The History of the
61st Artillery C.A.C., During WWI
The 61st Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps was organized in May of 1918 at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. In June of 1918 the Regiment moved to Camp Eustis, Virginia, and again in July 1918 to Camp Stuart Virginia. On July 17, 1918 the Regiment sailed from Port of Embarkation Newport News, Virginia and landed July 30th in St. Nazarre, France.
While in France the Regiment went to O & T Center (Operation and Training) Center No. 1 at Libourne, France. The firing ranged used by O & T Center No. 1 was at Camp de Sourge, France. The entire 33rd brigade C.A.C. comprising of the 60th, 61st and the 62nd Regiments took their training here. The 60th Regiment used the 155mm G.P.F. guns and the 61st and 62nd used the new 6-inch seacoast guns.
These 6-inch seacoast guns were removed from Coast Artillery fixed mounts from the United States and also spares from the Navy. These guns had special mobile mounts made for them and when the Armistice was signed 72 complete units of the 6-inch type and 26 units of the 5-inch had been sent to France. None of these guns ever made it to the Front lines.
The Regiment returned to the States sailing from Marseilles, France on Jan 30, 1919 at five o'clock and landed in New York February 15, 1919 and was demobilized that same month at Camp Upton, New York.
A 6-inch, 50 calibres Seacoast Rifle mobile mount. This one is named "Krupp Krumbler" our Big Gun.
The lack of a traversing mechanism made this a very cumbersom gun to handle. It is laid by moving the entire gun by hand.
Bringing our guns from Libourne to Castillion
Transported from American coast defenses to France and put on Wheels.
These guns, noted for thier accuracy as stationary seacoast guns, are shown emplaced at target practice, during the training of the regiment.
This is an example of the type of cards that were used for the troops to communicate with family members back home to let them know that the ship that the soldier sailed overseas made it safely. Due to war time censorship these cards were designed to let the soldier address to the person who they wanted to notify and on the back side they were only permitted to state their name and unit. There were several general types of these cards but this one provided by the American Red Cross seems to be the most common one seen. The person this was sent to was Mrs. Charles A. Vogler, in Winston-Salem, NC.
This card was from Lt. Gilman J. L. Lake of the 61st Artillery, C.A.C. The way these cards worked was that on embarkation on the ship each soldier and officer filled out one of these cards. They were then kept until word was received that the ship had safely arrived at its intended destination. They were them mailed to the address on the card, relieving the tension of the family letting them know that their loved one had at least made the journey across the ocean. Although the information on the card did not say much it must have been good word for the folks at home to receive it.
The Muster of the 61st Artillery.
If you have family members who served in this unit please e-mail them to me and I will add thier names.
Battery A
Private 1cl Homer P. Werner, 715420, entered the Regular Army at Columbus Barracks, Ohio on 15 December 1917, at the age of 21. He was born in Swanton, Ohio and at the time he jioned the Army lived in Berkey, Ohio. He was advanced to the rank of Private First Class on 2 July 1918 and on 4 February 1919 was made Cook. He served overseas with Battery A from 18 July, 1918 until the regiment landed in New York February 15, 1919 and was Honorable discharged on 11 March, 1919.
Battery B
I was contacted by Keith Bridgman about facts on the 61st Artillery. At the time I had no information on them. Keith told me that his grandfather Robert Bridgman was in Battery B of the 61st Artillery C.A.C. Keith was kind enough to share the information he had about the 61st and his grandfather. All the photos on this page were from his grandfather and he had kept a diary. Below are some excerpts from it. Keith did say that his grandfatherÕs handwriting was bad and some of it was not readable. I have tried to edit it and fill in the blanks, so to speak.
 Robert L. Bridgman taken shortly after the armistice |
Keith writes about his grandfather:I remember as a young boy playing with grandfather's old helmet, and trying on his uniform. He still had an old gas mask, but he would never let me use it because it may have contained some poison residue. I don't know all of the details about what or where it happened to him, and there is no mention of it in his notebook, but at one time or another he fell victim to some poison gas, which messed up his lungs for the rest of his life. Sometime after my grandfather died, in 1974, my grandmother donated all of his stuff to a local museum in Southeastern Oklahoma (at least I think she did). I wish now I could have gotten my hands on all of that. Robert L. Bridgman (Bob) was born in the Indian territory in I believe 1898 (my dad says 1896) and grew up in the shadow of Cavanal Mountain in Southeastern Oklahoma in the sleepy town of Poteau. Poteau is a few miles from the Arkansas state line. Along with his brother he helped in the family hardware-furniture business established by his father in 1896 in Poteau (which is still operating under the Bridgman name). When the war came along, he, like so many others did their duty. I'm not sure why he was assigned to the 61st C.A.C. and not one of the Texas/Oklahoma divisions (the 36th and 90th) but that is where he ended up. I do not know the circumstances behind the incident, but somehow he and several others were injured by poison gas while overseas which messed up his lungs for the rest of his life. By the age of 45, he was an old man because of it. I vividly remember my grandfather telling me stories about being in France and all the children and families he saw who were having a tough time of it. As most young men who undergo an adventure such as that, the impact of those few short months in France had far reaching affects on him. As he grew older and more senile, his most vivid memories were of being in France and he spoke of those days as though only a few months had passed. He died in 1974, a well-respected, kind and gentle man. |
| One story I remember the most my grandfather relayed to me was about how his outfit, Battery B out foxed a French general. Apparently, they were to camouflage one of their large guns as a training exercise. They brought in a large stack of hay and camouflage nets and set up a fake cannon underneath, then proceeded to hide the real gun elsewhere, I don't remember exactly where, but I believe it was in the nearby woods. The French general came around and saw the stack of hay and fake cannon from a distance and began chewing them out because it was so obvious there was a large gun underneath and the Germans would detect it with no effort. They all snickered, and got in more trouble and some of the men accompanying the general began to dismantle the fake camouflaged area. When it became apparent it was a fake, he demanded to know where the real gun was, and no one would tell him, demanding that he try to find it. He never did, and being the pompous French General that he was, stormed off in indignation. |
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Excerpts from the diary of Robert L. Bridgman of Battery B, 61st Artillery
Some of the diary was unreadable and every effort was made to determine what was written, but some just could not be made out. In an effort to keep the true feelings of the diary we have placed ... to indicate words or letters that can't be read.
Special note from Keith Bridgman.
Attitudes were different then and although my grandfather was a very religious man, certain racial attitudes were a common vice then. There were times after the war and during the depression when families who were down on their luck, both black and white, would come to my grandparents dry-goods store needing shoes and clothes for their kids to go to school. My grandparents always made sure those kids had what they needed with no consideration as to how they were to be paid for. More often than not, they received a basket of tomatoes or homegrown corn or eggs for payment.
| Page 1 Sailed from Newport News on July 17, 1918 and landed at St. Nazarre, France on July 30. "The Dopey News" Office Force W.L. Gaffney... Editor Myself... Treasurer Hard Boiled Jim... Society Editor W ... Gaffney The W... John Helem... Bouncer Clyde Heal ... Reporter Hugh Ashmore ... Religious Editor Coy Compton ... Cartoonist The office force of the paper put out for the benefit of the barracks of Battery B while stationed at St. Nazarre, France. |
Harvey, Smith and Small Just some C.A.C. kids my grandfather knew. |
|
Page 2 Sat. Nov. 9, 1918 Latest latrine dope: |
Castillion, France. Near our "Cow Stalls" (Tent camp) July, Aug., Sept., Oct., 1918. |
Page 3
Why do non-coms eat first?
Three fourths of the Battery got drunk thinking peace had been declared and now are broke and won't be able to celebrate if it's declared this month. Tough on the boys?
Gun section numbers sure deserves to be called the stevedore bunch.
Who can talk to a French girl who eats garlic?
How to make 60 franks do till next pay and also get x-mas presents sure is some job believe me.
The fourth and fifth gun sections voted that the barn not be used as a garage anymore as some fool honks the cars all hours of the nite.
Those Camp ... boys kept us awake with their barrage.
Page 4
The boys of the barn have the ... at the chateau ... and now call themselves hard-boiled.
The Battery extends its sympathies to Doug Green, Dave Caldr...W...Gaffney, ... Murphy and ... as these guys married while over here. Who is next? All are afraid.
A ... is a fellow who always wants to read you what the best girl in the world has to say.
Those niggers claimed to be American Indians and went with those French girls ... here.
Wanted: some one to wash clothes: Apply to Bert B. Price no consideration.
Who can wash his blue denims and let it rain on them and have them ready to wear next day. Captain take notice.
Page 5
Who got the "Y" paper?
Who eats Carrots?
Who likes grits?
Bread and grits and grits and bread tomorrow. Some change.
Battery A dropped two shells and they did not go off. Some lucky crowd.
The latrine quartette has been broken up on account of the flu.
(***This could be an indication of the poison gas problem my grandfather and others ran into. My dad said that the doctors told them they had the flu and quarantined them for a short while until they determined what the cause of their symptoms were***).
November 10, 1918
Drunks in night and the crowds celebrate before wine. The French are sure getting ready to pull off some great stunts. The favorite question, "ligare finis" and the answer: "demain levar".
November 11, 1918
War Finished.
Home maybe.
When do we go home?
Who put on guard?
Who sings "le dyiny"? Hobo so be awful.
Page 6
Who can smell and take a bath in cold water in the open in the wettest and misty rainy day.
Sober up boys and see France.
Page 7
"Rock"
Well about five o'clock we sighted the rock (Gibraltar) and saw the big end of a ... Spain first and then it got larger so ... ... from where we saw it the thing was big and great ... just a big hulk large and ... ... looked like concrete... ... from falling away. Guns were always on all of the boys and the ... we heard the ... ... ...(undecipherable)
| Page 8 February 1919 What would be worse, All kinds of stuff to buy and now am broke. A barber told me ... is a grand expression now. Ask a fella what the rain did for his last nite and at New York they say ... sure hope so. Who got Major May? ... Who refused to dance with officers? Who said ... isn't having a great time? Who is ... ... ... Who wants to stay on deck from six to eleven? Who ... ... officers? Why don't we ... ? The 61st division emblem one ... When do we eat? When do we get to ...? Who wants to learn the band any way? |
Post Card of Bordeaux, France. "Passed thru this street many times with our trucks. Some town and oh you pretty girls." |
Page 9
Came over from Marseilles on Jan 30, 1919 at five o'clock.
Who said we don't get spaghetti. The wops sure are slow. The rock of Gilbralter is all right but sure wish we would ... and get away.
Page 10
Poem
Yes pard they say we stay over here,
but lo my ... us don't think they dare
... are only just ... ...
But no one can say from duty I ever ran,
just went and signed up like I should,
Guess would do it again. Yes know I would.
They never gave ... ... or even a dam
But we almost didn't give them a chance.
No band bid me to the station
No girls kissed me saying it was caused by emotion
Only my pals and mother bless them all
Saw me leave when answered duties call
Only did my best and little it was
But it was for countries cause.
Then lo while draftees go first is not fair to the rest
Who were first to go with greatest test?
No glory we want for being first to answer the call.
Only justice and that is all.
Battery C
Herbert E. Sparkman enlisted into the Regular Army on April 17, 1917 at Ft. Screvens, Georgia at the age of 21. He was born in Campville, Florida and at the time of enlistment lived in Princeton, Florida. Pvt. Sparkman (719285) was in the 4th Company C.A.C. at Ft. Screven from enlistment until 1 November 1917 when he was moved to the 3rd Company, Ft. Screven. On 1 January 1918 he was promoted to Pvt 1cl and was transferred to Battery C, 61st Artillery C.A.C. On July 17, 1918 he sailed with the 61st Artillery from Port of Embarkation Newport News, Virginia and landed July 30th in St. Nazarre, France. Pvt. 1cl Sparkman returned to the States with the 61st Artillery sailing from Marseilles, France on January 30, 1919 at five o'clock and landed in New York February 15, 1919. He was demobilized on 4 March 1919 at Camp Upton, New York.
Paul J. Wildes was born about 1898 in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He was first stationed in the 3rd Company at Ft. Screven, Georgia until 1 January 1918 when he was transferred into Battery C, 61st Artillery, C.A.C. On 27 June 1918-9 July 1918 he attended the Coast Artillery School at Ft. Monroe, Virginia, where upon completion he rejoined Battery C and on the 17 July 1918 he sailed with the 61st to France. Paul returned to the States with the 61st and was released from the 61st Artillery on 25 February 1919 and reported to the 1st Company at Ft. Screven, Georgia where he served until discharged on 25 March 1920. Paul J. Wildes died at the age of 82 in Hueytown, Alabama.
Battery E
Lawrence Barrett, Battery E
Stephen P. Barrett contacted me about his uncle Lawrence Barrett who was in Battery E, 61st Artillery. This is what Stephen had to tell me about his uncle.
"I have recently discovered that my uncle served in the 61st Artillery. The source of the information is from a post card recently sent to me by my cousin, his daugther. The post card apparently was furnished by the American Red Cross. (like the one from Lt. Lake above) The front of the post card states "Soldiers' Mail," No Postage Necessary, and it addressed to my grandmother, Mrs. O. W. Barrett 132 Pine Ave., Chicago, Illinois (Austin Sta). The cancel stamp imprinted the following" "Soldier's Mail____Mail Censor____U. S. Army Base____," and nothing appears in the blanks.
The text is as follows:
"THE SHIP ON WHICH I SAILED HAS ARRIVED SAFELY OVERSEAS.
Name: Lawrence Barrett
Organization: Battery E 61st. Arty C.A.C via New York
American Expeditionary Forces"
Someone in my family has written on the card: "Received Aug. 5, 1918."
If you have research comments or additional information on this page e-mail them to: Joe Hartwell
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