TRANSCRIBED FROM THE VAN BUREN PRESS-ARGUS MARCH 21, 1919 P. 8
Fount has been driving a local truck, but is now on the Spare Parts, left a few days ago for Paris. No doubt will have a few interesting things to tell when he gets back, for this is an opportunity that not many soldiers get without he is on a furlough. I have been detailed as assistant driver on the Spare Parts trucks ever since we have been here which was December 1st. We make trips which takes from two to twelve days, go everywhere there is an American camp. Some of the assistant drivers have been up into Germany but I have never happened to that luck yet but hope to soon. I returned a few days from a trip to the old front, St Mihiel, Verdun, Argonne and Apermont Forests, spent one half day in the German trenches. To see how the Germans were fortified and under what difficult circumstances the Americans had to fight, would make one realize the fact at once that Sherman did not use any cuss word at all in his definition of war. And one can plainly see why the Germans had so much faith in themselves, most anyone would have felt safe in their fortifications. We drove about seven hours along the old front and the barb wire entanglements were still there and it looks as tho it would be impossible for anything to go through them. I saw more barbed wire than I ever dreamed was in the world. Most of the wire or practically all of it was made in the U. S. and sold to the Germans in the early part of the war, and then to think the American soldiers had it to go through later. There wasn’t a house left standing in Apermont and St. Mihiel wasn’t much better, what was left standing was full of large holes. On my return trip I had the opportunity of visiting the Joan of Arc Museum in the same house where Joan of Arc was born in 1412, went over the same ground that was her father’s at that time, and she had led her sheep when she was shepaerdess for her father’s flock. We were in the same church that was built for her memory, and from what I could understand of the French language is known as the Joan of Arc Memorial Church. It is said to be one of the finest churches in France. I have never had the opportunity of seeing such a church before. The sculptor work is said to have been done by one of the finest sculptor’s in the world at that time. I will consider myself lucky if I ever have the opportunity of seeing such paintings again. I sent you a picture of this church a few days ago and no doubt you have received it by this time. I bought it while in the church where an old Frenchman and his wife stay all the time and sell post cards, pictures and souvenirs. They take great delight in showing you everything, of course if you don’t understand French pretty good you don’t get much out of their explanation.
We saw the Chateau at St. Agnan where Joan of Arc hid her men while the enemy passed by, also have gone over the same road several times that she marched her men over, saw the house where she was captured by the English when she was executed.
We will be glad when the time comes when we will have the opportunity of becoming a member of your Sunday school class, for when we are discharged from the army we will need to become a member of Sunday school and several other civilized organizations, for an Army life certainly does lead one astray, one will habitually fall into the use of bad language as those he associates with day in and day out uses language that wouldn’t be very becoming in a Sunday school, but I suppose when we get back to civilian life we will forget it all within a short time. I hope so, anyway.
We have never seen anyone from Mulberry since we have been over here, saw a few Mulberry boys just before we came over but left them all at Camp Mills, Long Island. I think they came over in a few days after we did. We have never heard from Abb but saw him the day we left Camp Mills. The ammunition train never did come to the headquarters of the 39th division, but heard they were about two hundred miles from us, probably on their way home by now. Fount ran across a fellow that used to be in the same Company with Will Roy Justice, but he didn’t know where Will Roy was at that time.
We have no Idea when we get to come home for we may get transferred to the M. T. C. before long, probably this week, if so we will be over here for six months yet or longer, but will consider ourselves lucky if we get home by the 4th of July, but time passes off really faster than one would think, even though we are anxious to get back to civilian life and take up where we left off. All we can do is to wait until they see fit to send us home. I hope it won’t be very long.
Give our best regards to the Sunday school and especially the class we belonged to. Tell them that we would be glad to hear from any of them that would care to write, for a soldier in the A. E. F. is always glad to receive a letter from some one back home, and we hope to be with them before long.
Pvt. James D. Cotton and
Corp. Fount E. Quesenbury
NOTES: This letter was written by Pvt. James Dudley Cotton and Corp. Fount Eugene Quesenbury of Mulberry, Arkansas to their Sunday school teacher. Fount Eugene Quesenbury was born on October 8, 1890 and died on January 20, 1951. He is buried in the the New Cemetery at Mulberry, Arkansasa.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT
Fount has been driving a local truck, but is now on the Spare Parts, left a few days ago for Paris. No doubt will have a few interesting things to tell when he gets back, for this is an opportunity that not many soldiers get without he is on a furlough. I have been detailed as assistant driver on the Spare Parts trucks ever since we have been here which was December 1st. We make trips which takes from two to twelve days, go everywhere there is an American camp. Some of the assistant drivers have been up into Germany but I have never happened to that luck yet but hope to soon. I returned a few days from a trip to the old front, St Mihiel, Verdun, Argonne and Apermont Forests, spent one half day in the German trenches. To see how the Germans were fortified and under what difficult circumstances the Americans had to fight, would make one realize the fact at once that Sherman did not use any cuss word at all in his definition of war. And one can plainly see why the Germans had so much faith in themselves, most anyone would have felt safe in their fortifications. We drove about seven hours along the old front and the barb wire entanglements were still there and it looks as tho it would be impossible for anything to go through them. I saw more barbed wire than I ever dreamed was in the world. Most of the wire or practically all of it was made in the U. S. and sold to the Germans in the early part of the war, and then to think the American soldiers had it to go through later. There wasn’t a house left standing in Apermont and St. Mihiel wasn’t much better, what was left standing was full of large holes. On my return trip I had the opportunity of visiting the Joan of Arc Museum in the same house where Joan of Arc was born in 1412, went over the same ground that was her father’s at that time, and she had led her sheep when she was shepaerdess for her father’s flock. We were in the same church that was built for her memory, and from what I could understand of the French language is known as the Joan of Arc Memorial Church. It is said to be one of the finest churches in France. I have never had the opportunity of seeing such a church before. The sculptor work is said to have been done by one of the finest sculptor’s in the world at that time. I will consider myself lucky if I ever have the opportunity of seeing such paintings again. I sent you a picture of this church a few days ago and no doubt you have received it by this time. I bought it while in the church where an old Frenchman and his wife stay all the time and sell post cards, pictures and souvenirs. They take great delight in showing you everything, of course if you don’t understand French pretty good you don’t get much out of their explanation.
We saw the Chateau at St. Agnan where Joan of Arc hid her men while the enemy passed by, also have gone over the same road several times that she marched her men over, saw the house where she was captured by the English when she was executed.
We will be glad when the time comes when we will have the opportunity of becoming a member of your Sunday school class, for when we are discharged from the army we will need to become a member of Sunday school and several other civilized organizations, for an Army life certainly does lead one astray, one will habitually fall into the use of bad language as those he associates with day in and day out uses language that wouldn’t be very becoming in a Sunday school, but I suppose when we get back to civilian life we will forget it all within a short time. I hope so, anyway.
We have never seen anyone from Mulberry since we have been over here, saw a few Mulberry boys just before we came over but left them all at Camp Mills, Long Island. I think they came over in a few days after we did. We have never heard from Abb but saw him the day we left Camp Mills. The ammunition train never did come to the headquarters of the 39th division, but heard they were about two hundred miles from us, probably on their way home by now. Fount ran across a fellow that used to be in the same Company with Will Roy Justice, but he didn’t know where Will Roy was at that time.
We have no Idea when we get to come home for we may get transferred to the M. T. C. before long, probably this week, if so we will be over here for six months yet or longer, but will consider ourselves lucky if we get home by the 4th of July, but time passes off really faster than one would think, even though we are anxious to get back to civilian life and take up where we left off. All we can do is to wait until they see fit to send us home. I hope it won’t be very long.
Give our best regards to the Sunday school and especially the class we belonged to. Tell them that we would be glad to hear from any of them that would care to write, for a soldier in the A. E. F. is always glad to receive a letter from some one back home, and we hope to be with them before long.
Pvt. James D. Cotton and
Corp. Fount E. Quesenbury
NOTES: This letter was written by Pvt. James Dudley Cotton and Corp. Fount Eugene Quesenbury of Mulberry, Arkansas to their Sunday school teacher. Fount Eugene Quesenbury was born on October 8, 1890 and died on January 20, 1951. He is buried in the the New Cemetery at Mulberry, Arkansasa.
TRANSCRIBED BY CAROLYN YANCEY KENT