The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-03-12
GIVEN
FINE OVATION IN BARRE,
PRESENTED LOVING. CUP
lContinued from third page. J

Continued from third page
was no fuel available, The boys were
assigned to haymows, chicken pens, next
door to the pigs and some Of them in
houses. Their equipment hadn't arrived,
so fast had the men themselves got
away, The weather was miserable, be-
ing wet and cold; the mems feet were
never dry. They had to march away in
the morning, spend the whole day in
training and then march back again at
night
But pom my soul, you neverd hear
one of those Yankees complain"
Not always We're they given the best
medical attention either, because there
was at least one medical man with the
division who sent the men away if they
carried a lOl fever and told them to
come back if they were carrying l02 de-
grees. That medical officer, interposed
General Edwards, went right back home
very soon.
To add to the handicaps, there wasn't
time enough to train the division proper
ly before there came a call from the
French for Americans to 90 into the
line; and General Edwards was sum
moned to general headquarters. There
he was told that the French wanted two
battalions sent up to the Chemin des
Danes sector; whereupon General Ed.
wards told the general headquarters men
that he didn't want to send two battal.
ions but the whole division And, finally.
he got his way; the division went up to
the Chemin des Danes front. That was
on Feb. 6. And they were in the trenches
46 days. In that time there was not a
single man reported absent without
leave and the military police didn't
have to arrest a single straggler.
The Goth at the Crucial Point.
From Chemin DIES Danes the division
went to the Toul sector, which had not
been organized and there they went over
the top singing Hail Hail, the Gangs
All Here They were in the hard blow
at Seicheprey and at Xivray and then
they went to the Chateau Thierry sector
and relieved the Cd division of regulars.
We were right in the angle there" said
General Edwards; I'VE were the only
thing between the Boches and Paris.
There was not even a territorial in sup
port of us. told my men that they
had done well in the Toul sector, that
they were in for hard task and that
their being placed there was the great
est honor and tribute ] had ever heard of
given to a division"
How well the men responded to his
words of counsel is known by the re-.
suits of that Chateau Thierry drive.
Though facing the best German divis-
ions, the divisions which had been push
ing across the Marine, they did their
work. 1t was part of the French STRAIT
egy for the 26th division to sweep up
some fox holes which the Germans
had peopled with machine gunners and
concealed with wheat. The French
thought it enough if they took the fox
holes stopped until the artillery had
pounded for an hour and half and then
proceeded to Torcy and Belleau. But, &"
pleaded General Edwards, don't stop US
there; let us 90 on and yank the shirts
right off the Boches backs before they
wake up" So 90 on they did, and thew
not only captured the fox holes" but
they swept on and took Torcy and Bel
leau and hill 1913, only to be recalled
from the last-named position on the plea
of the French commander Later they
took that hill and swept on and cut the
Chateau Thierry Scissors railroad line.
advancing l7h kilometers in five days
and wiping out three Boche lines of en-
trenchments. Eve lickedfhe life out of
them" shouted the general.
General Edwards paid special tribute to
the ammunition train in which there
were so many Barre boys and also the
supply train. "The Vermont BOYS were
the backbone of the ammunition train. "
he asserted. Toward the end of his ad-
dress General Edwards read from cards
the records of some Barre boys in the
service, mentioning several who had been
cited by himself for bravery and refer
ring TO many who had been wounded,
including Private Dean Brock who occu-
pied place on the platform with the
speaker and who. at the urging of his
comrades, stood up for a brief moment.
The speaker also alluded to the splendid
record of Lieutenant Colonel John d.
Murphy, Norwich university boy, less
than Is years of age, who rose from com
mand of a machine gun company to lieu
tenant colonel and then to chief of staff
of the Yankee division, saving that men
of that stamp were the most valuable in
the service.
At the close of his address General
Edwards gave the salute and the audi
ence rose as one person and cheered him
to the echo. Even after the orchestra
played the final number the audience