TRANSCRIBED FROM THE LAFAYETTE COUNTY DEMOCRAT, FEBRUARY 15, 1918 P. 1
Somewhere in France, Jan. 12th, 1918:
Dear Vick:
I received your letter the first of this week and I assure you that I was glad to get it for you always write all the news, we pass your letters all around and every one enjoys reading them. We are sure having some weather here it snows one day and rains the next. It snowed 6 in here on Dec.18 and didn’t thaw one bit until Jan 10 th, and that day it rained, it is snowing tonight awfully hard and has been for several hours.
I am just back from the base hospital where I have been for several days with some broken slats. I am in pretty fair shape now only I have a bad cold. Vick I’m going to try to tell you something in this letter, I don’t know if it will get by or not, but some of the boys are getting by with it so I might just as well try.
Soon after we landed here in France my company was put on the front about four miles from the German front lines, put us to operating light railway. They sent 46 of us 2 miles farther up the line, the steam engines brought the stuff up to us and we carried it from there up to within 350 yards of the German lines with gasoline and electric traitors. I was foreman and first mechanic. Skeet was driving a big armored gasoline tractor. We were hauling the shells to the front, also everything else, we had 31 machines, it was all for a big drive on short notice and believe me we made good and have been highly praised by Sir Duglas H. The popular saying of the Tommies on the front is, that’s the stuff to give them Sammies. During the preparation for the drive we often worked from 18 to 26 hrs with one meal and no rest, but we didn’t mind it much for we felt like we were accomplishing something. The drive was the biggest of the year, and we were greatly elated. The day the drive started our work was practicaly finished, so a good many of us followed along behind the light artillery and watched the “slaughter” which I think was the better name, for that was what it was, I saw dead men until they ceased to attract my attention. We picked up many souviners and we all brought back a German rifle and several hundred rounds of shells for them which happened to stand us in good stead a few days later when old Fritz broke through on a 6 mi front and he came pretty near getting some of our boys that were out on the line, they picked up the rifles from the dead tommies and fought him at close quarters until it got most to hot for them and they were about to be surrounded when they threw down their rifles and retreated with the rest of the Tommies and believe me Tommie is no retreater at all compared to Sammie for Tommie’s shoes are much too heavy and beside he can’t run with a Sammie anyway, comparson the turtle and the hare only the hare didn’t stop this time until he had gotten where he had started (into camp,) then, we shouldered our Fritz rifles and went back in force, that is those of us who wanted to and we had some fun and quite a lively time for the next few hours, the tanks and calvalry came to our rescue and the day ended with old Fritz pushed back to just about where he started from with practically nothing gained, but lost many thousand killed and wounded and a few “taken” prisoners, that wasn’t a good day for taking prisoners. I have had many big shells burst within 50 yards of me, a few even closer. I can’t say just how close, some of the machine guns and shrapnel bullets came to me for I didn’t see them nor where they hit, I just heard them go by singing their little song. We are still operating light railway, but steam equipment only, and we have moved back several miles from the front, in fact 14 mi. and are of danger only from an occasional air raid.
We have sheet iron huts to stay in, a stove and plenty of coal, our quarters are fairly comfortable, also we are fed pretty good, three hot meals per day and a decent variety.
Vick, I am writing this letter by sections, a little each night.
On Dec. 22nd after the drive they marched some 10,000 German prisoners by our camp and of course we went out and reviewed them, and take my word, they were the scrubbiest, sorriest, scurvey and most contemptible looking things to be called human beings that I ever saw, I could have murdered the entire lot and not have lost any sleep on account of it. About two out of every ten could speak some english and one out of ten had been in the states. We asked lots of them in English and in German when the war would be over and all we could out of them was, “for me it is over now” We asked lots of them how they were fed and all said that we (the soldiers) are well fed but their people back home are starving, well maybe they well fed but they don’t look it to me, about nine out of ten of them were as tallow faced as they could be and didn’t look like they had an ounce of blood in them, most of them ran in ages from 15 to 20 and 40 to 60, those in the lot 20 to 40 seemed to be culls.
We found in the German dugouts, canned beef, packed by Liby & Co. Chicago, also the most deadly weapon old Fritz has an American invention turned down by the American Government the Maxium machine gun, if you take that away from him we can lick him in 24 hours.
You all write of from 15 to 20 men dying at Camp Pike and at Alexandria each day, well I don’t know how many men are at those places, I’ll bet that there aren’t 20 men killed per day out of each 20,000 over here that are in the trenches or forward areas. One day not long ago Fritz threw over and into one village, that isn’t over a mile square 482 shells of all sizes and only killed four men and wounded none, a few nights later he came over dropping areo bombs out of 25 dropped 24 did no harm, one of the lot killed 16 men and wounded several.
Mother writes me that Ed and Rube have joined the service, well I wish they had stayed out, I think two of us are enough.
This war may end within the next twelve months but it doesn’t look just the same to me now as when I came over and I can’t see the end any nearer. I want to tell you that old Fritz is a long way from being licked yet. It looks like internal revolution is the only thing that will lick him anytime soon. What we need most over here is machine guns and areoplanes, they are the stuff to give them.
Well so long,
Yours
Jesse J Hinton
NOTES: Jesse J Hinton of Stamps, Arkansas is writing to V. E. Florence. Hinton was born on October 31, 1887 at Spring Hill, Arkansas and died on February 9, 1966. He is buried in the Lakeside Cemetery in Stamps, Arkansas. His military headstone identifies him as an Arkansas Sgt. of the 12th Engineers in World War I. He and his brother Clifton enlisted on June 7, 1917 and served in the same unit. Letter(s) written by Clifton are also included on this website.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Somewhere in France, Jan. 12th, 1918:
Dear Vick:
I received your letter the first of this week and I assure you that I was glad to get it for you always write all the news, we pass your letters all around and every one enjoys reading them. We are sure having some weather here it snows one day and rains the next. It snowed 6 in here on Dec.18 and didn’t thaw one bit until Jan 10 th, and that day it rained, it is snowing tonight awfully hard and has been for several hours.
I am just back from the base hospital where I have been for several days with some broken slats. I am in pretty fair shape now only I have a bad cold. Vick I’m going to try to tell you something in this letter, I don’t know if it will get by or not, but some of the boys are getting by with it so I might just as well try.
Soon after we landed here in France my company was put on the front about four miles from the German front lines, put us to operating light railway. They sent 46 of us 2 miles farther up the line, the steam engines brought the stuff up to us and we carried it from there up to within 350 yards of the German lines with gasoline and electric traitors. I was foreman and first mechanic. Skeet was driving a big armored gasoline tractor. We were hauling the shells to the front, also everything else, we had 31 machines, it was all for a big drive on short notice and believe me we made good and have been highly praised by Sir Duglas H. The popular saying of the Tommies on the front is, that’s the stuff to give them Sammies. During the preparation for the drive we often worked from 18 to 26 hrs with one meal and no rest, but we didn’t mind it much for we felt like we were accomplishing something. The drive was the biggest of the year, and we were greatly elated. The day the drive started our work was practicaly finished, so a good many of us followed along behind the light artillery and watched the “slaughter” which I think was the better name, for that was what it was, I saw dead men until they ceased to attract my attention. We picked up many souviners and we all brought back a German rifle and several hundred rounds of shells for them which happened to stand us in good stead a few days later when old Fritz broke through on a 6 mi front and he came pretty near getting some of our boys that were out on the line, they picked up the rifles from the dead tommies and fought him at close quarters until it got most to hot for them and they were about to be surrounded when they threw down their rifles and retreated with the rest of the Tommies and believe me Tommie is no retreater at all compared to Sammie for Tommie’s shoes are much too heavy and beside he can’t run with a Sammie anyway, comparson the turtle and the hare only the hare didn’t stop this time until he had gotten where he had started (into camp,) then, we shouldered our Fritz rifles and went back in force, that is those of us who wanted to and we had some fun and quite a lively time for the next few hours, the tanks and calvalry came to our rescue and the day ended with old Fritz pushed back to just about where he started from with practically nothing gained, but lost many thousand killed and wounded and a few “taken” prisoners, that wasn’t a good day for taking prisoners. I have had many big shells burst within 50 yards of me, a few even closer. I can’t say just how close, some of the machine guns and shrapnel bullets came to me for I didn’t see them nor where they hit, I just heard them go by singing their little song. We are still operating light railway, but steam equipment only, and we have moved back several miles from the front, in fact 14 mi. and are of danger only from an occasional air raid.
We have sheet iron huts to stay in, a stove and plenty of coal, our quarters are fairly comfortable, also we are fed pretty good, three hot meals per day and a decent variety.
Vick, I am writing this letter by sections, a little each night.
On Dec. 22nd after the drive they marched some 10,000 German prisoners by our camp and of course we went out and reviewed them, and take my word, they were the scrubbiest, sorriest, scurvey and most contemptible looking things to be called human beings that I ever saw, I could have murdered the entire lot and not have lost any sleep on account of it. About two out of every ten could speak some english and one out of ten had been in the states. We asked lots of them in English and in German when the war would be over and all we could out of them was, “for me it is over now” We asked lots of them how they were fed and all said that we (the soldiers) are well fed but their people back home are starving, well maybe they well fed but they don’t look it to me, about nine out of ten of them were as tallow faced as they could be and didn’t look like they had an ounce of blood in them, most of them ran in ages from 15 to 20 and 40 to 60, those in the lot 20 to 40 seemed to be culls.
We found in the German dugouts, canned beef, packed by Liby & Co. Chicago, also the most deadly weapon old Fritz has an American invention turned down by the American Government the Maxium machine gun, if you take that away from him we can lick him in 24 hours.
You all write of from 15 to 20 men dying at Camp Pike and at Alexandria each day, well I don’t know how many men are at those places, I’ll bet that there aren’t 20 men killed per day out of each 20,000 over here that are in the trenches or forward areas. One day not long ago Fritz threw over and into one village, that isn’t over a mile square 482 shells of all sizes and only killed four men and wounded none, a few nights later he came over dropping areo bombs out of 25 dropped 24 did no harm, one of the lot killed 16 men and wounded several.
Mother writes me that Ed and Rube have joined the service, well I wish they had stayed out, I think two of us are enough.
This war may end within the next twelve months but it doesn’t look just the same to me now as when I came over and I can’t see the end any nearer. I want to tell you that old Fritz is a long way from being licked yet. It looks like internal revolution is the only thing that will lick him anytime soon. What we need most over here is machine guns and areoplanes, they are the stuff to give them.
Well so long,
Yours
Jesse J Hinton
NOTES: Jesse J Hinton of Stamps, Arkansas is writing to V. E. Florence. Hinton was born on October 31, 1887 at Spring Hill, Arkansas and died on February 9, 1966. He is buried in the Lakeside Cemetery in Stamps, Arkansas. His military headstone identifies him as an Arkansas Sgt. of the 12th Engineers in World War I. He and his brother Clifton enlisted on June 7, 1917 and served in the same unit. Letter(s) written by Clifton are also included on this website.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT