by Theo Emery
The cigars were carefully packed: Scheele statement, Mar. 23, 1918, 24, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
A kind of executive body: Ibid., 25.
Most of the bombs: Levering to Bielaski, First Section Report of Dr. Walter T. Scheele, 4.
On May 1: “Tells of a Plot to Bomb Lusitania,” New York Times, Jan. 24, 1918, 20.
If Scheele’s devices were aboard: It is not clear from primary documents that I viewed, including BOI reports, whether the cigars were placed aboard the Lusitania. There is a high likelihood that they were; multiple coconspirators confirmed that the bomb making was concurrent with the departure of the Lusitania, and prosecutors alleged their placement on the ship during the trial of von Papen in early 1918.
The cigars aboard: Scheele statement, Mar. 23, 1918, 25.
It was about 11:00: “Fire Bombs Put on Allies’ Ships by a Ring Here,” New York Times, July 11, 1915, 1.
By mid-July: In re: Dr. Walter T. Scheele, Captain Kleist, July 15, 1915, BOI Report, OGF, 1909–21, NACP.
The papers in the briefcase: Howard Blum, Dark Invasion:1915: Germany’s Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America (New York: Harper Collins, 2014), 346.
von Kleist wrote: Copy of letter from Charles von Kleist to von Igel, March 31, 1916, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
“You Judas Iscariot!”: Notes from meeting with Charles von Kleist, Monday, Oct. 30, 1916, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
Using forged identification papers: Letter from Offley to E. S. Chasten, Apr. 25, 1918, Investigative Case Files of the BOI, 1908–1922, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
Scheele eventually boarded: BOI report from Agent Leverett F. Englesby, Apr. 20, 1916, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
A few hours: “Six Germans Convicted,” Baltimore Sun, Apr 3, 1917, 2.
“I am entirely satisfied”: “7 German Plotters Are Sent to Prison,” New York Times, Apr. 7, 1917, 3.
Some of the reports: “Find Germans Guilty,” Sumter (SC) Watchman and Southron, Apr. 7, 1917, 3.
“If the man”: A. Bruce Bielaski, Letter to P. H. Sisney, Esquire, Apr. 16, 1917.
On April 14: Agent L. C. Munson, report for Apr. 14, 1917, In re: US vs. Walter T. Scheele et al., European neutrality matter, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
It wasn’t the only one: Agent Thomas P. Merriless, report for July 21, 1917, In re: Marie Scheele, Neutrality Matter, NARA M1085, BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case no. 8000-925, roll 279, NACP.
Chapter Four: Technical Men
The thunder of artillery: Letter from George Hulett to Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, Munitions Inventions Department, University College, London, May 16, 1917, George A. Hulett Papers, 1909–1962, box 2, folder 7, Princeton University Library.
“Ever yet horrible scenes”: Letter from George Hulett to family, May 15, 1917, Hulett Papers, Princeton University Library.
“it would take”: Letter from George A. Hulett to George E. Hale, May 21, 1917, BOM, “Miscellaneous Reports,” RG 70, finding aid A-1, entry 46, box 111, folder 3, NACP.
In the weeks: Letter from Manning to Hale, May 7, 1917.
Despite a modest: Transcripts of Reid’s tapes, Oct. 25, 1971, box 3, Ebenezer Emmet Reid Papers, MS 104, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins University.
Not long after: E. Emmet Reid, “Reminiscences of World War I,” Armed Forces Chemical Journal 9 (July–Aug., 1955): 37.
In late 1914: Letter from Assistant Secretary of War Walter M. Gilbert to Van H. Manning about explosion in Haber’s lab, May 30, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
“in order to avoid”: Letter from Manning to Hale, May 26, 1917.
unlucky dogs and other animals: Letter from Yandell Henderson to Major H. C. Bradley, Nov. 20, 1918, in Henderson, History of Research at Yale University; “Gas Stray Dogs in Experiments with New War Discovery,” Bridgeport Evening Farmer, Sept. 26, 1917, 12.
On April 28: General Electric, National Lamp Works, The National in the World War, Apr. 6, 1917–Nov. 11, 1918 (Cleveland: General Electric, 1920), 170.
By the end of April: Ibid., 172.
Brigadier General Kuhn issued: Memorandum to Chief of Staff, Subject: Gas Masks and Helmets, May 16, 1917, Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 6, NACP.
Even though the British: After the Germans used chlorine at Ypres, Britain’s secretary of state for war, Lord Kitchener, appealed to women of Britain and France to quickly make rudimentary masks. Rushed to the front by the millions, they were little more than cotton wads soaked in a neutralizing solution. Within a few weeks, black veil respirators followed—a long swath of black fabric tied around the head, with a cotton pad for the mouth and nose soaked in sodium carbonate, water, and glycerin to keep it moist. Next was the hypo helmet, a flannel sack dipped in sodium thiosulfate, soda, and glycerin, with a celluloid rectangular window to see out of. In July 1915, British intelligence learned that the Germans planned to unleash phosgene later that year and began preparing a new mask. The result was the P helmet, similar to the hypo but dipped in a substance that reacted and neutralized phosgene, then the PH helmet, using another substance discovered by the Russians that was even more effective at neutralizing phosgene. The large-box, or tarbox, respirator followed, the first British mask to have a canister with chemical neutralizers inside, containing charcoal, soda lime, and potassium permanganate. Finally, in Apr. 1916, the British began issuing the small-box respirator, which was considered the most effective European mask but was uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. The first French effort, called the M2, was also rudimentary, a snoutlike bag stuffed with layers of muslin soaked in neutralizing chemicals. The next French mask, the Tissot, made of rubber, had a canister and an intake valve that stuck straight up from the nose like a snorkel. The Russians had their own mask, considered the least effective of all.
Manning and Burrell: Draft of letter from Van H. Manning to George Hale, May 26, 1917. NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
All told, 320,000 separate pieces: “C. E. Mask,” Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, Major McPherson’s Personnel File—Masks, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 10, NACP.
The charcoal for the filter: George A. Burrell, “Contributions from the Chemical Warfare Service, USA,” Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 2, no. 2 (Feb. 1919): 93.
Henderson said he would: Henderson, History of Research at Yale University, 2.
The mask worked: Daniel Patrick Jones, “The Role of Chemists in Research on War Gases in the United States during World War I” (PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1969), 96.
On July 13: War Expenditures, 3413.
Dewey, Lewis, Gibbs, and Fieldner: Manning, “War Gas Investigations,” 11.
It came in an overseas telegram: Cablegram no. 103-S from John J. Pershing to Adjutant General, Aug. 17, 1917, War Expenditures, 3420.
masks had been tested: Burrell, “Contributions,” 96.
“Construction of entire apparatus”: War Expenditures, 3421.
The masks were: Letter from George Burrell to Llewellyn Williamson with report on first twenty-five thousand masks, July 25, 1917, Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 16, NACP.
American soldiers had already: Society of the First Division, History of the First Division During the World War, 1917–1919 (Philadelphia: John C. Winston, 1922), 6.
It was essential: Letter from Henderson to Major H. C. Bradley.
within two weeks: Osborn, “Chronology of Events,” June 21, 1917.
As the number: “How Our Grounds and Buildings Are Protected,” extract from General Order 10, American University Co
urier 24, no. 1 (Oct. 1917): 6.
“Now it is”: “Must Follow Flag, Says Hiram Johnson,” Washington Herald, June 1, 1917, 4.
On the same day: Osborn, “Chronology of Events,” May 31, 1917.
Behind the amphitheater: “Army Engineer’s Camp to Be Established Here,” Evening Star, May 22, 1917, 1.
radiated outward: Osborn, “Chronology of Events,” May 31, 1917.
“At a very important”: Ibid., June 25, 1917.
By mid-July: Van H. Manning, Report on Work Done on Noxious Gases, July 23, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production. National Academy of Sciences Archives.
It would have: Letter from Manning to Hale, May 26, 1917.
“It is quite unnecessary”: Letter from George E. Hale to Van H. Manning, June 12, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
Over the summer: “House Defeats Censorship Law 184 to 144,” New York Times, June 1, 1917, 1.
Manning reassured Hale: Letter from Manning to Hale, June 15, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
It was urgent: Letter from George E. Hale to Secretary of War Newton Baker, June 12, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
In a box: Letter from Manning to Hale, June 29, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
Burrell recalled: Memorandum from George Burrell to Director, CWS, Re: Helium Investigation, Dec. 28, 1918, Office of Chief, Central Correspondence, 1918–1942, War Department, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 347, NACP.
“It is regarded”: Letter from Vice Admiral R. H. Peirse to George Hale, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
The British already: Ibid., 2
It was probably: Van H. Manning, “Petroleum Investigations and Production of Helium,” from War Work of the Bureau of Mines (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1919), 81.
As Osborn mounted: Osborn, “Chronology of Events,” Aug. 20, 1917.
Chapter Five: Amos and Goliath
In the weak half-light: Society of the First Division, History of the First Division, 17.
Sibert returned: “Sibert Inspects Camp in France,” New York Times, July 20, 1917, 9.
For Wilson: David M. Kennedy, Over Here (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), 146.
Huge pro-war rallies: “12,000 Cheer for Hard-Hitting War,” New York Times, Mar. 23, 1917, 1.
When the War Department: “Regulars under Pershing Will Go to France; Will Not Send Roosevelt,” New York Times, May 19, 1917, 1.
“Registration Day should be celebrated”: “Prepare for Registration,” New York Times, May 23, 1917, 2.
The first draft drawing: “Draft Lottery Selects 1,374,000 Men for Examination to Provide 687,000 of First Increment Troops,” Washington Post, July 21, 1917, 1.
“Gentlemen, this is a solemn”: “Work on National Draft Continues to Early Hours of Morning,” Washington Herald, July 21, 1917, 1.
By the time: “1,971 More Recruits Obtained for Army,” New York Times, July 29, 1917, 6.
The troop convoys: “First American Troops Reach France, Setting Record for Quick Movement,” New York Times, June 28, 1917, 1.
The arrival of the American: Society of the First Division, History of the First Division (Philadelphia: Winston, 1922), 7.
American flags had been: “First American Troops Reach France,” New York Times, June 28, 1917, 1.
Not only was Sibert big: Edward B. Clark, William L. Sibert: The Army Engineer (Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1930), 26.
“there is a charm”: Letter from William Sibert to Mamie Sibert, Oct. 17, 1898, Anne Sibert Buiter Collection.
They would have a daughter: Clark, William L. Sibert, 48.
When the war ended: Ibid., 95
At one point: Ibid., 120.
Sibert’s efficiency: Ibid., 128.
A special act: “Promote Canal Builders,” New York Times, Mar. 3, 1915, 5.
Trained in warfare: Clark, William L Sibert,157.
When war finally came: John J. Pershing, “My Experiences in the World War,” New York Times, Jan. 17, 1931, 19.
Goliath was summoned: Ogden Standard, Apr. 26, 1917, 1
When the ship: Frank E. Vandiver, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, vol. 2 (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 1977), 723.
Before Fries retired: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Apr. 26, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953, Ax234, box 1, folder 11, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
On the night: Night telegram from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, July 20, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
The compound’s other name: Larry E. Davis, “Unregulated Potions Still Cause Mercury Poisoning,” Western Journal of Medicine 173, no. 1 (July 2000), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070962.
“splendid little war”: Though the phrase “splendid little war” is often credited to Teddy Roosevelt, the term actually came from then–U.S. ambassador to Great Britain John Hay in a letter to Roosevelt.
“Just as there were thousands”: Unpublished Fries memoir, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953, box 3, folder 1, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
“I had then”: Ibid.
he wrote to Bessie every day: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, July 13, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
He packed a small trunk: Ibid., July 14, 1917.
“There are all sorts”: Ibid., July 21, 1917.
“I am getting quite expert”: Ibid.
The ship had: Björn Larsson, Maritime Timetable Images, http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/rmspb1.htm.
“somewhere near the north pole” Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, July 25, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“Besides the ship”: Ibid., Aug. 1, 1917.
Chapter Six: “Fiendish Work”
The British offensive: Hart, Great War, 352.
fuse: The technical term for the explosive insert that detonates ordnance is a “fuze,” a term still in use today in the military.
The French border city: “Ruined Armentières Is a City of the Dead,” New York Times, Sept. 18, 1917, 2.
Overnight on July 20: Haber, Poisonous Cloud, 193.
After several hours: “New Shells Poison Town,” New York Times, Sept. 8, 1917.
The gas shelling: Haber, Poisonous Cloud, 249.
“Fiendish Work”: “Fiendish Work of Devils in Human Form,” Bourbon News, Aug. 17, 1917, 6.
The reports were true: Haber, Poisonous Cloud, 111.
Within a day: Charles H. Foulkes, “Gas!” The Story of the Special Brigade (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1934), 265.
“when in contact”: Augustin M. Prentiss, Chemicals in War (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1937), 181.
The British fired: Foulkes, “Gas!,” 267.
The interlocking processes: Haber, Poisonous Cloud, 195.
Mustard so preoccupied: Ibid., 191.
“Hulett has spent”: Letter from J. S. Ames to Charles Hale, May 17, 1917, NAS-NRC, Executive Committee: Projects, Helium Production, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
“hard to get”: Letter from George Hulett to Dency Hulett, July 31, 1917, George A. Hulett Papers, 1909–1962, call no. C0460, box 2, folder 10, “Personal Letters,” Princeton University Library.
The organizational chart: “American Expeditionary Forces—Chemical Organization,” Hulett Papers, call no. C0460, box 2, folder 2, “War Work.”
Pershing also wrote: John J. Pershing letter to Adjutant General, Aug. 4, 1917, Hulett Papers, “War Work,” Princeton University Library.
Pershing sent a cablegram: “Cableg
ram Sent from General Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces to the Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, DC,” Aug. 7, 1917, War Expenditures, 3420.
he carried the letter from Pershing: Letter from John J. Pershing to Adjutant General, Aug. 4, 1917, Hulett Papers, “War Work,” Princeton University Library.
Hulett didn’t go: Letter from George A. Hulett to Dency Hulett, Aug. 23, 1917, Hulett Papers, Princeton University Library.
“I think most”: Fries memoir, “An Engineer Goes to War,” 4–5.
“It will be”: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Aug. 15, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“I might as well”: Fries memoir, “An Engineer Goes to War,” 6.
“I am to be”: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Aug. 17, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“Have appointed Lieut. Col. Fries”: Fries and West, Chemical Warfare, 77.
When Fries began: Fries memoir, 7, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
He even invented: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Aug. 22, 1917, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“Nothing is known”: War Expenditures, 3421.
“Well, don’t you think”: Fries memoir, “An Engineer Goes to War,” 8, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
On the fresh, bright morning: West and Fries, Chemical Warfare, 75.
“could not stop”: Fries memoir, 11.
“They were able”: Ibid., 10.
Levering, Mrs. Hoagland: Letter from Commander McCauley, Office of Naval Intelligence, to A. Bruce Bielaski, Aug. 24, 1917, NARA M1085, Investigative Reports of the BOI, 1908–1922, OGF, 1909–21, case 12490, roll 335, NACP.
Technically, he didn’t: Letter from A. Bruce Bielaski to Richmond Levering, May 23, 1917. NARA M1085, Investigative Reports of the BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case 2910, roll 302, NACP.
After an uneventful start: Letter from E. S. Underhill to William Offley, Sept. 27, 1917, NARA M1085, Investigative Reports of the BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case 12490, roll 335, NACP.
Only a few days: “San Diego City Main Blowout,” Ogden Standard, Aug. 18, 1917, 1.
A young man: Letter from Richmond Levering to British ambassador Sir Cecil Spring Rice, June 23, 1915, NARA M1085, Investigative Reports of the BOI, OGF, 1909–21, case 12490, roll 335, NACP.