×

Into the trenches… then ‘Over the Top’

Larsen arrives in Europe, thrown right into Great War

Photo from Warren County Boys Over There courtesy of Mark Nickerson A photo taken from the steps of the Warren County Courthouse of the third Selective Service Contingent as it left Warren in October 1917. Marshall Larsen was one of 38 (or 43, depending on where you read) men who left to join the struggle of the Great War in this group. Can you spot Larsen?­­­

The train was full of draftees from Erie and other towns along the line when it arrived here to pick up the men of the third Selective Contingent, including Marshall Larsen.

“All of the men were provided with meal tickets to secure their dinner and supper along the route and the supposition was held that they would be at camp in time for breakfast. They are not expected to arrive in camp however until about 10 o’clock tomorrow morning which is about the time the other contingents have arrived at the siding at Camp Lee.”

Located in Prince George County, Virginia, “The camp was laid out in a horseshoe shape roughly four miles long. Sixteen million linear feet of lumber was ordered to build the more than 3,000 buildings on the cantonment,” according to the U.S. Army. “More than 50 types of buildings were required, including 1,500 200-man barracks, a thousand-bed hospital composed of 40 buildings with two operating theaters, 10 large warehouses, numerous orderly rooms, headquarters buildings, and even a large incinerator facility.

“Named for Robert E. Lee, the most famous Confederate general of the Civil War and a native son of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Camp Lee reflected the convention of the times, which favored naming cantonments south of the Mason-Dixon Line for Confederate generals. The presence of influential southern Democratic senators on the major committees in Congress was a significant factor.”

Part of the camp is now part of the Petersburg National Battlefield.

Before leaving the local paper reported that Larsen was able to return home on furlough along with fellow comrade Harry Kofford.

“The Odd Fellows tendered them a reception in the I.O.O.F ball Monday evening, which was well attended and enjoyed by all.”

Once arriving at Camp Lee, Larsen was initially assigned to Co. C, Ammunition Train, according to a pension application through Feb. 12, 1918 before being reassigned to the Camp Lee Replacement Draft through April 12, 1918.

In the midst of that month, Larsen sailed from Hoboken to Europe (likely aboard the USS Republic, identified only as “33” on the passenger list log), leaving on March 14, 1918.

Once in Europe, Marshall Larsen continued with his infantry training to May 10, 1918 and was then assigned to Co E., 28th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.

When Larsen was assigned to the regiment, he was essentially thrown right into the fire.

The 28th Infantry Regiment had been entrenched across from the town of Cantigny in the Somme department of Northern France for a month.

“In order to raise the prestige of the AEF (American Expeditionary Forces), (General of the Armies John Joseph) Pershing decided to attack the small town of Cantigny with the closest unit available,” according to a history of the 1st Division prepared by Michigan Tech. “On May 28th, the division opened the U.S. offense combined with support of its artillery detachments at 0545 and French allies close to the town. The American forces were able to take the town by 0700 hours, taking 100 German prisoners and only suffering 50 casualties. However, only a short time later, the Germany artillery began to attack the town combined with infantry from hidden dugouts. The battle continued on for most of the day, and at 1640 the Germans artillery launched a major bombardment, followed up by an infantry counterattack…. By the 29th, the battle was over at a cost of 1,400 casualties to the Americans. More importantly, it showed that the Americans in Europe could fight and achieve results.”

Larsen had been “wounded slightly” the day before the assault but appears to have remained with the 28th as a replacement through the fight at Cantigny, the first American victory of the war.

The next major engagement for Larsen and the rest of the 28th would occur about a month-and-a-half after Cantigny.

To be continued in next Saturday’s Times Observer

—————–

A call for help:

The response I received when I asked for stories of the 1956 flood was far beyond what I thought it would be. Thank you.

I’m trying again…

We’ve started reading about Gudrun Ensslin, a 1959 Warren High honor/exchange student turned leftist German terrorist.

Did you know here when she was here? If so, I’d love to hear what you remember.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today