Russell A. Kelly Dedicated to the memory of that intrepid and valiant Frenchman, whose bravery, love of liberty, generosity, and friendship with Washington, made Americans, for all time, his grateful and devoted admirers-- LE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE...

The first seven chapters of this book are letters received from Russell A. Kelly, age 21, volunteer in the Légion étrangère . The letters, many of which were published in the New York Evening Sun , were sent to his parents in New York and have been retained in exactly their original form except for the omission of strictly personal matters. The last communication from him was a military post card mailed June 15th, 1915. After the severe engagement around Souchez on June 16th in which the Second

On Election Day, Tuesday November 3rd, 1914, we left New York, from the South Brooklyn basin, on “the good ship” Orcadian with a cargo of six hundred and fifty horses for the use of the French army. There were twenty-five men, including my chum Larney and myself, who had not previously worked on ships nor around horses, and eight experienced horsemen. We twenty-five consisted of twelve Englishmen, seven Italians, two Greeks, one Spaniard, and three Americans, the third being a negro. The first d

Reveille sounds at half-past five in the morning; we are then served with coffee, followed by drill till half-past ten when we have dinner, consisting of rich soup, meat, potatoes, etc. We get no sweets whatsoever. After dinner we peel potatoes, and after that drill till half-past four, at which time we have supper, there being the same bill of fare as dinner. We are free from five-thirty until nine, when we have inspection and then sleep. It is hard to get accustomed to the drill as the command

At last the order we have so anxiously awaited has come; we leave early tomorrow morning, February 6th, for the front. We were given a complete outfit, which consisted of one suit of underclothes, two pairs of socks, a white cotton sleeping hat, two pairs of shoes, a neck muffler and a jacket which resembles a smoking jacket. These jackets are all the same size, which is small, so that a big fellow has a hard time getting into one. There is no warmth in them, so most of the fellows did not bothe

We were outfitted unexpectedly this evening and are busy packing and getting rid of excess weight so as to start early to-morrow morning for the trenches. The men are glad at the prospect of getting into the game, and are making considerable noise and having a high old time. At half-past five o’clock last Monday morning we were up and ready to start. We left Bouzy at a quarter to seven by the town clock. After several rests we reached a fair-sized town and had lunch: we were served hot coffee he

For many days we knew something was in the wind, but what or when it would happen was a puzzle to all. Some said we were going back to Lyon for a repose, while others maintained we were hound for the Dardanelles. Finally we got orders to pack all our stuff and be ready to move during the night. About midnight, April 24th, a French regiment relieved us and we marched out of Verzenay. It was a very disagreeable night, and coupled with a chilly, penetrating fog and the rather forced march, we were

On Sunday morning, May 9th, we were routed out at one o’clock and marched to the trenches, reaching the third line at sunrise, and at five o’clock our artillery increased its already very severe bombardment,—the continual rumble and vibration being beyond description. This lasted until ten o’clock and as soon as it stopped, Battalion C in our section left the trenches, charging with the bayonet. They carried the trenches with great loss. I understand the Germans were panic stricken by the bombar

Soon after we were located at the rear to await recruits the General commanding our Division reviewed us and distributed five military medals. We have a new Captain in the place of the one who was killed; he is a Swede and is very military; he has us drilling a great deal, and works us pretty hard, considering that we have smelt powder in the true sense of the term. We have just learned that Italy has entered the war; also, that an American merchant-man has been torpedoed. We would like to see t

Battle of Artois—Souchez—Hill No. 119. No communication has been received from Russell Kelly since his postal card of June 15th, mentioned in the foregoing chapter. He took part with his regiment in the battle on the following day, and since then has been missing, and his name is still carried on the French War Office Official list of missing. As the reader may be interested in the subsequent occurrences, the following facts are given. The battle of Waterloo occurred on June 18, 1815, and as its

It may interest the reader to know how the six Americans in the 15th escouade or squad have since fared, so the following brief statement is given. Lawrence Scanlan, called Larney in the narrative, was severely wounded in his leg and foot June 16th. It was not until the following December that the last of the pieces of bullets were extracted from his leg. They were forwarded to his family near New York. The wounds were so deep that in November, 1916, he was still an invalid, being in a hospital

All the countries of the old world have “crack” military organizations famous for deeds of valor, many of which came into existence long before the time of our revolutionary war. In the United States, most large cities have at least one regiment with a record of which the civilians as well as the soldiers are justly proud. But all their histories and achievements pale before the extraordinary record, ancient formation and remarkable membership of France’s famous corps, la Légion étrangère . That