At the end of the First World War (1914-1918) the Allied powers debated what to do about Germany. France particularly wanted a harsh peace to punish them, while the United States under President Woodrow Wilson, and Great Britain called for a more measured response. The conference Edward Wirt refers to on page 2 of this letter was held at Versailles, France. At this time, his division, the 6th, was stationed on the German-French border in Alsace. The armistice that had been signed in November was merely a cease-fire. Until a final peace treaty was signed the situation remained unsettled enough that the Allies kept their armies in place and the American troops didn’t know when they might come home. There are ninety letters from Mr. Wirt to Miss Bartlett in the PVMA collection; some of which are included on this site.
Wirt, Edward Roswell. WWI letter to Emily Gladys Bartlett. January 20, 1919. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-018/. Accessed on October 17, 2024.
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