USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover, Massachusetts, in the world war > Part 2
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
nearly ten million men registered for selective military service. By June 15 the First Liberty Loan of two billion dollars had been carried through successfully. What Andover as a town had done was undertaken the country over, wherever there was a cluster of houses to make a settlement. A righteous war, with all its accompanying evils, brings out some of the noblest qualities in humanity; and that our war was righteous no one in Andover was inclined to doubt.
It was this confidence in the justice of our cause which led men to do then gladly what in normal times would have seemed almost impossible. When, for instance, the call was issued for the formation of a Home Guard Unit, on Monday, April 16, sixty-six candidates enrolled. Twice a week these men, all of them very busy, most of them over forty years of age, and some nearing three-score, assem- bled in the Phillips Academy Gymnasium for setting-up exercises and infantry drill. Under their first commander, Captain Edgar L. Holt, they made remarkable progress; and when Captain Holt received his promotion to a majority in the State Guard, his former position was filled admirably by Captain Peirson S. Page of Phillips Academy. Early in July, 1917, the Andover Company was mustered into the service of the Commonwealth, at first as Company 114 of the 16th Regiment, and later as Company H, Second Battalion, of the same Regiment, the other companies in the battalion having been recruited from Reading, Lawrence, and Methuen. Now and then some of the younger members withdrew to enter the National Army, and one, Charles A. Young, was the first Andover boy with the American forces to be killed in action in France. The Andover Company, how- ever, remained a unit throughout the war period. During the influenza epidemic it was called out and fulfilled faithfully two weeks of duty at Emery Hill Hos- pital, in Lawrence. Not until some months after the armistice was the company disbanded, its members the richer for an experience which had tried their physical endurance, proved their persistence, and left them with a feeling of pride in gen- uine accomplishment.
An interesting incident helped to demonstrate our nearness to our Allies in the old world. On May 28 the Mayor of Andover, England, sent to the "chief citi- zen" of our American Andover the following courteous letter :
Dear Sir, -
The Mayor of Andover sends to you and to the inhabitants of your town the fraternal greetings of the Burgesses of this ancient Borough, upon the entry of America in this war of liberty against a military slavery.
Yours faithfully, F. W. Bingham, Mayor
In reply, Mr. Harry M. Eames, Chairman of our Board of Selectmen, said: Dear Sir, -
Your most welcome letter received, and on behalf of the citizens of Andover, Mass- achusetts, we extend to you and through you to the citizens of old Andover, England, our most hearty greetings, and assure you that the spirit of patriotism to do her part in ending
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THE SPIRIT OF THE TOWN
this cruel and barbarous war that disgraces the whole civilized world animates our whole town, men, women, and children. Our boys are enlisting, our people are contributing, our various committees are so in accord that your namesake here has the proud record of being second to no city and town in Massachusetts in the progress we have made in pre- paredness.
Fraternally yours, Harry M. Eames, Chairman
Of the activities to which Mr. Eames referred, only a brief mention can be made in this preliminary summary. On Memorial Day, 1917, the town paid special honor to the veterans of the Civil War, who, more than half a century be- fore, had represented Andover in another conflict. For the first time the Home Guard appeared in public review, the comment aroused by their marching being most favorable. In the Town Hall Dr. Claude M. Fuess delivered the oration, laying stress on the inspiration to be drawn from the notable example set by the soldiers of 1861. On June 14, under the auspices of the Woman's Relief Corps, Flag Day was appropriately observed, with an eloquent address by the Honorable John N. Cole. The Phillips Academy Commencement, always attended by many townspeople, was marked by the proud announcement of Principal Stearns that an Andover Ambulance Unit was already overseas. On this occasion, too, a tall flagstaff was raised on the historic training field, where, a century and a half ago, the Andover militia were accustomed to drill, and where General George Washington, sitting on horseback, was welcomed in 1789 by the citizens of the town.
We were told frequently in those days that food would win the war, and the statement was not far from the truth. The Committee on Food Production and Conservation lost no time in arranging its plans. Vacant areas of land were se- cured and divided into small garden plots, which were assigned to those who re- quired them. Seed potatoes and fertilizer, purchased in large quantities, were dis- pensed at cost. Mr. Herbert B. Nash was engaged as Supervisor, and was estab- lished in an office where he could be freely consulted by prospective agricultur- ists. Meanwhile information on every phase of farming was given wide publicity. People were advised when to hoe and when to spray; how to escape and exter- minate pests; what to do to preserve vegetables and fruits. A crop census for the first year disclosed an extraordinary increase in productiveness over the previous summer. As the war went on, the program of the Committee enlarged. In 1918 a Food Center was opened in Mr. McDonald's store on Essex Street, where various ladies took charge and gave frequent demonstrations of jelly making, cold pack- ing, and home canning. Week after week the women labored incessantly in the kitchen of the Punchard School, under the direction of Mrs. James J. Feeney and Mrs. Bernard M. Allen, preserving fruit and vegetables to "help Hoover". Through the spring and summer of 1918 Mr. William C. Coutts acted as Super- visor in place of Mr. Nash, who had entered the army. Plowing and planting has about it little of the "pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war"; but it was
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
most essential, and many an elderly gentleman "did his bit" with real fortitude in his garden plot during hot August days.
In finance, as well as in agriculture, people were learning rapidly and adjust- ing themselves to changed conditions. War demands not only food and men, but money, and the Committee for the First Liberty Loan had to study and put into operation methods of advertising on a large scale which had seldom before been considered. The Liberty Loan Committee for Andover and North Andover was organized on Saturday, May 19, with Mr. Nathaniel Stevens as Chairman, Mr. Alfred L. Ripley as Vice-Chairman, and Mr. Chester W. Holland as Secretary. Much of the active work in Andover itself was conducted by Mr. Burton S. Flagg, as Campaign Manager, under whose skilful direction captains and lieutenants were appointed, and an effective method devised of bringing the appeal to the notice of the general public. The First Liberty Loan Campaign, which opened on May 25 and closed on June 15, was in many respects experimental: but, as a conse- quence of thorough preparation and careful canvassing, the district subscribed an official total of $434,250, from 1931 persons. As the district allotment was only $400,000, there could be no doubt that Andover and North Andover had done their share in providing for the expenses of the war.
On a smaller scale, but in a no less important way, the American Red Cross had been preparing for the emergency, and the Andover Branch, first under Mrs. Bartlett H. Hayes, as Chairman, and later under her successor, Mr. Alfred L. Ripley, accomplished extraordinary things. The nation-wide campaign for the Red Cross War Fund of $100,000,000, carried on during the latter part of June, re- sulted in contributions of over $5000 from residents of the town. But the raising of money was only a small part of the achievement. Even before we joined the Allies, the Red Cross members had been making surgical dressings and knitted garments on certain days at the Guild and the November Club House; and, soon after our Declaration of War, the November Club offered its rooms to these work- ers for the duration of hostilities. There, under the supervision of Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Markham W. Stackpole, and Miss Elizabeth Smith, a large quantity of val- uable material was prepared for the benefit of the sick and wounded. By October 19, over 6000 separate articles had been made and sent to soldiers; more than 7000 surgical dressings had been forwarded to headquarters; and, of the $2700 which had been raised for the work, $1700 had been expended. These figures are signi- ficant mainly as showing what can be accomplished by a small group of devoted women, laboring unostentatiously and unselfishly for a noble cause.
In the last analysis, however, war is a fighting game, and the burden and heat of the day must be borne by the men in uniform. It is they who endure the hor- rors of the dug-outs and trenches, who risk their lives in action, who suffer and who sacrifice the most. Already a score of Andover citizens were enrolled in the British and Canadian forces, and three of the best-known, Private William Pert, Sergeant James Cavan, and Lance Corporal William Rae, all of the British
1
WILLIAM PERT Private, Black Watch, British Army Killed in action, September 25, 1916 The first man from Andover to give his life in the World War
[ 22 ]
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THE SPIRIT OF THE TOWN
Army, had been killed, - finding "a field of death on the field of flame." Now, when American units were being formed, the same eagerness for voluntary enlistment was displayed. On April 13, 1917, when recruits for the Massachusetts National Guard were being sought, fourteen Andover boys joined the Lowell Battery, and others followed rapidly. When the R. C. O. A. held, on July 12, a reception for those of its members in service, it was reported that eighteen out of forty-seven had already signed up. It was this little group who enrolled in the Lowell Battery, - later Battery F of the 2d Massachusetts Field Artillery, -who were among the earliest Andover men in the American Army to see actual combat. The contingent gradually grew larger. When, on July 18, the women of the South Church gave a reception to the Andover boys in the Battery, there were twenty-eight present, including Lieutenant Markham W. Stackpole, who had just received his commission as Regimental Chaplain. The entrainment of these men for Camp Curtis Guild, at Boxford, was the occasion of an ovation. More than a thousand people gathered at the railroad station to say farewell, and wish them "God-speed!" as they departed for "the greatest war in history."
At their quarters in Boxford, these boys were so near that they could be fre- quently visited by friends, eager to bring them comforts and luxuries. The Wo- men's Relief Corps, of which Mrs. Charles S. Buchan was the efficient head, had provided each Andover soldier with a comfort kit; and there were other generous workers who did their best to see that no one was neglected. For some weeks the troops remained in camp, preparing for the trip overseas. On August 5, when "Lowell and Andover Day" was observed with appropriate games and ceremonies, hundredsof Andover citizens went over the road to see how the boys were getting on. Then came the news, spread surreptitiously, that they were soon to embark for Europe. Mysterious tales circulated among the families of the soldiers. When the hour came, however, the regiment simply folded up its tents like the Arabs and silently stole away. It was learned many weeks afterward that the 26th, or Yan- kee Division, had arrived in France on October 5, and that, within almost exactly six months after our entrance into the war, an American division composed of volunteer soldiers was equipped and on French soil. It was exceedingly rapid progress for a republic unused to military methods.
The unprecedented task of raising a citizen army by means of the operation of the Selective Service Act was, by this time, beyond the stage of a mere experi- ment. On June 5, when the registration of all men between the ages of twenty- one and thirty-one was ordered, 609 of Andover's residents were placed on the list. On July 15 took place that historic scene in Washington when the drawing of the draft numbers commenced. The names of those in Andover's first quota were published as early as August 10, and they reported promptly at Georgetown, the headquarters for the district, to be examined. As had been anticipated, many failed in the physical tests, and others, for various reasons, claimed and secured exemption; it took, therefore, a considerable length of time to make the necessary
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
readjustments. On the morning of Friday, October 5, however, the sixty-five men included in Andover's allotment left for Camp Devens. The day was raw, rainy, and cold, but the townspeople turned out, indifferent to weather conditions, to watch them entrain. Headed by Company H, 16th Massachusetts State Guard, a parade, hastily arranged but including the Civil and Spanish War veterans, the children of the public and parochial schools, and the Phillips Academy Battalion, marched to the playstead, where brief addresses were delivered by Judge Hayes, of Ipswich, and the late Selectman Harry M. Eames. The procession then moved on to the railroad station, where, in the chill and mist, refreshments were provided for the recruits and last "Good-byes" were spoken. Not even the depressing at- mospheric conditions could detract from the significance of the assemblage. The town was behind her sons, ready to defend and support them.
It was about this period that the Lawrence Tribune and the Andover Towns- man began the patriotic service of printing lists of Andover men in the army, navy, and marines. One early Roll of Honor, published on September 28, 1917, was comparatively short, containing fewer than two hundred names, headed, however, by Lieutenant-Colonel Marlborough Churchill, and including eight in the Ca- nadian Army and ten with the British Expeditionary Forces. Through the fall and winter the list gradually lengthened. A volunteer committee, consisting of Mr. George Dick, Mr. Ernest King, and Mr. Fred L. Collins, kindly took charge of providing service flags for the family of each Andover soldier or sailor. The first such flag in Andover was hung out, it is said, at the home of John L. Morrison, on Elm Street, in honor of his son Lieutenant (later Captain) Phillips G. Morrison; but soon no street was without a window in which was not one of those significant red and white banners, with the blue star. There were several families entitled to two stars; at least five, - those of Messrs. Cheever, Dugan, Early, Gray, and Moore, - could boast of three; and one, that of Mr. and Mrs. John Nicoll, of Cuba Street, was entitled to four stars, one son being in the British Navy and three with the American troops. This Service Star, or Comfort, Committee was constantly doing for the boys
"Little nameless unremembered acts Of kindness and of love".
It regularly sent packages of cigarettes to Andover men in the training camps; it seemed to have "inside information" about special needs, and took special pains to meet them; indeed it was always busy, in a modest and helpful way. For these attentions the soldiers were deeply grateful, as many a letter of appreciation indi- cated.
While these young men were joining the fighting forces, the Second Liberty Loan of three billion dollars was being successfully completed, through the same Committee which had before carried on the campaign in the Andover and North Andover district. The quota assigned was $672,000, approximately $50 for each
25
THE SPIRIT OF THE TOWN
man, woman, and child in the two towns. Through a system which divided An- dover into seven districts, each with a captain and lieutenants, every household was covered; and, at the conclusion of the "drive," Mr. Flagg was able to report that $1,249,950 had been subscribed. It was a moment when such liberality was needed. As the campaign was drawing to a close in late October, the first Ameri- can gun was fired from the trenches toward the German lines, and, on November 3, three heroic Americans lost their lives in action. From that date on, we were to get our taste of the dire reality of war, and no one was allowed to slacken in his efforts to win the victory.
Indeed for those who remained at home there were many worthy causes which could claim support. In the late autumn of 1917 the Red Triangle War Work Fund for the maintenance of the work of the Young Men's Christian Association here and overseas was started. Mr. Frederick H. Jones, the Andover Chairman, organized an intensive campaign which brought in more than $15,000, an amount far exceeding the quota originally suggested. Following this came the Red Cross "membership drive," under the direction of the Reverend Frank R. Shipman. It opened on Sunday, December 15, with an enthusiastic mass meeting, at which Judge Michael J. Murray, of Boston, was the principal speaker. Before it closed, Andover, whose quota was 1840 members, actually secured 3150. These two cam- paigns were illustrations of the almost phenomenal results which persistent and forceful leadership can accomplish in a loyal community.
As the year drew to an end, the Public Safety Committee published a formal report, giving an account of its varied activities. The Finance Committee at this time showed receipts from voluntary contributions amounting to more than $4200, in addition to which there was at least $3300 which had been pledged but not yet called for. The total expenditures up to Christmas had not exceeded $2100. The other committees also told briefly of their work, the character and results of which were in every way creditable to the community. What the Committee of Public Safety had accomplished inspired the confidence and elicited the praise of their fellow-citizens.
The winter of 1917-18 brought with it a taste of the economies which war re- quires, even from civilians. Coal was far from plentiful. The local Fuel Committee consisting of Mr. E. Barton Chapin (Chairman), Mr. Virgil D. Harrington, and Mr. Alexander Lamont, kept a close watch on conditions and did their utmost to satisfy complaints. Very few people, however, cared to protest, and the "heat- less days," from January 18 to 22, 1918, were accepted as merely preliminary to greater sacrifices. Everybody was far more concerned over the welfare of the Andover boys in France. It is unfortunate that space cannot be found in this vol- ume for some of the letters from the men of Battery F, which began to appear in the press in early November and were printed regularly until the war closed. Al- though the censor had deleted some of the more entertaining passages, enough usually remained to throw light on the experiences through which the soldiers had
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
passed. It could easily be inferred that they were preparing to go to the front in the spring; and, knowing this, no one in his relatively comfortable home in Ando- ver was likely to object to necessary restrictions on his consumption of food or fuel.
The coming of the new year found most Americans smitten with the convic- tion that the war was likely to be long and sanguinary. There was a change in the spirit of the nation, a change which was naturally reflected in every city and town. The first eagerness and impetuosity had given place to that steadiness and resig- nation which a lengthy struggle exacts of its participants. The response to ap- peals for money was no less immediate or generous; but people now realized what was ahead of them, and, with this knowledge, arranged their budgets and their ex- penditures accordingly. Nearly every person had discovered his or her niche in the national war machine; there was, consequently, less wasted effort and futile discussion. The grandeur and glory of the battle-field, too, had been almost for- gotten in the contemplation of its perils. With brothers and friends on the fighting line, we are not much interested in the decorative features of war.
The tasks at home, however unromantic, were faithfully performed. The local Legal Advisory Board, under Mr. J. Duke Smith, began, in December, 1917, to assist registered men in filling out their questionnaires; and for many weeks members of that board met two or three times a week in the Town House, attend- ing to duties which were not spectacular but which were eminently useful. Early in 1918 the sale of War Savings and Thrift Stamps was started by a committee of which Mr. Frederick G. Moore was the Chairman. This Committee, in a per- sistent and effective way, was busy during the remainder of the war period, at the termination of which it announced that over $130,000 in War Savings and Thrift Stamps had been purchased in the town. Andover's record in this campaign was so good as to bring it special recognition.
With the arrival of spring, the nation girded itself for a renewed and final effort. On April 6, exactly a year after the Declaration of War, the municipal service flag raised to commemorate the occasion bore 350 stars. At the accom- panying ceremonies Mr. Cole delivered a stirring appeal to the town, calling upon it, in the name of the Committee of Public Safety, to be ready to meet the crisis. He was justified in doing so. Stories, vivid and disillusioning, were being spread broadcast about the horror, the malignity, and the relentlessness of this war. The Yankee Division, in which so many Andover boys were serving, was ready for the advance, and, within a few weeks, the news of Cantigny and Château- Thierry was to show that these peace-loving and mild-mannered youngsters had borne themselves like seasoned regulars. Lists of casualties were soon to be given out in the newspapers. Mothers and wives and sweethearts passed day after day in anxious suspense.
The appearance of the first gold service stars had brought a sense of solem- nity to the community, which, in turn, had its effect on war activities. The Third
JAMES CAVAN Sergeant, British Army Killed in action, April 19, 1917
[ 28
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THE SPIRIT OF THE TOWN
Liberty Loan Campaign, arranged for April, 1918, was managed by Andover and North Andover individually, our quota being $434,000. Under the direction of Mr. Flagg, the town produced a total of 2192 separate subscriptions, this being a larger number than in either of the two preceding "drives"; and the sum turned in was approximately $600,000. The second Red Cross campaign, which took place in May, was likewise remarkably successful. It opened on May 20 with a parade in which more than three thousand people participated. It closed with a mass meeting on the evening of May 26, at which Mr. Alfred L. Ripley, President of the Andover Branch, presided, with Sergeant Edward B. Creed, of the 101st In- fantry, as the chief speaker. The Reverend Frank R. Shipman, who managed the campaign, reported at its close that Andover had raised nearly $22,000, its quota being only $8500. Next in order was an intensive "drive " for the sale of War Sav- ings Stamps, which was pushed through during the last week in June. On Sunday, June 23, at a gathering in the Town Hall, the famous "Shell-proof Mack" told of his startling adventures, and in the week which followed Mrs. Charles S. Bu- chan, as Chairman of a Women's Committee, canvassed the town, with most sat- isfactory results. Throughout these campaigns of the Red Cross and the War Savings Stamps Committee a group of "Four Minute Men" gave brief daily talks at the Colonial Theatre. Among those who volunteered in this work were Principal Stearns, Professor Forbes, Mr. Joseph L. Burns, Mr. William C. Crowley, Mr. Nathan C. Hamblin, Major Davy (of the Canadian forces), and others.
A mass meeting of exceptional interest, even in that period of almost daily public addresses, was one held on the evening of Sunday, June 30, with the object of getting recruits for Red Cross nursing in France. At this time the townspeople had an opportunity of hearing Mrs. Marlborough Churchill, whose relief enter- prises in Paris, before America entered the war, had won her such well-deserved commendation. A second speaker was Miss Elizabeth Ross, Director of the New England Division of Nursing. Professor Forbes was the presiding officer.
And so spring drifted into summer, - the last summer of the war. On Ando- ver Hill, ordinarily so peaceful in the vacation period, the Trustees of Phillips Academy had instituted a military camp, opened primarily to train the younger men in preparation for possible army duties. Under Major Robert N. Davy and Captain Peirson S. Page the boys, clad in khaki, studied tactics and mastered the rudiments of discipline. The main campus was spotted with "pup tents," and guards stood sentry at the gates, always before open to every visitor. The notes of stirring Reveille sounded across the valley at day-break, and at evening the echoes of the more solemn Retreat brought "the eternal note of sadness in."
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