by Theo Emery
The Ordnance Department had solved: Memorandum from H. N. Davis, to Lieutenant Colonel R. A. Millikan, Monthly Report, Oct. 2, 1918, A&G Depts, Interior, BOM, 1916–1918, NAS-NRC, National Academies Archives.
The chancellor, Bishop Hamilton: Memorandum from D. H. Allen to Mr. C. William Hare, Special Assistant to Mr. Crowell, Oct. 16, 1918, USACE.
The district’s board of commissioners: Letter from Board of Commissioners to Secretary of War Baker, Oct. 25, 1918, USACE.
Major General William M. Black: William M. Black, Memorandum on the Use of the American University Grounds by the United States, Oct. 25, 1918, USACE.
Somewhere near Higgie: Letter from Jabine to mother, letter no. 64. This letter is out of chronological order in the compilation of his letters. Dated Sept. 2, it clearly refers to events that happened after the start of the Argonne offensive on Sept. 26. Higginbottom also refers to tanks coming over the hills that day, so it’s my belief they were witnessing the advance of the same tank division.
Higgie was set to move: Higginbottom diary entry, Sept. 26, 1918.
Higgie slept the whole morning: Ibid., Sept. 27, 1918.
Higgie finally got to Véry: Ibid., Sept. 29, 1918.
As they slept: Progress Report Week Ending Oct. 5, 1918, AEF, Headquarters First Gas Regiment, folder “Weekly Progress Reports,” HQ 1st Gas Regiment, 21 Sept.–16 Nov. 1918, CCM; Addison diary entry, 155.
Within a few days: Addison, Story of the First Gas Regiment, 156.
That made Fries suspicious: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Sept. 28, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“We have had very few”: Ibid., Sept. 26, 1918.
He would return: Ibid., Sept. 28, 1918.
“Severe casualties have been sustained”: Earl J. Atkisson, Progress Report for Week Ending Oct. 5th, 1918, Weekly Progress Reports, 21 Sept. to 16 Nov. 1918, HQ First Gas Regiment. History of First Gas Regiment, Carlisle Attic Collection, CCM.
The after-action reports: Report of 21st Operation by First Gas Regiment, Oct. 3, 1918, AEF General Headquarters, G-3 Reports, RG 120, finding aid NM-91, entry 268, box 3141, NACP.
including rooting out: Supplemental Report (Extracts from Platoon Officers Reports), Operations of First Gas Regiment on III Corps Front from 26th Sept. 1918, AEF General Headquarters, G-3 Reports, RG 120, finding aid NM-91, entry 268, box 3141, NACP.
Infantry commanders, though: Major General S. D. Sturges, Investigation Report, Dec. 26, 1918, AEF General Headquarters, G-3 Reports, RG 120, finding aid NM-91, entry 268, box 3141, NACP.
On the night: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Oct. 3, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
“The Bosche still retires”: Ibid., Oct. 12, 1918.
The day after Fries departed: “No Peace, Says Wilson, Until Kaiserism Ends,” New York Times, Oct. 15, 1918, 1.
It was October: Carlos I. Reed, The Minimum Concentration of Mustard Gas Effective for Man (Preliminary Report), Oct. 26, 1918 (presented at the 11th meeting of the Medical Advisory Board, CWS, Nov. 4, 1918, Frank P. Underhill Papers, group no. 514, box 6, Yale University Library Manuscript Collections.
Reed was a handsome specimen: Makio, 1915 Ohio State University yearbook, (Columbus: Sears and Simpson Co., 1915), 149.
The title of the test: Reed, Minimum Concentration of Mustard Gas Effective for Man.
In a series of experiments: Ibid., 5.
At the next meeting: Eli K. Marshall, H. W. Smith, and J. W. Williams, Individual Variation in Susceptibility to Mustard Gas V (Susceptibility of Negroes), Oct. 31, 1918 (presented at the 11th meeting of the Medical Advisory Board, CWS, Nov. 4, 1918), Frank P. Underhill Papers, group no. 514, box 6, Yale University Library Manuscript Collections. References to the study may also be found here: http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwi/VolXIV/VolXIVhtml/CH12.htm.
The doctors had even written: Minutes of the 7th Meeting of the Medical Advisory Board, June 25, 1918, 2, Frank P. Underhill Papers, group no. 514, box 6, Yale University Library Manuscript Collections.
The Camp Leach surgeon: Memorandum from surgeon, American University, to Surgeon General, Sept. 28, 1918; Colonel William J. Lyster, Chief, Medical Corps, Oct. 10 1918, USACE.
Yandell Henderson wanted: Prentiss, Chemicals in War, 542.
Britain, meanwhile, had ordered: Letter from British War Mission to Brigadier General U.S. Johnson, Sept. 7, 1918; Memorandum from Major H. W. Dudley to Major Woodruff, Subject: Correcting My Memorandum on Further Supplies of Charcoal for England, Sept. 25, 1918, Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 3, NACP.
Across the country: “Sends Car Loads of Peach Stones,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 7, 1918, Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 3, NACP.
“Its meaning is that every man”: Memorandum from Lieutenant H. M. Jackson to Captain L. B. Dane, Campaign to Collect Fruit Pits and Nut Shells, Nov. 5, 1918, Gas Defense Production Division, subject file 1917–1919, CWS, RG 175, finding aid NM-38, entry 4-K, NACP.
The War Department printed: Ibid., Oct. 14, 1918.
Fact sheets were printed: Facts and Figures concerning Gas Defense Division for Use in Publicity in Connection with Fruit Pit and Nut Shell Campaign, no date, Gas Defense Production Division, subject file 1917–1919, CWS, RG 175, finding aid NM-38, entry 4-K, NACP.
Over the weeks: “Save the Fruit Pits,” Denison Review, Sept. 11, 1918, 13.
“Will you help?”: Bridgeport (CT) Times and Evening Farmer, Sept. 6, 1918, 6.
“Let pleasure or business stop”: Ibid.
In late September: “Two Hundred Civilians Arrive in Willoughby,” Willoughby Republican, Sept. 20, 1918, 1.
The building filled: L. Philip Reiss, Lewis’s grandson, wrote to me in an e-mail that these could have been the sounds from the lewisite plant, based on his understanding of the apparatus and how it worked.
One account claimed: Letter from Amos A. Fries to Bruce Bliven, Managing Editor, Globe and Commercial Advertiser, May 13, 1921, Office of the Chief, Central Correspondence, 1918–1942, War Department, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 463, NACP.
Records suggest: Memorandum from Frank Dorsey to William Walker, Disposal of Toxic Chemicals, Jan. 22, 1919, Office of the Chief, Central Correspondence, 1918–1942, War Department, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 571, NACP.
that filled twenty-two steel drums: Memorandum from William Sibert to Frank Dorsey, Jan. 30, 1919, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 542, NACP.
Like water through sluice gates: Memorandum from Sidney Cadwell to William Sibert, Projected Production of Gases, Sept. 30, 1918, Office of the Chief, Central Correspondence, 1918–1942, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 448, NACP.
When all of the plants: Letter from Newton Baker to R. H. Graves, New York Times, Oct. 1920, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 463, NACP.
On November 9: Memorandum from H. M. Schwietert to Lieutenant Colonel Noonan, Nov. 9, 1918, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 477, NACP.
Once the chemicals reached port: Memorandum from Lieutenant Colonel R. C. Morse Jr. to Captain H. R. Sharkey, Oct. 22, 1918, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 318, NACP.
The Elinor: Memorandum from Captain Howard R. Sharkey to Captain Cadwell, Nov. 7, 1918, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 318, NACP.
docked in Baltimore: USS Elinor deck logs for Sept. 17, 1918, Logbooks of U.S. Ships and Stations, 1916–1940, Mar. 20, 1918–Apr. 26, 1919, USS Elinor, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, RG 24, entry 118-G-E, box 1, NAB.
The forty-three-hundred-ton freighter: USS Elinor deck logs for Sept. 19 to Nov. 4, 1918, Logbooks of U.S. Ships and Stations, 1916–1940.
On November 8: USS Elinor deck logs for Nov. 9, 1918, Logbooks
of U.S. Ships and Stations, 1916–1940.
Chapter Fifteen: “War to the Knife”
After a four-hour ride: Higginbottom diary entry, Oct. 31, 1918.
A stretcher-bearer in the truck: Ibid., Nov. 1, 1918.
Higgie wasn’t prone to emotion: Ibid.
The AEF printed: AEF circular, Nov. 1, 1918, Corporal John C. McMann file, First Gas Regiment Collection, CCM.
“Another day ended”: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, November 4, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
From the Dutch border: “Allies Sweeping Flanders,” New York Times, Oct. 17, 1918, 1.
As President Wilson awaited: “Confer on Reply in Berlin,” New York Times, Oct. 26, 1918, 1.
One of the most powerful: “Ludendorff Steps Down,” New York Times, Oct. 28, 1918, 1.
An unnamed German diplomat: “Says Germany Can Fight Five Months,” New York Times, Oct. 26, 1918, 1.
“I expect to see”: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Nov. 5, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
Despite his doctor’s recommendation: Ibid., Oct. 28, 1918.
“The work over there”: Ibid., Nov. 2, 1918.
With the war’s end: Ibid., Nov. 5, 1918.
On November 6: Ibid., Nov. 6, 1918.
The next day: Ibid., Nov. 9, 1918.
Celebration was in the air: “Big Attendance Is Expected at Our Third Dance Monday,” Retort, Nov. 16, 1918, 1.
The Washington Times installed: “Watch the Sky for Times Election Results,” Washington Times, Nov. 5, 1918, 1.
Two days before the dance: “America Answers the Hun’s Gas Arguments,” Sunday Star Magazine, Nov. 3, 1918, 2.
Only the highest-ranking officers: Memorandum from Henry Jervey to Assistant Secretary of War, Purchase of American University Property, Washington, DC, Nov. 4, 1918, USACE.
The hill football team: “Venez. Apprendez parlez Francais,” Retort, Nov. 2, 1918, 4.
The first edition: “Airplanes Drop Peace Extras,” Washington Times, Nov. 7, 1918, 1.
Celebrants filled Pennsylvania Avenue: “Nation Joy-Mad at Peace Report: Wild Revel in Washington Lasts Till Midnight,” Washington Post, Nov 8, 1918, 1.
A din of sirens: “Armistice Signed? Yes! No! We Had a Good Time Anyhow and So Did New York,” Washington Herald, Nov. 8, 1918, 4.
At 2:15 p.m.: “Armistice NOT Signed,” Evening Star, Nov. 7, 1918, 1.
Yet the United Press: “United Press Men Sent False Cable,” New York Times, Nov. 8, 1918, 1.
Still, the war: “Our War Activities Not Yet Curtailed,” New York Times, Nov. 9, 1918, 8.
The commission: Memorandum from Newton Baker to the board of commissioners for the District of Columbia, Nov. 8, 1918, USACE.
Daylight was fading: Higginbottom diary entry, Nov. 6, 1918.
Water soaked through: Ibid., Nov. 8, 1918.
At 4:00 p.m.: Report of 30th Operation by First Gas Regiment, Nov. 14, 1918, Operational Reports 7–32 (not inclusive), Thirtieth Engineers/First Gas Regiment, First Gas Regiment Collection, CCM.
That night, Company D: Report of Thirty-First Operation by First Gas Regiment, Nov. 13, 1918.
With fifteen minutes to go: Report on the 32nd Operation by First Gas Regiment, Nov. 14, 1918.
The army had not yet: Letter from Adjutant General to Jabine family, Dec. 16, 1918, American University WWI file, University Archives and Special Collection: American University Library.
More than three weeks after: Letter from Jabine to mother, Oct. 27, 1918.
“The good news”: Ibid., Nov. 11, 1918.
Word reached Addison: Addison diary entry, Nov. 11, 1918.
As Fries waited: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Nov. 12, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
As the city roiled: Ibid.
The company loaded: Higginbottom identified the village as “Nonort” in his diary, but Addison wrote in The Story of the First Gas Regiment that it was Nouart.
Higgie went to bed: Higginbottom diary entry, Nov. 11, 1918.
They arrived at Montfaucon: Ibid., Nov. 12, 1918.
The service had produced: Memorandum from Amos A. Fries, Subject: Gases Produced by the CWS, Aug. 13, 1919, General Fries’ Files, 1918–1920, C–E, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 7, box 16, NACP.
In the days that followed: Minutes of the Army Commodity Committee on Gases and Containers, Nov. 12, 1918, Chief’s Office, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, War Department, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 7, NACP.
in others, officers wondered: Memorandum to Colonel Bogert, Re: Hand Tools and Hardware Meeting, Nov. 13, 1918, Office of the Chief, Central Correspondence, 1918–1940, War Department, CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 1, box 7, NACP.
Such questions didn’t trouble: “Big Crowd Turns Out for Third Party Dance,” Retort, Nov. 23, 1918, 1.
“The writer wishes”: George A. Burrell, “Reduction of Staff of Research Division,” Retort, Nov. 30, 1918, 1.
On November 11: Nate Simpson reminiscence, Nate Simpson Papers.
While operations didn’t stop: General Electric, National in the World War, 223.
On Thanksgiving Day: “City Provides Most Deadly Gas for War,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nov. 28, 1918, 1.
The Willoughby Republican: “The Story of the Soldiers in Willoughby” and “Here Is the Big Story of the Great Work of the Soldiers Who Have Been Stationed in Our Midst,” Willoughby Republican, Nov. 29, 1918, 1.
“magnificent success”: Letter from Elmer Kohler to James B. Conant, Dec. 18, 1918, call no. UAI 15.898, box 142, Papers of James Bryant Conant, 1862–1987, Harvard University Archives.
Major Conant returned: Memorandum from Colonel Frank Dorsey to Major James B. Conant, Dec. 4, 1918; Extension of Leave of Absence, Dec. 12, 1918; Special Order 84, Dec. 12, 1918; Special Order 94, Dec. 23, 1918, box 142, Papers of James Bryant Conant, Harvard University Archives.
The army discharged Conant: Untitled and undated chronology of war record and discharge, box 1, Papers of James Bryant Conant.
At least two job offers: Harvard appointment letter, Mar. 10, 1919, box 1, Papers of James Bryant Conant.
Simpson was among the men: “Three Hundred and Fifty Willoughby Soldiers to Leave,” Willoughby Republican, Nov. 6, 1918, 1.
Simpson departed: Nathan A. Simpson veteran’s compensation application, Pennsylvania, WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917–1919, 1934–1948, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Ancestry.com.
Years later: Nate Simpson reminiscence, Nate Simpson Papers.
The weekend before: “Thunder Voice of City Peals in Liberty Sing,” Washington Herald, Dec. 8, 1918, 1.
President Wilson and his wife: “Two Million Cheer Wilson,” New York Times, Dec. 15, 1918, 1.
With General Pershing: “Text of President’s Two Speeches in Paris,” New York Times, Dec. 15, 1918, 1.
The Camp Meigs band: “American Ready to Smother Huns with Gas,” Washington Post, Dec. 14, 1918, 5.
Sibert also revealed: “Prepared to Deluge Germans with Gas,” New York Times, Nov. 14, 1918, 13.
Calling Edgewood: “Yankees Ready to Deluge Foe with Gas Flood,” Harrisburg Telegraph, Dec. 14, 1918, 12.
“There is not the slightest”: “Big Poison Gas Plant for US at Full Blast When Huns Decided to Stop War,” Arizona Republican, Dec. 22, 1918, 6.
Not long after: “Tells of Mobilizing Scientists for War,” New York Times, Dec. 18, 1918, 4.
George Burrell also took pains: “Contributions from the Chemical Warfare Service, USA,” Journal of Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, Feb. 1919.
“It was quite natural”: Letter from Charles D. Walcott to Van H. Manning, Dec. 26, 1918, National Academy of Sciences Archives.
On December 4: Memorandum from William Sibert to Adjutant General, U.S. Army, Dec. 4, 1918, USACE.
“During the entire period”: Francis X. O’Donnell report for Nov. 7 to Nov. 27, 1918, Protection of Jones Point
, NY.
By the Armistice: Prentiss, Chemicals in War, 656.
sent over at least: Memorandum to intelligence section, Reactionary Attitude toward Gas Warfare Only Overcome by CWS Accomplishments, Technical Document Files, 1917–1920, Reports (Laboratory Summary—National Electrolytics), CWS, RG 175, finding aid PI-8, entry 8, box 14, NACP.
The Germans had used: Prentiss, Chemicals in War, 656.
“I am going”: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Nov. 26, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
He had plenty: Menu, Thanksgiving Dinner 1918, Nov. 28, 1918, Chemical War Service, Chinon, France, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
He also sent a missive: Earl J. Atkisson, General Order 5, Nov. 28, 1918, First Gas Regiment Collection, CCM.
The next day: Letter from Amos Fries to Bessie Fries, Nov. 29, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
The USS Celtic: “Three More Ships Bring 4,500 More Troops,” New York Times, Dec. 18, 1918, 3.
In the morning: “Negro Troops Hail New York with Joy,” New York Times, Dec. 18, 1918, 3.
After the ship glided: Western Union telegram, Dec. 17, 1918, Amos A. Fries Papers, 1896–1953.
The locomotive pulled into: Fries memoir.
Tom Jabine, wiling away: Letter from Jabine to mother, Dec. 25, 1918.
The Hellfire Boys had decamped: Higginbottom diary entry, Nov. 30, 1918.
In a desperate attempt: Addison diary entry, Dec. 25, 1918.
On Christmas Eve: Higginbottom diary entry, Dec. 24, 1918.
That night, Higgie’s tent: Ibid., Jan. 13, 1918.
“We are all”: Ibid., Jan. 10, 1918.
The Hellfire Boys: Telegram from Secretary of State Polk to John J. Pershing, Feb. 3, 1919, John J. Pershing Papers, 1882–1971, General Correspondence, 1904–48, box 19. Library of Congress.
The day finally arrived: Movement orders no. 7, Re: Embarkation of First Gas Regiment for U.S., Jan. 14, 1919, CWS, First Gas Regiment, AEF records, RG 120, finding aid NM-91, entry 1248, box 86, NACP.