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From Camp Lee to the Great War: November 2, 1917 – Charles Riggle

Archiving Wheeling November 2, 2017November 3, 2017 Leave a Comment 2657 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 09

“We was lucky to get in the field artillery. It is the safest place a soldier can get in the army…”

For content, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle’s third letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, dated November 2, 1917, is one of the best in this series. In it, he tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle, about how training camp has made him bigger and stronger and how it has changed their brother-in-law Lester into a “brute of a man.” Dutch expresses his concerns about having to go to France now that the “Germans are going after the Italians.” Interestingly, Dutch comments on the 7,000 black soldiers that have recently arrived in camp. Some of them are singers. Dutch has been shoeing mules (brother-in-law Lester is a mule driver) to drive the guns, but Dutch fears the mules will be replaced by motors, which “won’t take much shoeing.” Dutch talks about training (plenty of foot work but not much gun training) and guard duty, and thinks the field artillery to be “the safest place a soldier can get in the army.” Both Dutch and Lester served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division. The infantry and machine guns would be ahead of him on the battlefield, providing some cushion. Dutch says there are three field artillery regiments with six companies in each. He ends by turning to subjects back home, including his hounds, his brother’s potato crop, and coming home for Christmas.

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 third letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, November 2, 1917.
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Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: November 2, 1917 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling November 2, 2017January 2, 2018 Leave a Comment 1561 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 08

“Think it is a false about the Germans doing so much…”

In his sixth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, informs his sister that rumors of his illness and hospitalization are “a bad mistake.” In fact, he feels better than he ever has in his life. He discusses a recreational trip away from camp during which many games were played and how all the mule drivers have been moved to the same barracks. He promises to have a picture taken to send home. He doesn’t think he’ll be in any danger hauling supplies but believes the American troops will “scatter” the Germans. He mentions Dutch Riggle, the brother of his sister’s husband, and our second letter writer, who is also at Camp Lee.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his sixth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, November 2, 1917.
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Archiving Wheeling

From Camp Lee to the Great War: October 29, 1917

Archiving Wheeling October 29, 2017 Leave a Comment 1636 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 07

Lester Scott to his sister, Minnie Riggle: “This is the best bunch of boys I ever was with…”

In his fifth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, discusses his first five weeks at Camp Lee. Topics include how much he enjoys driving mules (he’s been given a steady job hauling supplies for $3 per month), how taking care of the mules reminds him of caring for his colts back home, an early snowfall in the Valley, Lester’s painful boxing match with Charles Lewis from Elm Grove, the postcards he sent home, and the “moving pictures” he’s looking forward to seeing. The letter is signed “Scotty.”

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his fifth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, October 29, 1917.
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Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: October 21, 1917

Archiving Wheeling October 21, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 1675 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 06

Lester Scott to his sister, Minnie Riggle: “I would start to France today if could…”

In his fourth letter home from Camp Lee to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, describes, somewhat boastfully, the details of his rather filling dinner, his eagerness to be sent to France to the war, and his prowess at guard duty. He tells Minnie about how much her brother-in-law, Dutch (Charles Riggle), enjoys being at camp. He then talks about buying liberty bonds, asks how the corn cutting is going, and compares the weather back home to what he expects in Virginia, where there “are no hills to break the wind.” While the other men are homesick, Lester declares himself “very well contented.”

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers, including Charles “Dutch” Riggle, the brother of his sister Minnie’s husband James, were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his fourth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, October 21, 1917.

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: October 20, 1917

Archiving Wheeling October 20, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 1960 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 05

Charles “Dutch” Riggle to his brother, James: “Dear sir…”

In his second letter home, dated October 20, 1917, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle tells his brother James about the drilling at Camp Lee, how farming suits him better than Army life, how he misses the sounds of the fox hunts, and how everything is overpriced at camp.

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 second letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, October 20, 1917.
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Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: October 8, 1917

Archiving Wheeling October 8, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 1860 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 04

Lester Scott to Minnie Riggle: “How are you all…”

In his third letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, inquires about seasonal activates at home, in this case, the annual corn cutting and rabbit hunting. He also talks about the relatively new phenomenon of electric lighting and details some of the drilling, training, and educational activities taking place at the camp. The content of this letter is a good example of a typical American soldier’s letter home regardless of the era. From the Revolutionary War through the present – the familiar is what is most missed.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, October 8, 1917.

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: September 30, 1917

Archiving Wheeling September 30, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 1818 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 03

Lester Scott to Minnie Riggle: “Dear Sister,”

A World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers were trained. Scott served as a Wagoner (mule team driver) in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his letter home from Camp Lee, September 30, 1917.

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: September 29, 1917

Archiving Wheeling September 29, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 1698 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 02

Dear Brother . . .

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. Dutch, who arrived in Petersburg, Va. on September 21, 1917, sent the below letter home to his brother James following his first week in Camp Lee. Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: September 24, 1917

Archiving Wheeling September 24, 2017October 22, 2017 Leave a Comment 2691 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 01

My Dear Sister . . .

World War I soldiers from Wheeling, West Virginia, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle were drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers were trained. Lester Scott served as a Wagoner (mule team driver) in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. Dutch Riggle was a PFC with the same unit.

Over the next fourteen months, we will share their letters home, in chronological order, 100 years to the day they were written. To listen to the podcast, visit our SoundCloud page, or subscribe through your favorite podcast app. Read More

Archiving Wheeling

Memorial Day Preview: From Camp Lee to the Great War

Seán Duffy May 29, 2017December 20, 2023 2 Comments 4473 Views

Featured Image: From Camp Lee to the Great War

The WWI Letters of Lester Scott & Charles Riggle

About a year ago, Margie Richey contacted Jon-Erik Gilot, the Archivist of the Diocese. She said she had some WWI letters from two relatives to share. Jon-Erik informed me and we met with Margie, who gave us permission to scan the letters and photographs. Jon-Erik then rehoused the collection archivally for Margie and her family. In exchange, she granted us permission to digitally share this historically important collection on Archiving Wheeling.

Memories in Hand featuring Margie and her Uncle.

The letters were written by Margie’s uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, farm boys who grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Dutch’s brother, James D. Riggle, married Lester’s sister, Minnie.

Lester loved music and was a member of a hillbilly and western trio. He was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, as did so many of the Wheeling men who served in the First World War. Scott served as a Wagoner in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. He drove a four-line team of mules which provided food and water to the front daily for the troops.

Dutch Riggle was also stationed and trained at Camp Lee and was shipped to France as a PFC with the same unit as Lester.

Approximately 40-50 letters, a few telegrams and other documents, and a dozen photographs have been digitized. The letters have also been transcribed. Most were written by Lester Scott to his sister Minnie or by Charles Riggle to his brother James. The bulk of the letters date roughly from September 1917 to November 1918, with a few extending into spring 1919.

Beginning in September, in observation of the centennial of American involvement in the war, Archiving Wheeling will begin showcasing these letters and photographs in chronological order. These posts will include the original letters, the transcriptions, and audio podcasts of the letters being read aloud by actors, with appropriate related images.

For more information, please enjoy the trailer created by Erin Rothenbuehler, Ohio County Public Library Archives, with Jeremy Richter providing the voice of Lester Scott.