Letter to Aunt Ida - April 16, 1918

Camp Wadsworth

April 16, 1918

Dear Aunt Ida:

    Have been here a little over a week now and have not heard from you but expect a letter any day now.

All the boys here are from around Montpelier and I know most of them so I get along very well.  The first Sat. and Sunday I was here they had a ball team and we played one of the other Regiments and beat them.  My arm is fine and I expect to play all the time, they think I am some ball player.  It will get me out of a lot of hard work.

I had a chance to go in the kitchen but have changed my mind.  I think I will stay in the infantry as this regiment will probably never do any fighting.  I think my chances are better in this branch of the service than any.  You see this has been transfered to a Pioneer Regiment and their work will be building up the roads and repairing this in general.

This is some camp here about 40,000 men and we all sleep in tents  Officers and all, but the weather is very warm and when the wind blows it is something terrible.  Today has been one of those windy days and the dirt is everywhere but I guess it won’t do any damage.

My service record has not got here from Fort Slocum and I won’t get any pay this month so I wish Uncle Will would send me $10.00 to hold me through (by money order) so that I will get it before the last of the month.

Has he got any of my State pay yet?  He didn’t let me know if he had rec’d any.

I have been doing most everything since I came down here but don’t seem to mind it.  I am glad to have something to keep my mind taken up.

I got a long letter from Ida May today and she seems to like it very much where she now is.

One of the boys from this camp is home there now, Arthur Mack, he sleeps in the same tent with me and he enlisted at Wht. River Jct. the same time that I did, he think he is some big man now.

There are all kinds of entertainment here every night and I have used some of the Surileage [?] books that Uncle Will sent me.  They have Liberty tents here and the ticket are good.

Yesterday I got a long from Homer by the way of Fort Slocum and he is getting along fine and making much better than at Montpelier.

I was sorry that I had to leave Fort Slocum but I don’t suppose that we can have things just as we want them.

We expect to move north soon so I will come home when we get up there.

Hoping this finds you O.K. and enjoying yourselves.

I remain With love and Kisses

    Ervin

57th Pioneer Inf., Co. H.

Camp Wadsworth

Spartanburg S. C.

How to you like my envelope?  [Knights of Columbus War Activities]

Will send you some pictures of the camp soon.

 

Letter to Aunt Ida - April 1918



Camp Wadsworth

Camp Wadsworth

Spartansburg [Spartanburg], N. [S] C.

Dear Aunt Ida:

Well here I am in Spartansburg but expected to go to Camp Greene Charlotte N. C. but when I got down there my regiment had been transfered to this place.   So it took me quite a while to find the place I was going to.  They shiped me over to Camp Greene and from there here.

It seems to bad that I could not get home before I got so far away but you see, belonging to the National Guard I had to be sent out at once as they called for National Guard men to be sent to their camps at once.  There is not doubt but what I will have a chance to get home before I go across as there are only 29 men in our company and we are supposed to have 200 so I imagine it will be some time before the company will be full.

It is not rearly as nice as it was at Fort Slocum but I suppose this is the training life and when one get used to it there is nothing like it but I guess some of the fellows will die getting used to it.

This camp is the largest in U.S. and all I have seen in the last  few days is soldiers.  I didn’t suppose there was so many men in the world.  We all sleep in tents here even the officers and the officers seem to be around with the men more than at Fort Slocum.

Yesterday I was on Guard and today we went over in the field about two miles and build a road.   We were beside a cotton field so that was the first time I ever saw it grow.

I think that this road building and cleaning up is the kind of work that we will have to do when we get across and they are breaking us in here.

We are not getting any drilling here and we don’t expect to get much as it takes nearly all the time to do the work that has to be done.

I am writting this letter during my noon hour so my time is limited and have got to go back to work.  Thought I would let you know my address and how I was getting along

    With love,

        Ervin

57th Pioneer Inf.  Co. H.

Camp Wadsworth

Spartanburg

South Carolina

Letter to Uncle Will - April 1918

See timeline:  Ervin was member of 1st Vermont Infantry until April 1, 1918.  Became part of 57th Pioneer Infantry.

No date

Dear Uncle Will

Am leaving for the camp tomorrow morning Camp Greene, Charlotte N.C.

Ida and Martha are here to see me before I go

Will write as soon as I get there.

With Love,

Ervin

George Morrace's Diary included this (George was at Fort Slocum the same time as Ervin):

Friday, Apr. 5 (1918)  Left Fort Slocum at 9 AM Arrived Jersey City 12:30 pm. Left 12:30 am. Arrived Philadelphia 3:30 pm, Baltimore 6:00 pm, Washington 10:00 pm (Red Cross good to us).

Saturday, Apr. 6 (1918)  Richmond 3:00 am, Charlotte N.C. 9:00 am, Rocky Mt. S.C. 2:00 pm, Columbia 4:00 pm, arrived at Spartanburg 11:00 pm.