“I think the war is over for good don’t you? For I think them Germans won’t want another war very soon the way they got beat in this one….”
In his nineteenth letter home since leaving for Camp Lee, and his fourth letter home from France, dated December 16, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he’s been worried about his family back home about because of that “disease raging” [a reference to the 1918 influenza or “Spanish Flu” pandemic, fueled in part by troop movements during the war, that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide]. He wants to know if they’ve heard anything about his brother-in-law Les Scott [who had actually died on October 29, but neither Dutch nor his family would learn of this until January]. He knows Les was taken to the hospital and heard once that he might have died, but Dutch hopes his friend is somehow still alive. He’d seen Les about a week before he was injured but couldn’t talk because the German shelling was too intense. He’s not sure when they’ll get to come home, but hopes maybe sometime in the winter. He can’t talk about his experiences on the front until he gets home, except to say he was in the fight for 50 straight days and nights.
Elsewhere on the same day, German forces continued to withdraw from places like Finland, Kiev, and Estonia, and a “spectacular procession” and “stunning” woman suffrage protest was held in Washinton, D.C. on the anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party.
Charles “Dutch” Riggle was drafted into the US Army in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers—including his sister-in-law Minnie Riggle’s brother, Lester Scott—were trained. Dutch Riggle was a Private First Class in Battery F of the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, in France. Riggle was a farm boy with little formal education who grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He spelled many of his words phonetically. His letters have been transcribed exactly as they were written. This is his nineteenth letter home, dated 100 years ago today, December 16, 1918.
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December 16, 1918 Letter Home – Charles Riggle to his brother James Riggle
France
Dec 16 1918
Bat F 314 FA AEF
Via NY
Dear Brother James
Will try an rite you a few lines to let you know I am still living an am well as can be at this riting. hope this letter will find you an boss the same. I supose you are getting along alright. I been a little oneasy about you people for that disese is raging in that country an I would like to hear if boss hass ever herd about less. he got hurt an they took him to the hospidle an I herd once he died an I heard the other day the captain of the suply co said he dident know if he was living or not. I hope he is. I dident know what place they took him so I couldent rite to him. Me an Meriner would like to know about him so if you know any thing about him tell me in the next letter. I saw him about one week before he got hurt but the dutch was shelling the road so hard I could not stop him for a talk. ge but I wish he would bin as lucky as I was so we could come to home togather. Well abe we had some hard fighting before the war ended but we surly had them dutch on the run. I am away back from the old battle field now about the center of france. I dont know when we will start for the states but I think some time this winter. I think the war is over for good dont you. for I think them germans wont want a nother war very soon the way they got beat in this one. I surly would like to be there this fall to do some hunting but I guess I wont make it. we havent had a bit of snow here yet. I supose you are having winter over there. well abe I wont tell you any of my experance while on the front in this letter so I will tell you when I come. I was on the fight 50 day straight an you can have some idie we was pretty busy. went nearly day an night but it dident hurt me a bit. I will close hoping these few lines find ever bod well.
Good Bye
Chas Riggle
Say hello to Chrisey for me
So long
Listen to Episode 60 of “From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle”
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From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle” is brought to you by Archiving Wheeling in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (Wheeling, WV) and the Wheeling Academy of Law & Science (WALS) Foundation.
Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler with music courtesy the Library of Congress.
[Music in December 16, 1918 episode: “Old Pal (Why don’t you answer me?),” Soman, Herbert. (performer), Lieberield, Daniel. (performer), 1921, http://www.loc.gov/item/00694035/]
Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.
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