TRANSCRIBED FROM THE NEVEDA COUNTY PICAYUNE JULY 11, 1918 P. 6
Douglas, Arizona
Well as I have just received the Picayune and see where a good many of our Nevada County boys are, I thought I would tell you a little about what we have out at Douglas and what we are doing.
I will have to say I am in the best of the service Uncle Sam has, and he has several we know. I am in the cavalry, the easy riding bunch and always something to laugh at, a bucking horse and a tender rider is a funny sight forone. I think the infantry is jealous of us, because they walk and carry their biddle and heavy packs on their back. We carry our packs and saddles. We call the infantry dough boys, but since they have full packs they call them pack mules. You know every branch of the service has a nickname for the other.
There are lots of soldiers here. Four regiments of cavalry. First cavalry, 17th cavalry, 308th cavalry and the 302nd. Our camp is Harry J. Jones. It was Ft. Douglas til two years ago. Private Jones being the first man killed on the border in actual service against Mexico. This camp was named for him he was only a private, I understand. This is a good cavalry post, lots of good room level ground and nothing in the way. Every morning it is a pretty sight to see. The cavalry going out for drill and line up a regiment charge. You cannot imagine the racket it makes, the horses feet especially, on the hard ground and believe me these horses can sure run. Every few days someone gets thrown off or drug off in a charge but their horse gets right on with the rest of his troop. I say there is lots of fun in the cavalry drill. The boys are all doing fine and are turning their minds to their drills.
The 302nd has the best officers in the camp I think. They are good and kind to all the boys, and the boys do anything for them. Not a man has been tried or sent to the guard house yet, in the 302nd regiment. A good record everybody thinks, but the 302nd are all fine boys. Just think where they are from. Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and all are doing fine. They were home sick for a while but we hurrahed them so hard they have come out of it. Now we are all real soldiers. Now the boys are all armed with rifle, saber and a 45 Colts automatic revolver, and they look some proud, and are proud too. We have a large Y.M.C.A. here with a picture show and lots of other amusement. I am the only Nevada county lad left in the 302nd now, but I am now acquainted with all the rest.
Myself, Imon Buchanan, Millard Cornelius and a Mr. Deaton , all from Prescott. Cornelius and I were together in K Troop, but I have been transferred to the supply troop and Cornelius is at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, going to a horse shoeing school. I go over every few days and see Imon Buchanan. He is mess sergent for the supply troop in the 308th cavalry, just a little ways from our camp. I have gained 8 pounds since I have been in the army. Everybody has gained some, more or less. We have all stood our oversea examination. We are going to move some where, but we do not know when or where, but it will not be very long as 308th cavalry is repairing our stables to take charge of them as soon as we leave here. We all have our tag numbers around our necks that passed the examination. They think they will send us to the Phillipines, to relieve the 11th cavalry, but I think we will go to Camp Fremont, Colorado.
Our camp is only 2,000 yards from the line of Old Mexico. The border patrol rides it all the time. Uncle Sam’s soldiers on one side and the Mexican soldiers on the other, riding some times not over ten feet apart.
Douglas is on one side of the hill and Ogretetter, Mexico on the other you may say right together. I see lots of Mexican soldiers riding little burrow mules carrying shot guns or 22 rifles or any kind of a gun from a modern army rifle down to small rifle. Their only trouble is no amunition they say. There is not a a tree in sight, you can look a long ways into old Mexico.
All of the boys in all four of the regiments are eager to go to France. They get together and talk about who is going over first. All want to go first. We do not have any trench digging, but have the tools to do it with. We have trenches here left by the 10th Field Artilery that we jump our horses across. It is fun to see them training horses. Tie a long lasso to his neck and start him in a circle and in a run and go to firing a revolver all around him. These broncks on two feet for a while but soon get tame. It is a pretty sight to see the pack train of mules, 105 mules is a pack train. They load them and drive them. They will line up just like they had a rider. The machine gun troop is a nice troop. They use pack mules and pick from all the other troops the biggest and strongest men, but they need them for they have some thing to do.
This is Saturday, everybody has a half day off. They are washing clothes, shaving and getting ready to go to town. It is just one mile to town and the street cars come out to the camp, so you see it is no trouble to get there. Douglas is a nice little town but not half as good looking as old Prescott on Saturday and Sunday you can hardly pass on the sidewalks for soldiers. They all like to go up to town to get a rest from the camp. The rainy season has started now. Every evening about four o’clock it starts to rain and lasts five or six hours. It sure does rain hard, but it has been awful dry. The wind would blow so hard and the dust so bad you could not see at all. It would be a sand storm every evening, but now it is rain. I had the misfortune in being in a tent that a sand storm struck. It was not tied very well and it looked like a baloon going off. It was a round one any way. We took a wagon and went a mile and brought it back. We have lots of funny things to happen every day. We have got a detail of new men out this afternoon look for a skirmish line to bring to the first sergent. I guess they will make one of their own when they return and find out. We always try the new men when they come and have a big laugh.
Guess I had better ringoff.
Love to all,
Walter Edwards,
Supply Troop 302nd
Douglas, Ariz.
NOTES: William Walter Edwards, Sr. was born on July 11, 1887 in Prescott, Arkansas and died on April 15, 1951 in Little Rock, Arkansas. His military headstone identifies him as a Arkansas Wagoner serving in 48th Field Artillery during World War 1. He enlisted on May 1, 1918 and was discharged on February 12, 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON
Douglas, Arizona
Well as I have just received the Picayune and see where a good many of our Nevada County boys are, I thought I would tell you a little about what we have out at Douglas and what we are doing.
I will have to say I am in the best of the service Uncle Sam has, and he has several we know. I am in the cavalry, the easy riding bunch and always something to laugh at, a bucking horse and a tender rider is a funny sight forone. I think the infantry is jealous of us, because they walk and carry their biddle and heavy packs on their back. We carry our packs and saddles. We call the infantry dough boys, but since they have full packs they call them pack mules. You know every branch of the service has a nickname for the other.
There are lots of soldiers here. Four regiments of cavalry. First cavalry, 17th cavalry, 308th cavalry and the 302nd. Our camp is Harry J. Jones. It was Ft. Douglas til two years ago. Private Jones being the first man killed on the border in actual service against Mexico. This camp was named for him he was only a private, I understand. This is a good cavalry post, lots of good room level ground and nothing in the way. Every morning it is a pretty sight to see. The cavalry going out for drill and line up a regiment charge. You cannot imagine the racket it makes, the horses feet especially, on the hard ground and believe me these horses can sure run. Every few days someone gets thrown off or drug off in a charge but their horse gets right on with the rest of his troop. I say there is lots of fun in the cavalry drill. The boys are all doing fine and are turning their minds to their drills.
The 302nd has the best officers in the camp I think. They are good and kind to all the boys, and the boys do anything for them. Not a man has been tried or sent to the guard house yet, in the 302nd regiment. A good record everybody thinks, but the 302nd are all fine boys. Just think where they are from. Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and all are doing fine. They were home sick for a while but we hurrahed them so hard they have come out of it. Now we are all real soldiers. Now the boys are all armed with rifle, saber and a 45 Colts automatic revolver, and they look some proud, and are proud too. We have a large Y.M.C.A. here with a picture show and lots of other amusement. I am the only Nevada county lad left in the 302nd now, but I am now acquainted with all the rest.
Myself, Imon Buchanan, Millard Cornelius and a Mr. Deaton , all from Prescott. Cornelius and I were together in K Troop, but I have been transferred to the supply troop and Cornelius is at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, going to a horse shoeing school. I go over every few days and see Imon Buchanan. He is mess sergent for the supply troop in the 308th cavalry, just a little ways from our camp. I have gained 8 pounds since I have been in the army. Everybody has gained some, more or less. We have all stood our oversea examination. We are going to move some where, but we do not know when or where, but it will not be very long as 308th cavalry is repairing our stables to take charge of them as soon as we leave here. We all have our tag numbers around our necks that passed the examination. They think they will send us to the Phillipines, to relieve the 11th cavalry, but I think we will go to Camp Fremont, Colorado.
Our camp is only 2,000 yards from the line of Old Mexico. The border patrol rides it all the time. Uncle Sam’s soldiers on one side and the Mexican soldiers on the other, riding some times not over ten feet apart.
Douglas is on one side of the hill and Ogretetter, Mexico on the other you may say right together. I see lots of Mexican soldiers riding little burrow mules carrying shot guns or 22 rifles or any kind of a gun from a modern army rifle down to small rifle. Their only trouble is no amunition they say. There is not a a tree in sight, you can look a long ways into old Mexico.
All of the boys in all four of the regiments are eager to go to France. They get together and talk about who is going over first. All want to go first. We do not have any trench digging, but have the tools to do it with. We have trenches here left by the 10th Field Artilery that we jump our horses across. It is fun to see them training horses. Tie a long lasso to his neck and start him in a circle and in a run and go to firing a revolver all around him. These broncks on two feet for a while but soon get tame. It is a pretty sight to see the pack train of mules, 105 mules is a pack train. They load them and drive them. They will line up just like they had a rider. The machine gun troop is a nice troop. They use pack mules and pick from all the other troops the biggest and strongest men, but they need them for they have some thing to do.
This is Saturday, everybody has a half day off. They are washing clothes, shaving and getting ready to go to town. It is just one mile to town and the street cars come out to the camp, so you see it is no trouble to get there. Douglas is a nice little town but not half as good looking as old Prescott on Saturday and Sunday you can hardly pass on the sidewalks for soldiers. They all like to go up to town to get a rest from the camp. The rainy season has started now. Every evening about four o’clock it starts to rain and lasts five or six hours. It sure does rain hard, but it has been awful dry. The wind would blow so hard and the dust so bad you could not see at all. It would be a sand storm every evening, but now it is rain. I had the misfortune in being in a tent that a sand storm struck. It was not tied very well and it looked like a baloon going off. It was a round one any way. We took a wagon and went a mile and brought it back. We have lots of funny things to happen every day. We have got a detail of new men out this afternoon look for a skirmish line to bring to the first sergent. I guess they will make one of their own when they return and find out. We always try the new men when they come and have a big laugh.
Guess I had better ringoff.
Love to all,
Walter Edwards,
Supply Troop 302nd
Douglas, Ariz.
NOTES: William Walter Edwards, Sr. was born on July 11, 1887 in Prescott, Arkansas and died on April 15, 1951 in Little Rock, Arkansas. His military headstone identifies him as a Arkansas Wagoner serving in 48th Field Artillery during World War 1. He enlisted on May 1, 1918 and was discharged on February 12, 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON