Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-09-05
VERMONTERS IN AMMUNITION
TRAIN.
About 700 of Them Assigned to This
Branch at Westfeld, Mass.

About 500 of the Vermont regiment
are now in the concentration camp at
Westfeld, Mass, the remainder of
those transferred from Fort Ethan
Allen being at birmingham, Mass,
and Mantle, Conn.
The Vermont boys at Westfeld are
largely in the ammunition column of
the 26th division. The ammunition
column is made up 935 men and 27
officers. Some of the officers of the
column jokingly referred to it as the
''truckman's union" of the 26th divi-
sion.
The duty of the ammunition col
umn is to handle the ammunition,
arms, etc., and it is said that the Yer
mont boys were picked for this ser
vice because of their husky appear
ance. The service is considered a de-
sirable branch.
Of the 935 men in the column 695
and most of the officers are Vermont
ers. The other 240 men are from the
Massachusetts Coast artillery. The
column will be commanded by Lieut..
Col. Kevelle of regular army. The
majors are Major Ashley of Vermont
and Major King of Massachusetts.
The outfit of the ammunition col
umn includes $50 motorcycles with
side-cars $50 horses and $50 mules,
wagons, automobiles, etc.
Major Ashley says that while all
the officers regretted that the Yer
mont troops were separated the men
of his command were fortunate in be-
ing combined with the Massachusetts,
coast artillery who are an unusually
fine lot of young men. Col. Kevelle
has not yet arrived at Westfield.
A few of the Vermont soldiers at
Westfeld are not in the ammunition
column, but are attached to a machine
gun company which is a part of the
26th division.
An ammunition column is composed
of seven companies and the compan-
les are numbered instead of known by
letters.
The remaining 700 men of the 1st
Vermont infantry .0namanded by Col.
F. B. Thomas left Fort Ethan Allen
Sunday afternoon for Westfeld,
Mass, where they will join the 26th
army division which is composed of
New England national guard troops.
The state reservation is deserted and
denuded of all camp paraphernalia.
From early morning until the troops
left a steady stream of people poured
by automobile and electric car lines to
the camp to say goodbye to the boys.
Four Hurt and Two Autos Wrecked.
Four persons were injured and
two automobiles wrecked Sunday on
an overhead pass two miles from st.
Johnsbury toward Lyndonville, the
cars with their occupants dropping 80
feet onto the ST. Johnsbury & Lake
Champlain tracks Mrs. Loren Mi
ner, 70, of ST. Johnsbury was serious
" injured Irwin Dillon of South
Lawrence, Mass, was bruised about
the chest, j. J. Dern of Montpelier
has an injured knee and Mrs. Dern re-
ceived injuries to the back.
The Massachusetts car, driven by
Mr. Dillon, with his aunt, Mrs. Miner,
was struck by the Montpelier car.
The steering gear on both machines
broke in the collision and the automo-
biles tipped off opposite ends Of the
over-pass, scattering the occupants
down the bank.
Soon after the accident a double
header train approached and this was
stopped by F. C. Mayo, the assistant
superintendent of the road, and one
of the engines was used TO clear the
wreckage from the track. Both cars
were completely wrecked. Mrs. Mi
ner is the only one whose injuries are
considered dangerous.