When he wrote this letter, Edward Wirt was a soldier during World War I (1914-1918), in the 76th (“Liberty Bell”) division, stationed near St. Aignon, France. He was receiving more training, as the 76th was a “National Army” (draftee) division that had been hastily thrown together. The marches Wirt mentions were part of the effort to toughen up the soldiers. In the end however, many of the National Army divisions were not used in combat; many were broken up, their men distributed to other units. By 1918, France had suffered more than any other western Allied power. Its losses had been so heavy (by the end of the war, more than 4 million killed and wounded) that in early 1917, there had been a large-scale mutiny in the army. It recovered, but the arrival of fresh American troops was greeted with joy and relief and Wirt enclosed a card thrown to him by a French woman expressing her gratitude. There are ninety letters from Mr. Wirt to Miss Bartlett in the PVMA collection; some of which are included in this site.
Wirt, Edward Roswell. WWI letter to Emily Gladys Bartlett. July 23, 1918. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-016/. Accessed on October 11, 2024.
Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.