USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. I > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
At this time the bell of the Central Baptist Church was also used as a fire warning, the sexton getting his notice by the ringing of the Swarts bell.
When the Swarts family removed from the homestead the city transferred the bell to the Sevens Fire Station on Richmond Street, between Clifford and Ship Streets. When public alarms were discontinued the bell was stored in the City Yard until July 12th, 1911, when it was sold to the City of Cranston and installed in the tower of the Eden Park School House.
This famous bell, popularly credited with being the first Providence fire bell, was cast by G. H. Holbrook of Medway, Mass., in 1838. It stands 2 ft. 2 in. high and measures 2 ft. 81/2 in. at the bottom lip. It is remark- able for its pure silvery tone, and because of the high pitch its sound carries far. While at the old Sevens Fire House it could readily be recognized and pealed out clearly above the 40,000 pound bell at the Three Ones House and also the one in front of the Union Station, in spite of the fact that the Swarts bell weighs only 870 pounds.
The clear, soft, silvery tone of this bell undoubtedly accounts for the general ac- ceptance of an interesting legend which at- tached itself to the bell following the burn- ing of the old Pine Street Baptist Church. Rumor had it that the fall from the belfry cracked the bell so badly that it had to be recast and that Mr. Swarts, with character- istic public spirit, had one hundred silver dollars added to the original metal in the recasting. This perfectly plausible story is branded as pure fiction by the fact that the bell was not cracked and did not have to be recast.
Thus having passed through two genera- tions of useful service to the community and to humanity, and having witnessed the gradual change from the old time volunteer
117
"THE OLD STONE BANK"
fire department with its crude water tubs, to the highly organized motor equipped de- partments of today, this fine old bell, which came safely through its own fiery baptism, continues its faithful service to a third gen- eration.
In passing, it is interesting to record that the companion bell, which passed into ob- scurity with the demolition of the old Cen- tral Baptist Church, was one of the first to be connected with the automatic alarm system upon its adoption by the city.
RHODE ISLAND IN THE WORLD WAR
T THE World War is now history. Armis- tice Day, which we celebrate every year, brings to mind war days and home- comings that have been painted upon that immortal cyclorama which depicts Rhode Island's ready response to the call of duty whenever summoned to defend the right and fight for a just cause. Tracing their origin back to the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, which was chartered in 1801, and is the oldest millitary organization in the United States, Batteries A, B, C, and Headquarters Company of the 103rd Field Artillery, 26th Division, A. E. F., per- formed meritorious service "over there," from the date of landing on English soil October 24, 1917, until the sudden hush of rumbling guns on November 11th, when about eight hundred stomachs started pin- ing for seasickness.
For an interesting reminder of Rhode Island's glorious contribution on the battle- fields of France, let us open the pages of "The Histories of the Rhode Island Bat- teries in France", wherein is related the complete history of these gallant military organizations. About the middle of October, 1918, the Rhode Island Batteries were spending a few days in barracks in the Bois de Sartell, near Verdun.
"Just east of the River Meuse, between the villages of Samogneux and Haumont-
pres-Samogneux, is the Ravin Boussieres. From the heights at the head of this tiny, steep-sided valley, one can look over the broad Meuse Valley to Le Morthomme, Dead Man's Hill, on whose sides so many Frenchmen gave their lives to stem the German advance in the spring of 1916; Le Morthomme, which finally was battered to pieces under a withering fire of German artillery.
"The whole terrain about the Ravin Boussieres showed the effect of the great battle of Verdun. The village of Samogn- eux was a village only by name, being little more than a waste of shellholes and beaten mounds of stones. The hills, which were once thickly forested, were stripped until they appeared as old, abandoned pasture land."
When the great allied drive in the Ar- gonne, named by Marshal Foch "The Bat- tle of Liberation", was begun on September 26th, the Ravin Boussieres was in German hands. From this point the German artil- lery shelled the advancing lines of Amer- icans. The slopes of the valley toward the French lines were honeycombed with dug- outs, and at the foot of the valley was an ammunition and supply dump which was annihilated by American artillery fire.
During the first days of the drive the 29th American Division took the valley by
118
PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS
flank attacks, and succeeded in pushing the line ahead for more than a kilometer. They then used the valley as a machine-gun re- serve position, and the French pulled in a battery of 155 mm. howitzers, to be fol- lowed later by a battery of 155 mm. rifles. Two days before the first battalion of the 103rd took their position, the valley was subjected to a heavy shelling by the Ger- mans. During the shelling, aeroplanes flew low and finished the day's work by sub- jecting the men to a severe machine-gun at- tack from the air. The American losses were heavy, and after that day the Ravin Boussieres became to all Americans "Death Valley".
On the 17th of October, the Headquar- ters 2nd Battalion of the 103rd Field Ar- tillery and the first platoon of Battery C relieved the first platoon of the French Howitzer Battery, which occupied the upper end of the valley. That night the second platoon followed, and the next morning the French turned the position entirely over to the Americans. Where there had been only one battery of French guns, there was now more than a battalion of the 103rd. The French Rifles remained in the lower part of the ravine.
The position at Death Valley was prob- ably the most difficult of any ever held by the Rhode Island Batteries. The men, worn out, much in need of the rest and furloughs which a beneficent High Command had often promised but never given, were thrust into a position well known to the Germans, and which by its strength drew a constant harrassing fire from the enemy artillery. Added to this was a difficult firing schedule, poor living conditions, and in- sufficient food supplies.
There was not a day that did not bring its heavy shelling. The nights were long hours made miserable by shells and gas. The mists which gathered around the valley at dusk were filled with all the gases which lurked after the night's shelling. Gas masks had to be always at hand; they were worn a large part of the night, and the least care- lessness in this respect meant a casualty.
The dugouts, built originally by the Ger- mans, were not well-protected, and faced the lines. They were damp, infested with vermin, and so far from the guns that in some cases it was possible to reach them
only after a long walk up the steep hillside. In front of the guns, shelters were built, but they were small and almost impossible as living quarters. But in spite of these difficulties, the men, with the aid of a little salvaged firewood, made their temporary quarters as cheerful as possible. Although the shelling was heavy, there were few casualties. Every gun was scarred in many places by shell fragments, while several "duds" fell where an effective shell would have meant death to many men. The dug- outs were hit directly several times, and on two occasions the powder which was piled behind the Battalion position was destroyed.
On the night of October 31st, while the Batteries were firing their last heavy bar- rage from these positions, the Germans began shelling Death Valley with both high explosives and gas. The men were kept at their guns for several hours, while a con- stant stream of high explosives and gas was placed, and remained there during the days that followed.
While the Batteries were in these posi- tions, the Infantry, worn out and discour- aged, was fighting brilliantly in the Bois Belleau and the Bas d'Haumont. These woods were masses of tangled under- growth, infested by machine-gunners and snipers, and held by the Germans with the grim determination which characterized the efforts of their best troops in the last discouraging days of the War. To lose the heights which they held meant for the Germans disastrous retreat to the level basin below. And this retreat could easily become a rout which would leave before the Allies an open road to Luxemburg. The best troops the Germans had were opposed to the Americans at this point, and as the line was being pushed back farther to the north, their efforts to hold out were char- acterized by a stubborn and most desperate resistance.
In ten days the Rhode Island Batteries were called in to aid in five attacks. The 75's were constantly spitting their rain of fire against the lines, while the Americans and Germans met in the woods in the heav- iest of fighting. An advance of a few hun- dred yards was considered a brilliant ac- complishment. Time after time the Infantry would gain a few yards, only to be pushed back later because, weakened by heavy
119
"THE OLD STONE BANK"
casualties, they were unable to hold their advantage. But every day found at least a slight gain credited to the doughboys.
This fighting lasted from October 23rd, when the Infantry of the 26th Division, with the 29th Division at its left, went over the top for the first time, until November 1st, when the Infantry, having gained their ob- jective, were relieved and took up a sector farther to the right.
During this time the Rhode Island Bat- teries took part in several barrages, the last one coming on the morning of Novem- ber Ist, when the Germans put up a heavy counter-shelling of high explosives and gas.
At this time there was much bombarding of the areas in the rear. One village, Dam- villers, was so heavily shelled that the Germans were forced to build a new road around it for bringing up troops and sup- plies. Every night found at least one piece of each Battery engaged in firing, which was almost as harrassing for the men who fired as it must have been for the Germans.
There was little regret felt when, on the morning of November 2nd, Batteries A and B evacuated their positions in Death Val- ley for one a kilometer east of Bras, where a French battery was relieved. This posi- tion was well equipped with dugouts. Em- placements were already built, and reports said that there was little shelling.
The new position was near the main road to Douaumont and Vaux, the two most famous forts of all that famous ring about Verdun. The story of the gallant resist- ance offered by the French in these two forts
in 1917 is one of the most heroic of any that came from the grimmest battles of the great war. Stormed again and again by the seem- ingly inexhaustible forces of the Germans, these forts held out until, all communica- tion being cut off, every man fell fighting to the last.
On this historic ground, almost under the guns of the Fortress de Charny, which never fell before the Germans, in a terrain pitted thickly with old shell-holes, Bat- teries A and B went into position. Head- quarters 2nd Battalion, with Batteries C and D, evacuating their positions in Death Valley, went into a position in a small ravine directly west of Beaumont.
Although the French had been shelled very little here, the Americans at once re- ceived everything in the German reper- toire, from 75's and the lightning-like 88's, to 350's, which screamed and rumbled in the air for an almost interminable length of time before they fell. In these positions several pieces were put out of action by shells which made direct hits. However, the casualties suffered here were light.
The Batteries for the most part kept up a harrassing fire, although on the morning of November 11th a barrage was fired to support a divisional attack which was never completed owing to the cessation of hos- tilities.
It was from above mentioned positions that the last shots were fired on November 11th, and after running up the American flag, the Batteries definitely finished their career as fighting units in the Great War.
مسيـ
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.