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See the
James Rogers McConnell Memorial Collections, Accession #2104, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
The collection is established in honor of the memory of James Rogers McConnell.
Accession #2104 was given to the Library by Eleanor (McConnell) [Mrs. Ralph P.] Truitt of Baltimore, Maryland, on January 26, 1945.
Accession #2104-a was given to the Library by Dr. William James Kenneth Rockwell of Durham, North Carolina, through his father, Colonel Paul Ayres Rockwell of Asheville, North Carolina, on February 24, 1975.
Accession #2104-b was loaned to the Library for copying and return by Colonel Rockwell on February 24, 1975.
Accession #2104-c was given to the Library by Colonel Rockwell on August 1, 1975.
Accession #2104-d was given to the Library by Mademoiselle Marcelle Guérin de Precourt of Monte Carlo, Monaco, on September 29, 1975.
Accession #2104-e was given to the Library by Colonel Rockwell on November 19, 1976.
Accession #2104-f was given to the Library by Colonel Rockwell on June 17, 1977.
Accession #2104-g was given to the Library by the Moore County Historical Association, Inc. of Southern Pines, North Carolina, through Sherman W. Betts, president, on September 6, 1977.
Accession #2104-h was loaned to the Library for copying and return by Mrs. Helmut von Erffa of Piscataway, New Jersey, through Peter Stoudt, on July 21, 1980.
Accession #2104-i was given to the Library by Catherine D. Scott, Librarian, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., on October 21, 1980.
Accession #2104-j was given to the Library by Mrs. Charles T. Grier of Carthage, North Carolina, through Peter Stoudt, on June 24, 1982.
Accession #2104-k was given to the Library by William James Kenneth Rockwell of Durham, North Carolina on May 20, 1997.
James Rogers McConnell was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 14, 1887, one of three children of Samuel Parsons and Sarah Rogers McConnell. The elder McConnell practiced law in Chicago from 1872-1889, and served as Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court from 1889-1894. After an interval of private practice, he moved to New York City, where he served as vice-president and counsel of the George A. Fuller Company until his retirement in 1904.
The younger McConnell grew up in Chicago and New York City. He gained a certificate from the Haverford School in Pennsylvania before entering the University of Virginia in 1907. He spent two years in the College and a year in the Law School, withdrawing from his studies in the spring of 1910. While at Virginia, Jim McConnell held memberships in Beta Theta Pi, Theta Nu Epsilon, O.W.L., T.I.L.K.A., and the German Club. He was King of the Hot Feet, Editor-in-Chief of
After several years in business in New York and in Carthage, North Carolina, where he served as land and industrial agent for a small railroad, McConnell sailed from New York with a friend in January 1915, to enlist in the French service. Through the spring and summer of 1915 he drove for Section "Y" of the American Ambulance, in the thick of the fighting on the Western Front, around Pont-à-Mousson and the Bois-le- Pretre. He was cited for conspicuous bravery and awarded the Croix de Guerre. Some of his letters from the period were edited and published in the September 15, 1915 issue of
A deepening conviction of the rightness of the French cause led McConnell to volunteer for service in French aviation. He trained at the flying school at Pau and was breveted for flight on February 6, 1916. On April 20, 1916 he joined the newly-formed American Escadrille (later redesignated the Lafayette Escadrille) at its operational base at Luxeuil-les-Bains, becoming one of the first four of the seven original Escadrille pilots to arrive. He participated in the squadron's first patrol on May 13, 1916, and in the aerial actions during the great German offensive at Verdun in June and the Allied counteroffensives in July and August. On July 1, 1916, he was promoted to sergeant, the rank which he held until his death.
A back injury received in a landing mishap in August 1916 near the squadron field at Bar-le-Duc forced McConnell's hospitalization in September. Although he rejoined the squadron at Cachy briefly in November 1916 and again at Ravenel in March 1917, his health never returned to normal. While convalescing, he busied himself with writing, and produced articles for
McConnell was killed in aerial combat with two German planes, above the Somme battlefields, near the village of Flavy-le-Martel, Aisne, on March 19, 1917. He thereby became the last American pilot of the squadron to die under French colors, before American entrance into the war in April 1917. His body was laid to rest where he fell, and was later re-interred at the Lafayette Escadrille memorial near Paris in accordance with his father's wishes. McConnell was memorialized with a plaque from the French government and a statue by Gutzon Borglum at the University of Virginia, and with an obelisk on the court square of his home town of Carthage, North Carolina.
The
James Rogers McConnell Memorial
Collections consist of ca. 220 items, (1915-1917)1977, chiefly
ca. 160 letters, 1915-1917, written by the University's famed
aviator of the
Lafayette Escadrille to his friend,
Paul Ayres Rockwell and to Mademoiselle
There are also photographs and printed items pertaining to
McConnell. There are photographs and printed information on
McConnell's grave and other monuments to his memory. Items of
interest include the proof copy of the authorized English
translation (1919), published only in significantly altered
form, of the account of the Lafayette Escadrille written by
its French captain,
[letter of infatuation; received first typhoid treatment; arrival of the wounded and sick; stories of troops being opposed by Austrian and Bavarian troops; three Germans brought in; empathy for a commandant general summoned from China to Marseilles and then sent to the northern front where his health failed, went to Val de Grace and protected by Americans at St. Joseph; two beautiful aeroplanes flew above the hospital; [ ] Fenton]
[requests to meet with her and offer advice and any assistance; reveals his deep interest in her]
[affectionate letter containing "a little farewell line" and commenting "that you are everything to me over here --or elsewhere for that matter"; squad to work with the French ambulances on the line; base to be between Nancy and Pont-àMousson]
[orders to proceed to Pont-à-Mousson, at the front; description of trip from Paris through the country, mentioning La Ferté Gaucher, grave sites of solders, villages levelled by shell fire, and their greeting in St. Dizier; fine hotels now turned into hospitals; being under military rule]
[arrival at a point near Nancy the following day]
[written in French; arrived at Nancy]
[pleased with post; being under strict military rule; damage to town by German shelling and the death of two little children playing in the street; constant shelling and firing of guns; business flourishing in town; danger and adventure of driving into town; some German prisoners at their base; conditions of their advance post; meeting French officers and soldiers; inquires of [Paul Ayres] Rockwell and his wedding]
[worse at base at Dieulouard than at their advance point, Pont-à-Mousson; German shells killing one and wounding seventeen; exciting work during the bombardment; [Enos] Curtin; helping two elderly women spade their vineyard]
[seen first battle and evacuated the wounded with dispatch; work between the artillery and trenches; [Paul Ayres] Rockwell and his fiancé]
[return from their advance point; evacuated after first big fight; have about one hundred and thirty German prisoners at their base and are using them to clean up the streets; description of the advance point and the conditions under which they work at night, comparing the complete darkness to the skies illuminated by shells; the horror of dying and wounded soldiers; women nurses at the hospital near their advance point; description of the town near their advance point; French officials being pleased with the squad; comfortable and happy except for her absence]
[comments on the amount of work and conditions at the hospital where Marcelle works and her depression; six more ambulances and drivers to arrive; fighting is disheartening, the war tedious and costly; description of the funeral of a young sons-lieutenant, member of a prominent and influential family; anecdote of soldiers and shellfire; witness of the French artillery in action; description of bombardments of the town; jests about how the "doctors that experiment around the Lycee Pasteur" should come to the front; Paul Ayres Rockwell given long leave by the commission; M. Thierrie and the Viscounte de Peloux; constantly at advance point which now serves as their base; description of delightful gardens in the town]
[pleasure at reading her letters; Paul Ayres Rockwell's difficulties, with his fiancé becoming ill and his brother being wounded; story of the battle at Arras during which Kiffin Yates Rockwell was wounded; [Enos] Curtin's return to America; describes a unique service coming up where two fellows and himself run up into the woods to get the wounded and take them to the different postes de secour; [ ] Rockwell returning to the front in three months; praise of the French]
[[Enos] Curtin's departure; great deal of fighting; broken records for American Ambulance sections; Marcelle's interest in going to the front as a nurse; continuous bombardments; slightly injured by shrapnel at the most advanced Poste de Secours; comparison of bombardments at posts in a military atmosphere to those in town; description of scene of corpses removed from a store in town]
[note sent by Enos Curtin who is on his way to England then to America; moved from base at Dieulouard to Pont-à-Mousson; Ned Salisbury sharing the suite with him; description of the town and the view; trip into Le Bois le Prêtre and through the mutilated Quart en Reserve to the first line trench, where the Germans are only fifty meters distant]
[Paul Ayres Rockwell and Kiffin Yates Rockwell; Thierry-Delanone being hit in a bombardment; old Russia returning to the fighting; description of the peaceful town of Nancy, including the Place d'Alliance and the gardens; description of his return to the front with an artillery captain, including an observation balloon, various towns, crowds of soldiers, and destroyed buildings; man affected by an asphyxiating shell; sought shelter during a bombardment while writing this letter; evacuation of hospitals in Pont-à-Mousson; an attack in progress at Clas Bois and Montanville; humorous story about an encounter with some "good for nothing doctors" at Ambulance One and his attempt to scare them]
[Barnum and Bailey four ring circus tent anchored near the front; Paul Ayres Rockwell and Kiffin Yates Rockwell]
[relates that the French do not allow women at the front; hospitals now closed with only one small place to take the severely wounded; description of view from his suite which is shared with Ned Salisbury ; Paul Ayres Rockwell's wedding and his desire to see Marcelle at the same time; German attack of their caserne; have twenty field ambulances and a large Hotchkiss and are about to receive the Pierce- Arrow; high regard for the French officer]
[D. D. L. McGraw leaving for the United States; Ned Salisbury taking him on a flying trip to visit the tent squad; ambulance squad to be given the work of an adjacent division as well as the one they are attached to at present]
[Paul Ayres Rockwell and his wedding plans; hopes of seeing Marcelle; visit from Captain [ ] Watts, the Australian aviator in the French Army and Lieutenant [ ] Noel, the famous flier; tent squad and firing of several men; fortunate in having the Pierce-Arrow; short on drivers due to three men leaving and difficulty in getting men; to work out of Leincy, Flirey, Fey en Haye, and Auberge St. Pierre; gossip of Nona McAdoo and C. Britton; admiration of Marcelle and her hard work; description of twenty-four hour duty at Dieulouard, where their friends from an Algerian battery in Le Bois le Prêtre gave a concert of Arab songs; sad circumstances surrounding the deaths of the soldiers and the absence of news for their families; encloses postcard of "Bombardement de Pont-à-Mousson"]
[news of the tent squad and Nona McAdoo prevalent; no wounded yet at the four ring circus; six ambulances detached to handle the second stage of their evacuation work; to remain on the front all the time now, with no trips to the train; Paul Ayres Rockwell and Kiffin Yates Rockwell; arrival of the Pierrce-Arrow]
[admiration for Marcelle's hard work as a nurse; description of a typical trip with wounded from the front to the Ambulance and the hospital; discourse on the animosity toward the attendants and surgeons who don't seem to care as much about the wounded men; Fourth of July celebration with guests Captain Watt and Lieutenant Noel and German bombardments in the background; evacuations to points below the fighting zone; [Walter] Lovell and [Ned Salisbury]]
[[ ] Carb and [Paul Ayres] Rockwell; news that Ambulance No. 1 is being sent to the town below and No. 3 brought up; making application for a leave in September to go to Paris; Betty Baldwin leaving for the United States; news of the Russian retreat and future consequences of their newly trained armies in the spring; admiration of the French as the "wonderful, noble, people of this war" and disdain for the British taking credit; the United States' increase in the supply of ammunition]
[encloses "Lime-Light Lyrics III Marie-Odile or
The Nun and the Hun" by Oliver Herford from "Pen
and Inklings,"
[no ambulances left in Pont-à-Mousson; reorganization has split up the section so that ten men remain in service on the front and the remainder take care of the work below; Walter Lovell made squad leader; bureau moved to a splendid estate just out of town and nearer their postes de secour; share house with [Ned] Salisbury; description of a Lieutenant Kullman; Waldo Pierce to join them; relates tale of Waldo Pierce and Jack Reed; German who previously lived in the room left some good tobacco; Allies have new shell that is combination asphyxiating and incendiary]
[plans of Paul [Ayres Rockwell]; Betty Baldwin; Miss Williams leaving the hospital; marvellous mobile ambulance in their secteur; one of twenty-one units in France; comments on her letters becoming formal; death and funeral of a soldier injured when Mignot was killed]
[discouraged that he may not be able to see her since she has been assigned to the cart and must sleep in the hospital; tent has five patients]
[permission for leave around the 15th of September; Frank Page attending sister's wedding in London and is marrying a Miss Sexton from Auburn, New York; Kiffin Yates Rockwell transferred to the aviation service; while at the front their town had a devastating bombardment]
[finalizing plans for his visit to Paris; disappointment in the disgraceful exhibition shown by the United States towards the war; pride in the actions of France]
[relates the delightful time they spent together in Paris and Versailles; wishes to be where he can be of more use]
[waiting to hear about his application [to
aviator school]; Ned Salisbury on a family case in
the United States so he and [Walter] Lovell must
be in charge; his article in
[plans to visit her in Paris in a month and a half on his way to [aviator] school; will remain on duty until the return of [Ned] Salisbury; detailed description of a French chasseur plane shooting down a German aeroplane and the resulting crash and its aftermath]
[ill with a cold; [ ] Shroder from Holland nearly hit by shell; another recruit for aeronautic service named [Willis Bradley] Haviland]
[letter from [Paul Ayres] Rockwell claims that Marcelle looks unhealthy from working too hard; concern over her having a breakdown; [ ] Johnson at Pau is discouraged; Thierry-Delanone working for him; [Walter] Lovell]
[concern for Marcelle working herself into a bad condition; praises her, writing that it's "your kind that's making for French women the most glorious reputation..."; visit to Paris depends on the return of Ned [Salisbury] and the success of Thierry-Delanone in getting him sent to Avord instead of Pau; another good man, a prize gunner in the Navy, has made application [to aviator school]]
[move to Avord; Thierry-Delanone ill with
diphtheria so is trying to gain help of General
[Joseph Simon] Gallieni; effects of his article in
[went with [Walter] Lovell and [Emory] Pottle to the Mairie to meet the President of France, [Raymond] Poincaré; tri-color French flag blowing in the snow reminded him of his and Marcelle's trip to the little islands of St. Pierre and Miguelon]
[waiting for train in order to return to Paris and then on to Pau; amusing story of the choice of all sorts of uniforms and what he did choose at the aviation camp]
[started flight training]
[no time to one's self; only seven men ahead of him when he arrived so he started flight training in three days; start by rolling in a Penguin, a machine that won't leave the ground; [Lawrence] Rumsey, an American; awaiting the arrival of [Willis Bradley] Haviland; happy over their time together in Paris]
[passing through Penguin or rolling classes and will be taking short jumps into the air the following week; [ ] Rumsey's mishap with his machine; going to try to take his brevet on a Bleriot; wants to be breveted so that he will have six days permission in order to see her]
[lieutenant in division smashed a machine; standards have been lowered since his arrival; learn on the most difficult, the Bleriot, and do not get practice on the double command machines; go into the air alone]
[spent first quarter libre in Pau with the crowd; seven wrecks today; should have brevet in sixteen days; going to slow down until he gets the alterrissage better; Russian Ballet wonderful, especially knowing Marcelle was there]
[Paul [Rockwell]; start on his voyages in a week; completed stunts required for a civilian brevet; may be breveted in ten days; uniform; wonders how one shoots out of an aeroplane without losing control]
[lost his way and landed in this place; Landes looks like North Carolina]
[amusing time with people in this town; hopes of being breveted in two days; Marcelle being exposed to the Zeppelin attacks; promises to see her before going to the front]
[returned via his triangle route; making his altitudes, and then being breveted]
[numerous orders coming through daily; Americans to be perfectioned at Belleville or on Candrons; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell], [William] Thaw, and others now in Belleville; doing well on the Nieuport; [William] Thaw, [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin, and [Norman] Prince have been put on Nieuports; humorous rantings on being adamant about wanting to be put on the Nieuport; does not have the Belleville school to pass, so will go to Le Bourget and then to the front; supposes there are many wounded at her hospital because of the Verdun attack]
[no rule on perfectionment makes their training much longer; must be proficient in firing and have target practice every day; will shoot with a mitrailleuse; [Lawrence] Rumsey, the American has disappeared for a week; many Americans have deserted; wants to go to Toul; will have to report to Belleville since the move of the General Reserve; comments on his unseemly conduct on the last day in Paris]
[slated for the Nieuport; Vidart told him he would pass from the Moran tomorrow; description of his flight and landing; return of [Lawrence] Rumsey, who is in the infantry prison of Pau for fifteen days; [Norman] Prince has pull with the captain; comments on Marcelle's father and mother seeing them together; offers to write her at the Ambulance instead of her home]
[on the 23 meter Nieuport for several days and will soon go to the 18 meter; requested to go to Toul through Captain Watt; reminicense about their walk in the Bois; thoughts of going to the Russian front; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell] held up by the American Escadrille; advantage of possessing a lot of machines]
[Marcelle's ailing ankle; little time left on the Nieuport; hopes to be called to the front but men who left there are tied up at Plaissey-Belleville; Watt leaving for Australian flying corps; Le Bourlis wounded; mishaps of machines falling; description of soldiers passing French officers with the goose step; description of his flight as he started a spiral at 1,000 meters and lost control; [Willis Bradley] Haviland to be breveted in a week]
[news of the recovery of
[relieved that Betty [Baldwin] is expected to recover; describes the terrible accident in which Le Comte, an éléve pilot making an altitude on a Bleriot, was seriously wounded]
[discussion of having feelings of depression; marked improvement of Betty [Baldwin]; to be sent to reserve as soon as his perfectionment on the Neiuport is finished; awaiting the return of Lieutenant Chavane before leaving for Plessis-Belleville; thoughts on his accomplishments in aviation school; letter from Mary Lines about Betty Baldwin's condition]
[[Charles Chocteau] Johnson and [Lawrence] Rumsey went to Paris; probably will get on the "Baby" [Nieuport] rightaway because of his hours on the Nieuport; more on his unseemly conduct in Paris; camp in in the war zone; American Escadrille to leave for front this week; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell]; Mary Lines; Betty [Baldwin]; man killed in machine when the gasoline tank exploded]
[arrived in Luxeuil after traveling to Rosnay, Rheims, and Epernay; news of sixty-two pilots killed; good conditions at camp; escadrille has beautiful equipment and over seventy men but only ten pilots; high regard given to pilots]
[encloses postcard of Luxeuil; mentions [Norman] Prince, [William] Thaw, and [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin; "Baby" Nieuports have not arrived; Norman Prince smashed the 18 meter Nieuport before leaving for Paris; first pracatice with a mitrailleuse; description of tour from Belfort into Alsace to look over landing places; German dropped three bombs and there were no machines to use to bring him down]
[thermal baths running short; [Elliot
Christopher] Cowdin decorated with the
[new machine running beautifully; awaiting arrival of his machine gun; "Rosa"]
[machine climbs well and mitrailleuse is ready;
[orders to go to Verdun; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell] downed a German aviator that was firing at them; [William] Thaw had a fight the day before]
[leaving for Bar le Duc;
[addresses her concern for him; plans to go to Toul; Lt. DeLaage [de Meux] flew down from Bar le Duc; inquires of moving pictures about the unit; relates that "Mac" is printed on the side of his machine; [William] Thaw]
[description of first combat; encountered fourteen German airplanes; five of which mounted to the attack; Germans dropped a great number of bombs, killing fifty people and wounding four times that; Germans used explosive bullets; old ambulance section picked up the wounded; [Walter] Lovell leaving to join the aviation corps; relates his own encounter with a German plane and losing his direction and subsequent crash landing at a French aviation center in St. Dizier; news of Betty [Baldwin]]
[relates looking for a German sighted over Vaux, describes view of Verdun through the clouds; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell]; [Walter] Lovell; Paul [Rockwell]; Betty [Baldwin]'s recovery]
[William] Thaw; describes the ordeal of [Victor] Chapman as he attacked a German plane over the lines and was surrounded by four others; [Horace Clyde] Balsley and [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin at first missing following a fight but then returned; [Norman] Prince reeturned; describes an accident killing two men in a Brequet; [Walter] Lovell]
[Victor Chapman killed in a fight over the German lines against superior numbers; praises Chapman; [William] Thaw; Paul [Rockwell]; news that [Horace Clyde] Balsley is dying then news that he is better; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell]]
[Kiffin [Yates Rockwell] received the
[describes their flying maneuvers; saw black plane with white crosses of the famous Captain [ ] Balke; Kiffin [Yates Rockwell], [Bert] Hall, and "Billy" [William Thaw ?] were decorated; Betty Baldwin]
[romantic letter]
[
[asked for permission for the 15th to go to Paris; only four machines running in the escadrille; inquires of a Polly Root who is acting as secretary of the French Wounded Emergency Relief Fund]
[leaving for a two-week stay at hospital for a recurrence of rheumatism; mentions seeing Gustave Bauer]
[mentions treatment in the hospital]
[received books; describes two arrangments at the hospital mentioning a portable barracks with a straw mattress and bad conditions and the infirmary with an orderly in attendance; eclopé horses there]
[to attend the concert where he will hear the
Rumanian national anthem and Faust; escadrille is
leaving Bar le Duc; read Train 8.47 [
[comments on
[news of the big offensive; 2,000 motor lorries passed through]
[mentions his back condition; mentions Yvonne having vacation]
[Paul [Rockwell] despondent over death of his brother Kiffin [Yates Rockwell] while attacking a German at an altitude of 3,500 meters; describes the attack and aftermath during which Rockwell was killed]
[trouble with his back; news of [Paul] Pavelka and [Norman] Prince]
[trouble with stiff back, making it difficult to fly; extremely cold, fierce weather; Germans come over nearly every night as it is a big aviation center; mentions bombing of a hangar which burnt up eight machines and caused injuries]
[plans to act as witness for Paul [Rockwell]'s wedding]
[comments on Paul [Rockwell]'s wedding and seeing her there; moving to a point on the line nearer to Paris; mentions [Paul] Pavelka, Hé:lène Dé Bouchet, and Betty Baldwin]
[order from a general that a few machines must be over the lines despite the weather; describes the flight of [Gervais Raoul Victor] Lufbery and [Paul] Pavelka this day; [Ronald Wood] Hoskier joined the escadrille; inquires of [Lawrence] Rumsey]
[problems with flying in bad weather; moving to a new post]
[thanks for the cigarette case; received 200 Dimitrinos and a cigarette case for a table from Paul [Rockwell]; flight in the rain; [Paul] Pavelka sick and smashed up on landing; [Gervais Raoul Victor] Lufbery laid up with rheumatism in his back; witty description of "salvation army" formed by Lufbery and 'Skipper']
[news of Howard's death; arrival of "Bill" [William Thaw] and [Charles Chocteau] Johnson; [Dudley Lawrence] Hill and Paul [Ayres Rockwell] left for the United States; escadrille has rotten reputation in Paris for drinking; comments on the cigarette case; mentions "Whiskey" [the lion cub mascot of the squadron]
[[William] Thaw and [Charles Chocteau] Johnson returned from the United States; first flying day in a long time with ten strong; description of flight activity between escadrille and Germans; postponed leaved so [Gervais Raoul Victor] Lufbery could take his]
[orders not to cross the lines; he and Lieutenant de Laage [de Meux] have volunteered to go "'sausage' chasing"; Biglow here now, playing the piano; had wonderful time in Paris with her; [Paul] Pavelka; Fred Prince going to Paris]
[in hospital "with the itch"; description of hospital and patients]
[meeting men of difference races in the world; mentions Captain [Bert ?] Hall, Hélène, "Bill" [William Thaw], and "Whiskey"]
[charming description of days mimicking spring; includes excerpt from a letter of Betty Baldwin of a glowing description of Marcelle]
[comments on his article in the
[trip from Nancy to their post has been postponed until morning]
[Nancy is beautiful]
[going to Pont-à-Mousson tomorrow; in between two German salients]
[Germans attacked, killing two children and a woman and destroying several places]
[passed through the most wonderful country; made 230 kilos through patchwork lands of soldier's graves and houses wrecked by the Germans]
[base near the trenches; damage at the station caused by German obus; advance post under a good deal of fire; living quarters comfortable; description of an American engineer named Decker; large fight expected soon]
[uncensored letter: description of an attack on the base; French detrained trainloads of troops at the base in preparation for an attack in the Bois-le-Prêtre at Pont-à-Mousson; description of ambulance trip with Willis [Haviland], writing of the wounded and the damage caused by shelling; expecting worse when they have big fight at Pont-à-Mousson; annoyed with military stuff, such as saluting all day and answering foolish questions for drunken soldiers]
[fight resulted in four trenches being taken and a hundred and fifty Germans; ambulances work between the artillery and the trenches; description of the shelling and its damage; description of beautiful scenery of 'La Belle France' on the way to their evacuation cases; terrible injuries caused by the crapouillots tossed into the trenches; kodaks taken from them so no pictures; advice for Paul's upcoming marriage; met a "village belle" who has promised him he may call on her at night]
[another heavy bombardment yesterday; describes conditions under which they work at night; discusses village life, with stores and factories running and cafes crowded; sleeping quarters at base and advance point comfortable; received letters from Marcelle Guérin and Elizabeth "Betty" Baldwin; one hundred and fifty Germans working at the base as a "White Wings" gang]
[writes of a Mr. Terry [Thierry-Delanone ?], citing him as a charming man and possibly having been in diplomatic work; living at the advance point due to heavy work load and the French section being ordered away to another point; expects six new cars and drivers; electricity wiped out by an obus clipping the wires; describes scene at the postes de secour where soldiers have come down to rest; comments on the French soldier]
[sympathy for Kiffin's severe injuries in the terrible fight; horrifying news that nearly the entire regiment is gone; comments on Thierry-Delanone slipping them inside news; describes in detail being under attack and the activities of the ambulances; now driving the contagious car]
[sent letter by Thierry-Delanone upon hearing of Kiffin's wounds; offers assistance]
[news of Italy's involvement; describes the dreadful scene when he went to the first-line trenches to see the burying of the dead French and German soldiers behind the lines; Zora Lee Fry visiting her uncle; crops look good; Paris sending big Hotchkiss care for sitting cases]
[wishes for Kiffin's recovery; Thierry-Delanone wounded in yesterday's bombardment; twenty people, mostly women and children, were killed and thirty-five wounded; description of mangled bodies and destruction in the village; loss of civilians shocking; saw three hundred Greek volunteers]
[postcard of "bombardement de Pont-à-Mousson"]
[inquires of his whereabouts and Kiffin's recovery]
[refugees leaving for Paris; bombardments so bad that the hospitals are closed and they have to evacuate all the way to Dieulouard; description of a shell attack on the hospital; voyage to the Gros Chêne where they bury the dead; [Ned] Salisbury]
[inquires of Jeanne [Paul's fiancé ?], Marcelle Guérin, and the Vicomte du Peloux; less wounded; to be given the work of the adjacent division also; will go beyond the last point of call of Auberge St. Pierre to Feyen Haye, Limey, and Flirey; Captain Watts, the Australian aviator in the French service, and Lieutenant Noel, the famous military flier, lunched with them; inquires of [William] Thaw; relates Watts' views on the English; wrote article on the American section and wants to write more for publication; mentions Sydney Adamson and Arthur Page in connection with writing; relates tale of Watts and Noel going out to the trenches; while on duty at Dieulouard had a concert with men from an Algerian battery; comments on the involvement of the several countries in the war, including Italy, Austria, France, Russia and England]
[inquires of Paul, his fiancé, and brother [Kiffin Yates Rockwell]; quiet, no bombardments]
[inquires of the Vicomte du Peloux; comments on Kiffin's improvement; declares strong friendship toward Paul; Germans bombarding first line trenches]
[much work now]
[comments on reports on the war in newspapers; six new cars, detached from the tent section, to be sent to take up back work; family refusing to send more money]
[plans for an American Fourth of July celebration; Germans shelled cluster of houses where some of the postes de secours are located; terrific bombardment of trenches]
[Captain Watts and Lieutenant Noel, the aviators, were guests at the Fourth of July celebration; wounds frightful; Germans using gas and then throwing petrol jets on the choking soldiers; R. J. Cunningham, African lion hunter, has joined the section; describes the changes that have occurred in the outfit; inquires of Elizabeth "Betty" Baldwin]
[Leif Norman] Barclay; discussion of publicity given McConnell; his sketch of the life of his section; Ambassador [Robert] Bacon (1860-1919) and wife [Martha Waldron Cowdin]; [Abram Piatt] Andrew (1873-1936); fighting in the Quart en Reserve; Russian retreats on side of Allies; treated soldiers wounded by grenades]
[inquires of marriage plans; activities of the telephonists at the trench switchboards and the artillerymen; [Charles Chocteau] Johnson and [Lawrence] Rumsey near Dunkirk; Ned Salisbury in Paris]
[news of Waldo Pierce; high explosive 'marmites' came through town causing casualties; death of Frenchman Maignot; Medicine Divisionale has removed the last Ambulance from Pont-à-Mousson so they have to evacuate to Dieulouard at night; Lieutenant Kullman left for Dieulouard; German attack previous night a failure]
[bureau moved to a sporty estate; describes shelling of area; Elizabeth "Betty" Baldwin sailing for the states; William Thaw seen in Toul]
[comments on Woodrow Wilson needing to do something about the Arabic incident; wonderful weather, quiet]
[orders to leave for a new post]
[thanks for the candy; machines have arrived; has own aeroplane and crew; first flightin "Baby"; [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin still on permission; [Norman] Price went to get his machine at Le Bourget; no word from Mowrer]
[news of Kiffin Yates Rockwell bringing down a German; Germans dropped bombs, killing five and wounding more; orders to leave Luxeuil for Bar-le-Duc; Norman Price; [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin; money for Gros from the committee; possible reward and medals for Kiffin]
[waiting at Luxeuil; [Bert] Hall sunk a German near Verdun; nothing to write about even for Mowrer]
[two little boards came and were for an 18
meter so had a makeshift made in Belfort; plans
for a mission over the Bois-le-Prêtre;
news of Kiffin Yates Rockwell's and [William]
Thaw's wounds; looking forward to Verdun; [Norman]
Price and [Bert] Hall smashed; Grundy writes that
the
[heard from Grundy; left Luxeuil and spent night in Toul; landed in present place and asked to go on mission; "Lovebury" [Gervais Raoul Victor Lufbery], [Bert] Hall, Captain T[henault], [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin, [Norman] Prince, and [Victor] Chapman all on mission to fight the fourteen "Boches" [Germans]; Germans used explosive bullets; his old American Ambulance section working on ground; [Walter] Lovell directed cars; forty killed and two-hundred wounded in town; description of his first fight with a German; some damage to his machine; headed south west and eventually hit the field at St. Dizier where everyone smashes]
[rain and clouds and nothing going on; Bar-le-Duc is closed to them; [Lawrence] Rumsey has arrived; [Norman] Prince was out; seems to be a split up in this outfit [William] Thaw and company vs. [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin, [Norman] Prince, et al.; received letter from Elizabeth "Betty" Baldwin in her own hand; has new machine; memorial service; [Walter] Lovell, [Leif Norman] Barclay and Willis [Haviland] leaving to join aviation; heard from Marcelle Guérin]
[comments on how he has the outfit sized up; comments on Kiffin Yates Rockwell, [William] Thaw, [Victor] Chapman, [Gervais Raoul Victor] Lufbery as being serious and on [Norman] Prince and [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin being in it for the sport; further comments on [Bert] Hall, [Charles Chocteau] Johnson, [Lawrence] Rumsey, [Horace Clyde] Balsley, and [Dudley Lawrence] Hill; trying to get "Skipper" there; American pilots not as good as French pilots; wrote to Paulette, one of the mannequin friends]
[[Horace Clyde] Balsley's wound caused by an explosive bullet while caught between four "Boches" [Germans]; [Victor] Chapman broke McConnell's machine; [Charles Chocteau] Johnson lost; mentions "my sweet smelling friend of Kodak"; [Didier] Masson with them now; [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin trying to get leave because of his nerves]
[death of Victor [Chapman] who was the bravest of all; wishes it had been someone like [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin; Gros was out today]
[remembers Sudbury and socks he sent to Paul; Kiffin Yates Rockwell, [Horace Clyde] Balsley, [Charles Chocteau] Johnson, Victor [Chapman] and McConnell passed sergeant today; loss of [William] Thaw, [Horace Clyde] Balsley, and [Victor] Chapman may make prospective volunteers rethink decision; expect "Skipper" soon; [Willis] Havi[land]; Norman Prince not bad; inquires of Lieutenant Noel]
[surprised at developments concerning [Bert] Hall; [Carroll Dana] Winslow trying some sort of line as Sayles; Norman [Prince] predicted that Hall would follow in the footsteps of [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin; calls Cowdin an awful liar; Captain is off on permission; Lieutenant [de Laage de Meux] running the squadron; discusses action dives on avatiks and Fokkers; Kiffin Yates Rockwell thinks the lieutenant is too wild; have learned certain precautions to follow during aerial warfare; "Skipper" has not returned; Grundy; remembers Victor [Chapman]]
[calls attention to large
[heard from Grundy who had asked "Skipper" for
information on how pilots are trained; sent good
line of mail stuff to Mowrer which does not
conflict with the
[received photographs; expects "Skipper" any
day; [Walter Hines] Page, editor of
[being evacuated to the hospital at Bar-le-Duc for two or three weeks; says its a shame because his new machine is ready; [Charles Chocteau] Johnson pulled off an attack; news of Norman [Prince] and [Elliot Christopher] Cowdin; enclose letter to sister for Pechkoff; heard from [Walter Hines] Page about article and Eyre; advises Kiffin Yates Rockwell to play it safe]
[laid up in a depot d' eclopés]
[sorry that Paul's eyes are bothering him; received two interesting books from Marcelle [Guérin]; discusses illness of a personal nature and also back pain; conditions in a sort of ward and in the infirmary; thinks that Eyre is getting a good sum of money on his work]
[heard from Grundy; hope [Lawrence] Rumsey has sense to keep him; back has not improved any marked degree; escadrille is leaving Bar-le-Duc; will probably see him when he rejoins the escadrille; asks Paul not to mention it to their young lady friends; two pilots instructing at Newport News, Virginia training school claim to have served in France; mother wishes to get him a release and has sent him a check; comments on Marcelle [Guérin] and her Russian beau; concert on Sunday included "ditty about picking up a queen on his permission and getting a frightful and torturing dose"; comments on reactions of the men, saying that many of the gentlemen may have had "unwise love affairs"; greetings to Kiffin Yates Rockwell]
[unhappy with move to this hospital; back is the same, receives no treatment; will have to report to his depot at Dijon]
[sends postcard of "L' Hôpital Général, Vitry-le-François"; claims to be much better]
[discouraged over progress of back, other problem almost all right; wants to get back since he can at least sit in an aeroplane; wants only a few days to get into condition; plans to visit for a few days; uniform has not arrived yet; asks Paul to cash the check from his mother; comments on lack of protest from America over Lille outrage]
[good news about Kiffin Yates Rockwell and the snowbird; trying a new elixir tomorrow; 2,000 motor lorries came through in route for Somme to move troops to the Champagne offensive; may be ten days before he is released from hospital; uniform must be lost; inquires about letter for Pechkoff; mentions Grundy and Munsey; encloses theatre program, "Programme for Théâtre du Parc/Dépot des Eclopés de Vitry-le-François/Concert/Du Dimanche 3 Septembre 1916"]
[his back is better and he hopes to get out soon; Elizabeth "Betty" Baldwin has been sending magazines and letters; forty in the ward now so no more massages; poor conditions in hospital; war seems to be moving towards the end; [E. A.] Marshall got another citation at Verdun; De Sillac transferred to aviation]
[thanks for the information on his escadrille going to Luxeuil; no news from Eyre; in bed again]
[sending first sheets of "eclopé speil"; E. A. Marshall hails from Long Island, New York; discusses Marshall's accomplishments in the war; De Sillac slated for aviation and is also a good writer; Eyre says no news from [Walter Hines] Page; discouraged over the condition of his back; poor conditions at hospital; wrote Polly Root and her committee for supplies and assistance; inquires about [Willis] Haviland; beginning the "eclopé speil"; comments on Yvonne and wonders if she will catch on; freezing without his clothes which are with the escadrille; heard from "Skipper" about Luxeuil]
[everything about the same; enclosing discourse of the Captain; invites him to work and club around with them in Luxeuil]
[misty and rainy climate; no machine yet;
thanks for sending
[told the boys about Paul's wedding; German attack destroyed sixteen planes, wounded nine and killed one; "Skip" tried his first night flight; Bert Hall is at their field; "Luff" [Gervais Raoul Victor Lufbery] went to Paris; cold weather bothers his back; [Dudley Lawrence] Hill will write soon; dined with some British officers; has "Luff's" old machine; cannot do work for [Walter Hines] Page due to the cold; have not heard from Hélène or Marcelle [Guérin]]
[inquires about the "civil ceremony"; "Skip" has returned; trying to work on the article]
[honored to be asked to witness Paul's wedding; not feeling well and "Whiskey" chewed his fingers so it is hard to hold a pen to write the article; will send the rest of it by Dudley [Lawrence Hill]; has only flown once since his return; hats off to [Herman Lincoln] Chatkoff; expects [Ronald Wood] Hoskier and [Edmond Charles Clinton] Genêt soon; [E. A.] Marshall was made a mechanic because of his heart; squadron moving next month; no news to send Grundy; regards to his wife]
[concerning her stay in Paris; says that the stove is the greatest success; [Ronald Wood] Hoskier has arrived; may go to Dax after the others arrive; [Dudley Lawrence] Hill sends best; "Skip" will write soon]
[delighted to have received the gem of a cigarette case as a keepsake from him; heard from "Skipper" the details of Paul's present life; bad weather has prevented flying; many pilots have fallen ill, including Lieutenant de Laage [de Meux]; working on the article; [Ronald Wood] Hoskier has arrived; regards to Paul's wife]
[Notes by William James Kenneth Rockwell concerning Rockwell's marriage and the cigarette case]
[concerning the pages of the article]
[expresses the University of Virginia's sorrow over the death of her son, James Rogers McConnell; expresses the desire of the University to place a memorial there to McConnell]
[moving letter about the death of her son, James Rogers McConnell; feels that he is nearer in spirit than when fighting so far away; is inspired and uplifted by his love for France and fight for human rights; believes that he was engaged to be married to Mlle. Hélène Dé Bouchet; Edwin Anderson Alderman's tribute to her son and his intentions to ask permission of the French government to bring her son's remains to be buried in the grounds of the University of Virginia; requests help with his belongings because of Rockwell's loyal and devoted friendship with McConnell; wishes to have her son's name in full, including his middle name and her maiden name, Rogers; comments that her son and his brother, Kiffin Yates Rockwell, are united in eternal fellowship]
[Notes by William James Kenneth Rockwell concerning this letter]
Pictured: James Rogers McConnell, Kiffin Yates Rockwell, Norman Prince, Captain Georges Thenault, and Victor Chapman.
Pictured: from left, Victor Chapman (1st), Captain Georges Thenault (5th), Norman Prince (7th), Kiffin Yates Rockwell (8th), James Rogers McConnell (last), and "Whiskey" in front.
Pictured: Kiffin Yates Rockwell, Captain Georges Thenault, Norman Prince, Lieutenant de Laage de Meux, Elliot [Christopher] Cowdin, Bert Hall, James Rogers McConnell, and Victor Chapman.
Pictured: James Rogers McConnell, Willis Bradley Haviland, Dudley Lawrence Hill, Paul Pavelka, Lieutenant de Laage de Meux, Robert Lockerbie Rockwell, and three unidentified pilots
Pictured: Front row, left to right: Didier Masson, Stephen Sohier Bigelow, Charles Chouteau Johnson, William Thaw, Captain Georges Thénault, Edwin Charles Parsons, Thomas Moses Hewitt, Harold Buckley Willis, and Willis Haviland. Back row, left to right: Ray Claflin Bridgman, Robert Lockerbie Rockwell, Henry Sweet Jones, David Peterson, William Edward Dugan, Douglas MacMonagle, Walter Lovell, and Lieutenant Arnoux de Maison-Rouge
Pictured: Paul Ayres Rockwell and Wilbur Forest.