“There was 2000 Negro [troops] went past this regiment this morning bound for France…”
In his eleventh letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, dated March 20, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that it’s so hot, he’s switching to his “summer underwear.” Dutch has a new job washing dishes at the officer’s mess for $10.50 per week (plus a $3.50 tip from the officers and some “dandy eats”). Three men and a cook work to feed 13 officers. The battalion now has 33 horses and at least 75 more are expected. “It surely take lots of horses for horse artillery,” he notes. Dutch would like to get to Wheeling, but has no money for railroad fares. He saw 2000 Negro troops bound for France. Dutch thinks he and Les will be sent in the summer.
For African Americans like those seen by Charles Riggle, the First World War was a transformative experience. Blacks were dealing with the horrors of full-blown “Jim Crow” segregation in the American South (including Wheeling, West Virginia), and the “Great Migration” was taking place, as thousands of African Americans moved to northern cities seeking opportunity. President Wilson’s pledge to “make the world safe for democracy” gave many African Americans hope that the war would also increase freedom and equality for them at home. Others decried the hypocrisy of asking people who were not treated as equals in their own country to fight for democracy overseas. In reality, the men Riggle saw at Camp Lee were likely part of segregated service battalions (probably the 510th and 511th Engineer Service Battalions) who were expected to do manual labor, such as ditch digging and burial of war dead, or, as Riggle noted in an earlier letter, to provide entertainment as musicians or singers. More than 200,000 African American soldiers were eventually sent to France. Those who did see combat were often assigned to French command and were treated with greater respect by the French. Many served with distinction, especially members of the 92nd Division and the 93rd Division’s 369th Infantry Regiment from New York, nicknamed the “Harlem Hellfighters.” Unfortunately, the hoped-for improvement in race relations at home, out of respect for honorable service, did not happen. The achievements of African American soldiers were largely ignored or diminished for decades. But the WWI experiences of African Americans, both military and civilian, had also proved empowering and eyeopening, and many were inspired and emboldened to fight for racial justice.
Elsewhere on March 20, 1918, German attacks were repulsed near Verdun and in Lorraine and Mr. A. Henderson declared that Labour would not accept the peace of Brest-Litovsk.
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 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 eleventh letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, March 20, 1918.
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March 20, 1918 Letter Home – Charles Riggle to his brother James Riggle
Camp Lee VA
March 20 1918
Dear Brother
Hello abe an Boss an also Prisey. received your letter yestard an as usel was glad to hear from you. i am well at the present an hope those few lines will find you the same. we are having some hot weather here now at the present time. i am going to put my sumer under wear on to night. it to hot for the heavey ones now. well abe i got a new job. now i am working down at the officers mess washing dishes. i dont know how long i will work at that job. i get ten an a half a week. the officers pays me 3 ½ exter beside my regeral wages. there 3 of us work there beside the cook. there only 13 officers eats down there. as you know it hant very hard work an i tell you we get dandy eats down there to. every thing a fellow would want to eat. i wouldent care if i could hold this job. 45 a month is beter then thirty a month. we got 33 horses now in our bat. we will get 75 more yet or maby more. there was 80 of us went down to the remont station an bought up a hundred an forty eight for this regement. it surly take lots of horses for horse arterly. this regement is going upon James river to camp for 10 days. i dont expect i will get to go unless all the officers goes. there is a little talk about a bunch of these fellows coming to wheeling after while. I wouldent mind coming along if they would pay my way. if they dont i wont come for I havent got any money to spend for rail road fares. i sent some money home sat an I for got to tell them to rite an tell me right away wheather they got it or not. if you see them tell them i sent it sat an rite me rite away so i will know they got it. they are changing officers here. we only got 1 of our officers where we have had a bunch of new one an i tell you they hant as good as our old ones was. well abe i got a letter from A.J. Harington yestard. he said he has been sick the biggest part of this winter. he said Ben was in france. now I dont know what time we will start. there was 2000 negro went a pass this reg this morning bound for france. me an less has been pretty lucky. we never been move yet. i dont want to move till we start for france. i have a pretty good idie we will go this sumer. there is a bunch of american over there now an we hant any better than they are. well abe i rote so many times I cant think of any thing new to rite so i will bring this letter to a close. i got 2 more to rite. one G.W.K. an one to Bill.
the same old dutch. good bye.
PS the first thing you do is excuse the scribeling for my pencil is very short.
i expect i got more money than you have
stamps in this letter. i got a lot of them. i thought i would send a few to stamp my letter.
Listen to Episode 40 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 March 20, 1918 episode: “The Smiler,” Van Eps, Fred (instrumentalist), Burckhardt, John F. (instrumentalist), Wenrich, Percy (composer) 1925, http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035784/]
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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