TRANSCRIBED FROM THE DEWITT ENTERPRISE DECEMBER 3, 1918 P. 3
U. S. S. Agamemnon,
November 21, 1918.
Mrs. Hallie Garrison, Bayou Meto:
Dear sister and all:
I will answer your letter which I received a short time ago. There is nothing like getting a letter from home. This leaves me well. I have eight days in whlen to see New York City. Every sailor on our ship gets a furlough, but I did not get time enough to come home and see everybody. I think I will come home before long. Some of us fellows in the regular navy will get out. I hope to be one of them.
Sis, we have gone through with some tough stuff--ask any soldier. They can tell you what the sailors do in the transport service. No more running on rough seas with all lights out; that was sure hard, but it saved us a good many times They almost got us five times, but we fooled them. Those Huns sure know how to handle the “subs.”
I shall never forget the morning they torpedoed the Mount Vernon, a sister ship to the Agamemnon. We left Brest, France, about 4 p.m. the Agamemnon, the Mount Vernon and five destroyers. We sighted a “sub” that evening, but she was too far away. We knew they were after us, but we did not worry; we were ready to give them hell. They never attacked us that night, but at 7:15 a.m. the fight was on. We ran right into three “subs.” One came up between us and the Mount Vernon. They fired one torpedo at the Mount Vernon and hit her about midships right in the fire rooms. One came up on our starboard side, but she was out of luck. I was on watch in the fire room that morning. Believe me, we did some skillful firing. We made 23 knots, that is about 25 miles an hour. We changed our course about every five minutes.
The Mount Vernon had to go back to Brest. We had not been away from her long before we met another “sub,” and we had just two destroyers then but one of our boys on No. 1 gun did the work.
Believe me, when you are down in those fire rooms, and all watertight doors shut, you have not one chance. When they would drop one of those depth charges on those “subs” it was worse than dynamiting fish; it would shake the “stuffing” out of us, and there is no telling what it did to them. When that torpedo struck the Mount Vernon we knew it--we knew she was hit; it shook us off our feet.
You should see some of the soldiers. Poor fellows, when we would have trouble they would go wild, especially the negroes. They would want to jump overboard. Some people may think we have not done anything in this navy, but we have gone through with lots of tough work. I have seen it so rough on the ocean that we would have to eat “canbill” sandwiches for two days. “Can bill” is some kind of poor meat. But it is all over now. We will get out after we get our boys back. We are going to have the honor of taking our President to Europe. We are going to take the peace party, and will sail December 3d. We will be over there some time, I think.
I am sure glad our dear old mother pulled through the “flu” all right. I think I saw Elmer Kelly of DeWitt here in Hoboken, N.J. I wish I was home to go duck hunting with W____
Well, sis, I don’t know much news of importance. I will close; write soon.
Ed. L. Scott,
Fireman, 1st Class, U. S. N.
NOTES: Edward Lancelot Scott is writing to his sister Hallie Garrison of Bayou Meto. He was born on April 19, 1891 and died on January 7, 1966. He is buried in the DeWitt Cemetery at DeWitt, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY GABBY RUSHING
U. S. S. Agamemnon,
November 21, 1918.
Mrs. Hallie Garrison, Bayou Meto:
Dear sister and all:
I will answer your letter which I received a short time ago. There is nothing like getting a letter from home. This leaves me well. I have eight days in whlen to see New York City. Every sailor on our ship gets a furlough, but I did not get time enough to come home and see everybody. I think I will come home before long. Some of us fellows in the regular navy will get out. I hope to be one of them.
Sis, we have gone through with some tough stuff--ask any soldier. They can tell you what the sailors do in the transport service. No more running on rough seas with all lights out; that was sure hard, but it saved us a good many times They almost got us five times, but we fooled them. Those Huns sure know how to handle the “subs.”
I shall never forget the morning they torpedoed the Mount Vernon, a sister ship to the Agamemnon. We left Brest, France, about 4 p.m. the Agamemnon, the Mount Vernon and five destroyers. We sighted a “sub” that evening, but she was too far away. We knew they were after us, but we did not worry; we were ready to give them hell. They never attacked us that night, but at 7:15 a.m. the fight was on. We ran right into three “subs.” One came up between us and the Mount Vernon. They fired one torpedo at the Mount Vernon and hit her about midships right in the fire rooms. One came up on our starboard side, but she was out of luck. I was on watch in the fire room that morning. Believe me, we did some skillful firing. We made 23 knots, that is about 25 miles an hour. We changed our course about every five minutes.
The Mount Vernon had to go back to Brest. We had not been away from her long before we met another “sub,” and we had just two destroyers then but one of our boys on No. 1 gun did the work.
Believe me, when you are down in those fire rooms, and all watertight doors shut, you have not one chance. When they would drop one of those depth charges on those “subs” it was worse than dynamiting fish; it would shake the “stuffing” out of us, and there is no telling what it did to them. When that torpedo struck the Mount Vernon we knew it--we knew she was hit; it shook us off our feet.
You should see some of the soldiers. Poor fellows, when we would have trouble they would go wild, especially the negroes. They would want to jump overboard. Some people may think we have not done anything in this navy, but we have gone through with lots of tough work. I have seen it so rough on the ocean that we would have to eat “canbill” sandwiches for two days. “Can bill” is some kind of poor meat. But it is all over now. We will get out after we get our boys back. We are going to have the honor of taking our President to Europe. We are going to take the peace party, and will sail December 3d. We will be over there some time, I think.
I am sure glad our dear old mother pulled through the “flu” all right. I think I saw Elmer Kelly of DeWitt here in Hoboken, N.J. I wish I was home to go duck hunting with W____
Well, sis, I don’t know much news of importance. I will close; write soon.
Ed. L. Scott,
Fireman, 1st Class, U. S. N.
NOTES: Edward Lancelot Scott is writing to his sister Hallie Garrison of Bayou Meto. He was born on April 19, 1891 and died on January 7, 1966. He is buried in the DeWitt Cemetery at DeWitt, Arkansas.
TRANSCRIBED BY GABBY RUSHING