Died of Wounds in France: Raymond Lord Boone (1895-1918)

I was contacted by a gentleman who had inherited World War I dog tags which belonged to Raymond Lord Boone of New York State. He wanted my help in finding a descendant so that he could return the dog tags to a family member. Since a close relative was not found, the dog tags may be donated to the New York State Military Museum.

Raymond Lord Boone was born on 9 April 1895 to Edward and Edith (Earles) Boone. Records conflict about his place of birth. Federal census records indicate Raymond was born in New York. His military records created after his death, list New Port Richey, Florida, as his place of birth. However, his draft registration card, which was completed by a Schenectady County draft board official while meeting with Raymond, lists his place of birth as Preston Hollow, New York. I tend to think New York was his place of birth as his parents lived in Florida in the 1930s before returning to New York, according to his mother's obituary.

From at least 1900 to 1915, Raymond lived in Duanesburg, New York, with his parents and older brother Weller Earl. His father was a blacksmith.

Rt. 7 and Rt. 20 crossroads in downtown Duanesburg; courtesy of eBay 

On 27 June 1917 Raymond traveled to Schenectady to enlist in the New York National Guard. At the time he enlisted, he lived in the village of Delanson in Schenectady County, which is situated west-southwest of Duanesburg. He was assigned to the Machine Gun (MG) Company of 2nd Infantry. On 1 October 1917 the 2nd New York Infantry became the 105th New York Infantry. The regiment was strengthened by men from the 71st Regiment. It was paired with the 106th Regiment and attached to the 53rd Brigade of the 27th Division. They traveled to Camp Wadsworth near Spartanburg, South Carolina, for extensive training.

The 105th Infantry embarked for Europe from Newport News, Virginia, on 17 May 1918; and sailed aboard the Army Transport Steamer, President Grant. The last elements of the division arrived in France by late June.

Army Transport Steamer President Grant; courtesy of the Naval History and
Heritage Command

According to the New York State Museum website the, "27th division was slowly rotated into the front line in relief of the British 6th Division" on 25 July 1918. "German offensives during late March and April had driven deep salients into the allied lines near Amiens and Hazebrouck. On 31 August 1918, operations of the Ypres-Lys Offensive began in an attempt to remove the Germans from the Dickebusch/Scherpenberg area, and thus reduce the Amiens salient. This would free the Amiens-Paris railroad and safeguard allied communications. The responsibility for the assault on the 31st fell to the 53rd Brigade with the 105th regiment attacking on the left, abreast of the 106th Regiment. Over the next couple of days the 105th Regiment advanced against moderate German resistance until the entire 27th Division was relieved by the British 41st Division.

The 27th Division was transferred to the British 3rd Army on 4 September and was stationed near Doullens in a reserve position. By mid-September, the German salients had been reduced and the allied armies were finally in a position to launch their own offensive. The Somme offensive was organized and launched from 24 September to 21 October 1918 with the express purpose of piercing the Hindenburg line, a complex system of German defenses with an average depth of six to eight kilometers. On September 27th, elements of the 105th moved forward in support of an attack by the 106th Regiment. Modest gains were made, initially near Quennemont Ferme, Guillemont Ferme, and a fortified hill creatively labeled 'The Knoll,' but German counterattacks threw the two regiments back to their starting place. On 29 September, the 105th, which had been sent to the rear as a reserve advanced on The Knoll, but was checked by savage amounts of machine gun fire that rained down from the elevated German positions. On 1 October, the whole of the 27th Division was moved again, they time to Premont, where it would serve with the American 2nd Corps.

27th Infantry Division war dead on 29 Sep 1918 near Gillemont Farm; courtesy
of the Australian War Memorial

On October 17th the 105th helped spearhead an assault against the German defenses, and rapidly took a portion of the line at L'Arbe de Guise, holding it against vigorous counterattacks. The following day, the 105th attacked again, advancing to one of the main north-south German lines, which ran through Jonc de Mer Ferme before being halted by strong resistance. On 19 October the 105th advanced from their forward positions in the face of slight opposition, and easily took the main German works. The Germans, placed in an untenable position by the 105th the previous day, had been forced to withdraw. The 105th Regiment held the line until 21 October when the entire division was relieved." This series of engagements became known as the Battle of the Selle.

Raymond Lord Boone died from wounds received in action during the battle on 20 October 1918. His body was interred at the Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension in Nord, France. Busigny had been liberated by the allies in early October and over the next two months the 12th, 37th and 48th Casualty Clearing Stations operated in town. The cemetery extension was begun October until February 1919. After the armistice, the cemetery extension was enlarged when Plots II-VII were used for graves of soldiers killed in a wide area between Cambrai and Guise. Boone was interred in Grave No. 6, Plot 2, No. 623. His remains were eventually moved to Arlington National Cemetery.

Private Raymond Lord Boone's headstone at
Arlington National Cemetery; courtesy of Find A
Grave volunteer Doc Wilson

A memorial plaque mounted on a stone honoring the ultimate sacrifice made by Raymond L. Boone and four other men was erected in the Mariaville, New York, Cemetery where Raymond's brother, Weller Earl, and his wife, Janet S. (Gahagan) Boone, were interred. Mariaville is a hamlet in Schenetady County and was named after a small, nearby lake.

Memorial stone honoring Raymond Lord Boone at the
Mariaville Cemetery; courtesy of Find A Grave volunteer
Thomas Dunne

In Honor of
1st Class Private
Raymond L. Boone
Machine Gun Co., 105th Infantry
27th Division, U.S.A.

Killed at the
Battle of Laselle River
St. Souplet, France
October 20th 1918, Aged 23 Years

Erected by the Citizens of
Mariaville
In Grateful Recognition
Of His Services
To His Country and to Humanity

Honor Roll

Robert L. Gullings
Stephen Brown
Orson J. Smith
Frank Jeffers

A British Memorial Plaque from the Great War Finds a Home

Today is Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom, and I would like to remember the ultimate sacrifice young Joseph Barr made on 11 December 1917 when he died in Palestine during the Great War (now known as World War I.) He was born on 4 January 1897 in Blantyre, Scotland, and was inducted into the British Army on 11 May 1915. Two weeks later, he was shipped to Gallipoli. Joseph served as a private with the 1/8 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), which was part of 156th Brigade, 52nd (Lowland) Division. They were moved to Eygpt in 1916. The division fought in the battle of Romani and three battles for Gaza before taking Jerusalem. Gen. Edmund Allenby walked into the walled city on 11 December 1917 and reviewed the troops amid much fanfare on the day Joseph Barr died. Joseph Barr was 20 years old and had never married.

In 1919 the British government devised a Next of Kin Memorial Plaque, a bronze medallion approximately 4-1/2 inches in diameter inscribed with the name of someone who died serving with the British and Imperial forces during the war. The plaques were mailed to the next of kin, along with a scroll containing the King's message and a facsimile of his signature. Joseph's sister, Mary Barr, was listed in his informal will as his sole heir and would have received a Next of Kin Memorial Plaque in remembrance of her brother.

Next of Kin Memorial Plaque for Joseph Barr; photograph courtesy of
Bill McLauchlan,

Fast forward to February of this year. I received a Facebook message from the son-in-law of a gentleman named Joe Barr, who asked that I contact his father-in-law. Joe Barr lives in Inverness, Scotland, and is the grandson of a man also named Joseph Barr, who was killed in in 1914 during the Great War. He has his grandfather's Next of Kin Memorial Plaque. But a woman sent him another memorial plaque for a Joseph Barr. Her daughter had won it in primary school as a prize in a competition after lessons about World War I. She sent the plaque to Joe after her daughter's death. After researching all the men named Joseph Barr, Joe concluded this new medallion must be for the Joseph Barr who died in 1917.

Joseph found a blog post I wrote about that Joseph Barr, He Died A Long Way from Home, and wanted to send me the plaque. I was touched, but felt I was not the right person to have the medallion as I was only related to Joseph through a marriage. (He was the stepson of the mother-in-law of a second cousin twice removed.) I promised to search for a closer relative to whom he could give the memorial plaque.

Email from Joe Barr; personal collection

I discovered Joseph Barr was listed in three other public family trees besides my own and the nearest relative was the great grandson of Agnes Laird (Muir) McLauchlan (1876-1935). She was the younger sister of Joseph Barr's mother, Isabella (Muir) Barr (1871-1905). I contacted the owner of the tree and asked him if he would be interested in Next of Kin Memorial Plaque of his 1st cousin twice removed. He responded quickly and said he would be honored.

On 27 February 2018, Bill McLauchlan received the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque for his ancestor Joseph Barr, from Mr. Barr of Inverness, and that's how I was able to play a small part in reuniting medallion to its rightful family. On the day Bill received the medallion, he sent me this message:

Message from Bill McLauchlan; personal collection

In an interesting coincidence, Bill's father also served with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) during World War II. If by chance you ever find yourself in High Blantyre, Scotland, Joseph Barr's name is on the War Memorial. He was interred in the Kantara War Memorial Cemetery in Eygpt.

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He Died a Long Way from Home

Video about the 314th Engineers During World War I

In 2015 I wrote a post about the World War I experiences of my first cousin twice removed, Alexander Hutchison entitled "An American's Experience During World War I." Alex served with the 314th Engineers, which were attached to the 89th Division. His parents, Alexander Hutchison and Janet "Jessie" Semple, had immigrated from Scotland; married in Streator, Illinois; returned to Scotland when Alex was three years old; and came back to the U.S. nine years later, settling in Novinger, Missouri.

Alex Hutchison was inducted into the U.S. Army on 2 April 1918, trained at Camp Funston in Kansas, was sent overseas on 12 June 1918, and was honorably discharged on 26 May 1919. During the war his division participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives.

Recently, I was contacted by Susan Barrett Price. Her grandfather, Walter Price, also served with the 314th Engineers. Susan produced a video of his World War I experience and graciously allowed me to share it on my blog.

Thank you, Susan!

The book Susan mentioned in her video, American Armies and Battlefields in Europe may be downloaded from the Center of Military History (CMH). Other helpful CMH publications about World War I may be found here.

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An American's Experience During World War I

The "Black Death": Story of True Hero

While researching the life and military service of Henry Johnson, I came across an interesting article in the Hutchinson News, on page 3 of the 14 August 1918 edition. Though race relations in our country are far from perfect, we’ve come a long way from 1918 when this article was acceptable.

A reporter was writing to his aunt and uncle and related a story about Henry Johnson as he heard it in the field headquarters of the Army press section. He wrote most it as a play:

Page 3 of the Hutchinson News, 14 Aug 1918

STORY OF A TRUE HERO

Corporal Rush Norwood Sends Story of Henry Johnson

A COLORED DOUGHBOY

Who, With Pardner, Accounted for 24 Germans in Hand to Hand Fight

Corporal J. Rush Norwood, who enlisted from his hometown of Slyvia, is now with the Press Section of the American Expeditionary Forces and in a letter to his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Waddlee, he encloses the story written telling of the experiences of two dusky heroes on the firing line. The story written as it was related in the office and the army field clerk and Norwood got it together to send home. Norwood's company is now over in France. He recently saw his brother, Alan, who is in the hospital corps and Alan was wearing his gold stripe denoting six months of foreign service.

A Colored Doughboy's Feat

I am going to attempt to give you the benefit of one of my recent experiences provided me here at the Field headquarters by Henry Johnson, a colored doughboy, who with Robert Robinson, also colored, both of New York, received both French and American war crosses for their heroic action in the Argonne Region some few weeks ago. They were outpost sentries and were attacked by a large German patrol. The two U. S. fighters held out against the superior number of the enemy hurling grenades, firing guns until ammunition all gone, and used bayonets, automatic pistols and finally bowie (trench knife). Robinson fell wounded and Germans attempted to carry him off as prisoner but Johnson went to his pal's rescue and freed him from captors. Both were rather severely wounded in action which netted them about 18 Hun casualties.

Now the hero of that incident, Corporal Henry Johnson, himself who is convalescing at a nearby Base Hospital, rather unexpectedly dropped in at the Field Headquarters of the Press Section here and very willingly gave a vivid and awesome story of the event. I am to try to offer it to you as I heard it. Quite contrary to the well known newspaper phrase "told his story blushing and stammering as a school girl" Johnson gave a rapid and vivid story inserting all the gestures of the fray.

WESTERN THEATER CIRCUIT
FIELD HEADQUARTERS
PRESS SECTION, A. E. F.

NOW PLAYING
Corporal Henry Johnson, Albany, N. Y.

"Count Those Dudes Out There"
A one-act, hair-raising, realistic, side-splitting melodrama
(No intermission)

LEADING MAN--Corp. Henry Johnson (costume courteously provided by U. S.)

SCENE--An American outpost in France once sought by the "Huns"

TIME--Present but mostly future (such plays to be extensively developed by future A. E. F. performers)

AUDIENCE--Press Officers and Clerical Personnel, including Yours truly

Prologue

Corp. Johnson in his khaki uniform, amply ornamented with the highest French and American honors, carrying cane and limping somewhat "but with a sunny Southern smile" as a contrast to his convalescence, strolls into Press Headquarters and now the setting is complete.

"Yessah, ma name's Johnson. Dis is Johnson, what's left of 'im.

"Yah must a read all about Johnson and Robinson, shure ya'll did it was in all the papers.

"Dere's a silver plate right dere (pointing to his left foot) yessir right dere they pushed a bayonet thru ma laig and shot me in de right arm. Day want to send me home, but Ah ain't goin home. Ah gonna stay here till ma company goes home. I'm a good man as any of em. Dose Germans can't fight.

How It All Happened

"Twas a cloudy an rainy night and me and ma pardner was at this here outpost. Bout two in da mornin we see a bunch a Germans comin at us. Ah figured maself as good a man as any of em an I says to ma pardner we're goin to stick right here. He says 'I'm with yah to da end.' So stead of treating to our lines we cut loose grenades and fired way all our ammunition. Roberts was wounded in da laig at de start and fell to de ground still throing de grenades at de Huns. Two of em tried to carry way ma pardner on a stretcher. Ah took ma rifle, a French gun just like dis, and hit a Dude right on de haid and broke the rifle right here.

"Ah went after de Dudes carryin way my pardner. Ah reached reached for ma bowie (trench knife) and hit one feller right in de haid. I pulled it out and bout faced all round and give it to nudder in the guts. I pulled it out an had mo guts and brains in ma hands dan you ever saw.

(NOTE--At this point one of the audience withdrew.)

"Den de lootenant comes runnin in an says 'Johnson's what's happend?'

"I says it's all over, lootenant.

"Ah had 16 automatics and mo stuff piled in front of ma.

"I says 'Go dere an count dose Dudes.'

"The lootenant takes his pocket light and looks over the ground and comes back.

Accounted for 24 Germans

"For heaven's sake, Johnson, there's 24 of em!"

"Yessah and if dey hadn't a got ma pardner here, dey would a been a lot mo.

"The lootenant says 'Johnson are you hurt?'

"Ah says, 'No sah.'

"Yes, you is," he says, 'look, youse all bloody.'

"O," I says, 'dats from de dudes.'

"Yessah, I figured maself as good a man as any of dem and if dey hadn't got ma pardner we'd a cleaned up."

At this point one of the listeners inquired:

"Johnson, where are you from?"

"I'm from Albany, sah."

"I'm from Albany, too," was the reply.

"You ought a know me. I'm Henry Johnson, the boy who used to drive a horse for Hartman's on __________ Street."

This ended the dramatic offering and Mr. Johnson was warmly congratulated by his attentive audience.

Daily as Corporal Johnson strolls the streets of the village on his convalescent limp he is stopped by both French and Americans who congratulate him and inquire as to his heroic deed. He is becoming a popular character about the place and many await the appearance of his partner, Robinson, to see the pair which scored such an extraordinary win against heavy German odds.

Henry Johnson, Known as "Black Death"

"Henry Johnson suffered 21 wounds and rescued a soldier while repelling an enemy raid in the Argonne Forest in 1918, but died 11 years later a forgotten man."[1] As I learned more about Henry Johnson I realized he had not been forgotten when he died though his life and World War I feats were forgotten later. Yet much about his life remains shrouded in mystery. On the 100th anniversary of the night in which he received his grievous wounds, I'd like to relate what I've learned about a true American hero.

After the war he returned home to Albany and his job but his wartime injuries were too much for him. He turned to the bottle and, destitute, he died in 1929. It was assumed by the man who thought he was Henry's estranged son[2] that his father died unmourned by his country.

Early Life

Henry Johnson was born in 1892 during the Jim Crow era in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Isaac Johnson and Maggie Carter. He married Mattie Campbell in 1915 and soon after moved to Albany, New York, where he held a variety of jobs, including a porter at the train station.

World War I

On 5 Jun 1917 Henry registered for the draft and was inducted into one of four regiments in which black men were allowed to serve, the 15th New York National Guard. The unit was federalized, becoming the 369th Infantry Regiment during the war, and was attached to the mostly black 93rd Division. War planners "deemed racial segregation, just as in civilian life, the most logical way of managing the presence of African Americans in the Army."[3] After a brief training period in the southern U.S. where the unit experienced the unremitting racism in which Henry grew up, they boarded troop ships for Europe on 14 December 1917.

Sgt. Henry Johnson; courtesy of the U.S. Army

General Pershing was the commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Forces and assigned the 369th to duties involving mostly menial labor such as digging latrines, warehouse stock men, and on the docks. Pershing dearly wanted to keep the American forces together as a fighting unit instead of sending them piecemeal into battle under command of French and British officers. Yet he worried the war might be lost before his army was ready to fight. So he assigned the 369th Infantry to the French. It solved some problems for him, including that of American white soldiers not wanting to fight along side African Americans.

The 369th received minimal additional training under French command as well as enough French words and phrases to understand orders, were given French guns and munitions and sent to the front lines at the western edge of the Argonne Forest. Henry and Needham Roberts were assigned sentry duty on the night of 14 May. Henry later told a reporter he thought it was "crazy" to risk the rest of the troops by sending out untrained men. He and Roberts had not been on duty long when the German started sniping at their position.

The two soldiers lined up grenades to have at the ready if a German raiding party attempted to overtake their position. And soon they did. Roberts was wounded early in the fight and handed the grenades to Johnson. Germans were coming from everywhere and soon the grenades were gone. Johnson was wounded in the head and face but began firing his rifle until it jammed. Then his used the gun like a baseball bat until it splintered. He went down after taking a blow to the head. When he saw the Germans trying to take Roberts prisoner, Johnson took out his bolo knife and began hacking away at the enemy. He managed to save Roberts and, after several more wounds, succeeded getting them both out of the way before passing out. He came to in a field hospital. When the sun rose his fellow soldiers surveyed the carnage. Johnson had killed four Germans, wounded another 10 to 20, and suffered 21 injuries in hand-to-hand combat, including a smashed foot.

Johnson later said, "There wasn't anything so fine about it. Just fought for my life. A rabbit would have done the same." But the French thought differently. Both Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts received the Croix de Guerre, France's highest military honor for valor and bravery. Henry's medal included a Palm, which meant he had been mentioned in regimental or brigade level despatches. The Germans called the 369th the "Hellfighters" and they began calling themselves the Harlem Hellfighters. Henry's nickname became "Black Death."

His official Croix de Guerre with Palm citation:

"Private Henry Johnson, finding himself on night sentry duty, and being attacked by more than a dozen Germans, put one hors de combat with rifle shots and two others with knife cuts. Altho wounded thrice by revolver bullets and grenades at the start of the fight, he went to the help of his wounded comrade, as the latter was about to be carried off by the enemy, and continued to struggle until the Germans were forced to flee."[4]

A group of the Harlem Hellfighters with their Croix de Guerre; courtesy of
Library of Congress

Ticker-tape Parade

Two days after the 369th returned to the U.S., New York City greeted their return with a ticker-tape parade. The New York Tribune described Johnson's role in the parade in a front-page story on 18 February:

"Perhaps the spectacle of all most calculated to draw attention was the sight of Sergeant Henry Johnson, he whose rifle butt and bolo knife slew four foe and incapacitated thirty-two others who had the hardihood to raid his post one midnight. Sergeant Johnson has a silver plate in his foot as a relic of that memorable occasion, so he could not march. Instead he occupied the tonneau of a large automobile.

He stood up in the car and clutched a great bouquet of lilies an admirer had handed him. Waving this offering in one hand and his overseas hat in the other, the ebony hero's way up Fifth Avenue was a veritable triumph. By the mansions of the city's wealthy he rode. And from their windows as well as from the concourse of folk upon the sidewalks fluttering handkerchiefs and shouted plaudits heralded the passage of this black man."

Henry Johnson during the ticker tape parade in New York City; courtesy of
the Smithsonian

Thought to have Died Forgotten

When Henry was discharged, his Army records included no reference to his the injuries received in the Argonne Forest. As a result, he was not awarded a Purple Heart nor was he entitled to any disability compensation. As an uneducated black man, who signed his draft registration card by making his mark, he did not know he could petition the Army to correct his service records. It was thought he buried in a pauper's field, likely in Albany.

His obituary appeared on the 13 July 1929 edition of the The New Age, on page 1:

Henry Johnson, First Hero of 369th Dies in Washington

Washington, DC--William Henry Johnson, who with Needham Roberts, thrilled the world in the summer of 1918 by single-handedly repulsing an attack of the Germans and capturing or killing some 15 German soldiers, died here Tuesday 2 July almost in poverty.

Johnson served overseas with the 369th Infantry, formerly the Old Fifteen Regiment of New York which was brigaded with French troops at the front.

Late one night word came the Germans were preparing to attack the Negro regiment. Immediately they organized for defense and in order to warn the troops of their danger, sentinels were placed along the front lines. Privates Johnson and Needham Roberts were sent to do sentinel duty at a small outpost on the front line.

Cut off from comrades

The attack came in the middle of the night at the point where Johnson and Roberts were stationed, and they soon found themselves cut off from regimental headquarters with only a few hand grenades and their pistols.

When the Germans discovered them, they opened fire and Johnson was wounded three times and Roberts twice but both refused to surrender. The Germans crept closer and closer and when they discovered the brave Americans had exhausted their ammunition, rushed in to seize them. They were about to drag Roberts away when Johnson attacked them, smashing right and left with the handle of his revolver and slashing effectively with his bolo knife, which had the weight of a cleaver and the blade of a razor.

Stunned by the sheer bravery of their lone attacker, the Germans turned and fled but not before several had been killed or wounded.

Both men decorated

For this feat both Johnson and Roberts were awarded the Croix de Guerre, being the first members of this regiment to be so decorated. After being in French hospitals for some time, they came home on sick leave and were given a hero's welcome by the citizens of New York.

Johnson was a native of Albany, N.Y., and citizens there as well as citizens of New York City planned to aid him to start off on some successful peace-time pursuit, but he wandered from city to city and never really settled down. His last appearance in New York was in 1919 when Alderman Moore brought him back to New York to aid the Victory Loan drive. He told of his exploits in France in both Wall Street and Harlem.

He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery last Friday. His wife Minnie Johnson[5] survives him.

Headstone of Henry Johnson in Arlington
National Cemetery; courtesy of A. Horan

Posthumous Awards

My husband and I learned about Henry Johnson on one of our Sunday drives exploring our new home in upstate New York. As we were driving through Washington Park in Albany, we stopped to look at a monument:

Monument honoring Sgt. Henry Johnson, Washington Park,
Albany, New York; personal collection

The battle of Henry Johnson
Medal of Honor
Posthumously
June 2, 2015
First American awarded
Croix de Guerre
With
Gold palm
For
Valor

In memory of
Sergeant Henry Lincoln Johnson
Albany, New York
For uncommon valor in combat
Against an armed enemy, May 14th 1918
While serving with Company C
369th Infantry Regiment
Part of U.S. Expeditionary Forces
During World War I,
Assigned to the Fourth French Army
Awarded the Croix de Guerre by France
Dedicated
This 11th day of November 1991
at Albany, New York

President William Clinton
Directed the award of
The Purple Heart to Henry Johnson
on 27 June 1996
Seventy eight years following the action

***
The United States of America
To all who shall see these presents greetings
This is to certify that 
The President of the United States of America
Has awarded the Purple Heart
Established by General George Washington
At Newburgh, New York August 7, 1782
To 
Henry Johnson
Then Sergeant, United States Army
For wounds received 
In action
In World War I on 14 May 1918
Given under my hand in the city of Washington
This 25th Day of June 1996

***
369th U.S. Infantry
Formerly
15th Infantry New York Guard
Known by the enemy as
"The Hellfighters"
Regiment awarded
The following 
Battle streamers
Champagne
Champagne-Marne
Meuse-Argonne
Alsace
Croix de Guerre
with
Silver Star
25 July 1917 -- 25 February 1919

First allied regiment
To Reach the Rhine
Never lost a man captured
A trench or a foot of ground
191 days in combat
Longest of any American unit
367 men killed in action
1,097 men wounded in action
171 French decorations for bravery

Though the government used his image for Victory Stamps and recruiting posts, it largely forgot about Henry Johnson. Seventy years later, the extraordinary nature of his service of began to be recognized. First, the City of Albany erected this monument to his memory. In 1996 President Bill Clinton awarded him the Purple Heart and in 2002 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

A few years later, research conducted by one of Senator Chuck Schumer's staffers uncovered a previously unknown document which contained first-hand accounts, including one from Needham Roberts, the man he saved, of Henry's fight against the German raiding party on the night of 14 May 1918. And, finally, in 2015 President Obama and the U.S. Congress awarded Johnson the Medal of Honor.[6] It seemed more than fitting and long overdue recognition of a soldier, Teddy Roosevelt called one of the "five bravest Americans" to serve in World War I.

That research also proved that Henry Johnson was not the estranged father of Herman Johnson, who had campaigned for years to have the man he thought was his father awarded the military honors to which he was rightfully due.

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Henry Johnson was born in 1892 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Isaac Johnson and Maggie Carter. Several different birth dates were listed on source documents so it is possible Henry did not know his exact date of birth. His name is also problematic. The memorial monument in Albany gives his name as Henry Lincoln Johnson. Many public trees provide the name William Henry Johnson. All the source documents indicated Henry Johnson. He married Mattie Campbell, daughter of James Campbell and Maria Watson, on 12 June 1915 in Winston-Salem. He either moved with this wife or alone to Albany, New York, and worked as a porter at the train station, as well as for a coal delivery company. It is not known if he had children. On 5 June 1917 he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army. He died in Washington, DC, on 2 July 1929 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He received several posthumous military awards, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was not married to Cornelia Phoenix; her three sons, Herman Archibald, Roland Madison, and George Howard Johnson, are believed to be the children of Roland A. Johnson, who she married in 1914 in Schenectady County, New York.

The official website of the U.S. Army featured Henry Johnson on 8 May 2018: New York National Guardsman Henry Johnson fought for his life with a knife on 15 May 1918.

[1] King, Gilbert. Remembering Henry Johnson, the soldier called "Black Death," Smithsonian.com, 25 Oct 2011 (accessed 4 Feb 2018)
[2] Herman Archibald Johnson went to his grave in 2004 thinking Henry Johnson was his father. A staffer in Sen. Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) office learned this was not the case while continuing to research the life and military record of Henry Johnson in an effort to have the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to him posthumously. Herman Archibald Johnson was the son of Roland A. Johnson and Cornelia Phoenix.
[3] Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Who Were the Harlem Hellfighters, PBS.org (accessed 4 Feb 2018)
[4] The Black Man Did Well, Waterloo Evening Courier, 22 Feb 1919, NewspaperArchive.com (accessed 5 Feb 2018)
[5] His wife's name was Mattie (Campbell) Johnson, not Minnie.
[6] Official Medal of Honor Citation

Joseph Leonard's Service in World War I: Just in Time for Meuse-Argonne

I "discovered" Joseph Leonard when I attended the dedication of Veterans Memorial Park in my new hometown of Cohoes, New York. In the park there was a memorial dedicated to Joseph and his service during the Philippine Insurrection for which he had been awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Sgt. Joseph Leonard memorial in Veterans Memorial Park,
Cohoes, New York; personal collection

I wondered why Joseph Leonard had enlisted in 1897 using the name Joseph Melvin and wanted more details about his service. During my research journey, I learned Joseph led a very eventful life with several tragedies along the way. I also learned that he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps a second time and served in World War I.

On 19 April 1918 Joseph Leonard, at the age of 41, walked into a Marine Corps recruiting station in Cleveland, Ohio, and re-enlisted as a Private. He was given 5 days furlough and stationed to the Marine Barracks in Brooklyn, New York. In New York he was assigned to the 12th Co. until he was transferred to the Marine Detachment aboard the USS North Dakota (BB-29), a battleship, on 13 June. The dreadnought was based at the Brooklyn Naval Ship Yard and the York River in Virginia. She was tasked with training gunners and engine room personnel. The Marine Detachments aboard naval ships were responsible for the brig, defense of the ship and attack operations against the enemy ashore. Private Leonard would have participated in gunner training.

USS North Dakota (BB-29); courtesy of Wikipedia

On 17 August 1918 Private Leonard was transferred to Co. A in the 1st Separate Machine Gun Battalion at Quantico, Virginia. Sometime prior to 1 October the battalion was transferred to France where it was designated 1st Training Machine Gun Battalion as part of 1st Training Regiment. The regiment was stationed west of Tours in Chatillon-sur-Cher and Billy. On 16 October Private Leonard was transferred to USMC 5th Regiment as a replacement soldier. The regiment was near, Chalons-sur-Marne, south of Reims, and fighting in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The 5th Regiment fought primarily as part of 4th (Marine) Brigade, 2nd (Army) Division.[1]

On 19 October the brigade of which 5th Regiment was a part was detached from 2nd Division and assigned to the French IX Corps to relieve its 73rd Division near Attigny, about 40 miles north of their position. About 5 miles from Attigny, the regiment received orders to return to 2nd Division. The plan was for the American Expeditionary Forces to force the Germans back across the Meuse river.

The remainder of Private Leonard's battle chronicle is told in A Brief History of 5th Marines, by the Historical Branch of the U.S. Marine Corps:

"From positions six miles southeast of Buzancy, the Marine brigade and 23rd Infantry (on the right) moved out in the attack early on 1 November. Throughout the day, resistance remained light, and each of the 5th's battalions had a hand in the successful advance. On 2 and 3 November, the 5th Regiment (minus the 2nd Battalion, attached to the 9th Infantry) was in support of 3rd Brigade. On 4 November, the 5th returned to the lines and sent out strong reconnaissance patrols to the Meuse. During the next four days, the regiment continued to move forward in the right of the division zone. Plans were made to cross the river on the night of 9-10 November, but were postponed because of the difficulty in obtaining bridge-building materials.

The 2nd Division had been ordered to cross the Meuse at two points, Mouzon on the left (north) and Letanne, five miles to the south. The 6th regiment, with the 3rd Battalion of the 5th attached, was to make the Mouzon crossing, while the remainder of the 5th Regiment, plus one battalion of the 89th Infantry Division was to accomplish the Letanne movement. At Mouzon, attempts to gain the opposite bank on 10 November failed when the enemy discovered the site and brought all available fire upon it. The thrust at Letanne, however, did not share the same fate.

Floating bridge at Letanne; courtesy U.S. Marine Corps Archives

Beginning at 2130 on 10 November, the 2nd Battalion started crossing the cold river. Despite heavy fire from German machine guns and artillery, treacherous footing on the board covered logs that served as floating bridges, and the uncertainty in the dark of night, the battalion crossed in one hour. Casualties and the scattering of units brought about by the difficulties in the crossing cut the battalion fighting strength to about 100 Marines by early morning. It reorganized, nevertheless, and moved out to the northwest, removing any enemy that remained. These efforts by the 2nd Battalion made the 1st Battalion's movement to the east bank less difficult. When both battalions were across, they joined forces in a sweep along the river towards Mouzon. At this time, word on the armistice reached the Marines.

Accounts of the reactions of Marines and Germans to the the news of the armistice differed. Some said that both sides celebrated, even together, while others stated that the friend and foe alike received the report joyfully, but in silence. Regardless of sentiments, the 5th still had much work ahead of it; realizing that the cessation of hostilities might be temporary only, the men began organizing the ground for defense. Then, on 14 November, after being relieved, the regiment moved south to Pouilly, on the Meuse opposite Letanne, to re-fit and re-equip for the last phase of its European operations.

The 2nd Division, of which the Marine Brigade [including 5th Regiment] was still a part, was one of six American divisions immediately ordered to move into Germany for occupation duty. The march to the Rhine began before sun-up on 17 November, and the 5th had the honor of providing the advance guard for the division. The first phase of the movement -- to the German border, approximately 60 miles away -- was made in six marching days and one rest day. The route to the border took the regiment southeast through Montmedy, France, across Belgium, and into Luxembourg to its eastern border with Germany. Here, the regiment participated in a defensive alignment of the division until crossing into Germany the first day of December...

...The 5th Regiment crossed the Rhine river at Remagen on 13 December and on the 16th moved to permanent winter quarters in the Wied River Valley just to the southeast [in Datzeroth]. Here the regiment began its mission of occupation. This duty involved not only a military preparedness to counter and defeat any riotous or warlike action of the German people, but also, a civil 'know-how' to supervise the local governments of the various towns in the regimental area.

8th Machine Gun Co., 5th Marine Regiment in Datzeroth, German; courtesy
of U.S. Militaria Forum

Training, of course, constituted the most important event in the day's activities. Schools, range firing, maneuvers, and reviews prevailed. To take advantage of duty-free time, Marines of the 5th took part in educational programs and availed themselves of the opportunities for leave in the larger French cities or for tours along the Rhine. Continuous emphasis was placed upon the physical readiness of the troops."

While stationed in Datzeroth, Germany, Private Leonard was promoted to Sergeant. On 24 March 1919 Sergeant Leonard was transferred by Special Order No. 79 to Marine Barracks, Washington, DC. From there he was transferred to Casual Co. 3912 in preparation of being discharged. He was discharged on 3 July and issued an honorable discharge button.

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[1] During World War I 2nd (Army) Division was twice commanded by Marine Corps generals, the only time in military history Marine Corps officers commanded an Army division.

Joseph Leonard was born in 1876 Cohoes, New York, to James and Mary (Melvin) Leonard. He served in the USMC from 1897 through 1902 during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines. After being discharged, he migrated to Fergus County, Montana, and married Grace Cunningham in 1911. They had two children before her death from complications related to pregnancy. He homesteaded 160 acres near Stanford in present day Judith Basin County. At the time the area was called Coyote, which had a post office from 1909-1914 (thank you, Dave Wallenburn!).

After World War I Joseph returned to Montana where he worked as a copper miner and lived in a boarding house in Butte. His children were raised by their maternal grandparents. Joseph died at the California Veterans Home-Yountville in 1946 and was interred at Veterans Memorial Grove in the same town.

A Brief History of the 5th Marines, Marine Corps Historical Reference Series No. 36. Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, (Washington, DC: U.S. Marine Corps, 1963), pages 10-12.

USS California (ACR-6)

The USS California (ACR-6) was the second ship so named in the U.S. Navy. It was an armored cruiser and the only one of the Pennsylvania cruiser class built. She was launched in 1904 by Union Iron Works of San Francisco.

She joined the 2nd Division, Pacific Fleet, and took part in a Naval review in San Francisco in May 1908. She cruised to Hawaii and Samoa in the autumn of 1909 and then operated mostly along the west coast of the United States, training and drilling her sailors.

She sailed to Hawaii in December 1911 and then in early 1912 sailed to the Asiatic Station where she joined other ships stationed in the Far East representing American power and prestige. She returned home from the Asiatic Station in August 1912 and was quickly sent to Corinto, Nicaragua, which was then in the throes of a political disturbance. Her primary objective was to protect American lives and property.

She then kept a watchful eye on Mexico, which was also suffering from political disturbances, by sailing in Pacific coastal waters. While there the USS California was involved in an international incident in which two of her crew were shot and killed.

She was renamed the USS San Diego sometime before 1915 and at one time was the flagship of the Pacific Fleet.

USS California (ACR-6) circa 1915 after she had been renamed USS San Diego;
photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

On 19 July 1918 she was sunk off Long Island by a German mine.

Alexander Muir was stationed aboard the USS California when the 1910 census was enumerated. According to his World War I draft registration card, he had served in the U.S. Navy for four years. So he likely participated in the events in Nicaragua and Mexico and perhaps the ship's initial cruise to the Far East.

Meningitis Epidemic Kills Soldier

Charlie H. Chandler was born on 4 November 1883 in Owsley County, Kentucky, to William F. Chandler and Lavina "Vinnie" Baker. He first appeared in documents when the 1900 census was enumerated living with his parents and six siblings on the family farm which his father owned in the Cow Creek precinct of the county. His mother had eleven children by that time and eight were still living. In 1910 Charlie was 26 years old and continued to live with his parents and siblings on the family farm. He worked on other farms as a laborer.

In late 1911 he marred Nellie Banks, the daughter of Lansford "Lance" Banks and Harriet Delither Hunter, and my cousin's husband's first cousin twice removed. On 4 January 1912 Charlie enlisted in the U.S. He was described in the enlistment register as being 5 foot 9-1/2 inches tall with brown hair and eyes. He was assigned to Company L, 4th Infantry. Eight months after he enlisted his wife, Nellie, had their only child, Oma Mae Chandler born on 17 August 1912.

Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed at the border. On 1 January 1914 they were transferred to Galveston and assigned to 5th Brigade, 2nd Division which had been in Galveston for nearly a year. On 24 April 1914 Charlie's regiment boarded USAT Sumter bound for Veracruz, Mexico. They arrived on 28 April and relieved Navy occupation forces. The soldiers camped at Los Cocos Station.

Charlie, and perhaps his entire regiment was back in Galveston by late 1914. He died on 4 December at the Port of Embarkation Hospital of cerebrospinal meningitis. According to his death certificate it was an epidemic among the Army soldiers. A history of the Public Health Service in Texas confirmed there had been a meningitis epidemic in the city during the war.

Charlie H. Chandler Death Certificate; courtesy of Ancestry.com

Meningitis may be caused by bacteria or a virus, but I have to wonder if Galveston was a healthy place. "The city built its first sewer in 1899 with a central pumping station that pushed the sewage across the bayous. There it was forced through filter beds nearly five miles outside of town. The heavy matter stayed in the beds until workmen with rakes removed it. The remaining sewage was filtered through various layers and the final effluent entered Buffalo Bayou via an open canal." Six years later, in 1915, the year after Charlie died, the sewer "filters were only processing half the city's waste and the system was not working properly."[1] That sounded like a breeding ground for bacteria!

Charlie's widow applied for a military pension on 24 December 1914. She continued to receive it until she married again. Beginning on 18 August 1917 Charlie's mother received his pension and on 11 July 1921 his daughter Oma Mae got the pension. I wonder if Charlie ever had the opportunity to meet her.

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[1] Margaret Swet Henson (preparer). History of Galveston Resource Utilization, publication GBNEP-39, January 1993.

Aboard the USS North Carolina (ACR-12)

Recently, I contacted an Ancestry.com member, who had several obituaries attached to his family tree  which were written about the descendants of Leroy P. Jennings, my great grandfather's first cousin. We emailed back and forth and have spoken by telephone, sharing our information about the Jennings family.

His grandfather was James Henly Jennings, the oldest son of Leroy and his second wife, Sarah Ellen Clements, and Leroy's first child born in Texas. James was born on 12 October 1886 in Lorena, Texas, and married Mary Hanna Tellaro on 14 May 1909. The newspaper article about the marriage stated James was a prominent rice planter from Lissie and Mary was a daughter of Italian immigrants who settled in Chesterville. The next year James was still growing rice on a farm he rented in Lissie but in 1911, he and Mary had moved to Houston where James worked for Dickson Car Wheel Company.

When James registered for the World War I draft on 5 June 1917, he continued to work for Dickson Car Wheel Company as a wheel moulder and he and Mary had two children. He claimed an exemption from the draft due to his dependents. The government must not have agreed, however, because when his father's obituary was published in 1919, James was in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS North Carolina. When the 1920 census was enumerated James and his family were back in Houston. So I know he served on the ship for some period of time between 5 June 1917 and 12 January 1920.

Official U.S. Navy photograph of the USS North Carolina (ACR-12); courtesy
of NavSource

The USS North Carolina (ACR-12) was a Tennessee-class armored cruised built in 1905 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. She was launched on 6 October 1906 by Rebekah Glenn, a daughter of the governor of North Carolina, and commissioned on 7 May 1908. During World War I, she became the first ship to launch a plane by catapult while underway.

Using a catapult to launch a sea plane in 1916; photograph courtesy of
Wikipedia

I contacted the curator of the USS Battleship North Carolina (BB-55) archive and asked about the World War I service of her predecessor, the armored cruiser ACR-12. She told me the following information about the ship's service:

When the U.S. entered the war, the USS North Carolina (ACR-12) was assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force and began escorting ships across the Atlantic in July 1917. Her home port was New York City. She made nine trips across the Atlantic Ocean, covering 60,000 miles and safely escorting 61 troop transport ships to the French coast. From December 1918 to July 1919 she ferried the American Expeditionary Forces home from Europe. Overall, she brought nearly 9,000 men home.

USS North Carolina (BB-55) archives include muster rolls for March and September 1919. James Henly Jennings did not appear on those rolls. However, they do not have rolls for July 1919, so it is possible he was onboard at that time.  In July 1919, the archive curator told me she was detached from the transport force and ordered to the Pacific. She went into reduced commission at Bremerton, Washington.  In July 1920 she was renamed Charlotte (CA-12) so that her name could be used for a new battleship. She was decommissioned in 1921.

10 October 2015 Update: One of my fellow Jennings researchers discovered that it was not James Henly Jennings who served on the USS North Carolina, but rather his brother, Leroy Carrington Jennings, Sr. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919. He played in the ship's band. The source of the confusion was his father's obituary, which was published in the Tulia Herald on 4 July 1919. The paragraph that confused me:

"He is survived by his widow and 17 children and all except three were at his bedside when the end came. They are as follows: O. W. [Oscar William] Jennings, Peoria, Ariz.; Mrs. M. E. [Minnie Etta] Henry, Broaddus, Texas; E. W. [Edgar Willis] Jennings, Lufkin, Texas; H. L. [Harry Lee] Jennings, Ontario, Cal.; C. M. [Charles Marion] Jennings, Palestine, Texas; Mrs. R. B. [Rosa Bell] Key, Tulia, Texas; A. H. [Archie Herbert] Jennings, Louisville, Colo.; Mrs. E. H. [Cora Jane, married to cousin, Edward Henry] Jennings, Jacksonville, Texas; J. H. [James Henly] Jennings, United States cruiser North Carolina; Mrs. H. L. [Hilda Lillian] Stevens, H. M. [Henry Meriwether] Jennings, Jennie, Clarence, Bernardine, Lucille, and Leona Jennings, all of this city."

What I didn't catch was that son, Leroy Carrington Jennings, Sr., was omitted from the list of survivors. Since they are in age order, he should have been listed between James Henly and Hilda Lillian. Leroy, or Roy as he was called, was the one serving on the USS North Carolina. James Henly Jennings lived in Houston and worked for the Dickson Car Wheel Company as a wheel moulder during the war. He had a wife and two children at the time he registered for the World War I draft.

Worldwide Genealogy: Writing about Scottish Soldiers in World War I

Today is the 25th so it's my day to contribute a bi-monthly post to Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration.  We're a group of global genealogy and family history bloggers so I try to write about topics with wide appeal. I thought what I've been learning about researching British soldiers during World War I might be such a topic. I had to go back to "school," so to speak before I succeeded in learning much.

Unfortunately, records about their service are spotty at best. German bombers struck the War Ministry repository in 1940. More than half of the military service records pertaining to World War I were destroyed.

Damage caused during September 1940 German bombing raid of London;
photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

I hope you'll click over to my post and read about what I've learned and what resources I use.

An American's Experience During World War I

Alexander Hutchison was my first cousin twice removed and served as a private with the 314th Engineers Regiment, which was attached to the 89th Division during World War I. Among the Missouri State Archives holdings is a pamphlet entitled, From Camp Funston to the Rhineland with the 314 Engineers, 89th Division, Army of the United States, 1917-1918.

After reading this pamphlet, I learned the 89th Division was organized in 1917 and most of the men were drawn from Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico. Specifically, the men of the 314th Regiment came principally from Missouri. Alexander was inducted into the Army on 2 April 1918, left camp and traveled to Europe via Hoboken, New Jersey, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, for England aboard the S/S Carpathia. They arrived in Liverpool on 24 June and went by train the same day to Winchester Rest Camp. Four days later they entrained for Cherbourg, disembarking on 29 June and marched to an American rest camp in the vicinity of Cherbourg. On 30 June they entrained for the Training Area, arriving 2 July at Humberville and marched to quarters.

A vigorous course of training was undertaken. The 89th Division was the first American division to move up to the line by truck transportation. They relieved the 82nd American Division in the Lucey Sector northwest of Toul. During their relief of the 82nd, central parts of the sector were subjected to a severe bombardment of mustard gas by the Germans. It was the 89th's baptism of fire.

The Engineers regiment was stationed at Lagney, near division headquarters, and spent most of its time working on construction of a second position, or main line of resistance, constructing strong points, building concrete pillboxes, dugouts, putting up entanglements and in gas-proofing dugouts and doing other engineer work in the front line position.

On the morning of 12 September 1918, the 89th Division commenced its first offensive, in company with three other divisions, they began the St. Mihiel Offensive. The division captured all of its objectives and established its record as a reliable fighting division. The Engineers were assigned to each infantry brigade for wire cutting, demolition, forward road work.

314th Engineers Regiment stringing barbed wire during the St. Mihiel
Offensive; photograph courtesy of Pinterest.com (original source unknown)

The general situation on 1 November 1918 was the the enemy was endeavoring to withdraw from France and Belgium and was using desperate efforts to stop the pressure coming up from the south and applied by the American Army. If the Americans were permitted to get to the Meuse, it was clear they could cut important southern railways the Germans needed for their retreat. The 89th Division jumped over the top of the trenches that morning; by afternoon the Heights of Barricourt were in their possession. It is said that Marshall Foch stated, when he received this news, "the war is over." The fighting continued day and night but the Germans were pushed across the Meuse.

During the battle the Engineers were on road construction and maintenance, doing emergency work necessary to ensure the advance of artillery and ammunition and rationing of the troops. Bridges were rebuilt, old roads repaired, new ones made and information secured in regard to Meuse river crossings. Foot bridges for the passage of the infantry were built at Stenay and near Pouilly, two pontoon rafts were constructed, ferrying two infantry regiments across the the Meuse the night of November 10-11. A floating balk and chess bridge was also built.

After Armistice Day, the 89th Division entered Germany on 4 December and became an occupation army stationed neard Kyllburg. The Engineers' work involved building construction, supervision of public utilities and repair and maintenance of roads.

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From Camp Funston to the Rhineland with the 314th ENgineers,: 89th Division, Army of the United States, 1917-1919, (Trier, Germany, 89th Division, 1919), 8 pages

Wordless Wednesday: Argonne Cross

The Argonne Cross is located in Arlington National Cemetery and commemorates the memories "of our men in France."

The Argonne Cross at Arlington National Cemetery; from my personal collection

My great great grandmother's step-son, Julius Franklin Collins was killed on 30 September 1918 in Argonne, France.

The grave marker of Julius Franklin Collins at the cemetery in Europe where
he was originally buried. He was latter disinterred and returned home to be
buried at Troy City Cemetery in Troy, Illinois, beside his father; photograph
courtesy of Mark H. Collins

The idea for this post came from Geneabloggers.com.

52 Ancestors #13: From Tragedy to Tragedy

Ancestor: Elizabeth Muir (BRODIE) Lively (1874-1910)

When I was thinking last week about how much women's lives have changed and how difficult it was to think of an ancestor who was similar to me, I thought of all the tragedy in my tree and how it seemed to fall on women more heavily than on men. Elizabeth Muir (Brodie) Lively lived a short, sad life. I cannot begin to imagine how she coped. It's no wonder women are TOUGH!

Elizabeth was born on 29 November 1874 in the Causeystanes area of Blantyre parish, Scotland, to William and Henrietta (Cassels) Brodie. Her father was a coal miner; and not long after Elizabeth's birth, he went to work for William Dixon, Ltd., owner of several coal mines in and around the town of Blantyre. He moved his growing family into Dixon's Rows, company-owned housing, which was described in a 1910 report on the condition of miner's housing as a "most miserable type of house." The work mothers and their daughters had to do to keep homes clean is unimaginable to me. These homes typically had two rooms and families with as many as 12 or 13 children lived on top of each other, a great breeding ground for disease.

Dixon's Rows, Blantyre; image courtesy of Auld Blantyre

Elizabeth married James Lively on 31 December 1891. James was a coal miner and also lived in Dixon's Rows. Their first child was born five months later and over the course of the next 10 years, James and Elizabeth had 5 children. Their second child, a son they named James, after his paternal grandfather and father, was born on 21 November 1893. He died three months later of inflammation of the larynx and congestion of the lungs.

Glasgow Road c1910; photograph courtesy of Blantyre Project

Tragedy next struck Elizabeth 12 years later. Her husband James, was walking along Glasgow Road and was run over by two horses pulling a lorry. He survived for five terrible hours after sustaining injuries to his three of his ribs and one lung. It had to have been a terrible death. Life must have been horrible for Elizabeth after her husband and the family's bread winner was killed. William Dixon evicted widows when their husband died, even in mining accidents. I don't know where Elizabeth went to live as she was dead by the time the next census was enumerated in 1911.

Elizabeth died on 14 June 1910 at her sister's home on 8 School Lane in Blantyre. She died of pulmonary phthisis, or tuberculosis, and she had been sick for five months. I'd like to think she and her children were living with her sister, but I am not so sure. Elizabeth was listed as a pauper when her father registered her death. Mary (Brodie) Moore had five children of her own and one died the same day on which his aunt, Elizabeth, died. It was a house doubly steeped in mourning.

Two of Elizabeth's sons were living with her father in Dixon's Rows in 1911. And her daughter married the next year. One son, John Sneddon Lively, Elizabeth's youngest child, was only 8 years old when his mother died. Where he went, I have no idea.

Tragedy wasn't finished with Elizabeth's family yet, however. Her third child, William Lively, was drafted into the British Army and arrived in France on 31 March 1918. After training for a few days at the 40th Infantry Base Depot, he was transferred to the 1/4 Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment on 19 April 1918. Little more than a month later, he was dead at the age of 19.

Ancestry.com recently added UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929. It the only reason I knew about brother John.

William Lively's Soldiers' Effects Record; courtesy of Ancestry.com

I am only glad William's mother was not alive to learn of his fate. At least she was spared that.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Different.

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Elizabeth Muir (Brodie) Lively was born on 29 November 1874 to William and Henrietta (Cassels) Brodie. She was named after her maternal grandmother, my great great grand aunt. She married James Lively on 31 December 1891 in Blantyre, Scotland, according to the forms of the Evangelical Union Church. The couple had five children. James Lively was killed in 1906 and Elizabeth died four years later on 14 June 1910 at her sister, Mary's house in Blantyre.

Killed in Action During the Spring Offensive
Dixon's Rows: "A Miserable Type of House"

52 Ancestors #50: Absent without Leave

Ancestor Name: John MCDERMOTT (1876-unknown)

John McDermott was born on 6 Aug 1876 in County Mayo, Ireland. He married Mary Ann Boyle on 12 July 1901 at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Blantyre. He was a 25-year-old coal miner and she was 19.

By the time the 1911 census was enumerated John and Mary Ann had five children, ranging in age from 9 years old to one. Their youngest, Mary Ann McDermott married my third cousin once removed, Charles Findlay, in 1938.  The family lived at 88 South Glencraig in Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland. They had moved to Fife between 1904 and 1906.

John was conscripted or enlisted on 7 August 1916 when he was 39 years old. He began his military service with the 2/1 Battalion, Highland Cyclists. He remained in Scotland until 14 February 1917 when he was transferred to the 1/7 Battalion, Black Watch. The regiment had been fighting in France since 1915 as part of the 153rd Brigade, 51st Highland Division. John arrived just days after the brigade was sent to the Frevilliers area of France and preparations for the battle of Arras began.

Highland Cyclist Battalion; photograph courtesy of Lenathehyena's Blog

John McDermott was wounded on 16 March 1917 during preparations for the battle. Perhaps he was sent on a raiding party to make gaps in the enemy barbed wire or to destroy the enemy dugouts. We just don't know. We do know from John's military service records that he remained in the field with his unit after being wounded. 16 May marked the end of the battle. British troops had made large advances but had been unable to achieve a breakthrough.

Aftermath of the battle of Arras; photograph copyrighted by the Imperial
War Museum

In September the division fought in the third battle of Ypres and the battle Cambrai. The division remained in the Cambrai until March 1918. John McDermott was granted permission to go home on leave from 21 January until 4 February. On 17 February his battalion commanding officer reported that he had not yet returned to the unit. A letter was sent to the Lanarkshire Constabulary and they investigated. They learned he had left his home in Blantyre on the 26th of February and planned to return to France.

He arrived in Cambrai on 2 March 1918 and was arrested the same day. On 7 March he was tried by a Field General Court Martial for absenting himself without leave for nearly a month and was convicted. He was sentenced to 56 days of Field Punishment No. 1 and began serving his sentence on 9 March 1918.

The punishment consisted of the convicted man being placed in fetters or handcuffs and attached to a fixed object such as a fence post or a gun wheel for up to two hours. He was also subjected to hard labor and loss of pay. Field Punishment No. 1 was eventually abolished in 1923.

Contemporary drawing of Field Punishment No. 1; image courtesy
of Wikipedia

John McDermott was discharged from the British Army on 15 August 1918.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge.

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John McDermott was born on 6 August 1876 in County Mayo, Ireland. At some point he immigrated to Scotland and began working in the coal mines in Blantyre. He married Mary Ann Boyle on 12 July 1901 in Blantyre. Between the birth of their second son in 1904 and their third son in 1906, the family moved to Lochgelly, Fife. On 7 August 1916, John enlisted or was conscripted into the 2/1 Battalion of the Highland Cyclists at Kirkcaldy. At the time he entered military service the family was living at 56 North Glencraig in Fife. The cyclists provided homeland defense in Scotland. On 14 February 1917, John McDermott was transferred to the 1/7 Battalion, Black Watch and sent to France to join the regiment, which was part of the 153rd Brigade, 51st (Highland) Division. He was wounded in action twice and saw fighting at Arras and Cambrai. He was late returning to his unit from home leave in 1918 and court martialed. He was discharged on 15 August 1918. I do not yet know when he died, but do know he was still alive at the time his youngest daughter married in 1938.