A Journey Through France in War TimeButler, Joseph G. (Joseph Green)
History
A Journey Through France in War Time
Butler, Joseph G. (Joseph Green)
France -- Description and travel; World War, 1914-1918
We went through this chateau, which is owned by a resident of Paris and
was one of the sights of the village. It is seven or eight hundred years
old and is a very large building, handsomely finished in the interior.
Before the bombardment, which was a ruthless and unnecessary piece of
vandalism, it contained many fine tapestries and countless precious
heirlooms of the Bourbon times. The great strength of the walls resisted
the effects of artillery, but the interior was entirely ruined by fire.
The grand marble staircase was splintered, but the Bourbon coat of arms
above it was not touched. Strewn about in corners and on the floors were
fragments of vases and art work that must have been priceless. Even
these fragments were valuable. We secured a number of small pieces, some
of which I brought home as relics.
While viewing the ruins of the chateau we could hear the guns booming.
It was while we were still here that we received news that bombs had
been dropped on Belfort that morning, twenty-four hours after we left
that place, and that a number of persons had been killed, among them
some women and children.
Gerbeviller is an almost complete ruin. Beyond the convent and hospital,
and a few buildings saved for headquarters for the commanding general by
the Germans, all the rest of the town was destroyed. The people who
remain there are living in temporary buildings or mere sheds built on
the ruins of their homes, which they do not want to leave under any
circumstances. This little town, which has won its place in history, was
one of the most interesting and melancholy sights we saw in all France.
On the following day, Saturday, October 7th, we visited the villages of
Luneville and Vitrimont. We were now in the "devastated region" for
sure. On every hand was evidence of the ruin wrought by shells, with
long lines of trenches that had once been filled with soldiers. Some of
these were green again, but the trees presented a woeful appearance.
The next stop after leaving Rambevillers was the little town of
Vitrimont. This is a small village in France, almost wholly ruined by
the Germans in 1914, preceding the battle of the Marne. We found there
Miss Daisy Polk, of San Francisco, a wealthy, young and attractive
woman, whose work is being financed largely by the Crockers, of San
Francisco.
She is living in one of the small houses untouched by the Germans. She
has undertaken the rebuilding of the village of Vitrimont as a modern
sanitary proposition and to serve as a model for what may be done in
rebuilding all the destroyed parts of France. She is the
great-granddaughter of President Polk. It is a splendid work and should
receive support.
I have since received the following letter from Miss Polk:
* * *
Vitrimont, par Luneville, Meurthe et
Moselle, France.
October 18th, 1916
Dear Mr. Butler:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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