RANDOLPH COUNTY'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR
Alabama has a proud history of service to our country, and the citizens of Randolph County have heeded the call to defend our nation through numerous conflicts. However, this war, the Great War, was fought on a much grander scale, considering the world was its stage--and more sacrifice than ever before would be needed.
Uncle Sam Wants YOU to Register for the Draft
While many soldiers from Randolph County volunteered, others between the ages of 21 and 30 registered for the draft and waited for their call from Uncle Sam. This age range would later be amended to include those from 18 to 45. Failure to register for the draft could result in imprisonment. The goal of a draft was to provide enough manpower to have a full fighting force in Europe by the summer of 1918. Those interested in naval service met at Wood's Hall in the Lowell Mill Village to view films about life in the navy. In Virginia Smith’s A History of Randolph County (August 1938, Master's thesis for the Alabama Polytechnic Institute), the author noted that there were 4,910 who had registered with the Selective Service compared to only 725 total participants in the war. Trench warfare required unprecedented manpower, but in his book Send the Alabamians, Nimrod Frazer reported that many of the state's citizens were turned down for the draft due to health problems or literacy issues. This could explain at least part of the discrepancy between the number of registrants and the number who actually served. As the first group to fulfill Randolph County's first quota prepared to leave, Circuit Clerk Pearson gave a powerful speech covered by The Roanoke Leader stating, "go forth in the defense of the flag" and spoke of the "pride Randolph County feels in them, and urging every man to do his duty."
Celebrated Send-Offs for Soldiers
Randolph County’s new military recruits (who were preparing to leave for training camps and, later, for embarkation for possible overseas action) were honored in several elaborate celebrations in 1917 and 1918. People from all corners of the county gathered in Roanoke, many reserving rooms in local hotels, for the various events planned over the span of several days. Wood’s Hall was the scene of a generous meal prepared by gracious southern hostesses. Later, motivational speeches, patriotic songs, and heartfelt prayers were shared at the Masonic Temple on Chestnut Street. Family and friends visited with the new recruits and photographs were made. Finally, more crowds gathered, and hugs and tears were plentiful. The band from the Lowell Mill Village played patriotic march selections as a parade for the send-off of soldiers quickly formed downtown. Following the band and in front of the soon to be servicemen were two mounted Confederate war veterans, General B.F. Weathers of Roanoke and Major F.M. Handley of Wadley. The crowds moved with the soldiers as they marched toward the A. B.& A. railroad station where the new recruits would board a train for their military service. As Frazer's book details, this was the first time many had ever left home.
Training Camps
Randolph County soldiers, like others across the nation, experienced difficult training to harden them for warfare and life in combat. Once given the order to report for duty, Randolph County soldiers travelled to different points around the United States for training. Many Caucasians were sent to Camp Wheeler or Camp Gordon in Georgia while most Negro soldiers trained at Camp Dodge in Iowa. Later more young men from Randolph County were sent to Camp Pike in Little Rock, Arkansas and Camp McClellan in nearby Anniston. Training provided at the camps was designed to simulate experiences they could expect overseas. A recent archaeological expedition at Camp Dodge has revealed training trenches along with ammunition and other artifacts associated with the Great War.
News from the "boys" was coveted and The Leader was honored to receive a letter from Handley Seegars detailing life at Camp Gordon. He recounted how the Young Men's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A. or the Y) provided them food, stationery, and different forms of entertainment. According to the letter, the soldiers in his barracks also held prayer meetings three nights a week under the auspices of the Y. R.J. Hooten joined the Y.M.C.A. and was sent overseas to do God's work in support of the troops in battle. He wrote letters home which were published in several editions of the local paper.
Uncle Sam Wants YOU to Register for the Draft
While many soldiers from Randolph County volunteered, others between the ages of 21 and 30 registered for the draft and waited for their call from Uncle Sam. This age range would later be amended to include those from 18 to 45. Failure to register for the draft could result in imprisonment. The goal of a draft was to provide enough manpower to have a full fighting force in Europe by the summer of 1918. Those interested in naval service met at Wood's Hall in the Lowell Mill Village to view films about life in the navy. In Virginia Smith’s A History of Randolph County (August 1938, Master's thesis for the Alabama Polytechnic Institute), the author noted that there were 4,910 who had registered with the Selective Service compared to only 725 total participants in the war. Trench warfare required unprecedented manpower, but in his book Send the Alabamians, Nimrod Frazer reported that many of the state's citizens were turned down for the draft due to health problems or literacy issues. This could explain at least part of the discrepancy between the number of registrants and the number who actually served. As the first group to fulfill Randolph County's first quota prepared to leave, Circuit Clerk Pearson gave a powerful speech covered by The Roanoke Leader stating, "go forth in the defense of the flag" and spoke of the "pride Randolph County feels in them, and urging every man to do his duty."
Celebrated Send-Offs for Soldiers
Randolph County’s new military recruits (who were preparing to leave for training camps and, later, for embarkation for possible overseas action) were honored in several elaborate celebrations in 1917 and 1918. People from all corners of the county gathered in Roanoke, many reserving rooms in local hotels, for the various events planned over the span of several days. Wood’s Hall was the scene of a generous meal prepared by gracious southern hostesses. Later, motivational speeches, patriotic songs, and heartfelt prayers were shared at the Masonic Temple on Chestnut Street. Family and friends visited with the new recruits and photographs were made. Finally, more crowds gathered, and hugs and tears were plentiful. The band from the Lowell Mill Village played patriotic march selections as a parade for the send-off of soldiers quickly formed downtown. Following the band and in front of the soon to be servicemen were two mounted Confederate war veterans, General B.F. Weathers of Roanoke and Major F.M. Handley of Wadley. The crowds moved with the soldiers as they marched toward the A. B.& A. railroad station where the new recruits would board a train for their military service. As Frazer's book details, this was the first time many had ever left home.
Training Camps
Randolph County soldiers, like others across the nation, experienced difficult training to harden them for warfare and life in combat. Once given the order to report for duty, Randolph County soldiers travelled to different points around the United States for training. Many Caucasians were sent to Camp Wheeler or Camp Gordon in Georgia while most Negro soldiers trained at Camp Dodge in Iowa. Later more young men from Randolph County were sent to Camp Pike in Little Rock, Arkansas and Camp McClellan in nearby Anniston. Training provided at the camps was designed to simulate experiences they could expect overseas. A recent archaeological expedition at Camp Dodge has revealed training trenches along with ammunition and other artifacts associated with the Great War.
News from the "boys" was coveted and The Leader was honored to receive a letter from Handley Seegars detailing life at Camp Gordon. He recounted how the Young Men's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A. or the Y) provided them food, stationery, and different forms of entertainment. According to the letter, the soldiers in his barracks also held prayer meetings three nights a week under the auspices of the Y. R.J. Hooten joined the Y.M.C.A. and was sent overseas to do God's work in support of the troops in battle. He wrote letters home which were published in several editions of the local paper.
The Battlefield
News from the battlefront was limited to say the least. Occasionally stories of valor on the battlefield made it to the local paper like the story of William Edgar Manley who received a medal for bravery in action. Unfortunately, most of the news from the front was bad. As casualties began to mount (from war injuries or disease), the names of the fallen would be reported in the local paper. The Y.M.C.A. played a crucial role in the war by helping to give additional notification to families when a soldier died overseas. While the government notified families of the official cause of death, the Y wrote letters home as well. This was true in the case of Roanoke's Shellie J. Pool. His mother received a letter that provided additional comforts, according to The Leader, that he was "with his own" fellow Christians at the end. Later, the Y.M.C.A. promised to send a photograph of her son's grave in France.
Link: Alabama Department of Archives and History photo collection from training camps and the battlefields
Segregation in the War
Segregation was widespread in the early 1900s, and that separation found its way into the military in the form of separate units, separate training camps, and separate troop trains for African-American (or “colored” as they were called then) and white servicemen. An article appeared in The Roanoke Leader with a warning from Sheriff W.O. Robertson that negroes, although not allowed to vote, still had to register for the draft. Even war send-offs and newspaper headlines were separated. A book published by the Wedowee VFW post shortly after WWII (War Service Record, Randolph County, WWI and WWII , date unknown) featured photographs and war service records of white soldiers in a separate section from African-American servicemen. Lists were separated by race as well. The struggle for freedom abroad was also evident at home.
Links to lists of Randolph County Soldiers
Colored Soldiers from Randolph County in WWI
White Soldiers from Randolph County in WWI
Files of USGenArchives Partial Listing of Soldiers from or buried in Randolph County
167th Alabama (part of the famed 42nd Rainbow Division featured in Nimrod Frazer’s book Send the Alabamians.)
News from the battlefront was limited to say the least. Occasionally stories of valor on the battlefield made it to the local paper like the story of William Edgar Manley who received a medal for bravery in action. Unfortunately, most of the news from the front was bad. As casualties began to mount (from war injuries or disease), the names of the fallen would be reported in the local paper. The Y.M.C.A. played a crucial role in the war by helping to give additional notification to families when a soldier died overseas. While the government notified families of the official cause of death, the Y wrote letters home as well. This was true in the case of Roanoke's Shellie J. Pool. His mother received a letter that provided additional comforts, according to The Leader, that he was "with his own" fellow Christians at the end. Later, the Y.M.C.A. promised to send a photograph of her son's grave in France.
Link: Alabama Department of Archives and History photo collection from training camps and the battlefields
Segregation in the War
Segregation was widespread in the early 1900s, and that separation found its way into the military in the form of separate units, separate training camps, and separate troop trains for African-American (or “colored” as they were called then) and white servicemen. An article appeared in The Roanoke Leader with a warning from Sheriff W.O. Robertson that negroes, although not allowed to vote, still had to register for the draft. Even war send-offs and newspaper headlines were separated. A book published by the Wedowee VFW post shortly after WWII (War Service Record, Randolph County, WWI and WWII , date unknown) featured photographs and war service records of white soldiers in a separate section from African-American servicemen. Lists were separated by race as well. The struggle for freedom abroad was also evident at home.
Links to lists of Randolph County Soldiers
Colored Soldiers from Randolph County in WWI
White Soldiers from Randolph County in WWI
Files of USGenArchives Partial Listing of Soldiers from or buried in Randolph County
167th Alabama (part of the famed 42nd Rainbow Division featured in Nimrod Frazer’s book Send the Alabamians.)
Disease
As the war progressed, death became an all too familiar circumstance. The trains that carried soldiers to training camps in parts unknown brought some of the same soldiers home in serious condition (psychologically ill, wounded, missing limbs, etc.) or in flag- draped coffins. “Gold Star” banners were draped in several windows across the county to honor those lost on the battlefield from battle wounds or disease. A pandemic flu spread around the globe in 1918 and it and other maladies took the lives of more soldiers than the actual battle did. The spread of the flu, fueled by mass movements of troops and close, cramped, often unsanitary living conditions of soldiers had a devastating effect. The Leader reported that Walter Thompson passed away at Camp Wheeler and that this "noble young fellow gave his life for his country no less than if he had died on the field of battle." A different edition detailed the brief career of Sergeant Alonzo C. Shanks. He quickly rose through the ranks at training camp to become a sergeant, tank commander, and machine gun instructor when he succumbed to pneumonia. He was soon to set sail for overseas service. Dr. Sanford G. Carter met a similar fate when he also died from pneumonia at Camp Greenleaf, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As the Great War moved closer to completion and victory on the battlefield seemed at hand, death from disease was still a grave danger, even at home. Locally, the diseases caused schools to close and churches to cancel services. Local doctors worked without sleep. Cemeteries around the county today have many graves with 1918 inscribed as their death dates because of the deadly effects of these rampant diseases. Public health officials recommended the closing of schools and the suspension of church services or other large gatherings as a precautionary measure once the first influenza cases appeared locally. In 1918, Randolph County "postponed" Thanksgiving until Christmas, hoping the worst of flu danger would have passed.
As the war progressed, death became an all too familiar circumstance. The trains that carried soldiers to training camps in parts unknown brought some of the same soldiers home in serious condition (psychologically ill, wounded, missing limbs, etc.) or in flag- draped coffins. “Gold Star” banners were draped in several windows across the county to honor those lost on the battlefield from battle wounds or disease. A pandemic flu spread around the globe in 1918 and it and other maladies took the lives of more soldiers than the actual battle did. The spread of the flu, fueled by mass movements of troops and close, cramped, often unsanitary living conditions of soldiers had a devastating effect. The Leader reported that Walter Thompson passed away at Camp Wheeler and that this "noble young fellow gave his life for his country no less than if he had died on the field of battle." A different edition detailed the brief career of Sergeant Alonzo C. Shanks. He quickly rose through the ranks at training camp to become a sergeant, tank commander, and machine gun instructor when he succumbed to pneumonia. He was soon to set sail for overseas service. Dr. Sanford G. Carter met a similar fate when he also died from pneumonia at Camp Greenleaf, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As the Great War moved closer to completion and victory on the battlefield seemed at hand, death from disease was still a grave danger, even at home. Locally, the diseases caused schools to close and churches to cancel services. Local doctors worked without sleep. Cemeteries around the county today have many graves with 1918 inscribed as their death dates because of the deadly effects of these rampant diseases. Public health officials recommended the closing of schools and the suspension of church services or other large gatherings as a precautionary measure once the first influenza cases appeared locally. In 1918, Randolph County "postponed" Thanksgiving until Christmas, hoping the worst of flu danger would have passed.
War’s End
In November of 1918, feelings of relief spread across the nation and the entire world. The conflict was finally over. Returning soldiers were treated as heroes and were met with throngs of jubilant crowds. Randolph County native and war veteran remembered one such celebration for the remainder of his life. General John J. Pershing led a ticker tape parade of returning warriors down Saks Fifth Avenue in 1919. Directly behind Pershing, also leading the processional, were 12 mounted horsemen, one of whom was Randolph County native son Waters Stone from Wadley, Alabama. He always considered it one of the greatest honors of his life to ride with Pershing, General of the Armies, as the nation brought a close to this turbulent chapter in its nation’s history. |
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Watch this video clip a little after the 1 minute mark. One of these 12 mounted horsemen with General Pershing is Wadley's own Waters Stone.
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Another view of the same parade. Parade is at 21:45.
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Sources: The Roanoke Leader (1917-1918); Small Things Forgotten by local historian Rhonda Bailey Baldwin (2011); A History of Randolph County, Master’s Thesis for Virginia Smith (1938); Send the Alabamians by Nimrod Frazier (2014); The Heritage of Randolph County (1998); and Interview with James Stone, son of Waters Stone, by Merredith Sears (2015).