Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1918-11-27
Frank Reese Writes His Father
Mr. J. w. Reese.
At the Front,
October 20, 1918

At the Front,
October 90, 1918
Dear Papa:
I will now try and answer your
letter l received some time ago. l
hope this letter will find you and all
we'll and getting along fine. l have
been sick but am getting along 0. K,
You asked me to write you a good
interesting letter so l will do my best.
After leaving our camp in South
Carolina we got to the port of embar-
kation and went on board ship Then
my greatest experience of life began.
We were on board II days and when
we had been out about s days I be-
came sea-sick and of course | had to
help feed the fish. got to work in
the ship bake shop as you know that
you cant keep a cook out of the kit
chen and cook that has good sense
won't go hungry. Well, l didn't any
way.
We arrived in port, an English
port at that, about four o'clock in
the afternoon of the 18th day of our
voyage. We went to rest camp and
spent the night, leaving there the
next day. We went by rail to another
English rest camp. Now, Papa. when
say by rail, 1 mean that we travel
led over a sure enough railroad, but
entirely a different kind to the ones
you find in America. When you get
into the coach you are locked in and
there is no aisle. You have to stay in
the compartment you are in. There
is just room for eight men to sit up
in compartment and there are about
five compartments to car. We ira
yelled all day crowded that way to
the other rest camp. There we unload
ed and stayed about five or six days
more.
England is a very pretty country
but 1 will take America for mine.
saw one of the oldest cathedrals in
the country there. Its foundation was
laid in the 18th century and it was
completed in the 18th. Some Of the
finest roads and most beautiful scen-
cry in the world will be found there.
While I was there I was out walking
one day and met mighty nice old
gentleman. l was taken into his home
and had tea with him. His name is
Mr.. Henry Tanner. 1t was there that
got my dog. 1t is registered Eng
lish Retriever. He was just a pup
but is now a big dog and my best
friend. 1 named him Sammie because
that is what we are called. Major
Marchant named him but l think ev-
cry boy in my company wanted to
name him English Kid"
l had better leave England or l
won't get into the war at all in
France. We left England and went
aboard ship for France. We crossed
the channel and landed in France the
next morning. We went to another
rest camp and stayed over night, leav-
ing there by rail to training camp.
The trains in France are just the
same as the trains in England. We
travelled three days on this trip ana
then we went into some barracks
said to have been built in the time
of Napoleon, the Conqueror. We
trained there for actual war for two
months then we were shipped out to
the front.
This is where 1 can't tell you every
thing I have seen but will do my
best. Before leaving for the front
we were put in fighting form. We
did not have any great amount OF lug
gage. We had to go into dog tents
and live in the WOODS. we coulo HoI
have lights at night so we just had to
wait and see what our duties were.
We could hear the guns from the
front very plainly now. This is where
| was under shell fire the first time.
Of course l did not have to go but
I wanted to see all of the excitement
and did see and hear the greatest
thing in my life-a real battle. There
were more guns fired in this battle
l believe than there were in the
whole Civil war. 1t seemed as If the
world were on fire. The knees OF the
men will get shaky under that kind