The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-03
HERO OF VAR
JUMPS OVER
BOARD AT SEA
Lieut.. Col. ittlesey
Who Won Fame as
Commander ef the
8 S t Battalion
Disappears + 70 m
Ship

New York, Nov. 2s.-Iieut. Col.
= Charles W. Whittlesey, hero Of the
famous elost battalion" ," has dlsap-
peared from the steamship Toioa on
which he sailed Saturday for Ha-
bana, according to a wireless mes
sage received here today.
News OF the disappearance OF the
! famous soldier came in the follow
ing message received from the cap
tain of the ship: Passenger named
C. NJ. Whittlesey disappeared. Left
several letters" :.
oHcials OF the United Fruit
Line, operators of the ship, con-
frmed the fact that the passenger
In question was Lieutenant Colonel
Whsttlesey through his relatives.
members Of Mr.. Whittlesey's law
firm here were at a loss to account
for his proposed visit to Cuba
when he left thef Offices of the
firm Friday he announced MS IN
+ tention, they said, of attending the
Arny-Navy game On the following
day.
It has since been learned that
Colonel Whittleseys purchased a
ticket for Habana the following
morning and sailed that day.
His business associates declared
that his mind was clear and that he
apparently was in good health 9TH
erwise when last seen. He seemed
cheerful, they added, and declared
they were unable to explain his
seemingly strange action in going
away as he did without notlfyang
them Of his plans.
c. w Whittlesey, the soldiers
uncle. tonight said that Colonel
Wlittelsey attended the services for
the unknowa dead at Washington
on Armistice day and had since ap-
peared depressed. Mr.. Whittiesey
said that he last saw his nephew on
Friday evening and that he dad
not notice; any decided change IN
his demeanor at that time,
Colonel Whittlesey. 7wf'o was Sc
and unmarried. lived in e bachelor
apartment on East Forty-fourth
street. When he appeared at break
fast Saturday morning he brought
suit case down from his room.
He did not say where he was going
and his friends did not consider the
circumstances unusual because he
was In the habit of taking fre-
3cuent weekend and business trips.
Colonel Whittlesey is the son Of
Mr.. and Mrs. Frank 2. eWhittlesey
of Pittsfeld, Mass BE has two
brothers, Elisha of Pittsheld and
Meizar Of this city.
The crisp, laconic, reply: You
go to hell" hurled into the teeth
of q German officer who called on
him and his men to surrender, was
the rhetorical battlefield classis
which brought Colonel Whittlesey
into fare over night.
Surrounded in the Argonne with
his command, the first battalion OF
the Three Hundred and Eighth in
fantry. Seventy-seventh division,
whittlesey had been cut off for
four DAYS without food or fresh
water. All but 81 men had been
killed or wounded. At dusk on Oc-
tober q, 1918, blindfolded Ger
man bearing a white iag, crossed
tie line. He bore a message ask
: ing the Americans to surrender, IN
the name of humanity.
A few hours after the messenger
had been sent back with Whit
tlesey's reply, an American ad-
vance took place and all were res
cued.
His exploit was rev arded by
President Wilson with -he congress
sional medal of honor, the most
cherished American war time deco
ration, given only for valor outside
the regular line Of duty. Some
months after the armistice the Ger
man officer who demanded Whit
tiesey's surrender added to his lau-
Tels by publishing a statement ex-
tolling the Americans courage and
determination.
John 3. Pruyn, a iawer to whom
messages from Captain Grant of
the Toloa were addressed, stated
tonight that he was Of the opinion
that c. mel Whittlesey had ended
his own ..fe. Radio messages re-
lated that Colonel Ehittlesey left a
note for the captain requesting him
to notify his parents in Pittsfeld,
Mass, and then disappeared from
the ship.
Mr.. Pruyn stated that he believed
the tragedy to be the result Of
mental strain to which Colonel
Whittlesey had been subjected as
one Of the honorary pallbearers at
the ATmistice day ceremonies in
Washington.
Robert F. Little Of White & Case,
the law firm with which Colonel
Whittlesey has been associated for
some time, received a wireless mes
sage from Captain Grant Of the
ToIoa stating that the colonel had
left message for him regarding
some law papers. The note end
ed with: Il will not return"
Colonel Whittlesey had had so
much grief confronting him since
the war that l believe he could not
stand it any longer" Mr.. Little said
fonight. Because OF the promi-
nence accorded him, widows and
orphans the country over wrote to
him and appealed to him in per-
san. Many seemed merely to want
his sympathy for he was a very
ss1essss, 80 1. -, ~ f.f5 W, a N