dawned  with  the 
receipt  of  orders  to  relieve  the  308th  Infantry  of  the 
Seventy-seventh  Division  and  in  the  relief  process  three 
men  were  incapacitated  by  the  gas  sent  over  unmerci- 
fully by  the  Germans. 

On  October  16,  following  orders  to  advance,  the 
troops  moved  in  utter  darkness  and  the  attack  was  com- 
menced without  an  artillery  barrage,  but  accompanied 
by  counter  battery  artillery  fire.  The  men  could  not 
advance  owing  to  the  hostile  shelling  and  machine  gun 
fire,  but  the  enemy  withdrew  north  of  the  Aire  river. 
Orders  were  received  on  October  22  to  capture  Grand 
Pre  and  to  establish  positions  in  the  woods  north  and 
northwest  of  Grand  Pre.  The  Third  Battalion  of  the 
311th  Infantry  was  designated  to  assist  the  312th  In- 
fantry in  this  operation.  Company  C,  forming  a  part 
of  the  First  Battalion,  was  ordered  to  remain  in  position 
and  continued  to  prepare  for  a  general  attack  along  the 
entire  corps  front. 

Million   Dollar   Barrage. 

What  gained  fame  afterward  as  the  "Million  Dollar 
Barrage''  was  laid  against  a  wooded  hill  near  Grand 
Pre.  This  hill  stood  between  the  78th  Division  and  the 
town.  It  was  filled  with  German  machine  gunners, 
whose  dugouts  were  so  constructed  as  to  withstand  the 
terrible  high  explosives  the  Lightning  Artillery  was 
pouring  into  them.  For  eighteen  hours  the  307th  Field 
Artillery  shelled  the  German  machine  gun  nests  with 
mustard  gas,  and  when  they  finished,  the  doughboys  had 


SEVENTY-EIGHTH    DIVISION.  89 

no  trouble  in  taking  the  woods  for  there  was  not  a  live 
German  left  in  the  vicinity.  So  much  gas  was  used 
that  it  was  estimated  that  the  attack  cost  a  million 
dollars. 

The  fighting  continued  each  day  until  November  5, 
when  orders  were  issued  for  the  relief  of  the  Lightning 
Division  by  the  426.  or  Rainbow  Division.  When 
the  78th  men  relieved  the  soldiers  of  the  77th  Division, 
the  town  of  Grand  Pre  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
Germans,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  houses  on  the 
extreme  southern  edge.  The  capture  of  the  town  itself 
was  of  no  importance  to  the  American  Army  unless  the 
heights  beyond  it  also  came  into  Yankee  possession  and 
the  78th  Division  was  called  upon  to  accomplish  the 
feat. 

The  78th  Division  kept  after  the  Germans.  When  re- 
lieved by  the  Rainbow  Division  on  November  5,  the  latter 
division  complained  that  they  were  compelled  to  march 
without  rest  to  catch  up. 

On  November  6,  after  the  troops  came  out  of  the 
lines,  they  marched  back  over  the  same  route  traversed 
when  they  advanced  toward  the  enemy.  The  regiments 
stopped  at  a  rest  camp  at  Camp  Mahont,  along  the  line, 
which  was  formerly  occupied  by  Germans.  The  huge 
camp,  housing  the  Germans  for  four  years,  showed 
every  evidence  of  their  long  occupation,  for  all  the  dug- 
outs were  built  and  furnished  elaborately.  The  suite  of 
dugouts  formerly  occupied  by  the  Crown  Prince  and 
his  high  command  evoked  much  interest  among  the 
troops  and  the  grand  fountain  and  bath  rooms  built  for 
the  Crown  Prince  were  made  good  use  of.  Narrow 
gauge  railway  tracks,  huge  tanks  of  water,  electric  power 
plants  and  many  other  conveniences  gave  proof  that  the 
enemy  was  well  situated  in  this  camp. 

The  troops  believed  then  that  they  were  on  their  way 
to  shell  Metz  again,  but  their  orders  were  changed  when 
the  armistice  was  signed  on  November  11.     They  were 


90  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

sent  to  a  point  north  of  Verdun  and  stayed  in  posi- 
tion for  four  days  to  make  sure  the  Germans  were  com- 
plying with  the  terms  of  the  armistice.  Then  they  were 
moved  into  a  French  barracks  at  Verdun,  where  they 
remained  for  two  weeks.  They  were  next  moved  to  Cote 
de  Ore,  "county  of  gold,"  where  the  division  remained 
until  it  sailed  for  home.  Division  headquarters  were 
established  at  Semur. 

On  Sunday,  February  16,  memorial  services  were 
held  in  honor  of  the  fallen  brothers  of  the  regiment  in 
the  church  at  Flavigny  where  the  boys  were  stationed. 
Nearly  every  officer  and  soldier  stationed  in  the  town  and 
all  the  civilian  inhabitants  attended  the  services,  which 
were  marked  by  impressiveness.  The  ceremonies  were 
arranged  by  the  French  people  and  marked  the  heartfelt 
appreciation  they  felt  for  the  soldiers. 

The  78th  Division  was  relieved  from  duty  on  April 
6,  by  orders  from  General  Headquarters  and  began  sail- 
ing for  home  early  in  May,  arriving  the  latter  part  of 
the  month.  The  division  was  demobilized  at  Camp  Dix 
and  parades  were  held  in  honor  of  the  different  units  at 
Newark,  Trenton  and  Elizabeth. 

General  John  J.  Pershing,  Commander-in-Chief,  visited 
the  78th  Division  three  times  during  its  stay  in  France. 
His  last  review  was  on  March  26,  1919,  on  the  historic 
Plains  of  Les  Launes,  where  two  thousand  years  ago 
the  legions  of  Caeser  battled  with  the  Gauls  and  where 
the  latter  defeated  the  invaders.  General  Pershing's  first 
visit  was  made  at  Nielles  Les  Blequin,  while  in  training 
with  the  British.  Later  when  the  division  headquarters 
were  established  at  Chatel  Chehery  during  the  operations 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Grand  Pre. 

In  a  letter  to  Governor  Walter  E.  Edge,  General 
McRae  paid  the  following  tribute  to  the  division : 

"The  State  of  New  Jersey  has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of 
the  part  played  by  the  soldiers  of  this  command  representing 
that  State.     Their  unquestioned  loyalty  at  all  times,  their  spirit 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


91 


..-. 


SEVENTY-EIGHTH    DIVISION.  93 

of  sacrifices  and  self  negation  under  the  strain  of  battle  and  their 
unsurpassed  gallantry  in  action  have  been  an  inspiration  to  all. 
Their  forceful  efforts  have  contributed  in  a  large  degree  to  the 
success  of  the  operations  of  this  command. 

"It  has  been  the  fortune  of  this  command  to  have  had  a  gen- 
erous number  of  Distinguished  Service  Awards  made  to  its 
members. 

"The  President,  in  the  name  of  Congress,  has  awarded  the 
Medal  of  Honor  to  a  New  Jersey  soldier — Sergeant  William 
Sawelson  (deceased),  Company  M,  312th  Infantry,  whose  home 
is  in  Harrison,  N.  J. — 'for  conspicuous  gallantry  and  intrepidity 
above  and  beyond  the  call  of  duty,  in  action  with  the  enemy  at 
Grand  Pre,  France,  25th  October,  1919.' 

"The  Commander-in-Chief,  in  the  name  of  the  President,  has 
decorated  ninety-one  members  of  this  command  with  the  Dis- 
tinguished Service  Cross,  'for  extraordinary  heroism  in  action,' 
and  it  is  confidently  anticipated  that  additional  awards  will  be 
made  from  recommendations  now  under  consideration.  A  list 
of  names  with  organization  and  home  address  (where  prac- 
ticable) of  those  receiving  this  reward  is  furnished  you  herewith. 
It  may  be  gratifying  to  note  that  of  the  ninety-one  Distin- 
guished Service  Crosses  bestowed,  forty-two  have  gone  to 
soldiers  whose  homes  are  in  New  Jersey." 

In  bidding  farewell  to  the  division  on  April  6,  1919, 
Major  General  Wright,  commanding  the  First  Army 
Corps,  said: 

"This  is  the  last  maneuver  of  the  78th  Division  as  a 
part  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  as  it  passes  into  the  S. 
O.  S.  on  April  6,  in  preparation  of  its  early  departure 
for  the  United  States  and  I  desire  to  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  complimenting  and  thanking  you  for  the  splen- 
did work  you  have  done  over  here.  You  have  all  been 
good  soldiers  and  are  deserving  of  the  highest  reward 
that  can  be  bestowed  upon  a  soldier;  a  reward  that  is 
far  above  promotion  or  increase  of  salary,  the  reward 
of  a  consciousness  of  duty  well  done.  You  will  go 
through  life  and  pass  to  your  graves  feeling  proud  of 
having  served  your  country  so  splendidly  and  your  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren  will  point  with  pride  to  your 
deeds  of  valor.     But  when  you  return  to  the  United 


94  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN   THE   GREAT   WAR. 

States  do  not  boast,  do  not  complain  and  do  not  magnify 
the  hardships  and  vicissitudes  of  campaign,  for  it  will 
do  you  no  good  and  will  only  reflect  discredit  on  your 
division.  Be  loyal  to  the  A.  E.  F.,  to  its  Commander- 
in-Chief,  to  your  division  and  above  all  to  your  own- 
selves.  Let  the  record  of  your  division  stand  as  a  tes- 
timonial of  the  work  it  did  over  here  and  history  will 
relate  the  splendid  part  it  took  in  the  great  war. 

"In  conclusion,  I  desire  to  thank  you  for  your  loyalty 
and  devotion  to  the  common  cause  and  bid  you  good-bye 
and  Godspeed." 

The  division  had  a  total  of  947  men  killed,  163  died 
of  wounds,  195  missing  in  action,  12  captured  and  5,715 
wounded,  making  a  grand  total  of  7,032.  The  casualties 
of  the  New  Jersey  men  and  the  New  York  men  in  the 
division  were  about  on  a  par  in  each  of  these  great 
battles.  New  Jersey's  was  2,698  and  New  York's  2,744. 
The  respective  figures  for  "eaetf  of  the  two  operations 
follow:  St.  Mihiel,  New  Jersey,  830;  New  York,  846; 
Argonne,  New  Jersey,  1,868;  New  York,  1,898.  Of 
this  number,  New  Jersey  men  to  the  total  of  138  were 
killed  or  died  of  wounds  at  St.  Mihiel,  and  New  York's 
total  was  149.  The  Argonne  figures  were:  New  Jersey, 
285;  New  York,  351. 

The  officers  of  the  Seventy-eighth  Division  were: 
Major  Gen.  James  H.  McRae,  commanding;  Lieut.  Col. 
Harry  N.  Cootes,  chief  of  staff;  Major  William  T.  Mac- 
Millian,  adjutant  general.  155th  Brigade  Infantry,  Brig. 
Gen.  Mark  L.  Hersey — 309th  Reg.  Infantry,  Colonel 
John  M.  Morgan;  310th  Reg.  Infantry,  Colonel  Walter 
C.  Babcock;  308th  Machine-Gun  Battalion,  Major  Ed- 
ward M.  Offley.  156th  Brigade  Infantry,  Brig.  Gen. 
James  H.  Dean — 311th  Reg.  Infantry,  Colonel  Marcus 
B.  Stokes;  312th  Reg.  Infantry,  Colonel  A.  Van  P.  An- 
derson; 309th  Machine-Gun  Battalion,  Major  Henry  R. 
Allen.  153d  Brigade  Field  Artillery,  Brig.  Gen.  Clint  C. 
Hern — 307th   Reg.   Field   Artillery,   Colonel   James   H. 


SEVKNTY-EIGHTH    DIVISION.  95 

Bryson;  38th  Reg.  Field  Artillery,  Colonel  Charles  M. 
Bunker;  309th  Reg.  Field  Artillery,  Colonel  Edwin  O. 
Sarratt;  303d  Trench  Mortar  Battery,  Captain  John  E. 
McClothan.  Engineer  Troops — 303d  Reg.  Engineers, 
Colonel  E.  M.  Markham.  Signal  Troops — 303d  Field 
Signal  Battalion,  Major  James  Kelly.  Division  Units — 
78th  Div.  Headquarters  Troop,  Captain  G.  S.  Wool- 
worth;  307th  Machine-Gun  Battalion,  Major  Robert  M. 
Beck,  Jr. 


96  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


NEW  JERSEY  TROOPS 
FAMOUS 

NEW  Jersey  has  every  reason  to  be  proud  of 
the  soldiers  sent  to  France  from  the  Garden 
State.  They  acquitted  themselves  with  valor  in 
the  Argonne-Meuse.  Both  the  Twenty-ninth  and 
Seventy-eighth  Divisions  were  part  of  the  First 
Army.  The  Twenty-ninth  went  into  the  drive  on 
the  extreme  right  and  the  Seventy-eighth  on  the 
extreme  left. 

The  prowess  of  American  arms  in  the  great 
battle  was  recorded  in  General  Order  No.  232  is- 
sued by  the  commander-in-chief,  General  John  J. 
Pershing,  over  his  signature  as  follows : 

General  Order  No.  232 

"Tested  and  strengthened  by  the  reduction  of 
the  St.  Mihiel  salient,  for  more  than  six  weeks 
you  battered  against  the  pivot  of  the  enemy  line 
on  the  Western  front.  It  was  a  position  of  im- 
posing natural  strength,  stretching  on  both  sides 
of  the  Meuse  river  from  the  bitterly  contested 
hills  of  Verdun  to  the  almost  impenetrable  forest 
of  the  Argonne;  a  position,  moreover,  fortified  by 
four  years  of  labor  designed  to  render  it  impreg- 
nable; a  position  held  with  the  fullest  resources 
of  the  enemy.  That  position  you  broke  utterly, 
and  thereby  hastened  the  collapse  of  the  enemy's 
military  power. 

"Soldiers  of  all  the  divisions  engaged  under  the 
First,  Third  and  Fifth  Corps — the  1st,  2d,  3d, 


NEW  JERSEY  TROOPS  FAMOUS. 


97 


4th,  5th,  7th,  26th,  28th,  29th,  32c!,  33d,  37th, 
42d,  77th,  78th,  79th,  80th,  82d,  89th,  90th  and 
91st — you  will  be  long  remembered  for  the  stub- 
born persistence  of  your  progress,  your  storming 
of  obstinately  defended  machine  gun  nests,  your 
penetration,  yard  by  yard,  of  woods  and  ravines, 
your  heroic  resistance  in  the  face  of  counter- 
attacks supported  by  powerful  artillery  fire.  For 
more  than  a  month,  from  the  initial  attack  of 
September  26,  your  fought  your  way  slowly 
through  the  Argonne,  through  the  woods  and 
over  hills  west  of  the  Meuse;  you  slowly  enlarged 
your  hold  on  the  Cotes  de  Meuse  to  the  east ;  and 
then,  on  the  first  of  November,  your  attack  forced 
the  enemy  into  flight.  Pressing  his  retreat,  you 
cleared  the  entire  left  bank  of  the  Meuse  south  of 
Sedan,  and  then  stormed  the  heighths  on  the  right 
bank  and  drove  him  into  the  plain  beyond. 

"Your  achievements,  which  is  scarcely  to  be 
equaled  in  American  history,  must  remain  a 
source  of  proud  satisfaction  to  the  troops  who 
participated  in  the  last  campaign  of  the  war.  The 
American  people  will  remember  it  as  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  hitherto  potential  strength  of  the 
American  contribution  toward  the  cause  to  which 
they  had  sworn  allegiance.  There  can  be  no 
greater  reward  for  a  soldier  or  for  a  soldier's 
memory. 

This  order  will  be  read  to  all  organizations  at 
the  first  assembly  formation  after  its  receipt. 

"JOHN  J.  PERSHING, 
"General,    Commander-in-Chief,   American 
Expeditionary  Forces. 

"Official:  ROBERT  C.  DAVIS,  Adjutant  General." 


98  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


THEIR  HOME  COMING. 

THE  home  coming  of  the  first  units  of  New  Jersey 
will  always  be  remembered  by  the  citizens  of  this 
county  who  witnessed  the  event.  The  114th  Infantry 
was  the  first  to  arrive  in  Newport  News,  Va.,  on  May  6, 
19 1 9,  aboard  the  transport  Madawaska,  less  the  Third 
Battalion  Headquarters  and  Companies  L,  K,  M,  which 
were  left  in  France  and  arrived  home  a  short  time  later. 
The  1 14th  was  greeted  at  Newport  News  by  the  Camden 
Reception  Committee,  the  members  of  which  were  Mayor 
Charles  H.  Ellis,  Sheriff  W.  Penn  Corson,  Judge  Frank 
T.  Lloyd,  Wm.  D.  Sayrs,  Jr.,  city  draughtsman;  James 
H.  Long,  chief  engineer  of  the  Water  Department;  and 
Charles  F.  Wise,  member  of  the  Board  of  Freeholders. 
They  went  down  the  Chesapeake  Bay  on  a  tug  and  met 
the  transport.  On  its  arrival  in  port  the  regiment 
marched  to  Camp  Stewart,  a  short  distance  outside  of 
Newport  News,  where  it  was  officially  welcomed  by 
Governor  Walter  E.  Edge.  In  the  Governor's  party 
were:  Adjutant  General  Gilkyson,  Colonel  Myron  W. 
Robinson,  Major  Arthur  Foran,  Captain  Benjamin 
Hurd,  State  Treasurer  William  T.  Read,  State  Comp- 
troller Newton  A.  Bugbee.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harry 
C.  Kramer  and  Captain  H.  B.  Stone,  of  Burlington,  were 
also  in  the  party  of  welcoming  delegations. 

The  regiment  left  Camp  Stewart  on  May  12  and 
reached  Camden  the  following  morning.  Their  arrival 
was  announced  by  the  blowing  of  railroad  and  factory 
whistles  and  the  tolling  of  church  bells.  Thousands  of 
people  rushed  from  their  homes  and  factories  to  the  line 
of  parade  to  welcome  these  heroes.  They  marched 
through  flag  draped  avenues  as  the  people  cheered  wildly, 
even  broke  from  the  sidewalks  and  hugged  and  kissed 
them. 


TOO  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


IOI 


THEIR    HOME   COMING.  IO3 

Every  city,  town  and  hamlet  in  South  Jersey  was  rep- 
resented in  the  great  throng  which  crowded  the  streets. 
At  the  Court  House  they  were  greeted  by  the  multitude 
singing  "Keep  the  Home  Fires  Burning".  At  the  plants 
of  the  Victor  Talking  Machine  Company  and  Joseph 
Campbell  Company  thousands  of  workmen  and  girls 
cheered,  hugged  and  showered  the  boys  with  confetti. 

As  they  passed  under  the  victory  arch  of  the  Ninth 
Ward  Republican  Association  on  Broadway,  above 
Royden  street,  the  employes  of  the  J.  B.  Van  Sciver 
Company  showered  them  with  flowers,  while  the  Liberty 
Bell,  tolled  by  the  club  in  all  its  war  drive  campaigns, 
rang  out  in  unison  with  the  bells  of  old  St.  John's  Epis- 
copal Church  and  Sts.  Peter  and  Paul's  Catholic  Church. 

At  the  3d  Regiment  Armory  the  troops  were  dined 
by  the  Camden  County  Chapter  of  the  Red  Cross.  It 
was  a,  wonderful  sight  to  see  these  boys  enjoy  the  big 
meal  with  hundreds  of  relatives  waiting  to  greet  them 
in  the  building.  The  scenes  were  touching  as  the  boys 
were  re-united  with  their  families  once  again. 

The  regiment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  George 
Williams  when  it  reached  Camden.  Accompanying  the 
infantry  was  the  53d  Pioneer  Corps,  in  command  of 
Colonel  B.  S.  Killion.  The  boys  marched,  wearing  their 
trench  helmets  and  carrying  rifles.  They  brought  back 
with  them  a  grim  visage  of  war  and  received  a  frantic 
welcome  from  a  loving  and  admiring  people. 

It  was  a  public  holiday.  Schools  closed  together  with 
factories  and  business  was  suspended  during  the  parade. 
The  parade  was  headed  by  James  H.  Long,  chairman 
of  the  parade  committee.  Mayor  Ellis,  members  of  City 
Council,  Victory  Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee  and 
Board  of  Freeholders  followed.  Then  came  the  boys. 
There  were  three  bands  in  line,  the  1  I4th's  own,  Second 
Battalion  Band,  New  Jersey  State  Militia,  and  Camden 
Battalion  Band,  State  Militia  Reserve. 


104  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

The  regiment  left  for  Camp  Dix  that  afternoon  where 
the  boys  were  honorably  discharged  several  days  later. 

This  was  the  only  regiment  the  city  was  able  to  honor 
with  a  parade  as  a  unit  before  demobilization,  but  the 
other  units  were  either  welcomed  at  the  port  of  debarka- 
tion or  at  Camp  Dix  by  committees,  who  distributed 
candy  and  cigarettes  among  the  boys. 

The  3d  Battalion  Headquarters  and  Companies  K, 
L  and  M  of  the  114th  Infantry  and  112th  Field  Artil- 
lery arrived  at  Newport  News  on  May  20.  The  artil- 
lery was  aboard  the  transport  Orizaba  and  the  114th  on 
the  transport  Powhatan.  They  were  greeted  by  a  com- 
mittee headed  by  Mayor  Ellis.  The  regiments  were 
sent  to  Camp  Stewart.  The  balance  of  the  114th  was 
transferred  to  Camp  Dix  and  demobilized.  The  112th 
Artillery  was  sent  to  Atlantic  City  for  a  parade  and  offi- 
cial welcome  on  May  29.  The  trains  were  stopped  at 
Haddonfield  enroute  to  the  shore  and  candy,  cigarettes 
and  flowers  showered  on  them  by  members  of  the  Red 
Cross  Chapter  and  hundreds  of  residents  of  the  county. 
The  regiment  was  later  demobilized  at  Camp  Dix. 

The  transport  Mexican  docked  at  Brooklyn  on  May 
22  with  the  first  units  of  the  311th  Infantry,  including 
the  machine  gun  company,  Companies  D  to  M,  field  and 
staff  headquarters,  medical  detachment,  supply  company, 
3d  Battalion  and  ordance  detachment.  They  were  sent 
to  Camp  Dix  for  demobilization. 

The  104th  Engineers  arrived  at  Hoboken  on  May  22, 
on  the  transport  Manchuria,  and  were  sent  to  Camp 
Merritt.  They  were  met  by  Robert  J.  D.  Field  and 
Harry  Pelouze,  representing  the  Victory  Jubilee  and 
Memorial  Committee,  and  George  W.  Whyte,  represent- 
ing the  Red  Cross.  Other  29th  Division  units  aboard 
the  Manchuria  were  the  58th  Infantry  Brigade  Head- 
quarters, 104th  Supply  Train,  104th  Sanitary  Train, 
104th  Mobile  Ordnance  Repair  Shop,  104th  Train  Head- 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


105 


THEIR    HOME    COMING.  IO7 

quarters  and  Brigadier  General  Frank  S.  Cocheu,  58th 
Artillery  Brigade. 

On  May  25  the  Camden  Reception  Committee  joined 
the  Newark  and  Philadelphia  Committees  in  welcoming 
the  312th  Infantry  into  this  port  on  the  transport  Mont- 
pelier  by  going  down  the  Delaware  river  on  a  tug  to 
welcome  returning  heroes. 

All  these  troops  were  demobilized  at  Camp  Dix.  The 
104th  Engineers  paraded  in  Newark  on  May  26  and 
the  311th  Infantry  in  Trenton  the  same  day.  The  trans- 
port Europa  arrived  in  Hoboken  on  May  26th  with  the 
309th  Machine  Gun  Battalion.  The  transport  Otsego 
brought  home  Companies  A,  B,  C  and  D  and  Headquar- 
ters and  Medical  detachment  of  the  78th  Division 
on  May  26.  The  111th  Machine  Gun  Battalion  arrived 
in  Hoboken  on  May  22  on  the  transport  Iowan 
and  was  sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  demobilization.  The 
307th  arid  308th  Machine  Gun  Battalions  and  309th 
Artillery  reached  Camp  Dix  on  May  13,  arriving  in 
Hoboken  on  May  11.  The  307th  Field  Artillery  arrived 
at  Camp  Dix  May  14,  having  reached  Hoboken  a  few 
days  before.  The  308th  Field  Artillery  arrived  about  the 
same  time.  Part  of  the  309th  Infantry  reached  Camp 
Dix  on  June  4  and  the  balance  arrived  in  Hoboken  on 
that  date  on  the  transport  Chicago,  with  the  303d  Sani- 
tary Train  and  303d  Supply  Train.  The  349th  Infantry, 
colored  troops,  many  of  whom  were  from  Camden 
reached  Hoboken  in  the  early  part  of  June  and  were 
sent  to  Camp  Dix  for  demobilization.  The  303d  Engi- 
neers arrived  on  the  transports  Santa  Anna  and  Santa 
Lubia  on  June  6  and  June  12. 


108  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 


HENRY  B.  WILSON 

THE  most  distinguished  citizen  from  Camden,  who 
served  the  nation  in  the  Great  War  was  Ad- 
miral Henry  B.  Wilson,  who  commanded  the  American 
fleet  in  French  waters.  He  had  served  forty  years  in  the 
United  States  Navy  when  America  entered  the  war.  He 
commanded  a  fleet  that  piloted  more  than  one  million 
soldiers  to  France  and  that  fleet  never  lost  the  life  of  an 
American  soldier,  despite  the  frightfulness  of  the  sub- 
marine warfare  conducted  by  the  enemy.  During  the 
war  the  fleet  commanded  by  the  Camden  admiral  moved 
all  the  munitions  and  supplies  used  by  the  American 
Army  in  France.  Soldiers  paralyzed  from  battle  wounds 
were  rescued  from  transports  that  had  been  submarined. 
Lives  of  sailors  were  lost  but  only  in  an  effort  to  pre- 
vent the  enemy  from  taking  the  lives  of  American  sol- 
diers. Such  was  the  record  made  by  the  branch  of  the 
navy  he  commanded  and  this  report  was  made  personally 
by  this  hero  when  he  returned  to  Camden  for  the  public 
welcome  on  April  17,  19 19.  Besides  this  wonderful 
work  his  destroyers  kept  a  constant  vigilance  on  the  seas, 
sinking  enemy  submarines.  The  admiral's  headquarters 
were  at  Brest,  France,  and  by  means  of  radio  sounders 
the  enemy  wireless  on  their  submarines  were  intercepted 
at  night  and  the  movement  of  their  ships  ascertained  with 
the  result  that  destroyers  went  in  search  for  them  and 
sunk  many  of  them. 

Admiral  Wilson  returned  to  Camden  on  April  17  at 
the  invitation  of  the  Victory  Jubilee  and  Memorial  Com- 
mittee, but  not  until  a  special  committee,  the  members  of 
which  were  James  H.  Long,  James  J.  Scott,  Rev.  J.  B. 
McCloskey  and  Charles  F.  Wise,  of  Audubon,  had 
waited  on  him  at  his  Washington  home.  The  admiral 
came  from  Washington  by  train  and  was  met  at  Broad 


CAMDKN    COUNTY   IN    THE   GREAT    WAR.  IOO, 


[Copyright  by  Wonfor,~\ 

ADMIRAL  HENRY   B.  WILSON 
Commander  of  American  Fleet  in  French  Waters  during  Great 

War. 


HENRY    B.    WILSON.  Ill 

street  station  by  the  Camden  committee  and  taken  to  the 
Bellvue-Stratford  Hotel,  Philadelphia,  where  he  was 
entertained,  after  which  a  receiption  was  given  at  the 
Camden  County  Court  House.  An  automobile  parade 
followed  to  his  home  at  345  Mount  Vernon  street.  The 
streets  were  lined  with  thousands  of  cheering  people.  At 
the  Ninth  Ward  Republican  Association's  arch  flowers 
were  dropped  on  him  and  the  pupils  of  the  Broadway 
public  school  sang  patriotic  songs  while  the  bell  in  old  St. 
John's  Episcopal  Church  was  tolled  by  his  brother-in- 
law,  Rev.  John  Hardenbrook  Townsend,  rector.  At  the 
home  of  his  mother  he  embraced  her  and  kissed  her  and 
a  basket  of  flowers  was  presented  to  this  good  woman, 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Wilson,  who  was  then  eighty-seven  years 
of  age.  The  parade  continued  to  the  Mohican  Club,  near 
Delair,  where  a  planked  shad  dinner  was  served.  The 
speakers  were  Mayor  Charles  H.  Ellis,  toastmaster; 
Admiral  Charles  F.  Hughes,  commandant  of  League  Is- 
land Navy  Yard ;  Admiral  Carlos  V.  Brittain,  who  hailed 
Admiral  Wilson  as  the  next  full  rank  admiral  of  the 
navy,  and  United  States  Senator  David  Baird. 

That  evening  a  public  reception  took  place  at  Third 
Regiment  Armory.  The  admiral  entered  escorted  by  a 
large  detail  of  sailors.  Fully  5,000  persons  greeted  him, 
including  the  children  of  the  public  schools,  massed  in 
the  balcony.  They  rendered  a  program  of  patriotic 
songs  during  the  evening.  Mayor  Ellis  was  chairman  and 
an  address  was  made  by  Prosecutor  Charles  A.  Wolver- 
ton,  during  which  the  admiral  was  presented  with  a 
beautiful  sword  on  behalf  of  the  city  and  county. 

The  following  telegram,  which  gives  expression  of  the 
esteem  in  which  Admiral  Wilson  was  held,  was  read  at 
the  dinner  and  reception  that  evening: 

"Baltimore,  April  17,  1919. 
"Mayor  Ellis,  Camden,  N.  J. 

"I  want  to  add  my  mite  to  the  reception  of  your  favorite  son 
to-day.    At  Brest,  France,  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  Admiral  Wilson 


112  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

and  he  was  the  most  beloved  man  in  France  not  only  by  his 
own  people  but  by  the  French.  Admiral  Wilson  was  so  big,  so 
real  that  he  could  sit  in  the  park  talking  and  playing  with  little 
orphan  French  children,  or  giving  advice  to  an  ordinary  sailor 
with  the  grace  and  ease  of  a  master.  Every  sailor  loves  him  and 
not  a  word  but  of  praise  will  ever  be  said  of  him.  The  Admiral 
left  behind  in  France  a  real  remembrance  of  the  great  big  real 
American  that  he  is,  the  biggest  American  that  ever  stepped  on 
the  shore  of  Brittany.     God  bless  him. 

"MAJOR   E.  W.   BIRDSALL, 

"U.  S.  Army." 

Admiral  Henry  B.  Wilson  was  born  at  269  Mount 
Vernon  street  on  February  25,  1861.  His  parents  were 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Wilson,  345  Mount  Vernon  street,  and  the 
late  Hon.  Henry  B.  Wilson.  His  father  was  prominent 
in  politics  during  his  career.  He  was  a  member  of  City 
Council,  New  Jersey  Assembly  and  was  also  postmaster 
of  the  city.  He  was  president  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion at  the  time  of  his  in  1898. 

Vice  Admiral  Wilson  attended  the  old  Kaighn  and 
Fetters  Schools  during  his  boyhood.  He  entered  Anna- 
polis Naval  Academy  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  and 
graduated  in  188 1.  As  a  lieutenant  commander  he  com- 
manded the  scout  cruiser  Chester.  He  was  promoted 
captain  when  he  assumed  command  of  the  battleship 
North  Dakota.  His  next  assignment  was  to  command 
the  battleship  Indiana.  He  came  into  national  prom- 
inence when  he  was  named  to  command  the  dreadnaught 
Pennsylvania  when  that  ship  was  commissioned  in  1914. 

President  Wilson  promoted  Captain  Wilson  rear  ad- 
miral in  July,  19 1 7,  when  Admiral  Sims  called  him  to 
command  the  American  fleet  in  French  waters.  When 
the  new  rear  admiral  reached  Brest  he  was  given  the  rank 
of  vice  admiral  by  President  Wilson. 

That  he  did  the  job  well  is  evidenced  by  the  praise  Vice 
Admiral  Wilson  received  from  Secretary  Josephus 
Daniels.  The  admiral  won  the  admiration  of  the  French 
Government  for  the  efficiency  of  his  command.     After 


HENRY    B.    WILSON.  113 

the  armistice  was  signed  the  admiral  was  stricken  with 
pneumonia  and  was  desperately  ill  for  several  days.  He 
rallied  and  eventually  recovered. 

He  was  honored  by  President  Wilson  by  being  placed 
in  command  of  the  convoy  fleet  for  the  steamer  George 
Washington  on  the  President's  first  return  fromthe  peace 
conference  at  Paris. 

Before  departing  from  France  Admiral  Wilson  was 
signally  honored  by  the  French  Government.  He  was 
presented  with  a  handsome  oil  painting  of  himself,  the 
work  of  a  French  master.  He  also  received  a  bronze  bust 
of  himself  and  the  school  children  of  France  presented 
him  with  a  magnificent  brass  vase. 

Just  before  sailing  for  the  United  States  the  admiral 
was  advised  by  Secretary  Daniels  that  he  had  been  placed 
in  command  of  the  American  dreadnaught  fleet  and  the 
battleship  New  Mexico  was  designated  as  his  flagship. 

Upon  reaching  the  United  States  his  health  was  such 
that  he  could  not  with  his  fleet  to  Guantanamo  Bay, 
Cuba,  for  maneuvers.  He  was  granted  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence to  recuperate  and  he  spent  two  weeks  with  his  wife 
and  two  children,  Ruth  and  Henry  B.  Wilson,  Jr.,  at 
Washington. 

On  June  16,  19 19,  the  Navy  Department  divided  the 
American  naval  forces  into  two  equal  squadrons  to  be 
known  as  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  fleets.  Vice  Admiral 
Wilson  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Atlantic  fleet 
with  the  full  rank  of  Admiral.  On  June  25  he  was  deco- 
rated at  Washington  by  Captain  Saint  Seine,  French 
naval  attache,  assisted  by  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Jocephus 
Daniels,  on  behalf  of  the  French  Government  with  the 
Cross  of  Grand  Officers  of  Legion  of  Honor,  the  second 
highest  honor  that  can  be  bestowed  in  this  order. 


114  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


PROMINENT  MEN 
Representatives 

CAMDEN  county  was  fortunate  in  having  represen- 
tatives in  both  branches  of  Congress  during  the 
Great  War,  Hon.  David  Baird,  who  represented  the  State 
of  New  Jersey  together  with  Senator  Joseph  S.  Freling- 
huysen  in  the  United  States  Senate  and  William  J. 
Browning,  representative  from  the  First  Congressional 
District,  comprising  Camden,  Gloucester  and  Salem 
counties. 

Upon  the  death  of  Senator  William  Hughes  during  the 
war,  Senator  Baird  was  appointed  by  Governor  Walter 
E.  Edge  on  February  22,  19 18,  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  he 
took  the  oath  of  office  on  March  7,  that  year,  serving 
until  the  following  general  election  in  November,  when 
he  was  elected  to  finish  the  unexpired  term  of  Mr. 
Hughes. 

Although  a  life  long  Republican,  Mr.  Baird  voted  for 
every  measure  advocated  by  President  Woodrow  Wil- 
son, deemed  essential  to  win  the  war,  even  to  the  Over- 
man Bill,  which  gave  the  President  unlimited  powers. 

Mr.  Browning  has  been  a  member  of  Congress  since 
March  4,  191 1,  and  like  Mr.  Baird,  supported  every 
measure  advocated  by  the  Administration  advanced  as 
necessary  to  bring  victory  to  the  allies  regardless  of  per- 
sonal views.  Both  Senator  Baird  and  Representative 
Browning  devoted  much  of  their  time  at  Washington  as- 
sisting dependents  of  men  in  the  service  to  secure  allot- 
ments from  the  War  Risk  Bureau  and  the  War  Depart- 
ment. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Harry  C.  Kramer 

While  Camden  performed  every  obligation  imposed 
upon  her  by  the  nation  in  the  raising  of  troops,  the  sale 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  II5 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.l 
HON.  DAVID  BAIRD 
United  States   Senator  from   New  Jersey 


PROMINENT    MEN.  \\J 

of  Liberty  Bonds,  the  contributions  to  the  many  or- 
ganizations which  were  each  carrying  its  burden  in  the 
war,  she  had  another  and  a  peculiar  part  in  the  coun- 
try's defense,  which  probably  is  not  equalled  by  any  other 
city  in  the  United  States,  and  that  was  the  prominence 
which  her  sons  took  in  the  administration  of  the  work 
of  the  Provost  Marshal  General's  office  during  the  war. 

It  is  historical  that  the  volunteer  system  of  the  United 
States  failed  the  country  when  it  called  for  men  to  fill 
its  armies,  and  on  May  18,  19 17,  Congress  passed  a  law 
known  as  the  Selective  Service  Act,  the  administration  of 
which  was  to  prove  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  the 
struggle.  This  law  provided  for  the  making  of  regula- 
tions by  the  President  which  were  to  set  in  motion  the 
selection  of  men  for  the  battle  line.  Its  success  was 
doubted  by  even  the  optimistic;  its  failure  was  gloomily 
foreboded  by  men  whose  judgment  was  deemed  sound; 
it  was  almost  revolutionary  in  its  character. 

One  of  the  first  men  to  be  chosen  in  the  United  States 
to  place  this  great  law  in  operation  was  Harry  C. 
Kramer,  of  Camden.  At  that  time  he  was  the  adjutant 
general  of  the  Second  Brigade  of  New  Jersey,  with  the 
rank  of  major.  His  brigade  was  not  a  complete  unit  and 
he  was  on  the  unassigned  list  and  therefore  not  subject 
to  call.  He  was  ordered  to  report  to  TrentOM  by  Ad- 
jutant General  Charles  Barber  and  at  once  closed  up 
his  affairs  and  went  into  the  service.  He  immediately 
made  a  careful  study  of  the  law  and  regulations  and  or- 
ganized the  State  so  successfully  that  it  was  among  the 
first  in  the  entire  Union  to  report  "ready"  with  the  quota 
assigned  to  it  of  20,665  soldiers.  As  soon  as  this  work 
was  completed  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  by  Major 
General  Enoch  H.  Crowder,  Provost  Marshal  General^ 
and  was  there  appointed  as  one  of  a  committee  of  three 
officers  who  were  charged  with  the  preparation  of  an 
entire  new  set  of  regulations,  for  the  purpose  of  perfect- 
ing the  selective    service    principles.       This   commitcee 


I  l8  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

labored  day  and  night  for  six  weeks  and  the  result  of  its 
work  was  the  creation  of  the  questionaire  system  and 
the  selective  service  regulations,  which  undoubtedly 
presented  to  the  world  the  most  scientific  method  of  rais- 
ing armies  which  has  ever  been  produced.  In  speaking 
of  this  system,  General  Crowder,  in  his  report  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  said:  "It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  present  classification  systems  offers  possibilities  that 
have  never  been  attained  by  any  other  nation  in  the  his- 
tory of  war." 

General  Crowder's  words  were  almost  a  prophecy. 
The  great  American  army  seemed  to  grow  by  magic. 
From  a  beginning  of  60,000  men  it  rose  to  the  enormous 
number  of  four  million  men  within  one  year  from  the 
time  the  selective  service  principle  was  enforced,  and 
the  system  was  so  complete  that  the  American  army  could 
have  been  extended  to  the  almost  inconceivable  number 
of  twenty-five  million  men  without  much  more  effort. 

Major  Kramer  accepted  a  reduction  in  rank  when  he 
was  ordered  to  Washington,  and  began  his  career  in  the 
nation's  capital  as  a  captain.  Within  a  few  weeks  he 
was  promoted  to  a  major  and  shortly  after  the  splendid 
successes  which  attended  his  work  were  observed,  he  was 
made  a  lieutenant  colonel,  and  it  is  now  learned  that  he 
would  have  been  made  a  full  colonel  in  a  few  weeks 
had  the  war  not  abruptly  ended. 

During  the  period  of  his  connection  with  the  Provost 
Marshal  General's  office,  he  was  the  chief  disbursing  of- 
ficer, executive  officer  and  chief  of  the  division  of  inspec- 
tion and  investigations,  which  latter  division  had  greatly 
to  do  with  the  department's  efficiency  throughout  the 
country. 

Prior  to  being  called  by  Adjutant  General  Barber  to 
Trenton,  Colonel  Kramer  organized  the  Camden  com- 
pany of  engineers,  which  later  became  Company  B,  104th 
Engineers  and  became  famous  in  France  during  the  Ar- 
gonne  Forest  battle.     After  the  armistice  was  signed  Col- 


120  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


I.IKl'TKXAXT  COUKXKL    HARRY    C.    KRAMER 


CAMDEX    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  121 


[Photo  by  Wonfor,] 

MAJOR  WINFIELD  S. 


PRICE 


PROMINENT    MEN.  123 

onel  Kramer  was  sent  on  a  tour  of  inspection  duty  in 
Porto  Rico,  and  upon  completion  of  this  task  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  General  Clemency  Board  of  the  army  which 
equalized  court  martial  sentences,  and  reduced  them  to  a 
peace  time  basis. 


Major  Winfield  S.  Price 

While  in  the  capacity  of  executive  officer,  Colonel 
Kramer  surrounded  himself  with  many  of  the  ablest  of- 
ficers in  the  United  States  Army,  and  among  them  were 
two  other  Camden  men,  who  rendered  distinguished  ser- 
vice during  the  war.  One  of  these  men  was  Major  Win- 
field  S.  Price,  formerly  commander  of  the  First  Bat- 
talion, 114th  Infantry,  who,  at  the  request  of  Colonel 
Kramer,  was  detached  from  his  battalion  and  charged 
with  the  great  duty  of  organizing  the  vast  selective  ser- 
vice system  upon  a  sound,  financial  basis,  and  administer- 
ing the  affairs  of  the  department  which  dealt  with  che 
five  thousand  local  boards  and  156  district  boards,  as  well 
as  the  headquarters  of  49  States  and  territories.  Major 
Price  disbursed  the  enormous  total  of  approximately 
$36,000,000.00  and  he  performed  his  work  in  such  a  way 
as  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  all  officers  and  civilians 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  At  the  same  time  of  the 
writing  of  this  history,  Major  Price  is  still  on  duty  in 
Washington,  closing  up  the  multitude  of  details  which 
surrounded  the  administration  of  his  office.  He  is  the 
last  officer  to  remain  on  duty,  of  the  magnificent  body  of 
men  which  composed  the  organization  of  the  Provost 
Marshal  General's  office,  in  the  entire  United  States. 
Major  Price's  success  in  the  administration  of  this  office 
marks  him  as  one  of  the  outstanding  figures  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  war  in  Washington. 


124  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

Major  Harold  E.  Stephenson. 

No  less  in  splendid  achievement  was  the  work  of  Major 
Harold  E.  Stephenson,who  was  the  chief  of  the  Mobiliza- 
tion Division  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General's  office. 

Major  Stephenson,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  offered 
his  services  to  the  Government.  He  was  rejected  for 
slight  physical  defects.  Shortly  after  Colonel  Kramer 
went  to  Washington,  it  became  apparent  that  there  must 
be  created  in  this  vast  department,  a  division  of  mobili- 
zation, which  must  be  headed  by  a  man  highly  skilled  in 
organization;  that  there  must  be  kept  at  all  times  a  min- 
ute and  accurate  record  of  the  number  of  men  furnished 
by  each  local  board  throughout  the  United  States,  in 
response  to  the  calls  from  Washington  that  the  Govern- 
ment must  know  instantly  how  many  of  those  men  were 
rejected  by  the  army  officers  in  camps,  and  what  balance 
was  due  from  each  board.  Major  Stephenson,  then  the 
file  expert  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  was  summoned 
to  Washington,  to  advise  the  department  upon  that  sub- 
ject. His  keenness  of  perception,  his  quick  grasp  of  the 
details,  impressed  all  who  met  him,  in  such  a  manner  that 
General  Crowder  was  requested  to  commission  him  in  his 
department  and  to  give  him  charge  of  this  special  work. 
This  was  done,  and  Captain  Stephenson  found  himself 
in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  greatest  problems  of  the  war. 
He  quickly  mastered  every  detail  of  the  work  and  became 
so  expert  that  he  was  an  authority  to  whom  the  General 
Staff  constantly  referred  during  the  trying  days  of  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1918,  as  to  the  strength  of  the  man 
power  of  the  United  States  in  the  various  classes.  Gen- 
eral Crowder  quickly  elevated  him  to  the  rank  of  major, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  on  equal  terms  with  the  higher 
officers  with  whom  he  came  in  constant  contact.  Major 
Stephenson  performed  a  marvelous  task,  Colonel  Kramer 
frequently  referring  to  him  as  having  completed  one  of 
the  most  gigantic  tasks  which  were  presented  to  any  in- 


126  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 


|<  opyright  hv  Harris  &■  Swing.'] 
M  \.IOR    HAROLD   E.  STEPHENSON 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  1 27 


IP  ho  to  bv  Won  for.] 

LIEUTEXAXT-COLONEL  RALPH  W.  E.  DONGES 


PROMINENT    MEN.  120, 

dividual  in  Washington.  He  frequently  worked  twenty 
hours  out  of  the  twenty- four ;  he  required  the  utmost  de- 
votion to  duty  on  the  part  of  his  subordinates,  and  was 
enabled  by  his  wonderful  executive  ability  to  exact  from 
all  of  his  subordinates  the  finest  kind  of  service.  In  the 
years  to  come,  Major  Stephenson's  work  will  stand  out 
more  brightly  and  due  recognition  will  doubtless  be  given 
to  him. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Major  Stephenson  accom- 
panied Major  General  Crowder  to  Cuba,  where  the  latter 
undertook  the  reorganization  of  the  elective  system  of 
that  island.  At  the  date  of  the  writing  of  this  history 
Major  Stephenson  has  been  given  the  entire  charge  of  the 
work  and  is  distinguishing  himself  by  the  speed  and  ac- 
curacy with  which  he  is  accomplishing  his  great  task. 

There  were  approximately  nine  great  divisions  of  the 
work  of  building  America's  army.  From  the  above  re- 
cital it  will  be  seen  that  officers  from  Camden  county 
headed  three  of  the  most  important  of  all  these  divi- 
sions, and  Camden's  part  in  the  organization  of  Amer- 
ica's man  power  is  therefore  most  remarkable  and 
unusual. 


Ralph  W.  E.  Donges 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Ralph  W.  E.  Donges  was  chair- 
man of  Camden  City  Draft  Board,  No.  2,  from  May  29, 
1917,  until  May  1,  1918,  as  well  as  chairman  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  Committee  and  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Camden  Public  Safety  Committee.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  a  special  war  committee  of  five  of 
the  National  Association  of  Public  Utility  Commis- 
sioners of  the  United  States,  dealing  with  utility  prob- 
lems of  the  country  growing  out  of  the  war  and  making 
recommendations  for  promoting  efficiency  of  utilities  in 
war  work. 


I3O  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

In  February,  19 18,  he  became  a  member  of  the  plan- 
ning staff  of  Major  General  George  W.  Goethals,  quar- 
termaster general,  and  assistant  chief  of  staff.  From 
March  to  May,  Colonel  Donges  was  assistant  chief  of 
administration  in  the  office  of  General  Goethals,  and  as 
such  was  director  of  the  Purchase,  Storage  and  Traffic 
Division  of  the  General  Staff. 

Up  until  this  time  Mr.  Donges  retained  his  post  as 
president  of  the  Public  Utility  Commission  of  New  Jer- 
sey, but  upon  accepting  a  commission  in  the  United 
States  Army  as  lieutenant  colonel  in  May,  19 18,  he  re- 
signed his  post  on  the  Utility  Commission  and  became  a 
member  of  the  War  Department's  Board  of  Appraisers, 
attached  to  the  Purchase,  Storage  and  Traffic  Division 
of  the  General  Staff. 

This  board  was  a  quasi-judicial  body  charged  with  the 
duty  of  conducting  proceedings  and  making  awards  for 
compensation  for  property  of  every  character  comman- 
deered, or  produced  under  compulsory  process,  for  the 
War  Department.  These  cases  covered  all  kinds  of  prop- 
erty from  the  taking  of  small  parcels  of  real  estate  to  the 
taking  of  large,  valuable  areas  and  large  manufacturing 
plants,  as  well  as  the  compulsory  production  of  many  mil- 
lions of  dollars  of  war  materials,  the  price  for  which  this 
board  established.  The  total  awarded  by  this  board  ag- 
gregated many  millions  of  dollars,  there  being  several 
thousand  cases  heard,  and  awards  in  individual  cases  at 
times  amounting  to  many  millions.  During  the  incum- 
bency of  Colonel  Donges,  due  to  the  volume  of  work,  the 
membership  of  the  board  was  increased  from  three  to 
eleven  members.  Colonel  Donges  personally  conducted 
trials  and  has  written  opinions  in  more  than  250  cases 
before  the  Board  of  Appraisers. 


11,2  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


[Photo  by  U'onfoK.'i 

DR.  DANIEL  STROCK 
Chairman   of  Camden  County  Chapter  American 
Red  Cross 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  1 33 


RED  CROSS 

CAMDEN  County  Chapter  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  was  organized  February  19,  1917.  It  was 
the  logical  follower  of  the  "Preparedness  League"  which 
had  been  previously  formed  under  the  auspices  of  Nassau 
Chapter,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

When  it  was  found  the  Red  Cross  already  had  chan- 
nels of  communication  and  a  Government  connection  es- 
tablished, the  Preparedness  League  decided  to  devote 
its  energies  to  the  same  work  under  the  new  name. 

A  number  of  interested  citizens  were  accordingly  in- 
vited to  meet  on  February  19th  at  the  Camden  County 
Court  House,  where  the  organization  was  launched,  the 
Rev.  Rudolph  E.  Brestell,  presiding.  A  large  American 
flag  was  presented  by  the  Nassau  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  in 
token  of  their  loyalty  and  readiness  to  serve,  by  Miss 
Elizabeth  Cooper  Reeve,  and  their  regent  also  gave  from 
the  Camden  County  Preparedness  League  a  large  Inter- 
national Red  Cross  flag.  Headquarters  were  established 
at  Room  107,  Temple  Building. 

Officers  were  elected  as  follows :  Dr.  Daniel  Strock, 
chairman ;  former  Judge  C.  V.  D.  Joline,  vice  chairman ; 
Millwood  Truscott,  secretary,  and  George  J.  Bergen, 
treasurer.  Mrs.  E.  S.  Woodward  was  appointed  chair- 
man of  hospital  supplies,  but  shortly  resigned,  and  Mrs. 
John  A.  Mather,  Jr.,  was  appointed  to  fill  her  place.  Miss 
E.  C.  Reeve  was  made  chairman  of  the  purchasing 
committee. 

The  balance  of  the  funds  in  the  treasury  of  the  Pre- 
paredness League,  amounting  to  two  hundred  dollars, 
was  officially  turned  over  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Camden 
County  Chapter.  The  association  remained  in  the  Tem- 
ple Building  until  August,   19 17,  when  the  old  Trinity 


134  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

Baptist  Church  on  Fifth  street  above  Market  was  offered 
for  the  use  of  the  chapter. 

Almost  concurrent  with  the  organizing  of  the  chapter 
was  the  forming  of  branches  in  the  county.  Beside  the 
chairman  and  secretary  Miss  E.  C.  Reeves  and  Mrs.  W. 
B.  M.  Burrell  were  most  efficient  in  effecting  these  or- 
ganizations. Among  the  first  were  Haddonfield,  Mer- 
chantville,  Collingswood,  Magnolia  and  Delair. 

In  October,  19 17,  Camden  City  Branch  was  given  its 
charter;  meanwhile  the  work  was  done  through  the 
church  units,  whose  women  responded  nobly. 

On  March  1,  19 17,  was  held  the  first  Branch  Advisory 
Council,  consisting  of  the  chairman  of  surgical  dressings 
and  the  chairman  of  hospital  supplies  of  the  different 
branches.  Later  the  chairman  of  knitting  was  added  to  the 
council.  In  Camden  city  the  chairmen  of  the  denomina- 
tions were  also  on  this  committee  until  the  City  Branch 
was  formed. 

These  meetings  were  held  twice  in  the  month  and  were 
under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Mather,  who  was  first  ap- 
pointed chairman  of  hospital  supplies  and  surgical  dress- 
ings and  later  director  of  the  production  department. 
Miss  E.  C.  Reeve  acted  as  secretary. 

As  a  part  of  this  department  a  stock  department  was 
established  for  the  distribution  of  materials,  with  Miss 
Estelle  E.  Moore  as  chairman.  Later  Mrs.  H.  N. 
Scheirer  became  accountant  and  Miss  Bessie  Lee  Stock 
recorder. 

In  the  later  part  of  June  Mrs.  Mather  called  for  fin- 
ished supplies  to  be  sent  in,  and  through  the  kind- 
ness of  St.  Paul's  P.  E.  Church  their  parish  building  was 
used  for  the  packing.  Bandages,  muslin  and  gauze,  com- 
presses of  all  sizes,  drains,  wipes,  pads  of  all  sorts,  in- 
deed surgical  dressings  of  all  types  began  to  pour  in  upon 
the  hastily  improvised  packing  committee.  Hospital  sup- 
plies, sheets,  towels,  cases,  convalescent  robes,  bed  shirts, 
came  in  autos  and  in  arms,  package  after  package,  until 


CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  135 


[Photo  by   Won  for.} 

GEORGE  W.   WHYTE 

Chairman   Camden   City   Branch,   Camden   County  Chapter, 

American  Red   Cross 


RED    CROSS.  137 

the  big  rooms  were  crowded  to  their  limit.  From  Camden 
City  where  the  work  was  done  by  the  church  units  came 
bundle  after  bundle  of  beautiful  work.  The  different 
Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  Roman  Catholic,  Baptist  and 
Methodist  units  were  all  working  hard  for  the  same  good 
cause,  the  comfort  of  our  boys,  and  the  alleviating  of  suf- 
fering, by  carefully  made  surgical  dressings  and  hospital 
supplies. 

Inspected  under  the  supervision  of  Mrs.  Stanley,  of 
Collingswood,  cases  of  surgical  dressings  were  packed 
and  shipped  by  the  rest  of  the  committee.  Mrs.  Whyte, 
Miss  Reeve,  Mrs.  Reed,  Mrs.  James,  Mrs.  Mather,  Mrs. 
Ware,  Mrs.  Finley,  Mrs.  Borton  and  Mrs.  Carpenter 
rushed  the  packing  of  sheets,  pillow  cases,  convalescent 
robes,  bed  shirts  and  etc.,  until  finally  on  July  14,  1917, 
the  first  shipment  from  the  chapter  headquarters  was 
made  and  went  out  in  charge  of  the  chapter  shipper, 
Theodore  A.  Reed,  traffic  manager  of  the  Victor  Talk- 
ing Machine  Company. 

The  Haddonfield,  Collingswood  and  Merchantville 
Branches  each  made  a  shipment  in  the  later  part  of  June 
a  little  ahead  of  the  first  general  shipment.  During  the 
summer,  Mrs.  Carson  with  the  aid  of  some  teachers  and 
scholars  made  and  sent  to  headquarters  21Q  little  gar- 
ments to  be  sent  abroad  to  the  suffering  refugees. 

In  August  of  1 9 17  came  the  call  for  thousands  of  wool 
garments,  consequently  the  wool  or  knitting  committee 
was  formed,  consisting  of  Mrs.  Ware,  Mrs.  Clair  and 
Mrs.  S.  R.  Hangar  in  charge  of  its  distribution. 

The  chapter  saw  that  each  man  from  Camden  county, 
in  so  far  as  they  could  reach  them,  drafted  or  enlisted 
men  of  the  army  and  navy,  received  the  little  chapter 
comfort  kit. 

As  the  work  grew  larger  it  became  necessary  to  sys- 
tematize and  standardize  the  work  and  Mrs.  Mather  was 
put  in  charge  also  of  the  surgical  dressings  work  and  in 


I38  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

all    ten    branches    opened    special    workrooms    for    this 
purpose. 

Haddonfield  under  Miss  Kay's  able  management, 
Merchantville  capably  conducted  by  Mrs.  Finley,  in  Col- 
lingswood  Mrs.  Stanley  had  charge,  in  Gloucester  Miss 
E.  Stiles  saw  to  the  care  of  the  surgical  rooms,  in  Black- 
wood under  Mrs.  Kirkland  many  good  dressings  were 
made ;  Westmont  guided  by  Miss  Bleakley  cut  and  folded 
quantities  of  gauze;  little  Delair  with  Mrs.  Zulich  in 
charge  sent  box  after  box  of  dressings  to  chapter  head- 
quarters. West  Collingswood,  too,  gave  its  full  quota 
of  good  work  and  Haddon  Heights  had  also  efficient  and 
capable  instructors  in  care  of  this  most  important  branch 
of  work.  Camden  city  for  some  months  made  the  sur- 
gical dressings  in  carefully  prepared  rooms  in  the 
churches  but  later  these  quarters  were  discontinued  as 
this  was  deemed  best  to  use  the  big  well  lighted  rooms 
at  the  new  headquarters,  612  Cooper  street,  where  great 
quantities  of  standard  and  special  dressings  were  made. 
Classes  were  held  for  instructors,  one  by  Miss  Margaret 
Davis,  a  qualified  Red  Cross  nurse,  and  three  classes  in- 
structed by  Mrs.  John  R.  Mather,  Jr.,  supervisor  of  sur- 
gical dressings  for  the  county,  by  Miss  E.  C.  Reeve,  Mrs. 
Morse  Archer  and  Mrs.  Amos  qualified  instructors.  By 
means  of  these  classes  all  surgical  work  was  done  under 
the  supervision  of  those  who  had  passed  examinations 
and  had  experience  in  the  proper  handling  of  this  phase 
of  Red  Cross  work.  Just  as  the  Red  Cross  was  settling 
and  had  great  plans  for  utilizing  Trinity  Baptist  Church, 
it  was  announced  it  had  been  sold  and  must  move. 
The  moving  this  time  was  a  matter  of  some  moment,  but 
after  days  of  hard  work  the  packing  and  stock  commit- 
tees had  belongings  in  cases  and  bundles  ready  for  re- 
moval to  the  new  headquarters,  the  Stockton  house  at 
612  Cooper  street,  most  generously  loaned  by  the  heirs 
to  the  organization  for  the  duration  of  the  war. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


139 


RED    CROSS.  141 

In  November,  19 18,  the  Camden  City  Branch  moved 
to  commodious  quarters  in  the  old  Cooper  Library  build- 
ing which  was  left  standing  by  the  city  for  their  occu- 
pation until  the  war  should  cease. 

In  December  of  191 7  it  was  found  necessary  to  have 
a  means  of  reaching  the  branches  for  the  delivery  and 
return  of  supplies  and  a  Chapter  Motor  Corps  was  es- 
tablished under  the  direction  of  the  director  of  Women 
Bureau,  Mrs.  John  A.  Mather,  Jr.  It  rapidly  grew  to 
be  a  wonderfully  servicable  force  and  its  organizer,  J. 
Sidney  Mather,  was  made  chairman  by  the  executive 
board  February  6,  19 18. 

The  corps  did  splendid  work  and  used  their  cars  free- 
ly. During  the  war,  army  and  navy  officers,  secret  service 
men,  hospitals  all  received  their  services  as  well  as 
the  officers  of  the  chapter. 

In  October,  19 18,  the  executive  board  authorized  the 
purchase  of  an  ambulance  motor  truck,  and  the  delivery 
of  goods  has  been  greatly  facilitated. 

During  the  epidemic  of  influenza,  Camden  county's 
work  was  splendid,  nearly  every  branch  had  more  or 
less  of  the  treacherous  disease  to  combat.  After  the 
Emergency  Hospital  was  established  in  Battery  B  Armory 
the  Red  Cross  furnished  the  greater  part  of  the  sheets, 
pillow  cases,  etc.,  as  well  as  most  of  the  gauze  masks 
worn  by  the  workers  as  a  protection.  Many  of  these 
were  also  made  at  the  Red  Cross  workrooms  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  hospitals.  The  chapter  also  provided  cases 
of  fruit,  jellies,  soup  and  some  other  delicacies  for  those 
who  needed  these  things.  More  than  fifty  women  were 
secured,  who  went  into  the  homes  of  those  who  could 
not  get  nurses.  In  some  instances  Red  Cross  volunteers 
even  had  to  conduct  funeral  services  and  bury  the  dead. 

Many  of  the  women  at  headquarters,  after  a  dav's 
work  packing  and  shipping,  for  some  of  the  work  had  to 
go  steadily  on,  took  materials  home  to  hem  or  model  into 
garments  for  the  hospitals.     The  headquarters  at  612 


142 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


Cooper  street  was  open  day  and  night  in  order  to  attend 
the  emergency  cases  reported  to  them. 

In  September,  19 18,  commenced  the  "Used  Clothing 
Campaign"  for  the  Belgians,  under  the  following  com- 
mittees: Robert  J.  D.  Fields,  chairman;  William  D. 
Sayrs,  Jr.,  Jas.  H.  Long,  Charles  Laib,  William  D.  Van- 
naman  and  Dr.  H.  H.  Davis.  Twenty-tons  of  clothing 
was  collected  by  this  able  committee  and  shipped  to  New 
York  division  headquarters. 

On  June,  8  1918,  George  J.  Bergen,  treasurer,  was 
killed  by  a  train  at  Haddonfield,  and  Millwood  Truscott 
became  treasurer  as  well  as  secretary.  The  officers  in 
19 18  and  19 1 9  were  as  follows: 


Dr.    Daniel    Strock,    Chairman 
George    Carr,   Vice    Chairman  Millwood   Truscott,    Secretary   and   Treasurer 


EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE 


Mrs.  J.    A.    Mather,   Jr. 
Miss  E.  C.  Reeve 
Miss   E.   Moore 
Judge    F.    T.    Eloyd 
P.    H.   Harding 
David  B.  Jester 


Chas.   S.  Boyer 
Mrs.   Robt.   Garrett 
Miss  Stella  Weeks 
Mrs.   T.    Stites 
Mrs.    E.   W.   Delacroix 


Mrs.   Geo.   W.    Whyte 
Mrs.   W.   F.   Reber 
Theodore  A.    Reed 
Miss  A.  R.  Kay 
William  D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 


Ashland  Branch 
Mrs.    E.    W.    Atkinson,    Chairman 
Mrs.   Oscar   Brown,   Secretary 
Mrs.    E.   T.    Hamilton,   Treasurer 

Audubon  Branch 
Charles  F.   Wise,   Chairman 
Mrs.   H.   Nelson  Craig,   Secretary 
G.    C.   Henderson,   Treasurer 

Berlin  Branch 
Mrs.  F.  O.   Stem,  Chairman 
Mrs.   Wm.   Wcscott,   Secretary 
J.  M.  Evans,  Treasurer 

Braddock   Auxiliary 
Mrs.   C.   H.   Croft,   Chairman 
Mrs.  O.  J.   Croft,   Secretary 
Mrs.   H,  J.   Brimfield,  Treasurer 

Chews  Branch 
Mrs.   Chas.    Severns,   Chairman 
Mrs.   W.    S.    Entrikin,   Secretary 
Mrs.   James   Stetser,   Treasurer 


Collingswood     Branch. 
Dr.   E.    S.   Sheldon,  Chairman 
Mrs.   B.    I.    Bailey,   Secretary 
E.  B.  Jillard,  Treasurer 

Atco  Branch 

Mrs.   H.  Wyle,   Chairman 
John   H.   Henderson,   Secretary 
Mrs.    T.    Schleinkofer,    Treasurer 

Barrington     Branch. 
Mrs.   J.    H.   Johnson,   Chairman 
Mrs.    B.    Staffeldt,    Secretary 
Mrs.   H.   K.   Ball,   Treasurer 

Blackwood  Branch 
Dr.  J.   E.  Hurff,  Chairman 

E.  E.   Wilson,    Secretary 
J.   Mathias,   Treasurer 

Camden    City    Branch 
George  W.  Whyte,  Chairman 
Norman  B.   Stinson,   Secretary 

F.  Wayland    Potter,   Treasurer 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  I43 


RED    CROSS. 


145 


Clementon  Branch 
Mrs.    Fred   Nolte,   Chairman 
Mrs.  Alfred  Wright,   Secretary 
Mrs.    Edw.   Jaggard,   Treasurer 

Delair  Branch 
Mrs.   M.   G.    Sexton,   Chairman 
Mrs.   M.    E.   Hollinshed,   Secretary 
Mrs.   Elizabeth  Goll,  Treasurer 

Gibbsboro   Branch 
Mrs.  B.  W.  Casselberry,  Chairman 
Miss    Mary   Wilson,    Secretary 
A.  Fulleylove,  Treasurer 

Haddonfield   Branch 
Mrs.    E.   Mercier,   Chairman 
Miss   b.    Smitheman,    Secretary 
Lawrence   Appleton,   Treasurer 

Jordantown   Auxiliary 
Miss  Sallie  Robinson,  Chairman 
Bessie  Quan,   Secretary 
Ellen   Dorsey,   Treasurer 

Lawnside  Branch 
.Mrs.   Louis  J.   Allen,   Chairman 
Sadie   Parks,    Secretary 
Mary  A.   Moore,  Treasurer 

MerchantvillE  Branch 
E.    P.    Challenger,    Chairman 
Mrs. 'L.  H.  McCool,  Secretary 
E.    C.   Jefferis,    Treasurer 

Oaklyn  Branch 
Miss  A.   M.  Ludlow,  Chairman 
Miss   E.   May  Avil,   Secretary 
Mrs.    H.   T.   Justice,   Treasurer 

Stratford  Auxiliary 
Mrs.   Charles   C.   Jaggard,   Chairman 
Mrs.    Harry    Reis,    Secretary 
Mrs.   L.  L.   Belding,  Treasurer 


Westmont  Branch 
Mrs.  Wm.   Brice,   Chairman 
Miss   Florence   Brown,   Secretary 
Mrs.   Frank  M.  Walters,  Treasurer 

Gloucester  Branch 
Chas.  H.   Fowler,   Chairman 
Miss  E.  L.   Powell,   Secretary 
J.   F.    Lenny,  Treasurer 

Haddon   Heights  Branch 
Mrs.  Wm.   Carpenter,  Chairman 
Mrs.    R.    F.    Edwards,   Secretary 
Frank   Reber,  Treasurer 

Laurel   Springs   Branch 
Miss   E.   H.    Schubert,   Chairman 
Mrs.    M.   Wetherill,    Secretary 
Mrs.    M.   Hughes,   Treasurer 

Magnolia  Branch 
Miss  Jean   MacGarvie,   Chairman 
Marion  Galloway,   Secretary 
C.   M.   Watson,   Treasurer 

Mt.  Ephraim  Branch 
Miss  Mary   Bray,   Chairman 
Thcs.    Bray,    Secretary    &   Treasurer 

Pensauken  Branch 
Chas.    DuBree,    Chairman 
Mrs.   E.    Barrington,    Secretary 
Mrs.  J.  Adams,  Treasurer 

West  Colli  ngs wood  Branch 
George    Carr,    Chairman 
Mrs.   J.   Williams,   Secretary 
Mrs.   J.    Pancoast,   Treasurer 

Woodlynne   Branch 
Mrs.   Wm.    Feaster,   Chairman 
Etta   L.   Bossert,   Secretary 
Mrys.   George   Ryden,   Treasurer 


The  report  of  the  secretary  at  the  meeting  in  1917 
showed  the  membership  of  the  chapter  to  be  11,764.  The 
total  membership  on  October  1,  19 18,  was  24,439.  The 
Christmas  Drive  brought  a  total  of  19,355,  the  balance 
of  5,024  coming  through  the  regular  channels.  Judge 
Frank  T.  Lloyd  was  chairman  of  the  campaign  com- 
mittee. 


I46  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

The  report  of  the  chairman  of  women's  work  shows 
a  total  for  1918  of  $46,079  worth  of  raw  materials 
handled  and  194,185  articles  produced,  with  raw  ma- 
terials on  hand  to  value  of  $6,035.65. 

The  recapitulation  of  the  report  submitted  by  the  sev- 
eral branches  show  total  receipts  from  donations  and 
miscellaneous  sources  of  $41,192.32,  and  disbursements 
for  materials  and  miscellaneous  expenses  of  $22,171.97. 
The  total  cash  paid  into  the  Second  War  Fund  is  $225,- 
792.88,  of  which  the  county  chapter  got  a  rebate  of  25 
per  cent.,  the  amount  received  being  $56,448.22.  James 
J.  Scott  was  chairman. 

Mrs.  George  J.  Gleason  was  chairman  of  a  committee 
of  Red  Cross  workers  who  raised  sufficient  funds  at 
Christmas  time  in  1917  to  send  two  hundred  and  fifty 
gifts  to  soldiers  across  the  seas. 

The  cartons  sent  overseas  at  Christmas,  1918,  were  in 
charge  of  H.  R.  Staley,  assisted  by  Mrs.  N.  Bottomley, 
Mrs.  E.  G.  Hummell,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Pechin,  Mrs.  L.  P.  Reed, 
Mrs.  Shoemaker,  Mrs.  Hoffman,  Miss  B.  Schellenger, 
Miss  Sara  Webster,  Miss  E.  Dorn,  Miss  M.  Lukens.  Be- 
tween 2,500  and  3,000  cartons  were  weighed  and  shipped 
to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  boys  who  could  not  yet 
come  home,  though  peace  was  on  its  way. 

Sixteen  thousand  children  of  the  public  schools  be- 
came members  of  the  Junior  Red  Cross  by  contributing 
a  membership  fee  of  twenty-five  cents.  These  children 
produced  a  total  of  4,977  garments. 

The  first  Red  Cross  War  Fund  Campaign  opened  on 
June  18,  1917,  with  Charles  H.  Harrington  as  director 
and  the  quota  was  $150,000.  This  was  oversubscribed 
by  $25,000. 

When  the  114th  Infantry  returned  home  on  May  13, 
1919,  the  canteen  workers,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs. 
Francis  F.  Patterson  provided  a  fine  breakfast  for  the 
boys  at  Third  Regiment  Armory.  Three  hundred  Red 
Cross  workers  served  the  meal  besides  assisting  in  the 
preparation  of  it. 


I48  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    T  H  R    GREAT    WAR. 


[Copyright  by  Harris  &    Bo 

HON.  WALTER  E.  EDGE 
Governor  of  New  Jersey 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  I49 


HOME  DEFENSES 
State  Militia 

FOLLOWING  the  federalization  of  the  National 
Guard  of  the  State  in  July,  19 17,  Governor  Walter 
E.  Edge  invited  three  men  from  each  county  in  the 
State  to  meet  him  in  conference  at  Sea  Girt  on  August 
8,  19 1 7,  to  discuss  means  for  affording  an  available  force 
of  troops  for  the  protection  of  any  part  of  the  State  in 
the  event  of  disorder.  It  was  decided  to  form  a  new 
State  Militia  to  replace  the  National  Guard.  This 
county  was  represented  at  the  conference  by  County 
Clerk  Francis  F.  Patterson,  Captain  Mahlon  F.  Ivins  and 
Charles  L.  Van  Fossen.  These  three  men  were  instruct- 
ed to  recruit  a  company  of  two  hundred  men  in  Camden 
county. 

With  the  assistance  of  automobiles  furnished  by  Wil- 
liam C.  Gerhard  and  George  R.  Harvey,  of  Merchant- 
ville,  every  town  in  the  county  was  visited  within  the 
next  ten  days  by  Captain  Ivins  and  Mr.  Van  Fossen. 
and  on  August  24  ninety-two  men  reported  at  the  Third 
Regiment  Armory  for  medical  examination.  The  medi- 
cal examiners  were  Drs.  Joseph  D.  Lawrence  and  Joseph 
Roberts.  On  the  same  evening  a  telegram  from  the  ad- 
jutant general  instructed  the  committee  to  reduce  the 
county's  quota  to  one  hundred  men. 

The  company  was  mustered  in  on  August  28  by  Major 
Harry  C.  Kramer  and  ninety-nine  men  were  sworn  in. 
This  was  the  first  militia  company  to  be  mustered  into 
service  in  the  United  States  and  to  be  reported  to  the 
State  and  Federal  authorities  for  duty.  At  an  election 
held  the  same  evening  the  following  officers  were  chosen : 
Captain,  Mahlon  F.  Ivins;  First  Lieutenant  "Rirton  S. 
Muir;  Second  Lieutenant,   William  C.   Gerhard. 


I50  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

The  company  was  ordered  to  Sea  Girt  on  September 
5  for  rifle  practice  and  was  complimented  by  Governor 
Edge  during  his  review  of  the  new  company.  The  com- 
pany was  inspected  by  Major  H.  P.  Morehead,  battalion 
commander,  in  December  and  was  rated  one  hundred 
per  cent. 

The  Second  Battalion  Sanitary  Unit  was  recruited  and 
Dr.  Joseph  D.  Lawrence  was  placed  in  command  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  The  Imperial  Band,  of  Collings- 
wood,  tendered  its  services  to  the  State  and  the  band 
was  recruited  as  the  Second  Battalion  Band.  Sergeant 
James  Young  was  conductor. 

The  Camden  company  became  known  as  Company  A, 
Second  Battalion,  New  Jersey  State  Militia.  It  was 
ordered  to  Sea  Girt  again  on  June  30,  19 18,  for  ten  days 
encampment.  Officers  and  non-commission  officers  at- 
tended instructions  at  Sea  Girt  in  June  prior  to  the  an- 
nual encampment. 

Captain  Ivins  resigned  to  become  major  of  the  Sec- 
ond New  Jersey  Field  Artillery  but  was  later  re-assigned 
to  command  Company  A,  following  the  encampment.  He 
resigned  in  the  fall  of  1918  to  accept  a  commission  as 
captain  in  the  Ordnance  Deparment,  United  States 
Army,  and  at  an  election  in  October,  First  Lieutenant 
Barton  S.  Muir  was  elected  captain ;  Second  Lieutenant 
William  C.  Gerhard  first  lieutenant,  and  Sergeant  Allen 
H.  Robinson  second  lieutenant.  Charles  L.  Van  Fossen, 
one  of  the  two  organizers  of  the  company,  was  com- 
missioned first  lieutenant  of  the  Second  New  Jersey 
Field  Artillery.  He  was  later  promoted  to  captain  and 
assigned  to  Headquarters  Company  located  in  Camden. 
Company  A  appeared  in  a  number  of  war  drive 
parades.  The  most  of  the  militiamen  were  married 
with  dependent  families,  willing  to  protect  homes  and 
firesides  while  the  troops  were  abroad.  Company  A 
went  to  Sea  Girt  again  on  July  20,  1919,  for  a  week's 


HOME   DEFENSES.  151 

encampment   and   the  officers   training   camp   was   held 
from  July  6  to  12. 

Second  Field  Artillery 

After  the  First  New  Jersey  Field  Artillery  had  been 
called  into  service  by  the  War  Department  Governor 
Edge  was  instructed  to  have  recruited  an  additional  ar- 
tillery regiment  in  New  Jersey  with  the  result  that  the 
Second  Field  Artillery  came  into  existence.  The  recruit- 
ing began  in  this  county  on  August  25,  1917,  with  First 
Lieutenant  S.  Raymond  Dobbs  in  charge.  Lieutenant 
Dobbs  was  promoted  captain  and  placed  in  command  of 
Headquarters  Company  located  in  Camden  with  head- 
quarters at  Battery  B  Armory.  The  regiment  was 
federalized  on  December  13,  1917,  and  was  ordered  to 
Camp  McClellan.  Then  something  happened  in  the 
plans  of  the  War  Department  and  the  order  was  can- 
celled. The  regiment  was  never  summoned  again,  al- 
though repeated  efforts  were  made  by  Governor  Edge 
to  have  it  mustered  into  the  regular  service.  First  Lieu- 
tenant Charles  L.  Van  Fossen  was  placed  in  command 
of  Headquarters  Company  upon  retirement  of  Captain 
Dobbs.  He  was  later  promoted  captain.  The  company 
was  mustered  out  of  service  April  18,  19 19. 

Home  Guard 

After  America  entered  the  war  and  the  Eddystone 
plant  was  evidently  destroyed  by  incendiaries  with  such 
terrible  loss  of  life,  the  Government  deemed  it  necessary 
that  each  community  provide  its  own  protection,  so  Home 
Guards  were  organized  subject  to  the  call  of  the  mayor 
of  the  community  in  which  these  units  were  formed. 
When  the  organization  call  came  hundreds  of  men  vol- 
unteered, many  of  them  as  old  as  sixty-five  years. 


T52  CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

Camden  set  apart  April  17,  19 17,  as  registration  day. 
Sheriff  Joshua  C.  Haines  was  chairman  of  the  Home 
Guards  Committee  of  the  Public  Safety  Committee  and 
perfected  an  organization  for  the  registration.  In  Cam- 
den 2,040  men  enrolled  in  the  thirteen  wards  and  sev- 
eral companies  were  organized.  Gloucester  City, 
Haddon  Heights,  Westmont  and  Haddonfield  formed 
companies  while  Merchantville  formed  a  battalion. 

The  Gloucester  City  company  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Harry  F.  Green  and  Haddon  Heights  company 
by  Captain  William  C.  Carpenter.  Merchantville  had 
three  companies  and  Pensauken  township  one.  They 
united  to  form  a  battalion  under  Major  John  Mickle. 
The  company  commanders  were :  Company  A,  Captain 
Mahlon  F.  Ivins;  Company  B,  Captain  William  H.  Fra- 
zee ;  Company  C,  Captain  Charles  Dickinson ;  Com- 
pany D,  Captain  John  Annis ;  battalion  Adjutant,  First 
Lieutenant  Charles  G.  Keene;  supply  officer,  Second 
Lieutenant  Milton  Vail.  Gloucester  and  part  of  Mer- 
chantville companies  became  part  of  the  New  Jersey 
Militia  when  Company  A  was  organized  in  Camden. 

A  Home  Guard  company  was  organized  at  Collings- 
wood  by  Barton  S.  Muir  and  these  officers  were  elected : 
Captain,  Charles  Thomas;  first  lieutenant,  Barton  S. 
Muir;  second  lieutenant,  Albert  E.  Ingram.  The  com- 
pany disbanded  when  the  State  Militia  came  into  exis- 
tence, the  majority  of  the  Collingswood  company  joining 
the  new  State  organization.  Lieutenant  Muir  was  elect- 
ed first  lieutenant  of  Company  A,  of  Camden,  on  the 
night  that  unit  was  organized  and  mustered  in. 

The  companies  drilled  with  broom  sticks  at  first.  Then 
riot  clubs  were  secured.  Merchantville  and  Haddon 
Heights  furnished  arms  for  their  companies  by  popular 
subscription.  The  guards  sought  recognition  from  the 
State  and  permission  to  drill  in  armories,  which  was 
granted  about  six  months  later.  In  the  fall  of 
T9T7  the  guards  became  known  as  the  State  Militia  Re- 


HOME  DEFENSES.  153 

serve.  They  were  not  liable  to  duty  outside  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  were  organized  but  could  volun- 
teer their  services  to  the  State  in  case  of  necessity. 

Camden  Battalion 

Companies  were  organized  in  every  ward  in  the  city. 
In  fact  there  were  two  companies  in  some  wards,  but  the 
slowness  of  the  State  department  in  equipping  the  men 
caused  them  to  lose  heart  after  they  drilled  on  the  hot 
streets  with  broom  sticks  during  the  summer  of  1917, 
and  the  companies  gradually  dwindled  away  until  there 
were  but  enough  men  to  make  up  four  full  companies 
throughout  the  city. 

When  the  State  finally  recognized  the  Home  Guard 
units  Camden  organized  a  battalion.  The  Camden  Bat- 
talion was  formally  recognized  and  accepted  by  the 
State  on  November  17,  19 17.  The  battalion  was  uni- 
formed and  equipped  by  the  City  of  Camden.  The  first 
to  command  this  body  was  Major  Edward  C.  Auster- 
muhl,  who  later  resigned  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. The  board  of  officers  then  elected,  and  the 
Governor  commissioned  Captain  John  H.  Andrus  as 
major  of  the  Camden  Battalion. 

Two  hundred  and  seventy-seven  officers  and  men  com- 
prised the  command  of  Major  Andrus  with  headquarters 
in  the  Third  Regiment  Armory.  The  battalion  took  part 
in  each  of  the  Liberty  Loan  campaigns  and  in  the  drives 
conducted  by  the  Red  Cross,  Knights  of  Columbus, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  et  al.  During  the 
influenza  epidemic  an  Emergency  Hospital  was  estab- 
lished at  the  Armory  of  Battery  "B,"  in  charge  of  a 
committee  from  City  Council.  Unable  to  employ  suffi- 
cient help,  Mayor  Ellis  called  on  the  State  Militia  Re- 
serve. While  the  hospital  was  in  service  one  hundred 
and  ten  men  of  the  Battalion  were  on  duty  twelve  hours 
each  and  performed  every  task  assigned  them  most  will- 


154  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR. 

ingly.  Aside  from  their  hospital  duties,  men  of  the 
Battalion  were  at  various  times  assigned  to  go  to  private 
homes  to  assist  the  nurses  in  restraining  delirious 
patients. 

On  May  i,  1919,  when  anarchist  and  Bolshevist  sym- 
pathizers had  prepared  a  May  Day  celebration  against 
organized  government,  Mayor  Ellis  called  two  companies 
of  the  Battalion  to  Third  Regiment  Armory  where  they 
were  held  in  reserve  to  aid  the  Police  Department  should 
the  situation  become  alarming.  Their  services  were  not 
needed,  however,  during  the  day. 

The  officers  of  the  organization  follow :  Major  J.  H. 
Andrus,  First  Lieutenant  Charles  Stuart  Straw,  ad- 
jutant; Second  Lieutenant  Walter  M.  Morris,  supply 
officer.  Company  A — Captain  C.  F.  Hettinger,  First 
Lieutenant  Benjamin  Abrams,  Second  Lieutenant  H.  F. 
Hippenstiel.  Company  B — Captain  M.  J.  Paxson,  First 
Lieutenant  Clinton  I.  Evans,  Second  Lieutenant  S.  W. 
Wilson.  Company  C — Captain  H.  H.  Taney,  First 
Lieutenant  Horace  Morrison,  Second  Lieutenant  Amos 
Neilly.  Company  D — Captain  Frank  Parker,  First 
Lieutenant  A.  P.  Saumenig,  Second  Lieutenant  J. 
Hobart  Condit. 


156 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    TNT    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


U'hoto  by  Won/,  r.] 
MAYOR  CHAvS.   11.   ELLIS 
Chairman    of    Camden    Public    Safety    Committee    and    Victory- 
Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  1 57 


PUBLIC  SAFETY  COMMITTEE 

AT  the  outbreak  of  the  war  it  was  obvious  that  each 
community  in  the  country  must  protect  itself 
against  plots  to  overthrow  the  American  Government, 
to  blow  up  munition  plants,  such  had  been  done  at  Eddy- 
stone,  Pa.,  when  hundreds  were  killed  and  injured,  and 
to  suppress  all  attempts  at  disorder  on  the  part  of  pro- 
German  sympathizers,  and  the  result  was  that  public 
safety  committees  were  appointed  in  each  State  with 
sub-committees  in  each  municipality.  This  State  was 
organized  by  Governor  Walter  E.  Edge,  who  called  a 
meeting  of  seven  hundred  mayors  of  cities  in  the  State 
on  March  28,  1917.  The  governors  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  had  previously  held  a  conference  with  the  War 
Department  at  Washington.  These  committeees  later 
became  known  as  Councils  of  Defense.  There  was  a 
National  Council  of  Defense  and  a  council  in  each 
State  and  one  in  each  city. 

On  March  27,  19 17,  Mayor  Ellis  named  the  Camden 
Public  Safety  Committee  with  a  membership  of  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  members,  and  the  first  meeting  took 
place  in  the  old  Lyon  Tabernacle  at  Twelfth  and  Federal 
streets  on  the  following  evening  at  which  time  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected:  Mayor  Charles  H.  Ellis, 
president;  Dr.  H.  H.  Grace,  Judge  Frank  T.  Lloyd  and 
County  Clerk  Francis  F.  Patterson,  vice  presidents; 
Charles  M.  Curry  secretary;  Charles  A.  Reynolds,  treas- 
urer. Camden  was  the  first  city  in  the  State  to  organize 
a  public  safety  committee  and  plans  were  discussed  at 
the  initial  meeting  for  the  organization  of  a  home  guard 
of  four  hundred  and  fifty  men.  On  March  30,  1917,  City 
Council  appropriated  $1,000  for  the  immediate  use  of 


158 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


the  committee  to  protect  the  city.     The  members  of  the 
committee  were  as  follows : 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 
Mayor   Charles  H.    Ellis,   President 

Francis  F.  Patterson,  Jr.,  First  V-Pres.       Charles  M.  Curry,  Secretary 
Hon.  Frank  T.  Lloyd,   Second  V-Pres.    Charles  A.  Reynolds,  Treasurer 
Dr.  H.  H.  Grace,  Third  V-Pres.  David  Baird,  Jr.,  Asst.  Treasurer 


David  Baird,  Sr. 
Ralph  W.  E.  Donges 
Joshua  C.  Haines 
Charles  S.  Boyer 
Dr.   Daniel  Strock 
A.  B.  F.  Smith 
Upton    S.   Jefferys 


David   Baird,   Sr. 
F.  Wayland  Ayer 
Fithian   S.   Simmons 
B.  B.  Draper 
Herbert  N.   Munger 
Edmund  E.   Read 
Francis  B.  Wallen 
George  A.  Frey 
David  A.   Henderson 


Ralph  W.   E.  Donges 

J.   Hartley  Bowen 

J.   Milton  Burdge 

T.  G.  Coulter 

H.  H.  Etter 

Dr.  Joel  W.  Fithian 


George  L.  Bender 
David  Baird,  Jr. 
W.   Penn  Corson 
H.  J.  Dudley 


George  L.  Bender 
Wm.  D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 
W.  W.  Fry 
Harry  M.   Knight 
B.   M,   Hedrick 
Wm.  D.  Brown 
Mrs.  Joseph  Kobus 

FINANCE  COMMITTEE 

Joseph  H.   Forsyth 
David  B.  Jester 
John  Prentice 

A.  R.   Frome 

B.  G.   Royal 
Wm.  J.   Cooper 
Samuel  Croft 
George  M.  Andrews 
James  Buckelew 

NATIONAL  GUARD 

Edgar  A.  Freeman 
E.  J.  Kelleher 
James  H.  Long 
J.    M.    Pennock 
Wm.   F.   Powell 


Arthur  R.  Gcmberling 
Joseph   H.    Forsyth 
W.  Penn  Corson 
John   Prentice 
James  H.  Long 
E.  G.  C.  Bleakly 
Francis  B.   Wallen 


Very    Rev.  B.  J.  Mulligan 

James  V.  Moran 

Theodore  T.  Kause! 

W.  H.  Pratt 

Arthur  R.    Gemberlinj 

Frank   Starr 

Dr.   C.  T.  Branch 

Wm.  Casselman 

E.  G.  C.  Bleakly 


Walter  T.  Pratt 
William  T.    Read 
F.  D.  Weaver 
C.  A.  Wolverto« 
William   C   Story 


RELIEF  COMMITTEE 

Rev.   H.   F.  Gravatt 
L.  B.  Reader 
E.  P.  Carson 
Dr.   Harry  Jarrett 


B.   M.   Hedrick 

James  E.  Hewitt 

Dr.    Paul   N.   Litchfield 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCE  COMMITTEE 
Charles  S.   Boyer  Theodore  T.  Kausel  J.   H.  Downey 

Frank  S.  Van  Hart  J.   Lynn  Truscott  Ralph  D.    Baker 

Belford  G.   Royal  Arthur  C.  Abele  John  T.  Rodan 

Kessler  Webster  Samuel  L.  Clarke  Raymond  L.   Warrei 


INVESTIGATION  COMMITTEE 


William  D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 
Rev.  Zed  H.  Copp 
W.   Butler 


Sig.    Schoenagle 
David  Doan 
William  A.   Frost 


Joseph    S.    Kerbaugh 
Antonio   Mecca 
T.  Harry  Rowland 


CAMDEN    COUNTY   IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  1 59 


CHARLES  M.   CURRY 
Secretary  of  Public  Safety  Committee  and  Victory  Jubilee  and 
Memorial  Committee 


PUBLIC    SAFETY    COMMITTEE. 


161 


INVESTIGATING   COMMITTEE— Continued 


Robert  J.  D.  Field 
George    H.    Cummins 
Alex.   Jasienski 
William   C.    French 


L-  T.   Derousse 

Wra.   D.   Vanaman 
A.    E.    Simmons 


E.   B.   McClong 
George  A.  Tatem 
Malcolm   B.   Webster 


Joshua  C.   Haines 
George    E.    Kappell 
F.   E.    Himmelein 
Thomas   Mason 
James    F.    Lennon 
Frank    C.    Sayrs 
Rev.   G.   H.    Hemingway 
William    D.    Brown 


HOME  GUARDS 

John   Conradi 
Fred  W.   Gercke 
F.   George  Delker 
Rev.   Jas.    R.    White 
George   J.    Schneider 
William  Weber 
William    F.    Bolzau 
George    Arnold 


Benjamin    Abrams 
J.    Blair  Cuthbert 
Rev.   I.    E.    Showell 
John  J.   Bingham 
George  A.   Fogarty 
Chas.  W.   Mathiott 
Joseph   A.   Tully 
Francis  G.   Bailey 


RED   CROSS   AND   PROFESSIONAL   MEN  AND   WOMEN   COMMITTEE 


Dr.  Daniel  Strock 
Dr.  C.  F.  Hadley 
Rev.   John   B.    Haines 
Rev.   R.   E.   Brestell 


Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Reeve 
Dr.   Paul   M.   Mecray 
Dr.   C.    P.   Tuttle 


Albert   S.   Woodruff 
Mrs.    E.    S.    Woodward 
Dr.   Lettie  Allen  Ward 


A.  B.  F.  Smith 
Fredk  Von  Neida 
C.  J.  Roberts 
James  E.  Tatem 
A.  W.  Young 


AUTOMOBILE  COMMITTEE 


R.   D.   Clow,  Jr. 
Geo.    H.    Gomersall 
George  Bradley 
George  Blake 
George   Bachmann 


William  C.   Davis 
W.  L.  Sweeten 
J.    Sidney   Mather 
Chas.   W.  Austermuhl 
William  W.  Moyer 


Upton  S.  Jefferys 
Frank  S.  Albright 
Frank  Sheridan 
Benj.   W.    Courter 
John  D.   Courter 


PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE 

Daniel  M.   Hassett 
Charles  Schuck 
Clayton  Moore 
Otto  Erdlen 
Charles  J.   Haaga 


Daniel    P.    McConnell 
James  L.  Polk 
William  H.   Jefferys 
John  J.   Tischner 


PUBLIC  WELFARE  COMMITTEE 


Rev.   Charles  Bowden 
George  W.   Whyte 
John  T.   Rodan 
John  W.  Sell 
R.  S.  Carney 


William  D.  Brown 
A.  L.   Sayers 
Dr.  Grant  E.  Kirk 
A.   L.   Ogden 
Charles  A.   Wolverton 


Fredk  Von  Neida 
Rev.  J.  R.  Read 
Christian   D.    Fisher 
A.   Lincoln   Michener 


CITY  GARDENS  COMMITTEE 


B.  M.   Hedrick 
Zed  H.   Copp 
Charles  H.    Ellis 
David  Jester 
E.   G.   C.  Bleakly 
Hon.   Frank  T.  Lloyd 
Dr.  James  E.   Bryan 


Asa  L.  Roberts 

M.  F.  Middleton,  Jr. 

A.   B.   Sparks 

J.   Hartley   Bowen 

Richard    S.    Carney 

Charles  H.  Hayes 

W.  D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 


William    Derham 
George   L.    Bender 
Dr.  H.  L.  Rose 
Georga   Molineaux 
Ray    E.    Zimmerman 
H.  R.   Kuehner 


1 62 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


W.  W.  Fry 
Rev.  E.  Ray  Simon* 
Charles  A.   Wolverton 
William  J.   Cooper 
W.  H.  Debenham 


BOYS'   COMMITTEE 

Abe    Fuhrman 
Wm.  Heckenhorn 
Joseph   F.   Magee 
Joshua  C.  Haines 


F.  G.   Hitchner 
H.  N.  Munger 

G.  Wilbur  Taylor 
H.    B.   Hemphill 


OTHER    MEMBERS    OF    THE    PUBLIC    SAFETY    COMMITTEE 


C.  S.  Ackley 

W.  S.  Abbott 

Philip   Auerbach 

George  W.  Amme 

Hon.  Wm.  J.  Browning 

George  Barrett 

M.  D.  Bulifant 

W.  J.   Boddy 

Edward  B.    Broadway 

L-  F.  Bonaker 

J.  Z.  Blank 

Dr.  W.  K.  Browning 

Thomas  W.   Binker 

Samuel   Buzine 

Frazer  A.   Baker 

H.  P.  Bailey 

Henry   F.   Budney 

W.  P.  Brewin 

Arthur  B.  Butcher 

Thomas  Burnsides 

Josiah  Beckett 

Heisler  Bowden 

L.   S.  Bell 

Dr.  Jas.  W.  Blackwood 

Rev.    Dr.    I.    W.    Bagley 

Ernest  E.   Bartelt 

W.  B.  M.  Burrell 

William  A.  Baird 

A.  G.  Connell 

Rev.   T.   D.   Collins 

Dr.  W.  W.  Crate 

Sylvester   Corson 

H.  M.  Cooper 

Ralph  D.   Childrey 

William  B.   Cannon 

Joseph  G.  Corson 

Harry  Cline 

Benjamin  F.   Cox 

Ralph    Cavallo 

Dr.  H.  H.  Davis 

Howard    Dalrymple 

C   K.   Deacon 

Joseph   B.  Davis 

Joseph  Driver 

Isaac  Dough  ten 

Harry  A.  Durkin 

Rev.   M.   Di   Ielsi 


J.   R.   Diehm 
James  L.  Dougherty 
John  W.  Dyer 
Samuel  A.  Dobbins 
William  A.  Donavan 
J.  T.  Dorrance 
Harry  M.  Dease 
Charles   Epting 
Raymond  L.   English 
Wilbur   B.    Ellis 
F.   A.   Finkeldey,   Sr. 
Philip   P.    Fletcher 
George   Fisher 
Walter  M.  Friant 
W.  E.  Fox 
Herbert    C.    Felton 
John  A.  Furey 
Charles  M.   Ferat 
Wm.    H.    Fredericks 
Harry  L.  Foulkes 
Isaac  Frisch 
V.   M.   Fulton 
Rev.  C.  I.  FitzGeorge 
Dr.   I.   N.  Griscom 
William  Grass 
George  Garland 
Walter  E.  Garwood 
Robert  J.  Garrison 
C.  H.  Greer 
Kohman   Goldstein 
Isaac   H.   Gleason 
Wm.  W.  Garrigues 
Louis  B.   Humphreys 
Harry   R.    Humphreys 
Harry  C.  Hinchman 
Bruce   C.    Hallowell 
George  Helm 
Edward   Heimach 
George  F.  Hammond 
Rev.  W.  H.  Heath 
P.   D.   Hughes 
Edwin  S.   Huff 
Robert  J.   Hill 
Cooper  B.  Hatch 
Howard  Hammell 
J.  J.   Ilowelctt 
E-   D.   Horner 


Dr.  Roland  I.  Hainea 
Arthur   Herron 
Wesley   W.   Hibbs 
Edward  Hillman 
Edgar  R.  Holme 
William   E.   Hilbmann 
F.  G.  Hitchner 
W.   S.  Hunt 
Edward   Ivers 
J.  C.  Pohnson 

A.  L.  Jones 

Dr.    Herbert   Johnsoa 
S.    M.   Jacobson 
Joseph    W.    Johnston 
George   W.    Kirkbride 
Anthony  Kobus 
George  P.  Kroecker 
William  J.   Kelley 
Dr.  Thomas  M.  Kain 
William   H.   King 
Robert   Kepner 
William  J.   Kelly 
Dr.   A.    H.   Lippincott 
Henry   C.   Eounsberry 
E.   G.   Locke 
William  L.    Lloyd 
H.   B.   Lee 
Harry  C.    Sharp 
Thomas  N.  Lecson 
Wilbur  Lambert 
Frank   J.   Leonard 
Edward  M.  Ladd 
Dr.  J.  Lynn  Mahaffey 
Robert   Macintosh 
William  II.   Monroe 
Howard    Marshall 
Dr.  W.   E.  Miller 

B.  S.  Maloney 
Herbert  W.   Mowrey 
Dr.   P.   H.   Markley 
William   E.    Morgenweck 
Col.   D.   B.   Murphy 
Benton  O.   Miller 
Joseph  J.  Merit! 
Clarence    1 )     Mathews 
William  Mil's 

Edward    Mill»r 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    THE    GREAT    WAR.  [63 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.] 

WILLIAM  D.  SAYRS,  JR. 
Chairman  of  Investigation  Committee 


PUBLIC    SAFETY    COMMITTEE. 


165 


OTHER  MEMBERS   OF  THE   PUBLIC   SAFETY 
COMMITTEE— Continued. 


Marco  Marino 
A.  W.  Nash 
R.  M.   Pancoast,  Jr. 
Walter  Parsons 
J.  Marion  Parsons 
H.   Frank  Pettit 
Wolcott  J.  Patterson 
Rev.   S.  D.  Price 
Dr.   Edward  C  Pechin 
G.  H.  Prince 
William  F.  Powell 
E.  Pierce 
Elwood  Prickett 
David  B.  Peterson 
Rev.  E.  O.  Parker 
W.   E.   Prickett 
Benjamin   Phillip 
David  R.   Rose 
W.   L.   Roberts 
H.  R.   Read 
Wilbur  F.   Rom 
Frederick   Roedel,   Sr. 
Dr.  A  S.  Ross 
Joseph  Richards 
Newton   Roney 
Dr.  A.  B.  Reader 
Gustav  Roedel 
John   S.    Roberts 
Wm.  M.  Riddle 


Frank  G.  Rigging 

Chas.  C.  Reeves,  Jr. 

Dr.   S.  M.  Rubinstein 

Wm.  E.  Ringle 

Dr.  E.  A.  Y.  Schellenger 

Walter   Simpson 

Adam   T.    Schlorer 

Chas.   H.  Stewart 

Joseph  P.    Shinn 

Dr.  O.  W.   Saunders 

Dr.  M.  A   Street 

John  A.  Stockton 

Ira  Shute 

Chas.  H.  Sullivan,  Jr. 

Max   Schoeman 

Robert  Smith 

Frank  Saur 

Chas.   S.   Straw 

A.  Shimp,  Sr. 

Harry   C.    Sharp 

Edward  W.    Sharp 

Chas.  P.  Stitt 

John  M.   Smith 

Anthony  S.   Spring 

Thos.    Skillman 

John  J.    Stevenson 

William   Sturges 

John  Schuda 


Arthur  R.   Stanton 
Edward  F.  Tretbar 

F.  W.  Tussejr 

G.  E.  Taylor 
William  Tideken 
E.   P.    Turner 
Orley  Twigg 
Joseph   R.   Taylor 
Warren   S.   Thompson 
Chas.   F.   Turner 
Frank  L.  Vinton 
Samuel   Varbalow 
Ward  D.  Vernon 
Harry  Varbalow 
Robert  A   Van  Mater 
G.   Gerry  White 
Phillip   Wilson 

E.  J.   Way 
James  F,  Walton 
W.    Taylor    Wright 
John   T.   Wright 
William  Wilkins 
George    Wentiing 
Warren  Webster 
George    H.    Williams 
William  P.  Weiser 
Carl   Wiewadel 
Louis  Zeitman 


On  April  2,  19 17,  the  second  meeting  of  the  commit- 
tee was  held  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building.  While  the 
meeting  was  in  session  President  Wilson  was  reading  his 
war  message  to  Congress.  Before  the  meeting  was  over 
a  telegram  was  read  from  the  platform  by  Walter  L. 
Tushingham,  a  newspaperman,  which  stated  that  the 
President  had  told  Congress  that  a  state  of  war  already 
existed  between  the  United  States  and  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Empire.  Francis  G.  Riggins  had  just  finished  sing- 
ing "The  Old  Flag  Never  Touched  the  Ground,"  and  a 
dramatic  scene  of  cheering  followed,  led  by  Spanish- 
American  War  veterans.  The  mayor  asked  the  audience 
to  rise  and  Mr.  Riggins  led  in  the  singing  of  "America." 


l66         camden  county  in  the  great  war. 
City  Pledged  Loyalty. 

Thousands  of  citizens  assembled  at  Third  Regiment 
Armory  on  Saturday  afternoon,  April  21,  1917,  to  pledge 
their  loyalty  to  America  in  the  Great  War  at  a  meet- 
ing arranged  by  the  Public  Safety  Committee.  The  rally 
took  place  following  a  spectacular  street  parade.  Ralph 
W.  E.  Donges  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  ar- 
rangements and  Mayor  Ellis  was  chairman  of  the  meet- 
ing. Addresses  were  made  by  United  States  Senator 
James  E.  Watson,  of  Indiana;  Attorney  General  John 
W.  Wescott  and  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell,  president  of 
Temple  University.  Judge  Frank  T.  Lloyd  called  on  the 
throng  to  raise  their  right  hands  and  the  great  audience 
then  repeated  after  him  the  Freeman's  Oath.  This  was 
followed  by  great  cheering.  The  following  resolutions 
were  read  by  Secretary  Charles  M.  Curry  and  adopted 
unanimously : 

"Whereas,  in  the  providence  of  that  Divine  Power, 
which  has  ever  been  the  guiding  hand  in  American  his- 
tory, the  nation  is  called  to  arms  to  again  defend  and 
extend  the  liberties  of  mankind. 

"Be  it  resolved,  by  the  citizens,  of  Camden  in  mass 
meeting  assembled,  that  without  dissenting  voice,  we 
hereby  consecrate  to  the  sacred  cause  in  which  we  are 
engaged  and  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
our  unreserved  support  and  to  that  end  we  pledge  our 
material  resources,  our  service  and  life  itself  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  unselfish  purpose  of  the  President, 
the  Congress  and  the  Nation. 

"Resolve,  that  we  call  upon  the  Government  to  exert 
every  lawful  effort  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  a 
successful  conclusion,  including  especially  in  such  effort 
the  enactment  of  legislation  to  the  end  that  there  shall  be 
universal  training  in  the  bearing  of  arms,  and  that  a  just 
distribution  of  the  burden  through  fair  draft  of  its 
male  citizens  may  be  secured,  such  system  being  the  only 


PUBLIC    SAFETY    COMMITTEE.  1 67 

equitable  method  of  procuring  the  service  of  both  the 
willing  and  the  unwilling  in  the  defense  of  our  common 
country. 

"Resolved,  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  President  of  the 
Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives." 

All,  Special  Officers 

Each  member  of  the  Public  Safety  Committee  was 
sworn  in  as  a  special  officer  and  presented  with  a  badge 
of  authority  to  make  arrest  and  carry  weapons.  Each 
member  was  subject  to  the  call  of  the  mayor  in  case  of 
riots,  fire,  insurrection  or  any  trouble.  The  occasion 
never  arose  that  necessitated  the  call  of  the  committee  for 
that  purpose  but  it  did  great  work  during  the  war  es- 
pecially during  the  influenza  epidemic  in  the  fall  of  19 18. 

The  committee's  greatest  feat  was  to  organize  a  parade 
on  the  day  that  the  armistice  was  signed  within  seven 
hours.  Mayor  Ellis  called  the  committee  at  5.30  a.  m., 
on  Armistice  Day,  November  n,  19 18,  to  meet  in  his 
office  at  the  City  Hall  at  7  a.  m.,  to  plan  for  a  parade  at  1 
p.  m.  A  committee  left  for  Camp  Dix  at  10  a.  m.  to  con- 
fer with  Major  General  Hugh  L.  Scott,  commander,  in 
regards  to  having  troops  sent  to  Camden  for  the  parade. 
Arrangements  were  made  to  have  two  companies  sent  on 
a  special  train  and  the  parade  took  place. 

Prior  to  Christmas,  19 17,  the  committee  secured  an 
appropriation  from  City  Council  and  the  Board  of  Free- 
holders for  the  purchase  of  articles  to  be  made  into 
Christmas  packages  for  the  men  in  the  service.  These 
Christmas  packages  were  forwarded  to  army  camps, 
where  they  were  distributed  by  committees  and  the  gifts 
to  the  men  overseas  were  forwarded  by  mail.  At  the  re- 
quest of  the  Government  the  committee  became  known 
as  ithe  Council  of  Defense  before  the  war  ended  and  be- 
came a  branch  of  the  New  Jersey  Council  of  Defense. 


1 68 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


VICTORY  JUBILEE  COMMITTEE 

THE  Victory  Jubilee  Committee  took  the  place  of  the 
Council  of  Defense,  previously  known  as  the  Pub- 
lic Safety  Committee.  Mayor  Charles  H.  Ellis  named 
the  committee  shortly  after  the  armistice  was  signed  and 
the  first  meeting  was  held  at  the  Board  of  Trade  office 
on  November  17,  19 18,  when  the  following  committees 
were  named  and  officers  elected : 


President,  Charles  H.  Ellis 

Vice  President,  F,  F.  Patterson,  Jr. 


Secretary,  Charles  M.   Curry 
Treasurer,  Walter  J.  Staats 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 
Mayor   Charles  H.    Ellis,   Chairman 


Charles  K.  Haddo* 
Walter  J.   Staats 
James  J.  Scott 
F.  F.  Patterson,  Jr. 
David  B.   Jester 
David   Baird,   Sr. 
John   Prentice 
Frank    Sheridan 
M.  A.  Neeland 
William  S.   Abbott 
F.   Morse  Archer 
Dr.  Henry  H.  Davis 
William  L.  Hurley 
James  H.  Long 
Walter  L.   Tushingham 
Joseph    H.    Forsyth 
Townsend    Stites 
James   E.    Bryan 
Frank  T.   Lloyd 
William  J.   Cooper 


Chas.   S.   Boyer 
Charles  M.  Curry 
George   A.    Frey 
Francis  B.  Wallen 
Charles  A.    Reynolds 
W.    Penn   Corson 
Dr.    Daniel    Strock 
Andrew   B.    F.    Smith 
Charles   F.   Wise 
E.  G.   C.   Bleakly 
William  J.  Kraft 
Frank  S.  Van  Hart 
Rev.  J.   B.  McCloskey 
William   J.    Dallas 
Rev.   Holmes  F.  Gravatt 
William  D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 
Dr.  Clement  T.  Branch 
David    M.    Anderson 
Benjamin   Natal 
J.   H.   Lippincott 


Arthur    R.    Gemberling 
Thomas   W.    Jack 
Harry    M.    Knight 
Isaac  Frisch 
John  B.  Kates 
Elias   Davis 
Wm.    D.   Vanaman 
Volney  G.  Bennett 
William   D.    Brown 
Arthur  C.   Abele 
Samuel    Curriden 
Sidney   P.    McCord 
John   H.    Fort 
Ernest  F.   Lloyd 
George  A.  Wonfor 
Frank   J.   Hineline 
D.   A.    Henderson 
Dr.   Alex  MacAlister 
Antonio    Mecca 
Rev.    Martin   Lipinski 


A.    Ransaville  Frome 
George  A.  Frey 
David  A.   Henderson 
James  F.   Lennon 
Rev.  R.  E.  Brestell 
Upton    S.   Jefferys 
George   Barrett 
Patrick  II.   Harding 
Preston  D.   Hughe* 


ADVISORY   COMMITTEE 
William  J.   Cooper,  Chairman 


Very   Rev.  B.  J.   Mulligan 

Arthur   Stanley 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Whelan 

Marco  Marino 

Louis  Tartar 

Philip    Auerbach 

Sig.    Schoenagle 

Rev.  George  E.  Morris 

Antonio   Mecca 


George  A.   Tatem 
Frank   P.    Cocchiaraley 
Vincent   Cioffi 
Alex.    Jasienski 
Joseph  Kraz 
Arthur   Truscott 
Garfield    Pancoast 
Joseph   E.    Nowrey 
Samuel  T.    French 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    Till'.    GREAT    WAR. 


169 


~ 


= 


VICTORY   JUBILEE   COMMITTEE. 


171 


ADVISORY   COMMITTEE— (Continued.) 


Rev.  Alex.   Corson 
Rev.   Stephen  Wiesnski 
Rev.   John   B.   Ha:nes 
Rev.  J.   11.  Townsend 
Rev.  John  R.   Read 
Wilbur   B.   Ellis 
Rev.  Chas.   I.  FitzGeorge 
James  E.  Tatem 
O.  D.  Kline 
Louis  Zeitmaa 
Rev.  John  W.   Lyell 
Samuel  A.   Dobbins 
Rev.   H.   J.  Vosburgh 
William  D.   Brown 
Rev.  Thilo  M.  Gorr 
William    Williams 
Charles   Houvington 


John  G.   Payne 
Powell   K.   Martin 
Harry   P.   Roesch 
Rev.   Orlando   Watts 
John  W.   Kelly,  Jr. 
Rev.   Giovanni  Allegri 
Percy  H.   Pedrick 
David  M.  Anderson 
Frederick  Lange 
Edward  F.  Dold 
Horace   Bradbury 
Thomas   W.   Jack 
J.   H.  Lippincott,  Jr. 
William  J.   Dallas 
Harry  W.  Hagerty 
Thomas  A.  Graham 


William   F.    McAllister 
Anthony  R.  Rohmer 
James  W.  Firth 
William   C.    Raughly 
Wiliam    R.    Sentman 
John    McCallion 
William   T.    Lippincott 
J.   S.   Carter 
Alfred  M.   Matthews 
Larson    Homer 
W.  I.  Tomlinson 
Fred   C.    Sickler 
William  J.   Salter 
Steve   Mignogno 
S.   M.  Jacobson 
O.   Glen  Stackhouse 


FINANCE  COMMITTEE 
F.  F.   Patterson,  Jr.,  Chairman 

J.  W.   Sell  James  F.  Lennon  Samuel  Wood 

David    Baird,   Jr.  Charles  Laird,  Jr.  Frank  O.   Stem 

Harry  C.   Sharp  Alfred  L.    Sayers  Charles   A.    Wolverton 


Wm.  J.  Browning 
Joshua  C.  Haines 


COMMITTEE  ON  INFORMATION 
David   Baird,   Sr.,   Chairman 


William  T.  Read 
Joseph  Wallworth 
Ralph    W.    Kellam 


T.  Harry  Rowland 
Harry  C.   Kramer 


Joshua   C    Haines 
James  E.   Hewitt 
Theo.    T.    Kausel 
Harry  C.   Sharp 


Powell  G.   Fithian 


Joseph  E.  Nowrey 
Frank   C.    Sayrs 
E.   Kessler  Webstar 


RED  CROSS  COMMITTEE 

Dr.  Daniel   Strock,  Chairman 

George  W.   Whyte 

MEMORIAL  COMMITTEE 
James  J.    Scott,  Chairman 


Charles  A.   Reynolds 
J.    Walter  Levering 
Townsend  Stites 
Warren   Webster 


E.  E.  Read,  Jr. 
James  H.  Eong 
Michelle    Ferrante 


SCHOOL  COMMITTEE 
James  E.  Bryan,  Chairman 

Rev.   F.   J.   McCallion         M.  D.  Cornish 


PARADE  COMMITTEE 
James  H.   Long,  Chairman 


Frank  G.  Riggins 
Wm.  D.  Sayrs,  Jr. 
Antonio  DiPaolo 


Joseph  H.  Forsyth 
Chas.   M.   Curry 


172 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


PUBLICITY  AND  HISTORICAL  COMMITTEE 
Frank   Sheridan,   Chairman 


Frank  H.   Ryan,  Sec'y 
Charles   Schuck 
Daniel   P.    McConnell 
William    Jefferys 
Benj.   W.    Courter 


William    D.    Brown 
W.   D.   Sayrs,  Jr. 
Wm.  J.    Strandwitz 
Frank  S.  Van  Hart 
James  H.  Long 


John  D.    Courter 
James   L.    Polk 
Daniel  M.   Stevens 
Frank   S.   Albright 


Charles  J.   Haaga 
William  Rothman 
Alvah  M.   Smith 
Richard    S.    Ridgway 


RECEPTION  COMMITTEE 
W.    Penn    Corson,    Chairman 


Rev.  G  H.  Hemingway 
Volney    G.    Bennett 
Rev.    Orlando  Watts 
Charles  F.   Wise 
Antonio   Mecca 

MEDICAL  COMMITTEE 
Dr.   H.   H.   Davis,   Chairman 


Robert   D.    Clow,   Jr. 
John   Prentice 
Robert   J.    D.    Field 
Harry    Pelouze 
Charles   M.    Curry 


Dr.  John  F.  Leavitt 
Dr.   Harry  F.  Palm 
Dr.   Edward   C.    Pechin 
Dr.  Marcus  K.  Mines 
Dr.  Wm.   P.  Wingender 
Dr.   David   S.   Rhone 


Dr.    Orris   W.    Saunders  Dr.   A.   M.   L.    Maldeii 

Dr.   Harry   F.    Bushey  Dr.   Lozenzo  B.  Hirst 

Dr.  Thomas  B.   Lee  Dr.   Joseph   E.    Roberts 

Dr.   Paul  M.    Mecray  Dr.  Alexander  S.   Ross 

Dr.  A.  Haines  Lippincott  Dr.    Wesley   J.    Barrett 


Andrew  B.   F.   Smith 
Wm.   S.  Abbott 
W.  H.  Turnbull 


Charles  H.   Greer 
George   L.   Bender 


DECORATION  COMMITTEE 
Samuel  C.   Curriden,  Chairman. 

Charles   S.   Boyer  John   W.   Kelly,  Jr. 

Walter    L.    Campbell  Charles  M.  Curry 


COMMITTEE  ON  WELFARE 


Fred  W.   Gercke 
E.    Frank    Pine 


Thomas   W.   Binker 


VICTORY   SINGS 
William  S.  Abbott,  Chairman 

Prof.  C.  Harold  Lowden     William  L.   Roberts  William  J.   Kelly 

John  T.   Rodan  J.    Hartley   Bowen 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS 
Frank    S.    Van    Hart,    Chairman 


F.    F.    Patterson,  Jr. 
Frank  J.    Hineline 


Wm.    D.    Sayrs,   Jr. 


F.    Morse    Archer 


WOMEN'S  COMMITTEE 

Mrs.    Mary    Walsh    Kobus,   Chairman 


Mrs.  F.    F.    Patterson 

Mrs.  Wm.   L-   Hurley 

Mrs.  H.   G.   Longwell 

Mrs.  L.   Read 

Miss  E.  C  Reeve 


Mrs.  William   Lacy 

Mrs.  Wm.    Eastlack 

Mrs.  John    A.    Mather 

Mrs.  Irving   Buckle 


Miss   M.   A.    Burrough 
Mrs.  M|    H|    Sidebottom 
Mrs.   S.   A.   Taylor 
Mrs.  W.   W.    Fry 


Mrs.  Francis   D.    Weaver    Miss  L.   Y.  Clopper 


174 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


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CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  175 


JAMES  J.  SCOTT  lphot°  by  Wonfor.i 

Chairman  of  Memorial  and  Monumemt  Committee. 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  IJJ 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.'i 

FRANCIS   F.    PATTERSON,   JR. 

Chairman  of  Finance  Committee 


VICTORY    JUBILEE    COMMITTEE. 


179 


WOMEN'S      COMMITTEE— Continued. 


Mrs.  J.    M.    Cramer 
Mrs.  A.    Fuhrman  1 

Mrs.  K.    Johnson 
,Mrs.  Richard  Teal 
Mrs.  M.    Cornish 
Mrs.  Isaac  King 
Mrs.  G.  Dore  Cogswell 
Mrs.  B.  F.   Royal 
Dr.    E.   M.    Richardson 
Miss  N.  Deighan 
Mrs.  W.  B,  M.  Burrell 
Mrs.  G.  W.   Bradley 
Miss  Janet  Bradley 
Mrs.  John   H.    Thompson 
Miss   S.   P.    McWilliams 
Mrs.  J.   Keunzie 
Mrs.   Harry  Wright 
Mrs.  Mary  Baird  Fox 
Mrs.  Charles  M.   Curry 
Mrs.   Sue   Wells 
Mrs.   Chas.   I.   FitzGeorge 


Mrs. 

Raymond   Warren 

Mrs. 

H.   N.   Scheirer 

Mrs. 

Julia    Sensor 

Mrs. 

A.  B.  F.   Smith 

Mrs. 

Myrtle    Trucksess 

Mrs. 

M.   Rockhill 

Mrs. 

Horace    Budd 

Miss 

M.  E.  Davis 

Mrs. 

Wm.  T.   Read 

Mrs. 

Peter   Gulcz 

Mrs. 

R.   E.   Brestell 

Mrs. 

Antonio    Mecca 

Mrs. 

Carl    Mankey  Jr. 

Mrs. 

Chas.  H.  Greer 

Mrs. 

F.  Walter  Toms 

Mrs. 

John   Prentice 

Mrs. 

F.    S,   Dodd 

Mrs. 

W.   Penn   Corson 

Mrs. 

G.    H.    Hemingway 

Airs. 

Helen  Webb 

Mrs. 

Ida  Palm 

Mrs. 

Eva  Wycoff  Hall 

Mrs. 

J.   Saul 

Mrs. 

Austin 

Mrs. 

L.  P.  Roth 

Mrs. 

Frank  Miller 

Mrs. 

J.  McAdams 

Mrs. 

Felton 

Mrs. 

R.  A.  Conner 

Mrs. 

Malcolm  Letts 

Mrs. 

Warren  Coffin 

Mrs. 

James  Henderson 

Mrs. 

Charles  H.   Ellis 

Mrs. 

Schuck 

Mrs. 

E.   A.   Y.   Schellen- 

Mrs. 

A.   S.  May 

ger 

Mrs. 

Russell    Lane 

Mrs. 

Paul  M.   Mecray 

Mrs. 

T.  B.  Lee 

The  committee  became  known  as  the  Victory  Jubilee 
and  Memorial  Committee  of  Camden  City  and  County 
and  appropriations  were  granted  by  City  Council  and 
Board  of  Freeholders  amounting  to  $25,000,  four-fifths 
of  which  was  granted  by  the  city  and  the  balance  by  the 
county.  The  committee  then  ordered  victory  arches 
erected  at  Federal  street,  Market  street  and  Kaighn  ave- 
nue terminals ;  a  court  of  honor  at  the  Court  House,  City 
Hall  and  Broadway  and  Kaighn  avenue. 

Because  the  Government  restricted  the  size  of  pack- 
ages as  Christmas  gifts  to  the  men  overseas  and  con- 
fined the  parcels  mainly  to  their  families,  the  committee 
sent  a  new  crisp  two  dollar  note  to  each  man  in  the  ser- 
vice as  a  gift  from  the  city  and  county  in  19 18.  The 
committee  was  also  instrumental,  through  its  influential 
members,  in  having  a  bill  passed  by  Legislature  in  giv- 
ing communities  the  right  to  bond  themselves  to  raise 
sufficient  appropriations  for  the  erections  of  memorials. 

The  committee  caused  the  names  of  the  heroic  dead  to 
be  placed  on  the  main  arches  of  the  court  of  honor  at  the 
Court  House  and  City  Hall.  A  committee  on  memorial 
resolutions  was  instructed  to  prepare  parchments  to  be 


l8o  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

presented  to  the  families  of  the  men  who  died  in  the  ser- 
vice as  a  testimony  of  esteem  from  the  city  and  county. 
Through  the  efforts  of  the  mayor  and  the  committee  re- 
turned soldiers  were  secured  employment. 

The  first  big  reception  conducted  by  the  committee  was 
the  welcome  to  Vice  Admiral  Henry  B.  Wilson.  This 
was  followed  by  the  welcome  of  the  1 14th  Infantry.  Then 
as  each  unit  arrived  from  overseas  they  were  either 
greeted  at  the  ports  or  at  Camp  Dix  by  committees  and 
given  candy  and  cigarettes. 

The  committee  held  a  celebration  at  the  Court  House 
on  the  night  of  June  28,  1919,  when  the  peace  treaty 
was  signed  at  Versailles  and  it  was  attended  by 
thousands. 

The  committee  decided  among  other  things  to  hold  a 
great  victory  jubilee  celebration  September  6,  1919,  to 
erect  a  suitable  memorial  in  honor  of  the  men  who  gave 
their  lives  in  the  service,  and  to  dine  all  men  in  the  coun- 
ty who  served  in  the  war  at  a  great  banquet  during  vic- 
tory jubilee. 

Peace  Jubilee 

The  Peace  Jubilee  was  the  crowning  effort  of  the  Vic- 
tory Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee.  The  jubilee  was 
celebrated  on  the  afternoon  of  September  6,  1919,  with 
a  monster  street  parade  followed  by  a  banquet  to  the  hun- 
dreds of  men  from  this  county  who  served  the  nation  in 
the  war  on  land  and  sea.  The  parade  was  viewed  by 
Admiral  Henry  B.  Wilson,  Col.  Daniel  T.  Mather  and  the 
Mayors  of  Camden  county. 

The  festivities  began  with  a  parade  at  2.00  o'clock. 
James  H.  Long,  chairman  of  the  Parade  Committee  of 
the  Victory  Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee,  was  mar- 
shal. It  was  the  county's  first  opportunity  to  honor  at 
home  all  of  the  men  who  served  in  the  war  and  they  were 
accorded  a  mighty  welcome.  Thousands  of  persons  lined 
the  route  of  the  parade.     Cheer  after  cheer  greeted  the 


1 82  camdEn  county  in  the  great  war. 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.] 

\Y.   PENN   C<  >KS()\ 
Chairman  of   Reception  Committee 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    Till'.    GREAT    WAR.  183 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.1 

JAMES   H.   LONG 
Chairman   of  Parade   Committee 


VICTORY    JUBILEE    COMMITTEE.  185 

heroes  of  land  and  sea.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harry  C. 
Kramer  was  marshal  of  the  soldiers'  division  and  his  aides 
were  Major  Winfield  S.  Price,  Captain  Edward  West  and 
Commander  Francis  W.  Hoffman.  Veterans  of  the 
Twenty-ninth  and  Seventy-eighth  Divisions  and  the 
sailors  and  marines  marched  with  steady  tread  behind 
their  battle  flags. 

Behind  the  heroes  marched  thousands  of  men  and  wo- 
men who  backed  the  boys  at  the  front.  Almost  every  fra- 
ternal order  in  the  city  was  represented  in  the  line  of 
march.  The  Masonic  lodges  were  headed  by  the  uniform- 
ed members  of  Cyrene  Commandery,  Knights  of  Tem- 
plar. Camden  Lodge,  No.  293,  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks;  Camden  Lodge  No.  ill,  Loyal  Order 
of  Moose;  Camden  and  Assissi  Councils,  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus ;  Camden  Aerie,  No.  65,  Fraternal  Order  of 
Eagles;  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  Colored  and 
Polish  societies,  Order  United  Americans,  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men  were  represented  in  line  together  with 
many  other  fraternal  orders. 

The  Camden  Fire  Department  made  a  particularly  good 
appearance  with  fine  motor  apparatus  and  uniformed  men 
headed  by  Chief  Peter  B.  Carter.  The  firemen  of  the  var- 
ious towns  in  the  county  participated.  Mounted  police 
acted  as  an  escort,  headed  by  Chief  of  Police  E.  A. 
Gravenor. 

The  Camden  County  Chapter  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  appeared  in  uniform.  Oversea  nurses  and  work- 
ers, who  toiled  long  hours  at  home  making  bandages  and 
knitting  warm  apparel  for  the  fighters,  marched  in  uni- 
form and  were  heartily  cheered. 

Boy  Scouts,  Ninth  Ward  Republican  Association, 
Whitman  Park  Improvement  Association  and  the  Italian 
societies  of  the  city  and  other  organizations  were  in  line. 

The  churches  and  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  county 
participated  in  great  numbers. 


l86  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

The  industrial  division  included  hundreds  of  factory- 
workers  and  magnificent  floats.  Members  of  the  Victory 
Jubilee  and  Memorial  Committee  headed  the  parade  with 
Mayor  Charles  H.  Ellis  marching  in  the  lead  of  the  divi- 
sion. Members  of  City  Council,  Board  of  Freeholders 
and  all  of  the  city  and  county  attaches  were  in  line  with 
the  equipment  of  all  city  bureaus. 

The  great  throng  paused  in  its  jubilation  long  enough 
to  remember  the  heroes,  who  did  not  return,  when  the 
magnificent  memorial  float  slowly  wended  its  way  over 
the  gaily  decorated  route  of  parade.  Church  bells  tolled 
when  the  beautiful  tribute  to  the  heroic  dead  began  its 
journey  down  Sixth  street  from  State  under  the  canopy 
of  a  blue  heaven  and  under  the  fluttering  flags  of  nations 
whose  joint  arms  had  brought  peace  to  the  world  and 
crushed  Prussianism  under  the  heel. 

Mounted  majestically  over  the  float  was  the  bronze 
image  of  a  Yank  soldier.  He  stood  on  a  white  marble 
pedestal  and  at  his  feet  were  wreaths.  A  huge  gold  star, 
bearing  the  number  "135"  carried  the  sad  message  that 
that  number  had  answered  the  "roll  call  up  yonder."  A 
guard  of  honor,  men  from  the  army,  navy  and  marine 
corps,  who  served  overseas,  marched  on  either  side  of  the 
float. 

The  relatives  of  the  service  men  viewed  the  parade 
from  a  grandstand  in  front  of  the  Court  House. 

The  school  children  of  the  city  massed  at  Broadway 
and  Line  street  in  front  of  Carnegie  Library.  They  were 
led  in  singing  by  Prof.  Powell  G.  Fithian,  Director  of 
Music  of  Public  Schools.  One  square  above,  the  children 
of  Broadway  School  were  led  in  singing  by  Prof.  C. 
Harold  Lowden  in  a  Victory  Sing. 

Following  the  parade  a  great  banquet  was  served  by 
the  Camden  County  Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross 
in  the  Third  Regiment  Armory  to  the  service  men  who 
marched  in  the  parade.  It  was  the  largest  meal  ever  pre- 
pared in  the  city  and  was  served  by  hundreds  of  Red 
Cross  workers. 


[88  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


§lti;#«l 


FRANK   S.   VAN    II  \UT 
Chairman  of  Memorial  Resolutions  Commitl 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    THE    GREAT    WAR.  189 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.] 

FRANK   SHERIDAN 
Chairman   of   Publicity   and    Historical   Committee 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    TllK    GREAT    WAR. 


I9I 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.1 
SAMUEL  C.   CURRIDEN 
Chairman  of  Decorations  Committee,  Who  Directed  the  Erec- 
tion of  all  Victory  Arches  and  Decorations  for  Receptions 
to  Troops,  Admiral  Wilson  and  Peace  Jubilee 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE   GREAT    WAR.  I93 


WAR    BUREAUS 
Fuel  Administration. 

WHEN  the  fuel  situation  became  acute  in  the  winter 
of  19 17  and  19 1 8,  Dr.  Harry  A.  Garfield 
was  named  national  fuel  administrator  by  President 
Wilson.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  fuel  to  keep  the 
ships  going  with  supplies  for  the  troops,  for  moving 
troops  and  for  feeding  the  allies  that  there  was  a  short- 
age in  this  country.  The  mines  were  unable  to  produce 
enough  coal  to  meet  the  situation  and  to  make  matters 
more  acute  the  worst  January  in  history  produced  twenty 
days  of  snow. 

Richard  Jenkinson,  of  Newark,  was  named  fuel  ad- 
ministrator for  New  Jersey  and  Charles  K.  Haddon,  of 
Haddonfield,  was  named  a  member  of  the  State  Fuel 
Committee.  Walter  J.  Staats,  of  Merchantville,  was 
named  administrator  for  Camden  and  Gloucester  coun- 
ties. The  associate  administrators  for  Camden  county 
were  J.  Walter  Levering  and  David  Baird,  Jr.,  and  for 
Gloucester  county,  G.  M.  Ashton,  of  Swedesboro,  and  L. 
B.  Mockett,  of  Woodbury. 

On  January  21,  19 18,  one  of  the  most  drastic  orders 
ever  issued  in  this  republic  was  made  by  National  Ad- 
ministrator Garfield,  when  every  factory,  office  building, 
hotel,  school,  store,  church,  lodge  and  society  was  denied 
fuel  for  lighting  and  heat.  The  order  applied  to  Mon- 
days with  few  exceptions  and  was  in  effect  several 
weeks.  Then  came  lightless  nights  when  every  business 
house,  church,  club  and  factory  was  not  permitted  to 
have  exterior  illumination.  Lamps  were  burned  in 
churches,  inns,  clubs  and  other  public  places. 

Coal  became  so  scarce  that  the  administrator  allowed 
but  a  half  ton  to  a  customer  and  then  only  after  the  eel- 


194  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

lar  of  the  purchaser  had  been  searched  by  the  police  to 
prevent  hoarding.  Factories  manufacturing  non-essen- 
tials had  the  coal  consigned  to  them  commandeered  and 
turned  over  to  hospitals  and  public  works,  such  as  water 
works  and  electric  power  plants.  Streets  were  dark  at 
night  because  of  the  scarcity  of  coal  at  the  power  plant 
of  the  Public  Service  Corporation. 

The  heavy  snow  in  January  delayed  the  shipment  of 
coal  for  days  from  mines  and  often  the  coal  consigned 
to  Camden  was  stolen  from  the  cars  before  they  reached 
here  by  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  towns  suffering 
also  from  the  lack  of  fuel.  Churches,  hotels  and  clubs 
burned  cord  wood  and  bituminous  coal  where  it  was 
possible. 

During  this  crisis  Administrator  Staats  had  the  volun- 
teer services  of  Andrew  B.  F.  Smith,  Clarence  H.  Lum- 
mis,  Edward  M.  Middleton,  Charles  Laib  and  Frank  B. 
Middleton  at  the  fuel  office  which  was  established  at  311 
Market  street. 

Food  Administration 

When  it  became  recognized  that  the  United  States 
must  act  the  role  of  feeding  almost  the  entire  world  and 
when  Herbert  Hoover  was  appointed  national  food  ad- 
ministrator, Camden  county  prepared  to  do  its  share  in 
conserving  various  foods.  Circuit  Court  Judge  Frank  T. 
Lloyd  and  Prosecutor  Charles  A.  Wolverton  were  ap- 
pointed the  administrators  in  the  early  summer  of  1918. 
It  was  a  very  difficult  work,  especially  from  the  fact  the 
American  people  had  never  been  accustomed,  at  least  in 
this  generation,  to  having  their  food  supply  measured. 
It  was  also  rather  difficult  to  always  follow  to  the  letter 
the  many  conflicting  orders,  reports  and  what  not  that 
came  from  the  national  or  State  Administrations,  but 
both  Judge  Lloyd  and  Prosecutor  Wolverton  evidenced 
a  happy  propensity  for  obtaining  the  best  possible  in- 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  I95 


[Photo  by  IVonfor.] 

WALTER  J.  STAATS 
Fuel  Administrator  of  Camden  and  Gloucester  Counties. 


WAR    BUREAUS.  I97 

terpretation  out  of  the  regulations  and  that  they  were 
successful  was  evidenced  in  other  counties  seeking  infor- 
mation from  them.  The  sugar,  wheat,  meat,  flour  and 
other  staple  commodities  particularly  affected  by  the 
rules  created  no  end  of  contention  in  the  beginning  on 
the  part  of  housewives  and  bakers,  but  they  soon  recog- 
nized the  need  for  the  administration  and  eventually  be- 
came staunch  aids  to  the  food  arbiters.  It  was  a  won- 
derful experience  for  all  concerned  and  in  the  end  learn- 
ed many  a  person  the  true  value  of  food  and  the  foolish- 
ness of  wasting  it.  This  particular  work,  one  of  the  most 
difficult  in  the  war.  was  also  one  of  the  most  successful. 

War  Resources  Committee. 

In  connection  with  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  the 
War  Industries  Board  early  in  the  summer  of  191 8  de- 
cided that  it  would  be  necessary  to  employ  the  full  man- 
power of  the  United  States  and  utilize  every  ounce  of 
certain  classes  of  raw  material.  To  this  end  the  Re- 
sources and  Conversion  Section  was  created  and  the 
country  divided  into  twenty  districts,  called  "regions." 
Camden  and  South  Jersey  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Philadelphia  district  and  was  known  as  War  Re- 
sources Committee  for  Sub-Regian  No.  10  of  Region 
No.  4.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  Camden  Board  of 
Trade,  Ernest  R.  Trigg,  regional  advisor,  appointed 
Charles  S.  Boyer,  chairman  of  this  sub-region,  which  in- 
cluded Camden,  Gloucester,  Salem  Cumberland,  Cape 
May  and  Atlantic  counties  and,  from  August  10  to 
November  11,  he  devoted  practically  his  entire  time  to  the 
work.  An  advistory  committee  consisting  of  the  follow- 
ing, at  considerable  personal  sacrifice,  gave  valuable  and 
efficient  service  in  the  work. 

Benjamin  S.  Mechling,  C.  D.  Mathews,  Ward  D.  Ker- 
lin,  Theo.  T.  Kausel,  Bedford  G.  Royal,  James  J.  Scott, 
F.  Morse  Archer,  George  F.  Kappel,  J.  Walter  Levering, 


I98  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

A.  M.  Parker,  A.  R.  Frome,  Frank  S.  Van  Hart,  James 
L.  Myles,  Charles  W.  Russ,  of  Woodbury;  Lucius  E. 
Hires,  of  Salem;  Charles  F.  Cox,  of  Bridgeton,  Edward 
A.  Wilson,  of  Atlantic  City. 

Charles  M.  Curry,  as  secretary  of  the  committee,  was 
actively  identified  in  every  movement  and  worked  untir- 
ingly to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  War  Industries 
Board. 

The  purposes  of  this  organization  were  to  provide  in- 
formation with  respect  to  new  sources  of  war  supply 
and  manufacturing  opportunities  and  to  act  as  the  point 
of  contact  between  the  War  Industries  Board  and 
manufacturers. 

It  was  immediately  patent  to  the  local  committee  that 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  in  this  sub-region  was  to  pro- 
cure an  industrial  census  of  the  entire  district.  This 
survey  was  started  and  had  been  nearly  completed  when 
the  armistice  was  signed.  It  included  in  addition  to  the 
usual  information,  not  only  data  relating  to  individual 
power  plants,  but  also  complete  lists  of  all  machine  shop 
equipment  and  the  possibilities  of  converting  non-essen- 
tial into  essential  industries.  The  power  information 
was  turned  over  to  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation, 
while  the  machine  shop  data  was  filed  with  the  Ordnance 
Department  of  the  Army. 

The  sub-region  maintained  an  office  at  542  Federal 
street,  Camden,  where  all  priority  rulings  of  the  War 
Industries  Board  were  received  and  information  relat- 
ing to  priorities  matters  furnished  to  interested  parties. 

Several  investigations  were  made  at  the  request  of  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  War  Department,  including  com- 
plete data  relating  to  the  refrigerating  plants  in  this 
region  and  the  buildings  available  for  emergency  hos- 
pitals. The  chairman  was  instructed  to  ascertain 
whether  there  was  any  rattan  available  in  this  territory, 
whether  there  were  any  establishments  that  could  be 
turned  over  to  the  making  of  semi-steel  shells,  whether 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    Till;    C.RKaT    WAR.  1 99 


[Photo  by   U'onfor.] 

HON.  FRANK  T.  LLOYD 
Food   Administrator   of   Camden   County 


WAR    BUREAUS.  20i 

any  manufacturers  could  produce  klaxon  horns, 
whether  there  were  any  weavers  of  wire  cloth,  how  many 
locomotive  cranes  not  in  use  could  be  located  and  many 
similar  inquiries. 


City  Farm  Gardens 

Another  weapon  to  defeat  the  enemy  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  City  Farm  Gardens  in  the  country.  They 
were  urged  by  the  Government  and  not  only  provided 
food  for  city  residents,  but  abolished  unsightly  vacant 
lots.  Mayor  Ellis  named  the  first  City  Gardens  Com- 
mittee on  April  19,  1917,  as  follows:  E.  G.  C.  Bleakly, 
Judge  Frank  T.  Lloyd,  Zed  H.  Copp,  William  Derham, 
L.  E.  Farnham,  B.  M.  Hedrick,  David  Jester,  O.  B. 
Kern,  M.  F.  Middleton,  Dr.  H.  L.  Rose,  Asa  L.  Roberts, 
W.  D.  Sayrs,  Jr.,  Charles  A.  Wolverton,  Earl  T.  Jack- 
son, H.  R.  Kuehner,  Herbert  N.  Moffett  and  Hubert  H. 
Pfeil.  At  the  initial  meeting  of  the  above  date  B.  M. 
Hedrick  was  elected  chairman;  Zed  H.  Copp  secretary 
and  M.  F.  Middleton  treasurer.  Brandin  W.  Wright, 
a  farming  expert,  was  employed  as  general  superintend 
dent  on  May  3,  1917.  At  a  meeting  on  May  18,  1918, 
the  names  of  Frank  Sheridan  and  Daniel  P.  McConnell 
were  added  to  the  publicity  committee  in  the  place  of 
Messrs.  Pfeil  and  Jackson. 

In  his  annual  report  to  City  Council  on  January  1, 
1918,  Mayor  Ellis  urged  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 
tee by  City  Council  on  City  Gardens  and  Councilman 
Frederick  Von  Neida  was  named  as  chairman.  This 
committee  with  a  committee  of  representative  citizens 
met  in  the  City  Hall  in  February,  19 18,  to  organize  for 
the  ensuing  summmer.  The  members  of  the  Council- 
manic  committee  were:  Frederick  Von  Neida,  Frank 
S.  Van  Hart.  William  J.  Kelly  and  John  J.  Robinson. 
The  committee  planned  an  exposition  of  farm  garden 


202  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

products  for  the  fall  of  19 18,  but  this  plan  was  frustrated 
by  the  Spanish  influenza  epidemic. 

The  war  gardens  became  victory  gardens  in  the  year 
1 9 19  when  the  committee  met  on  January  29,  19 19. 
Meyers  Baker  was  elected  secretary  and  William  D. 
Sayrs,  Jr.,  treasurer.  At  the  meeting  on  March  25  com- 
mittees were  appointed  for  the  Victory  War  Gardens 
Exposition  held  in  Third  Regiment  Armory  from  Sep- 
tember 15  to  20.  Benjamin  Abrams  was  elected  general 
manager  and  Frank  Sheridan  publicity  agent. 


Liberty  Sings 

As  the  war  progressed  it  was  the  desire  of  the  Gov- 
ernment that  everything  be  done  to  keep  up  the  morale 
of  the  nation  as  one  crisis  after  another  arose,  and  what 
were  known  as  Liberty  Sings  were  instituted.  The  first 
sing  in  Camden  was  conducted  at  the  Court  House  by 
James  E.  Corneal,  of  Haddonfield.  who  was  named  by 
the  Government  as  representative  of  the  National  Lib- 
erty Sing  Commission  in  this  county.  At  the  request  of 
Mayor  Ellis  City  Council  named  a  special  committee  of 
members  to  continue  the  work  inauguarated  by  Mr. 
Corneal.  „ 

The  members  of  the  councilmanic  committee  were : 
William  S.  Abbott,  chairman  ;  J.  Hartley  Bowen,  Wil- 
liam L.  Roberts,  William  J.  Kelly  and  John  T.  Rodan. 

At  the  first  sing  held  by  the  committee  at  the  Court 
House  over  five  thousand  persons  attended.  The  sings 
were  conducted  by  C.  Harold  Lowden,  a  composer  of 
note,  and  Miss  Myrtle  Eaver  was  the  accompanist.  Dur- 
ing the  war  53,250  persons  attended  twenty-seven  sings 
of  the  committee  at  the  following  places:  Court  House, 
attendance,  16,500;  Ninth  Ward  Republican  Associa- 
3,000;  East  Camden,  5,000;  Parkside,  3,000;  Fetters 
and  Mul ford  Schools,  12,000;  Broadway  M.  E.  Church, 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    THE    GREAT    WAR.  203 


[Photo  by  Wonfor.] 

HOW  CHAS.  A.  WOLVERTON 
Associate  Food  Administrator  of  Camden  County 


WAR    BUREAUS.  205 

2,000;  eight  other  churches,  Rotary  Club  and  other  or- 
ganizations, 3,500. 


Home  Registration. 

So  accute  did  the  housing  problem  become  in  the  city 
and  county  that  the  Government  named  a  branch  of  the 
United  States  Home  Registration  Bureau  here.  The 
duty  of  this  bureau  was  to  secure  apartments  for  work- 
ers, who  were  flooding  the  city  because  of  war  industry. 
The  members  of  the  board  of  directors  were:  J.  S.  Gor- 
man, chairman;  L.  A.  Hawkes,  Alban  Evanson,  Eugene 
Haines,  James  T.  Weart,  A.  E.  Armitage,  Harry  Mon- 
roe, William  D.  Sayrs,  Jr.,  Miss  Lula  T.  White  and 
Robert  D.  Clow,  Jr.  Mrs.  Robert  D.  Clow,  Sr.,  was 
chosen  manager  with  headquarters  in  the  Government 
Employment  Bureau,  Fifth  street  and  Taylor  avenue. 


War  Library  Committee 

The  War  Library  Committee  was  named  on  Octo- 
ber 5,  1917,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  books  to  men 
in  the  service.  Howard  M.  Cooper,  Edmund  E.  Read, 
Jr.,  and  Charles  S.  Boyer  were  named  as  a  committee  to 
organize  the  War  Library  Committee  and  the  Mayor 
named  the  following  as  their  associates:  State  Treas- 
urer William  T.  Read,  David  Baird,  Jr.,  F.  Way  land 
Ayer,  Charles  M.  Curry,  Howard  J.  Dudley,  F.  Her- 
bert Fulton,  Abe  Fuhrman,  William  P.  Hallinger,  Wil- 
liam L.  Hurley,  Theodore  T.  Kausel,  Mrs.  Joseph  Kobus, 
William  J.  Strandwitz,  George  W.  Whyte,  Francis  B. 
Wallen  and  Walter  L.  Tushingham.  Howard  M. 
Cooper  was  chosen  chairman  and  F.  Herbert  Fulton 
secretary  and  treasurer. 


206         camden  county  in  the  great  war. 

Employment  Bureau 

The  labor  situation  became  alarming  during  the  war 
and  the  Government  established  a  bureau  here  com- 
bining with  the  city  and  the  State  Deparment  of  Labor. 
Headquarters  were  established  in  Post  5  Hall,  Fifth 
street  and  Taylor  avenue,  with  Harry  Monroe  in  charge 
Thousands  secured  employment  at  factories  making  war 
necessities,  shipyards  and  on  farms. 

Four  Minute  Men 

The  Four  Minute  Men  was  a  nation-wide  organization 
of  volunteer  speakers  and  was  organized  June  16,  1917- 
for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  various  departments  of 
the  Government  in  the  work  of  national  defense  during 
the  continuance  of  the  war,  by  presenting  messages  or 
subjects  of  vital  national  importance  to  moving  picture 
audiences  during  the  intermissions.  The  subject  matter 
was  prepared  and  the  speaking  generally  directed  from 
Washington  under  the  authority  of  the  Government. 

The  Four  Minute  Men  organization  was  a  division  of 
the  Committee  of  Public  Iinformation  in  charge  of 
Chairman  George  Reed,  consisting  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Secretary  of  War  and  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Every  State  in  the  Union  was  organized  with  a  State 
body,  subject  to  the  government  body  in  Washington. 
Each  State  was  in  charge  of  a  director,  under  whose  in- 
structions a  sub-division  or  organization  was  created  in 
every  county  of  the  State.  Each  county  was  in  charge 
of  an  authorized  chairman. 

The  entire  organization  consisted  of  volunteers  only, 
no  salaries  being  paid  in  any  instance  except  in  clerical 
hire  and  stenographic  help. 

NEW  JERSEY  OFFICERS 
Benjamin  E.   Chapin,  Newark,   State  Director 
John  Gregg  Paine,  Camden,  Associate   State  Director 
W.    S.   Williamson,   Newark,   State    Secretary 
Albert  Eeon,   Perth   Amboy,   State   Treasurer 
Williard  I.  Hamilton,  Chairman  Board  of  Trustees 


WAR    BUREAUS. 


207 


CHAIRMEN     CAMDEN     COUNTY    ORGANIZATION 
George  A.  Tatem,  County  Chairman 


James  E.   Hewitt,   Camden   City 
Harold  E.  Rogers,  Haddon  Heights 
Ethan   P.    Wescott,    Collingswood 
Albert  E.   Burling,  Merchantville  and 

Pensauken 
Alfred   M.   Matthews,  Westmont 
John    E.    Shannon,    Industries 
S.  Conrad  Ott,  Churches 
Chas.   H.    North,    Speakers 
Harry  E.   Green,  Publicity 


Thos.  P.  Ratcliffe,  Eiberty  Sinigng 
and  Schools 

Wilbert  V.  Pike,  Fraternal  and  Social 
Organizations 

Milton  K.    Stanley,  Theatres 

Rev.  Carlton  R.  Van  Hook,  Wayi 
and  Means  and  County  Treasurer 

Mrs.  F.  M.  Loid,  Secretary  of  Cam- 
den County  Chairman 


Rev.  C.  R.  Van  Hook 
Wilbert  V.   Pike 


David   B.   Jester 


C   M.   Gilbert 
C.   J.   Hewitt 
C.  J.  Hunter 
H.   Ennis  Jones 
Chas.  H.  North 
Garfield   Pancoast 
Thos.    P.    Ratcliffe 
Grover   C.    Richman 
Wilbert  V.  Pike 
Dr.  Daniel  Strock 
E.  A.  Hollenbeck 


ADVISORY   COMMITTEE 

Clarence  J.   Hunter 
John  L,.   Shannon 


E.   E.   Shumaker 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 
E.  J.   Dingley 


COUNTY  SPEAKERS 

Win.   C.   Marshall 
Horace   E.    Beaver 
William  R.   Stille 
Rev.   H.   F.   Gravatt 
Rev.   Alexander   Corson 
Harry   H.   Whaland 
T.  Harry  Rowland 
Rev.  Wm.  H.  Dyer 
George  A.   Tatem 
Elmer  J.  Walz 


David  Baird,  Jr. 


E.   E.   Shumaker 
Patrick   H.   Harding 
Milton  K.   Stanley 
H.   S.    Mi'ler 
H.   P.   Ash  ton 
Rev.  C.  R.  Van  Hook 
William   J.    Brown 
Ralph  N.  Kellam 
John    H.    Switzer 
Mrs.    Geo.    E-    Cantrall 
James  E.  Hewitt 


Aside  from  many  assignments  to  the  various  churches, 
social  and  political  organizations,  twenty-one  theatres 
were  served  in  the  Camden  County  Four  Minute  Men 
twice  every  week  and  in  many  special  campaigns  every 
night  in  the  week  on  subjects  provided  in  special  bul- 
letins by  the  United  States  Government. 


208  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


FINANCES 
Liberty  Loan  Drives 

DURING  the  war  there  were  four  Liberty  Loan 
campaigns  and  after  the  war  the  fifth  loan  was 
launched  and  was  known  as  the  Victory  Liberty  Loan 
to  pay  off  the  indebtedness  of  the  war.  Camden  county 
did  nobly  in  all  five  drives.  Each  time  the  quota  was 
exceeded.  The  popular  phrase  of  "went  over  the  top" 
was  used  and  in  speaking  in  these  terms  Camden  county 
went  "over  the  top"  by  a  margin  of  $8,908,965.  The 
county's  quota  in  the  first  loan  was  $4,400,000  and  the 
sum  subscribed  was  $5,053,000;  second  loan,  quota, 
$6,500,000,  subscribed,  $6,757,000;  third  loan,  quota, 
$4,700,630,  subscribed,  $6,950,000;  fourth  loan,  quota, 
$8,522,250,  subscribed,  $10,710,150;  fifth  loan,  quota, 
$7,763,205,  subscribed  $9,125,000.  The  total  subscribed 
for  Liberty  Loans  in  all  five  campaigns  reaches  the  grand 
total  of  $38,795,150. 

When  the  war  bonds  were  placed  on  the  market  the 
American  people  had  to  be  educated  to  buy  them  for 
millions  of  them  had  never  dealt  in  bonds  before.  Noon- 
day rallies  in  workshops  and  booths  on  the  streets  were 
among  the  methods  used  to  attract  their  attention.  The 
booths  were  managed  by  the  Women's  Liberty  Loan 
Committee  and  were  stationed  in  the  postoffice  and  at  the 
ferry  as  well  as  on  the  streets. 

M.  F.  Middleton,  Jr.,  was  chairman  of  the  Camden 
County  Liberty  Loan  Committee,  after  the  first  loan.  W. 
D.  Sherred  was  county  chairman  and  Mr.  Middleton  city 
chairman  on  the  initial  bond  issue  campaign.  The  first 
loan  campaign  opened  May  15  and  closed  June  15,  19 17. 
The  second  loan  began  October  1,  19 17,  and  ended  on 
October  27.     David   Rash  was  secretary  of  that  cam- 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR.  200, 


MELBOURNE  F.   MIDDLETON.  JR. 
Chairman  of  Camden  County  Liberty  Loan  Committee 


FINANCES.  211 

paign.  The  third  campaign  opened  April  6,  191 8,  and 
ended  May  6,  1918,  with  Elwood  C.  Jefferies  as  secre- 
tary. The  fourth  loan  drive  opened  September  28,  19 18, 
and  closed  October  19,  19 18.  That  was  the  hardest 
drive  of  all,  for  the  city  and  county  was  under  the  pall 
of  the  Spanish  influenza  epidemic  and  members  of  the 
committee  were  stricken  and  many  died.  No  meetings 
were  permitted  by  the  Board  of  Health  and  for  a  while 
it  looked  as  though  the  loan  would  fail  but  the  people 
rallied  through  aggressive  newspaper  advertising  and  the 
loan  went  "over  the  top."  The  Victory  Loan,  or  the 
Fifth,  opened  April  21  and  closed  May  9,  1919. 

A  committee  of  several  hundred  women  remained 
faithful  during  each  campaign.  Mrs.  Mary  Baird  Fox 
was  chairman  of  the  county  committee  of  the  Women's 
Liberty  Loan  Committee  and  Mrs.  Mary  Walsh  Kobus 
chairman  of  the  city  committee.  They  sold  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  bonds  during  the  war  and  for  the 
Victory  Loan. 

The  Women's  Committee  did  so  well  in  the  Fifth  Vic- 
tory Loan  Campaign  that  the  United  States  Shipping 
Board  honored  the  city  by  giving  the  committee  the  right 
to  submit  three  names  for  a  transport  to  be  launched  at 
Hog  Island  on  Memorial  Day.  The  name  "Nedmac," 
Camden  spelled  backwards,  was  suggested  by  Mrs. 
Kobus  and  it  was  the  choice  of  the  Shipping  Board.  The 
"Nedmac"  was  launched  on  that  eventful  day  with  four 
other  ships  and  Mrs.  Fox  was  the  sponsor. 

War  Savings  Stamps 

As  dollars  were  needed  more  than  anything  outside  of 
man-power  to  win  the  war  the  Government  inaugurated 
the  War  Saving  Stamp  also  known  as  Thrift  Stamp. 
Charles  K.  Haddon  was  chairman  of  the  county  War 
Stamp  campaign  and  David  Baird,  Jr.,  chairman  of  the 
city  campaign.     The  largest  war  stamp  society  in  the 


212  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

country  was  organized  among  the  employes  of  the  New 
York  Shipbuilding  Corporation.  The  school  children 
joined  enthusiastically  in  the  campaign,  saving  their 
pennies  until  they  had  gathered  twenty-five  so  as  to  buy 
a  stamp.  They  saved  their  stamps  until  they  had  secured 
enough  to  buy  baby  war  bonds.  More  than  $2,000,000 
worth  of  war  stamps  were  sold  in  this  country. 

New  York  Ship  Society 

The  New  York  Shipbuilding  Corporation  War  Sav- 
ings Society  was  organized  about  the  first  of  March,  1918, 
through  the  efforts  of  Charles  J.  Langell  and  within  two 
weeks  5,400  employes  of  the  shipyard  were  members. 
Collections  started  the  first  week  in  April,  when  over 
$8,000  was  invested  in  stamps.  The  membership  grew 
rapidly  and  was  at  its  heigh th  on  October  1,  19 18,  the 
roll  then  showing  8,237  members  out  of  a  total  of  12,355 

employes. 

officers 

C    J.    Langell,    President 

J.   Wilson,   Vice  President  H.  Matlack,  Assistant  Treasurer 

M.  Hutchinson,  Vice  President  J.  Irwin,  Treasurer 

G.    Bossier,   Vice    President  II.   Robinson,  Vice  President 

W.  O.   Morrow,  Secretary  W.   Manduka,  Vice  President 

F.  D.  Boynton,  Assistant  Secretary  J.    Smith,   Vice   President 

SHOP  CHAIRMEN 

M.   Hutchinson,   Machine   Shop  B.  Beardsley,  Pattern  Shop 

J.   Miller,   Electrical   Dept.  W.   Tait,  Pipe  Shop 

J.    Stein,  Yard  Dept.  C  Langell,  Main  Office 

L.   B.   Michener,  Lumber  Yard  S.  M.  Evans,  Plate  and  Angle  Shop 

W.   Thompson,   Small  Boat   Shop  J.    Smith,    Hull    Dept. 

J.  E.  Truckses,  Boiler  Shop  H.   C.  Towle,  Yard  Office 

M.  K.  Hench,  Blacksmith  Shop  J.    Farrell,   Watchmen 

W.  D.  Kenny,  General  Store  E-   Bachman,   Eng.   Installation 

J.   Robinson,  Paint  Shop  J.   Taylor,  Mold  Loft 

C.   Ihrig,  Copper  Shop  A..  Colbcrg,    Rigger9 

E.  Harrison,  Joiner  Shop  •     ^app,  Time  Dept,   Etc. 

W.  Cline,  Tin  Shop 

The  amount  invested  after  the  first  week  never  went 
below  $10,000  per  week  during  1918  and  went  up  as  high 
as  $128,406.69,  but  after  the  armistice  was  declared  there 


FINANCES.  213 

was  a  gradual  falling  off  in  membership  and  investments. 
The  total  amount  for  the  year  was  $608,960.50.  At  the 
outset,  $400,000.00  was  made  the  goal  and  everyone  was 
gratified  to  exceed  that  amount  by  fifty  per  cent. 

There  were  a  great  many  competitions  during  the  year 
between  the  different  shops  and  keen  rivalry  was  shown. 
The  success  of  the  society  was  due,  to  a  large  extent,  to 
the  efforts  of  the  respective  chairmen  and  their  secretaries. 
Weekly  meetings  of  the  chairmen  and  secretaries  were 
held  and  frequently  outside  speakers  attended.  Once  each 
month  speakers  addressed  the  men  in  the  yard,  sometimes 
speaking  to  as  many  as  8,000  men.  A  very  attractive  sign 
was  built  on  the  lawn  by  the  main  office  upon  which 
amounts  paid  in  by  each  department  was  recorded  each 
week  with  its  total  savings  to  date.  This  sign  was  in- 
tended to  create  competition  between  the  departments. 
The  campaign  for  the  Fourth  Liberty  Loan  was  put  in 
the  hands  of  this  society,  resulting  in  a  total  subscription 
of  $1,250,000.00  The  society  for  1919  started  off  with 
much  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the  newly  elected  officers, 
John  Trucksess  being  elected  president.  With  the  incen- 
tive of  the  war  lacking,  it  proved  to  be  a  hard  task  during 
19 19  to  keep  the  society  going.  However,  many  of  the 
men  made  regular  savers  so  that  the  amount  turned  in 
each  week  remains  almost  the  same,  around  $4,000.00. 

The  New  York  Shipbuilding  Corporation  War  Savings 
Society  has  done  considerably  more  than  sell  War  Sav- 
ings Stamps.  The  organization  has  taken  care  of  all 
drives  such  as  the  Salvation  Army  drive  besides  taking- 
care  of  the  Libertv  Loans. 


214  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


AIDING  THE  FIGHTERS 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

IN  this  great  world  drama  wherein  the  county  of  Cam- 
den played  such  a  conspicuous  and  honorable  part, 
contributing  so  lavishly  of  its  life  and  treasure,  none  of 
her  cherished  institutions  were  more  completely  equipped 
for  service  than  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

The  membership  consisting  of  the  very  flower  of  the 
virile  young  manhood  of  the  city,  at  the  very  first  call 
threw  themselves  into  the  vortex  of  general  activity  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm  that  continued  until  peace  was 
declared. 

Bayard  M.  Hedrick  was  general  secretary  when  the 
war  began  and  when  he  was  called  to  war  service  was 
succeeded  by  A.  E.  Armitage  who  devoted  all  his  ener- 
gies to  the  many  phases  of  war  work.  In  the  first 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  drive — November  12-15,  1917 — tne  quota 
had  been  fixed  at  $100,000,  but  this  sum  was  soon  ex- 
ceeded, the  total  amount  received  under  the  able  chair- 
manship of  F.  Morse  Archer  for  this  drive  was  $116,641. 

In  the  United  War  Work  drive — November  11-19, 
1918 — the  proportionate  share  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  was 
$335,690.50  and  this  was  soon  raised.  As  an  organiza- 
tion and  acting  in  individual  capacity  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
contributed  to  every  good  cause  during  the  war  to  an 
amount  it  would  be  difficult  to  compute. 

Hundreds  of  meetings,  great  and  small,  in  the  interest 
of  the  war,  were  held  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  headquarters. 
The  overflowing  meeting  in  the  auditorium  addressed  by 
former  President  William  Howard  Taft  was  one  of  these 
notable  gatherings.  The  committee  rooms  were  iri  con- 
stant service  for  conferences.  The  lecture  rooms  proved 
their  usefulness  in  a  hundred  ways.  All  the  fine  modern 
equipment  of  the  building  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of 


AIDING   THE    FIGHTERS.  215 

war  workers.  Soldiers  and  sailors  of  every  rank  were 
made  welcome,  finding  a  comfortable  and  cheerful  home 
under  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  roof  both  going  and  coming. 
These  activities,  in  the  absence  of  which  there  would  have 
been  confusion  for  the  workers,  and  discomfort  if  not 
real  suffering  for  enlisted  men,  began  with  the  first  call 
and  continued  with  unabated  vigor  until  the  last  soldier 
and  sailor  had  returned  home  and  the  blessings  of  peace 
were  fully  restored. 


United  War  Work  Campaign 

It  was  in  the  very  midst  of  the  celebration  incident  to 
the  signing  of  the  armistice,  November  n,  1918,  that  the 
campaign  was  launched  in  behalf  of  the  United  War 
Work  which  was  designed  to  raise  funds  for  seven  or- 
ganizations actively  engaged  in  the  great  conflict,  espec- 
ially with  respect  to  the  creature  comforts  of  the  soldiers. 
This  included  the  Salvation  Army,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C. 
A.,  Jewish  Welfare  Board,  Knights  of  Columbus,  Amer- 
ican Library  Association  and  the  War  Camp  Commun- 
ity. An  organization  was  effected  with  Lawyer  F.  Morse 
Archer  as  chairman  and  David  Rash,  secretary.  Owing 
to  the  handicap  incident  to  the  great  jubilation  on  the 
opening  day  of  the  campaign  in  connection  with  the  ces- 
sation of  war,  it  was  several  days  before  it  was  well  un- 
der way.  Then  the  workers  became  very  busy  and  there 
was  a  splendid  response,  especially  on  the  part  of  the 
working  people  who  virtually  sustained  it  by  making 
pledges  from  their  weekly  wages.  Despite  the  rather  dis- 
appointing beginning,  the  campaign  went  through  with  a 
rush  and  closed  November  18  with  a  great  meeting  at  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  auditorium  when  it  was  announced  $335,690 
had  been  raised,  the  city  subscribing  $239,468  and  the 
county  $96,222. 


2l6         camden  county  in  the  great  war. 

Knights  of  Coeumbus 

On  February  5,  19 18,  the  drive  of  the  Knights  of  Co- 
lumbus was  launched.  A  thorough  organization  had 
been  effected  with  William  Leonard  Hurley  as  chairman 
and  Lawyer  John  T.  Cleary  as  secretary.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  severe  winter  of  that  year  and  there  were 
several  heavy  snow  storms  that  stayed  the  efforts  of  the 
workers,  but  at  the  close,  on  February  18,  a  fund  of 
$30,000  had  been  raised. 

Salvation  Army 

There  was  but  one  drive  for  the  Salvation  Army  dur- 
ing the  war.  The  quota  for  Camden  was  $5,000  and 
Judge  John  B.  Kates  was  chairman  of  the  committee. 
The  drive  opened  on  February  9,  19 18,  and  lasted  ten 
days  and  the  quota  was  oversubscribed.  The  Salvation 
Army  was  given  a  quota  of  the  United  War  Work  Drive 
when  that  was  raised  during  November  of  the  same  year. 

Jewish  Welfare  Board 

Although  the  Jewish  residents  of  the  city  assisted  the 
Jewish  Welfare  Work  all  through  the  war  and  conducted 
a  successful  campaign  for  funds,  it  was  not  until  January 
27,  1919,  that  a  Camden  branch  of  the  Jewish  Welfare 
Board  was  organized.  Prior  to  that  time  the  Hebrews  of 
the  city  worked  in  every  campaign,  including  that  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  officers  of  the  Camden  Jewish  Welfare 
Board  elected  on  January  27  were :  President,  Dr.  Meyer 
Segal;  vice  president,  Miss  Sadie  Rosenthal;  treasurer, 
Mrs.  Philip  Auerbach;  secretary,  Samuel  A.  Weiss;  as- 
sistent  secretary,  Miss  Rose  Mackler.  Members  visited 
Camp  Dix  weekly  where  they  distributed  dainties  at  the 
base  hospital  among  the  sick  and  wounded.  They  also 
conducted  interesting  entertainments  and  dances. 


aiding  the  fighters.  217 

Community  Building 

Through  the  Rotary  Club,  a  War  Camp  Community 
building  was  erected  on  ground  loaned  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  near  the  Market  street  side  of  the  ter- 
minal for  the  convenience  of  returning  soldiers.  It  was 
in  charge  of  J.  H.  Cornet  sent  here  by  the  community 
service,  while  the  canteen  was  looked  after  by  Red  Cross 
workers.  This  building  was  erected  just  in  time  to  pro- 
vide for  the  thousands  of  soldiers  that  passed  through 
this  city  from  Camp  Dix  to  various  points  in  the  coun- 
try and  it  proved  a  Godsend  for  them.  Prior  to  its 
erection  they  were  compelled  to  camp  in  the  terminal 
and  sometimes  they  were  asleep  all  over  the  waiting  room 
floors.  Not  only  those  going  home,  but  many  on  their 
way  to  various  hospital  centres  were  looked  after  in  tran- 
sit and  no  activity  in  the  city  or  county  proved  of  greater 
value.  Food  was  furnished  them  at  a  nominal  figure  and 
sleeping  quarters  were  provided.  Amusements  including 
music  and  dancing  aided  in  whiling  away  their  time  while 
on  furloughs  in  this  city  or  while  waiting  for  trains. 


Boy  Scouts 

Few  branches  of  the  home  service  performed  more 
creditable  work  in  the  various  war  drives  than  the  Boy 
Scouts  of  Camden  county.  Under  the  leadership  of 
Scout  Commissioner  H.  H.  Etter  they  assisted  in  every 
Liberty  Loan  campaign  by  distributing  posters  and  doing 
general  messenger  work  for  the  county  committee.  The 
various  troops  competed  in  the  sale  of  Liberty  Bonds 
with  the  result  that  they  added  thousands  of  dollars  to 
the  national  treasury.  They  were  ever  ready  to  assist  the 
Red  Cross  and  did  very  good  work  in  campaigns  to  se- 
cure clothing  for  war  sufferers. 


2l8         camden  county  in  the  great  war. 

Poeice  Activity 

The  Police  Department  was  one  branch  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment that  was  called  upon  day  and  night  to  assist  the 
national  Government  in  carrying  out  the  war  program. 
A  registration  bureau  was  established  at  headquarters 
where  all  alien  enemy  men  and  women  were  registered 
for  the  Government.  The  police  also  performed  cred- 
itable service  for  the  United  States  Department  of  Jus- 
tice, running  out  evidence  to  prevent  enemy  spies  and 
propagandists  from  working  in  this  vicinity.  However, 
their  main  activity  was  the  suppression  of  seditious  acts 
and  remarks  against  the  Government.  They  also  arrest- 
ed many  deserters  from  the  army  and  draft  evaders  from 
other  cities.  When  the  lightless  nights  were  ordered  in 
January,  19 18,  they  worked  long  hours  to  protect  the 
traveling  public  on  darkened  highways.  But  aside  from 
this  work  of  enforcing  national  laws  the  patrolmen  joined 
enthusiastically  in  all  of  the  war  drives,  making  door 
to  door  canvasses  for  the  Red  Cross,  Salvation  Army  and 
Liberty  Loan  campaigns. 


Fire  Department 

The  Fire  Department  of  the  city  kept  a  constant  vigil 
during  the  war  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire,  thus  extend- 
ing a  sheltering  wing  over  the  many  war  industry  plants 
in  operation  in  the  city.  The  department  had  an  occasion 
to  demonstrate  its  efficiency  when  a  large  plate  and  angle 
shop  of  the  New  York  Shipbuilding  Corporation  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  the  night  of  September  II,  1918,  dur- 
ing a  Liberty  Loan  parade.  The  flames  threatened  four- 
teen destroyers  under  construction  for  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment and  the  firemen  wedged  themselves  between  the 
blazing  angle  shop  and  warships  and  managed  to  save 
them. 


aiding  the  fighters.  219 

Ninth  Ward  Association. 

The  Ninth  Ward  Republican  Association  at  Broad- 
way and  Royden  street  made  a  splendid  record  during 
the  war.  Patriotism  was  placed  above  partisanship  and 
on  April  4,  19 17,  the  association  had  a  joint  session  with 
the  Camden  Democratic  Association,  at  which  time  a 
resolution  was  adopted  pledging  the  support  of  both  as- 
sociations to  the  President  and  Congress.  The  Ninth 
Ward  Association  had  a  membership  of  four  hundred 
members  and  every  member  subscribed  in  every  Liberty 
Loan,  Red  Cross,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Knights  of  Columbus, 
Salvation  Army,  Jewish  Welfare  and  United  War  Work 
campaigns.  The  subscriptions  amounted  to  nearly  $250,- 
000.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  association  erected  a 
magnificent  victory  arch  across  Broadway,  which  became 
the  pride  of  the  city.  It  cost  $6,500  and  the  money  was 
raised  by  subscription  among  the  members. 

Yorkship  Village 

Because  of  the  scarcity  of  rentable  homes  in  the  city 
during  the  war  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation  built 
the  Yorkship  Village  adjacent  to  the  New  York  Ship- 
yards and  the  Norweg  Village  near  the  Pusey  and  Jones 
Shipyards,  Gloucester.  One  thousand  homes  were  built 
on  the  Yorkship  tract,  which  Camden  City  Council  an- 
nexed from  Haddon  township  and  floated  bonds  for 
$500,000  for  improvements,  the  erection  of  a  fire  house 
and  school.  This  operation  was  completed  during  the 
year  19 19. 


220  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


INDUSTRY 

CAMDEN  county  became  a  bee  hive  of  industry  in 
the  manufacture  of  war  materials  when  the  nation 
entered  the  world  war.  Two  big  shipyards,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  Jersey  Shipyards,  were  erected  at  Glou- 
cester. While  yards  were  being  constructed  on  territory 
formerly  occupied  by  once  famous  resorts  and  hotels 
on  the  lower  beach,  ships  were  being  constructed. 

The  New  York  Shipyard  grew  almost  over  night  into 
one  of  the  largest  shipyards  in  the  world.  The  size  of 
the  plant  was  tripled.  The  Government  frantically  called 
for  ships  and  Camden  and  Gloucester  yards  answered 
the  call  with  a  mighty  wield  of  the  hammer.  The  Tuck- 
ahoe  was  built  in  28  days,  establishing  a  world's  record. 
President  Wilson  sent  his  congratulations  by  telegraph 
at  the  launching  and  Director  General  Charles  M. 
Schwab  awarded  a  contract  for  the  extension  of  the  great 
plant  far  into  Gloucester  at  the  cost  of  $10,000,000. 

The  Mathis  Yacht  Building  Company  devoted  its 
plant  to  the  construction  of  hulls  for  powerful  seaplanes. 
The  Victor  Talking  Machine  Company  began  the  manu- 
facture of  aeroplane  and  seaplane  parts  and  was  beginning 
the  manufacture  of  rifles  when  the  armistice  was  signed. 
Strandwitz  and  Scott  manufactured  gasoline  tanks  for 
American  aeroplanes.  The  Argo  Mills,  of  Gloucester, 
manufactured  army  blankets.  The  General  Chemical 
Company  manufactured  powerful  chemicals  needed  as  ex- 
plosives and  for  other  war  work.  The  woolen  mills  manu- 
factured army  sweaters.  And  even  the  most  obscure 
plant  was  making  something  on  a  contract  or  subcontract 
for  winning  the  war.  The  Camden  Forge  Company's 
plant  worked  night  and  day  on  the  manufacture  of  driv- 
ing shafts  for  government  boats  and  their  plant  grew 
many  times  its  original  size.     The  rug  mills  of  Glouces- 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    IX    Till-    GREAT    WAR.  221 


INDUSTRY. 


223 


ter  wove  army  blankets  and  the  local  shoe  factories 
worked  night  and  day  on  army  orders.  The  large  kid 
works,  for  which  this  city  is  known,  turned  out  thousands 
of  tons  of  hides  to  be  made  over  into  shoes  for  the  army. 

New  York  Shipyard 

During  the  war  enough  merchant  vessels  were  launch- 
ed from  the  New  York  Shipyard  to  deliver  a  total  of 
1,700,000  tons  of  cargo  per  annum  to  the  shores  of 
France  in  ten  round  trips.  These  figures  require  a  reduc- 
tion of  about  10,000  tons  for  coal  consumed  on  the  voy- 
age over,  making  a  total  dead  weight  of  1,690,000  tons. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  throughout  the  war  period 
the  firm  was  handicapped  in  its  production  by  extensions 
to  the  plant  going  on  at  the  same  time  as  the  balance  of 
the  plant  was  turning  out  the  finished  product.  Any 
engineer  will  admit  that  it  is  impracticable  for  a  plant  to 
maintain  its  maximum  production  while  extensions  on 
a  large  scale  are  being  made  to  the  plant.  Add  to  this 
the  fact  that  it  was  up  to  the  established  yards  to  supply 
the  officers  and  leading  men  for  the  new  yards  in  very 
large  numbers,  thus  decreasing  their  own  efficiency  in 
order  that  the  available  shipbuilding  talent  in  the  country 
might  be  disposed  to  the  best  advantage.  Add  to  this 
also  the  fact  that  the  New  York  Shipyard  was  construct- 
ing Navy  work  at  the  same  time,  and  that  through  the 
shops  material  for  heavy  freighters  and  light  destroyers 
was  being  handled  at  the  same  time.  It  has  been  only 
lately  that  the  new  destroyer  plant  has  been  in  full 
operation. 

It  will  also  be  admitted  that  such  a  diversity  of  work 
as  represented  in  these  lists  could  not  be  handled  by  one 
plant  as  efficiency  as  in  two  plants  with  the  work  sub- 
divided to  suit  the  facilities  of  the  two  plants. 

A  further  fact  to  be  noted  is  that  the  shortage  of  skill- 
ed shipbuilding  labor  applied  to  the  established  yards  with 


224  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

well  nigh  as  much  force  as  to  the  new  or  so-called  fabri- 
cating plants  so  much  so  that  training  schools  had  to  be 
established  in  practically  all  the  big  yards,  this  yard  be- 
ing no  exception  and  having  its  training  school. 

Vessels  built  at  this  plant  during  the  last  eighteen  years 
have  fully  borne  their  part  in  the  war.  The  S.  S. 
"Tyler,"  old  Dominion  Liner,  was  unfortunately  sunk, 
but  two  New  York  Ship  vessels  successfully  withstood 
severe  mine  and  torpedo  damage.  These  two  were  the  S. 
S.  "Gulflight,"  which  was  very  badly  torpedoed  forward, 
and  the  S.  S.  '"Nebraskan,"  which  suffered  from  mine 
damage  under  the  bows.  Both  these  vessels  were  suc- 
cessfully brought  into  port  and  repaired. 

From  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  the 
New  York  Shipbuilding  Corporation  launched  a  con- 
siderable tonnage  of  shipping  to  play  its  part  in  the  con- 
flict. 

The  list  is  as  follows:  Colliers,  9;  oil  tankers.  6;  gen- 
eral freighters,  3 ;  troop  ships,  2 ;  battleships,  1 ;  destroy- 
ers, 7 ;  mine  planters,  1 ;  carfloats,  3  ;  total  vessels,  32. 

The  accepted  method  of  summarizing  production  for 
merchant  work  is  by  deadweight  carrying  capacity  ex- 
pressed in  tons  of  2,240  pounds  each.  Applying  this  to 
the  merchant  ships  listed  above  following  is  the  tonnage : 

Colliers,  72,454;  oil  tankers,  70,926;  general  freight- 
ers, 16,507;  troop  ships,  10,650;  total,  170,537. 

To  these  must  be  added  the  warship  work  as  lisced 
above  as  well  as  the  carfloats.  The  warships  are  of  in- 
finitely greater  complexity  than  the  merchant  work  and 
represent  a  product  practically  unobtainable  except  at  an 
established  shipyard.  These  totals  represent  the  output 
from  April  6,  19 17,  to  December  31,  1918. 

The  oil  tank  ship  production  is  peculiarly  gratifying, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  particularly  high  grade  work ;  the  de- 
mand for  oil  on  the  their  side  has  been  tremendous,  par- 
ticularly since  the  Russian  and  Rumanian  fields  were  un- 
available to  the  Allied  cause. 


INDUSTRY.  225 

Summarizing  merchant  vessels  by  deadweight  carry- 
ing capacity  the  following  tonnage  is  given : 

Colliers,  72,454;  oil  tankers,  70,926;  general  freight- 
ers, 16,507;  total,  159,887. 

The  growth  of  the  shipyard  is  best  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  the  firm  employed  4,651  persons  in  April,  1917, 
and  when  the  armistice  was  signed  on  November  11, 
1918,  there  were  13,210  on  the  company's  pay  roll.  At 
the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  book  19,000  were  em- 
ployed by  the  firm.  When  America  entered  the  Great 
War  the  New  York  Shipyard  owned  ten  ways.  At  the 
signing  of  the  armistice  the  plant  had  twenty-four  ways 
and  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  book  the  ways, 
numbered  twenty-eight. 


Pusey  and  Jones  Yards 

One  of  the  enterprises  developed  during  the  World 
Wrar  of  which  Camden  county  can  justly  be  proud  is  the 
shipbuilding  plant  of  the  Pusey  and  Jones  Company,  loT 
cated  in  Gloucester  City,  along  the  Delaware  river  on 
the  north  bank  of  Timber  creek,  and  extending  north- 
ward almost  to  Gloucester  ferry. 

The  Gloucester  yards  of  the  Pusey  and  Jones  Com- 
pany were  originally  built  by  two  separate  companies, 
the  Pennsylvania  Shipbuilding  Company  and  the  New 
Jersey  Shipbuilding  Company,  although  both  companies 
were  owned  by  the  same  interests. 

The  Pennsylvania  Shipbuilding  Company  was  incor- 
porated April  27,  191 6,  although  work  of  buildings  the 
yard  was  commenced  April  1,  19 16.  The  first  keel  was 
laid  September  9,  19 16,  boat  was  launched  August  23, 
191 7,  and  delivered  on  March  14,  19 18.  The  first  boat 
was  built  while  the  yard  was  in  its  primitive  state  of  erec- 
tion and  without  cranes,  shops  or  other  modern  facilities, 
using  temporary  and  crudely  constructed  machinery  and 


226  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

appliances  for  fabricating  material  and  an  ordinary  con- 
tractor's stiff  leg  derrick  for  erection. 

The  New  Jersey  Shipbuilding  Company  was  incor- 
porated May  3,  19 17,  and  work  on  the  plant  was  com- 
menced June  20,  19 1 7.  This  yard  was  built  to  help  meet 
the  great  demand  for  ships  caused  by  the  activities  of  the 
submarine  and  to  provide  manufacturing  facilities  for  the 
building  of  machinery,  boilers,  etc.,  which  were  unobtain- 
able from  usual  sources,  due  to  the  pressure  of  other  war 
demands. 

Although  great  difficulty  was  encountered  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  yard,  due  to  the  fact  that  all  buildings  had  to 
be  placed  on  piling,  the  first  keel  was  laid  May  16,  1918. 
boat  launched  September  15,  19 18,  and  delivered  Feb- 
ruary 18,  19 1 9. 

On  December  21,  19 17,  the  interests  owning  the  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey  yards  acquired  the  yard  of 
Pusey  and  Jones  Company,  Wilmington  and  the  three 
companies  were  merged  into  one  and  known  as  the  Pusey 
and  Jones  Company. 

The  Gloucester  yards  comprised  186  acres  of  land  on 
which  is  constructed  22  main  buildings  of  brick  and  steel 
construction,  consisting  of  a  main  office,  two  plate  and 
angle  shops,  two  mold  lofts,  two  angle  bending  shops,  a 
machine  and  boiler  shop,  a  joiner  shop  and  dry  kiln, 
power  house,  power  sub-station,  general  warehouse,  hos- 
pital and  185  smaller  buildings  of  frame  construction. 
There  are  eleven  launching  ways,  over  which  are  eleven 
Gantry  cranes  of  modern  design,  being  of  the  covered 
type,  with  four  corner  booms  and  eight  fixed  hoists  on 
each.  This  design  is  new  to  the  Delaware  river  ship- 
building district. 

The  company  has  its  own  water  tower  and  mains,  sup- 
plying water  throughout  the  yards,  its  high  pressure  air 
system  and  a  complete  sanitary  system. 

These  yards  are  considered  among  the  best  equipped 
and  most  efficiently  designed  shipyards  in  this  country, 


CAMDEN    COUNTY    TX    Till'.    GREAT    WAR.  227 


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INDUSTRY.  229 

and  were  built  with  the  purpose  of  building  standardized 
ships,  being  among  the  first  in  America  to  adopt  this  sys- 
tem. Another  distinctive  feature  of  the  Gloucester  yards 
is  the  method  of  launching,  being  the  only  yard  in  the  east 
launching  ships  sideways. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Gloucester  yards  were  just 
reaching  their  full  development.  They  contributed  to  the 
United  States  Navy  two  mine  sweepers,  the  "Thrush"  and 
the  "Eider,"  each  being  180  feet  in  length;  and  to  com- 
merce, five  tankers,  the  "Chestnut  Hill,"  the  "John  M. 
Connolly,"  the  "Alllentown,"  the  "Brandywine"  and  the 
"Bessemer,"  of  7,000  deadweight  tons  each,  being  380 
feet  long,  50  feet  9  inches  beam  and  31  feet,  3  inches 
deep ;  two  cargo  steamers,  the  "Indianapolis"  and  the 
"Henry  Clay,"  of  12,500  deadweight  tons,  each  being 
455  feet  long,  60  feet  beam  and  36  feet  8  inches  deep; 
and  three  cargo  steamers,  the  "Castle  Point,"  the  "Castle 
Wood"  and  the  "Castle  Town,"  of  5,000  deadweight 
tons  each,  being  335  feet  long,  50  feet  beam  and  24  feet 
9  inches  deep — or  a  total  tonnage  of  75,000  deadweight 
tons.  At  the  writing  of  this  book  there  were  being  out- 
fitted one  7,000  ton  tanker  and  two  12,500  ton  cargo 
ships,  and  there  are  on  the  ways  two  12,500  ton  cargo 
ships. 

The  Gloucester  yards  employed  during  the  war  an 
average  of  6,500  persons,  of  which  the  maximum  num- 
ber within  the  draft  age  was  1,600  of  which  80  were 
men  who  had  been  drafted  and  released  from  camps  be- 
fore employment.  The  men  were  so  well  selected  that 
only  fifty  were  drafted  from  the  yards.  This  firm  was 
among  the  first  to  establish  a  school  of  instruction.  This 
school,  with  H.  V.  Mason,  chairman  of  Delaware  River 
Committee  on  Training,  as  its  head,  and  with  eleven  able 
instructors  trained  1,169  men  ^n  tne  various  shipbuilding 
trades.  With  these  men  the  "Henry  Clay,"  a  12,500 
ton  cargo  ship  was  erected  until  within  three  weeks  of 
launching.    Of  the  1,169  men  trained,  y66  of  them  were 


23O  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

transferred  to  the  operating  department  as  skilled  me- 
chanics. A  school  of  blue  print  reading  was  also  main- 
tained, instructing  137  employes  in  blue  print  reading. 

In  order  to  furnish  housing  accommodations  for  the 
employes  145  acres  of  land  situated  south  of  Gloucester 
between  Big  Timber  and  Little  Timber  creeks  were  ac- 
quired and  the  Noreg  Village  was  built.  In  the  village 
there  are  447  from  4  to  7  room  dwellings,  one  large  de- 
partment store  of  sufficient  size  to  carry  20  different  lines 
of  business,  one  school  to  accommodate  250  pupils,  a  fire 
house  equipped  with  modern  fire  apparatus  and  a  well 
furnished  club  house.  The  houses  have  all  conveniences, 
electric  light,  gas  and  heat,  and  rent  at  a  nominal  figure. 

The  Gloucester  yards  were  started  long  before  the 
United  States  entered  the  war,  by  Christoffer  Hannevig. 
a  Norwegian  capitalist  and  ship  owner,  who  at  the  out- 
break of  the  World  War  among  the  European  powers, 
was  one  of  the  first  to  grasp  the  situation  of  the  neces- 
sity for  ships  such  a  war  would  bring,  and  in  his  deter- 
mination to  assist  in  supplying  this  necessity  decided  on 
the  building  of  a  shipyard  in  America,  where  the  supply 
of  ship  material  was  ample.  So  when  the  United  States 
entered  the  war  and  launched  out  on  its  shipping  pro- 
gram these  yards  were  well  under  way,  and  on  August 
3,  1917,  Mr.  Hannevig  cheerfully  turned  over  to  the 
government  all  his  contracts  and  the  operation  of  the 
yards,  which  have  been  under  the  control  of  the  Emer-' 
gency  Fleet  Corporation  since  that  date. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  Gloucester  yards  one 
of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  designing  and  building  of 
them  was  Henry  Lysholm,  who  as  vice  president  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  both  yards,  directed  all  work  of  plant 
design  and  construction  and  ship  erection. 

All  officials  and  employes  of  the  yards  worked  to  the 
limit  of  their  ability,  unselfishly,  even  beyond  their  phy- 
sical endurance,  as  exemplified  by  the  untimely  death  of 
General  Superintendent  H.  V.  Ramsay,  who  in  his  over- 


INDUSTRY.  231 

worked  condition  became  an  easy  victim  of  the  influenza 
epidemic. 

In  the  Liberty  Loans  over  $1,000,000.00  were  sub- 
scribed by  employes  of  the  Gloucester  yards,  going  far 
beyond  their  quota  in  each  loan.  Likewise  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.,  Red  Cross  and  United  War  Work  Funds  were  sub- 
scribed far  beyond  the  quotas  set. 

Thus  through  foresightedness  of  Mr.  Hannevig  and 
with  the  co-operation  of  his  fellow  associates  and  em- 
ployes, the  Pusey  and  Jones  Company's  Gloucester  yards, 
contributed  well  to  the  bridge  of  ships  across  the  Atlantic 
which  fed  and  supplied  the  American  Army,  who  with 
their  allies  brought  victory  and  peace  to  the  world. 

Mathis  Shipyard 

The  shipyard  of  the  Mathis  Yacht  Building  Co.,  at  the 
head  of  Point  street,  was  tripled  in  size  during  the  war  to 
take  care  of  the  building  of  seaplane  hulls,  submarine 
chasers  and  tugs  for  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation. 
One  hundred  and  twenty-five  seaplane  hulls  were  con- 
structed at  this  yard,  twenty-five  submarine  chasers  and 
seven  large  tugs.  The  firm  also  repaired  patrol  boats 
for  the  Government  in  connection  with  its  work.  In 
fact  this  firm,  which  prior  to  the  war,  constructed  noth- 
ing but  pleasure  yachts,  devoted  its  entire  energy  to  war 
work. 


232  CAMDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    GREAT    WAR. 


INDEX  TO  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Foreword 5 

Historical   Committee    6 

Introductory 9 

General  Pershing's  Tribute  to  Heroic  Dead 12 

Camden  County  Heroic  Dead 15 

Records  of  Heroic  Dead 17 

Departure  of  Troops 49 

Naval  Militia  49 

Departure  of  Guardsmen 50 

Twenty-ninth  Division  in  France 56 

Plan  of  Battle 59 

Battle  Begins 60 

Division  Cited    68 

104th  Engineers    71 

112th  Field  Artillery 74 

Selective  Service  77 

Seventy-eighth  Division   80 

Infantry  at  Arras 83 

Artillery  Movements   84 

Million  Dollar  Barrage 88 

Meuse-Argonne 88 

New  Jersey  Troops  Famous 96 

Their  Home  Coming 98 

Admiral  Henry  B.  Wilson 108 

Prominent  Men   114 

Representatives 114 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Harry  C.  Kramer 114 

Major  Winfield  S.  Price 123 

Major  Harold  E.  Stephenson 124 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Ralph  W.  E.  Donges 129 

Red  Cross 133 

Home  Defenses  149 

State  Militia   149 

Second  Field  Artillery 151 

Home  Guard   151 

Camden    Battalion    153 

Public  Safety  Committee 157 

City  Loyalty  meeting 166 

All  Special  Officers 167 

Victory  Jubilee  Committee 168 

Peace  Jubilee   180 


INDEX    TO   CONTENTS.  233 

Page 

War  Bureaus    193 

Fuel  Administration   193 

Food  Administration   194 

War  Resources  Committee 197 

City  Farm  Gardens 201 

Liberty  Sings   202 

Home  Registration   205 

War   Library  Committee 205 

Employment  Bureau    206 

Four  Minute  Men 206 

Finances 208 

Liberty  Loan  Drives 208 

War  Savings  Stamps 211 

New  York  Ship  Society 212 

Aiding  the  Fighters 214 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association 214 

United  War  Work  Campaign 215 

Knights   of  Columbus 216 

Salvation  Army   216 

Jewish  Welfare   Board 216 

Community  Building   217 

Boy  Scouts 217 

Police  Activity   218 

Fire  Department  218 

Ninth  Ward  Association 219 

Yorkship  Village 219 

Industry 220 

New  York  Shipyard 223 

Pusey  and  Jones  Yards 225 

Mathis  Shipyard 231 


Index  to  Illustrations. 

President  Wilson  3 

President's  War  Cabinet 7 

General  Pershing   I3 

Departure  of  Third  Regiment 48 

Departure  of  Battery  B 54 

General  Morton   57 

114th  Infantry  in  Action 61 

Major  Selby  65 

Captain  West  69 


234  INDEX   TO   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

General  McRae   81 

Artillery  in  Action 85 

311th  Infantry  in  Action 91 

114th  Infantry  Passing  Down  Broadway 100 

114th  Infantry  Marching  Under  Ninth  Ward  Arch 101 

Battery  B  Arriving  at  Newport  News,  Va 105 

Admiral  Wilson   109 

Hon.  David  Baird 115 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Kramer 120 

Major   Price    121 

Major  Stephenson   126 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Donges 127 

Dr.  Daniel  Strock 132 

George  W.  Whyte 135 

Red  Cross  Workers  Marching 139 

Red  Cross  Motor  Messengers 143 

Governor   Edge    148 

Mayor  Ellis    156 

Chas.  M.  Curry 159 

Win.  D.  Sayrs 163 

Court  of  Honor 169 

Peace  Jubilee  Parade 171 

Camden  County  Peace  Jubilee  Admiral  Wilson  Reviewing 

the  Parade  174 

James  J.   Scott 175 

Francis  F.   Patterson 177 

W.   Penn   Corson 182 

James  H.  Long 183 

Frank  S.  Van  Hart 188 

Frank  Sheridan   189 

Samuel   C.   Curriden 191 

Walter  J.  Staats 195 

Hon.  Frank  T.  Lloyd 199 

Hon.  Chas.  A.  Wolverton 203 

M.  F.  Middleton.  Jr 209 

Destroyer  Jacob  Jones 221 

Launching  of  Bessemer 227 


MAGRATH    PRINTING    HOUSE 

121    FEDERAL    ST. 
CAMDEN,     N.     J.