Clayton M. Sherwood:
Diary of Foreign Service, August 1917 to February 1919

ENTRIES FOR FEBRUARY 1918

[February 1918]


Feb. 1. [Friday]
Instructions, etc.

Feb. 2. [Saturday]
At guns till reveille. [Inserted later:] Bringing in guns. Slept most of day.

Feb. 3. Sunday
Wrote home. Received letters from Bertine, Rose [Bailey] and home, [brother] Elmer.

Feb. 4. [Monday]
Guns in morning. Parade drill in P.M.

Feb. 5. [Tuesday]
Setting up guns and on parade in honor of Frenchmen receiving medals, Legion of Honor.

Feb. 6. Wed.
No inspection. Guns in A.M. all set up. Nothing in P.M. Have grippe [influenza] and feeling bum. Some of 8th [Regiment] paid, and rumored to be leaving soon.

Feb. 7. [Thursday]
Instructions.

Feb. 8. [Friday]
On fatigue at q.m. [quartermaster] shack, with q.m. carpenter.

Feb. 9. [Saturday]
Examined on service of gun.

Feb. 10. Sunday
In bed till 11:30, then mail from home, Iva and [cousin] Nettie, Glazer [?], Lill and R. Depuy, and Maud. Box of cookies from Rose [Bailey]. On guard.

Feb. 11. [Monday]
Came off guard. Had post by ammunition pile 8th Reg[iment] left here.

Feb. 12. [Tuesday]
More examinations and mail in evening, from Mother, Lill and Bertine and M. Jencks.

Feb. 13. [Wednesday]
Inspection, and examination nearly thru [through]. Box from Aunty [probably Edna McKee, see Oct. 18, 1917] with Christmas candy and nuts. Also blanket from H.S. [possibly Clayton’s uncle Harry Sherwood, father of Nettie Sherwood], very warm and pretty, and candy from Reiman [?] with it. Wrote M. Jencks and Homer [Chaney] tonight, and folks last night.

[Feb.] 14. [Thursday]
On fatigue all day. Part of Reg[iment] paid.

[Feb.] 15. [Friday]
Helped bring in rest of stuff from practice target grounds. Paid at noon.

[Feb.] 16. [Saturday]
Worked on gun in A.M., correcting mistake in putting up. Athletics in P.M.

[Feb.] 17. Sunday
Fatigue again. Am loading cars of commissary goods and lumber. Writing at night home and to Aunty [Edna McKee].

[Inserted at top of page:] 7th and 8th [Regiments have] been at front all week. Back now. Did great work. Reported better than French art[illery].

Feb. 18. [Monday]
Company on fatigue. Not on. Cleaned quarters and kept out of sight most of day.

Feb. 19. [Tuesday]
Artillery and inf[antry] drill. On guard at night. Post at motor trucks.

Feb. 20. [Wednesday]
Off guard in evening. Wrote home.

Feb. 21. [Thursday]
In kitchen. Beaucoup [“a lot of”] beer after supper with White.

Feb. 22. [Friday]
Holiday. Up at 8 and rested all day. Eating oranges by [the] peck. 10 c[entimes?] apiece at Y.[M.C.A.] Have rolling kitchens in mess hall. Everyone, or nearly, pretty well pickled [drunk] since payday [on Feb. 14-15]. Bothered by French wanting tobac[co] at Y.

Feb. 23. [Saturday]
Athletics in P.M.

Feb. 24. Sunday
Uptown with Pillard. Had three pies, a cake, beer and egg sandwiches. Wrote home, and to Rose [Bailey].

Feb. 25. [Monday]
Bath and clean up.

Feb. 26. [Tuesday]
At guns setting up gin for instruction of officers.

Feb. 27. [Wednesday]
On fatigue. No inspection for me. [Sylvester] Brown here going to telephone school. Third batt[alion] of 8th [Regiment; see Oct. 26, 1917] going to front again about today.

Feb. 28. [Thursday]
Muster. Everything on bunk. Regiment changed to 51st H Artillery some time ago. On guard at night at La Casbah, St. Newburn [nearby village]. “Those pesky damn French women.” [This may have been a reference to a brothel.]

[A corresponding entry from “The History of the 57th Regiment”: “During this period of training the 146th and 148th F.A. we were changed from Batteries. F & G, 6th Regiment C.A.C., to Batteries. F & G, 51st Artillery. C.A.C. The change taking effect on the 27th day of December, 1917, but we did not receive the order until February 15th, 1918.”]

Original text © 2002-2003 by MysteryVisits.com, Willowshade, West Grove, PA


Contents

Foreword and Summary

August 1917 | September 1917 | October 1917
November 1917 | December 1917

January 1918 | THIS PAGE: FEBRUARY 1918 | March 1918 | April 1918
May 1918 | June 1918 | July 1918 | August 1918
September 1918 | October 1918 | November 1918 | December 1918

January 1919 | February 1919

Battle analysis | Definitions | Names | Family


OTHER WORLD WAR I INFORMATION
WWI and the CAC in general
History of the Great War | Trenches on the Web | WWI Links Page
WWI: Western Front | 59th Coastal Artillery | Coastal Defense | Doughboy Center
Railway Artillery information | WWI Photos and Artillery | WWI documents notes and archives
WWI Document Archive | The Soldier's Experience of WWI

Camp Bordon, England
Bordon map | Bordon main site | Bordon Today | Hampshire record office

Other personal recollections
List of memoirs via WWI.com

Essays
Why did WWI end?




John C. Sherwood's Bibliography

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