Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-12-09
THE GUNS or 313TH
BLASTED WAY THRU
GERMANS IN ARC0NNE
Captain GiIpin Tells How His
Battery Opened the Way.

Raymond s. Tompkins. special
writer for the Baltimore Sun at the
front in France. has given reader az
that paper some decidedly interast-
ing news OF the deeds and heroism
of Maryland, Virginia and West Wig
ginia boys, In recent dispatch lis
speaks of Captain Donald p. Gilpiu
of Baltimore, we'll known here, who
had charge OF a battery OF the famous
31Sth Field Artillery, composed %
West Virginia boys, possibly some o.
the boys from this county.
Capt. Donald Gilpins 1858 had bat.
tered to the ground the church tower
on Montfaucon, from whose upper
windows the Crown Prince OF Germany
had watched his armies in 1916 suee
ing against Verdun and rolling back
like waves against a cliff. Gilpn
didn't tell me that himself: he spoke
of "the town church In Montfaucon,'
which his battery had used as an aim
ing point, and he told Harrison ana
myself how his gunners had laid ihe
guns within less than so mills of ab.
solutely accuracy, and how the stones
Of the old tower had come boundlne
down the hillsides as the infantry
the Three Hundred and Thirteenth
from Camp Meade---had marched up.
so knew what his battery had done.
because there was only one chureh
tower In Montfaucon and there waH
only one Three Hundred and Thir
teenth that went up the hill in that
attack.
Most of the credit for the work OF
the 1858 in that demolition of the
nest of the Crown Princes hope9
Captain Gilpin gave to another Bal
timorean In his own outfit Lieut. AIS
thur s. McCabe A friend wanted To
bet him that under the condition he
bad described II would hava. been
impossible to lay the guns with less
than so mills OF DETECTION It couldn't
be DONE never had been done. And
Gllpin took the bet. He banked on
McCabe.
Both Division.
1t was as an artillery outfit in the
Eightieth Division--the old Camp Lee
outft--that the regiment which In.
cluded Captain Gilpin's battery tore
open the way up Montfaucon for the
Three Hundred and Thirteenth Capt
Frank ODER commanded Battery T. In
the same regiment. Capt. Fred Cos-
ton was operations officer at head
quarters OF one of the brigades. IlsaY+
ing been carried away to hospitals
on October and not having seen
any OF the old bunch since, Gilpin
didn't know how they were getting
along from the assembling fields out
to the fighting front.
Battery Slept Standing.
But to get back to the Eightieth
Division and Montfaucon, beyond
which town from east OF the Meuse
to the Argonne Forest the American
Army Is fighting now and has been
fighting since September 20, tire
greatest battle in the history OF
America-one OF the greatest battles
in the history Of this war Captain
Donald Gilpin, with nothing but three
weeks Of reflection in a hospital be-
tween this moment and his last rec
objection of the fighting, had vivid
pictures Of the struggle still coursine
through his head
One OF them was of the shell that
woke him and his battery UP one
morning when they were going into
position. They had been at it for
three days and nights, and they were
moving ahead to go at 1T again
Horses, limbers. guns and caissions
were struggling through the deep
mired roads and 1t suddenly dawned
upon Captain GiIpin that he was
asleep, or had been asleep--asleep on
his horse. lie could see what had
awakened him; pillar Of dirt, smoke
and steel was just collapsing before
/ his eyes, SO yards ahead. A Germaa
she'll had landed there.
Got Into Valley Quickly.
The battery had reached the tor
Of hill. The Germans had seer
CONTINUED from page six.)