BETHANY FAIR

For the Free Press

As a new Vermont resident, I assumed that the most difficult part of assimilating to life in the Green Mountains would be the weather, or perhaps the lack of public transportation. Desperate to fit in, I have made the rookie mistake of referring to myself as a “Vermonter” in a bar full of third, fourth, and even fifth-generation Vermonters who never miss an opportunity to remind me that unless my parents were born in Vermont, I must resign myself to the status of an outlander.

When I have inquired about those children born in Vermont to “outlander” parents, there is a good chance someone will testily proclaim, “just because your cat has kittens in the oven doesn’t make them muffins.”

As an archivist and historian, I find myself eager to more fully understand and contextualize this hearty, proud and often cantankerous Vermont patriotism that seems to have started with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys and has intensified with each new conflict Vermont finds herself confronting both directly and tangentially. Throughout the annals of American history, the eternal torch of patriotism shines brightest when the days ahead seem darkest. This quintessential paradigm has been especially true in regards to the stalwart and steadfast response of Vermonters during times of crisis, and perhaps never as dramatically as during the Great War.

Vermont enters World War I

In the spring of 1917 amid increasing hostilities between the United States and Germany, Vermont’s Legislature and executive branch began in earnest the anticipatory task of firming up her military and securing a commitment from all Vermonters that the state was ready to bear her share of the burden of war.

Act No. 168, An Act to Establish the Militia, was passed March 3, 1917, well in advance of the official American entry into World War I on April 2 which stated that “all able-bodied male citizens of the state, between the ages of 18 and 45 years, shall be enrolled in the militia.”

Prior to this piece of legislation, the state maintained a single regiment — the 1st Vermont Infantry, National Guard - affectionately known as the “Old Vermont First.” Foreseeing that the Old Vermont First would soon be called into federal service, Gov. Horace Graham wrote to President Woodrow Wilson on March 27 expressing concern about the diminished condition of both troop size and equipment: “I am informed by the Adjutant General of the State that there is a serious deficiency in the equipment of the National Guard [having] returned from the Mexican border service last October. Since then no equipment has been issued to replace that which was worn out in the Federal service…It is considered very important that some arrangement to be made to facilitate the prompt supply of the troops in case of a call for active service

The War Department’s response faulted the failure of the 64th Congress to allocate funds before the closing session, but this explanation was quickly overshadowed by the news that Congress was also poised to pass the Selective Service Act, which would more than compensate for Vermont’s lack of troops and equipment.

As Congress debated the necessity and merits of relying on conscription rather than voluntary enlistment, German submarines attacked and sank three American ships on March 18, 1917, the City of Memphis, the Illinois, and the Vigilancia, finally constituting the “overt act” that would propel America into the theater of war.

Meanwhile, the Old Vermont First under the command of Col. Fred B. Thomas was ordered by Gov. Graham for initial muster at Forth Ethan Allen to commence training and await mobilization. Regimental records show normal camp activity between April and August with training beginning at dawn and lasting until the Fort was enveloped in complete darkness.

An unseasonably cold summer provided ample opportunity for Thomas, affectionately referred to as “Old Man,” to train his men in marksmanship, new bayonet combat, and the use of the regimental bugle. Allowing little time for idleness and demanding perfection, the “Old Man” ran a tight ship at Fort Ethan Allen but was deeply revered by all for his sharp wit and approachability.

The fate of the Old Vermont First

As training intensified, efforts were made to secure enough recruits to fill the ranks of a regiment that was below the authorized strength of a war time organization. Recruiting parties detailed from the Fort visited towns and cities and the rattle of their drums on the quiet village squares aroused the citizens to a sharper realization of the fact that the war was not likely to be confined to newspaper dispatches. The Green Mountain State was calling her sons to gather again beneath her battle flags.

An urgent sense of duty combined with patriotic Vermont exceptionalism impressed upon the imaginations of Vermonters a romantic idea — that “The Old Vermont First” would be comprised exclusively of intrepid, rugged young Vermonters.

Thomas himself took great pride in the prospect of leading an all-Vermont regiment into the Great War, adding to the brave and valorous reputation of the Green Mountain State, all sentiments which were conveyed to eager young recruits who imagined themselves fighting alongside fellow Vermonters on the front.

However, history had other plans for the men of the Old Vermont First when on Aug. 18, 1917 a messenger from Department Headquarters at Boston delivered an order to designate 23 officers and 1,339 enlisted men to be scattered among four different organization in the 26th Division, also known as the Yankee Division, effectively dismantling the all-Vermont regiment and its hopes of Green Mountain glory.

While those men destined for France with the 26th Division were glad of the news to be finally heading to the front, those who remained were devastated. This blow was felt most keenly by both Col.Thomas and Gov. Graham, who upon receiving news of this development, immediately sent an urgent telegram marked “PERSONAL” to then Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker: “On account of the transfer of approximately 1,400 officers and men from the First Vermont Infantry to new organizations in the 26th Division, the First Infantry has been left with only the skeleton of an organization, about 700 men. While I deeply regret the necessity of breaking up the present regiment, I realize fully that, under the circumstances, the only thing to be done is to obey orders; and I have cheerfully done so. But now I ask that we be permitted to reorganize the regiment as outlined above, in order that this old organization, of which all Vermonters are justly proud, shall not lose its identity.”

Graham and Thomas were seeking a commitment that all drafted men from Vermont be assigned to the Old Vermont First. This request was met with a cool and indifferent response from Secretary Baker who explained that the policy would be, to the best of his ability, to assign Vermont men to the 1st Vermont regiment when the drafted men arrived. However, he also delivered a sharp reminder that there were always “unavoidable exigencies of the service.” Secretary Baker was not in a position to make any promises given that the need for fighting men so clearly overshadowed Vermont’s desire to perpetuate her time-honored traditions. Reputations be damned — the country was at war and Vermont would have to make sacrifices.

After several more pleas to Secretary Newton to “soften the feeling which exists that we have lost our state organization,” Colonel Thomas accepted defeat and turned his attention to training his new men. He wrote to the Governor, “I am pleased to know that you have interested yourself to the extent at least of trying to save as much as possible of the fragments for the purpose of giving the new regiment some slight Green Mountain tinge. I may say that we had a Regiment of which we were somewhat proud, and of course, it is a disappointment to all of us to have it broken up in this manner, but we are soldiers under orders and that is all there is to say.”

Vermonters in France

Despite concerns about defending the home front with depleted resources, Vermont turned her attention to following the fate of those men fighting in France. The Yankee Division arrived in Saint-Nazaire, France on Sept. 21, 1917, the second division of the AEF to arrive on the Western Front soon after the arrival of the 1st Division.

Much of the correspondence passed between state officials and the men in France pertained to the status of state pay, the safety of those soldiers formerly serving under the Old Vermont First, and the progress of recruiting more Vermonters for the newly created 57th Pioneer Regiment back home. Maj. Gen.Clarence Ransom Edwards, commander of the Yankee Division, frequently provided updates directly to Gov. Graham regarding the condition of his Vermont men and his own personal assessments of how the war was progressing.

He wrote in December of 1917: “Taking everything into consideration, —the frightful weather we have had here, the epidemic of influenza and bronchitis, and in fact some bronchial pneumonia of which I am a recent convalescent victim, and the character of the billets, — the spirit of the men is wonderful. That is especially true of the Vermont lads; they seem to be able to stand this rigorous cold with as much cheer as any of them … Do not believe these awful stories you hear at home about the short duration of the war – Gold only knows – nor that Germany is only starving nor their troops are boys or anything else; but that they are wellfed and are fine sturdy soldiers. We have a he-man’s job here, and it is necessary to mobilize every resource we have at home to win out, as we surely must.”

Back home, stories of battlefield glory attributed to brave Vermonters spread like wildfire, increasing support and enthusiasm from all corners of the state. Local “Home Folks” clubs organized gift drives for the Vermont boys, sending Christmas gifts and cigarettes bound for France. A Relief Committee was organized in London to assist those Americans stranded overseas due to reduced travelling facilities for civilians. Cooperating personnel and local organizations tirelessly served the Federal Food Administration in an effort to increase the food supply and reduce consumption, including the Vermont Committee of Public Safety, Women’s Clubs, church organizations, labor unions, the State Hotel Association, restaurant owners, state merchants, the Vermont Bakers’ Association, Preserving and Canning Clubs, Baby Beef Clubs and even public libraries. War gardens became a familiar sight on lawns, in backyards, and on corner lots.

The Committee of Public Safety began work on March 22, 1917, recruiting soldiers, stimulating production, encouraging conservation, and protecting property – tasks which the committee carried out so efficiently that once the Armistice was signed, there was enough money left over to supply additional funds to the state treasurer, which was eventually added to the school fund. Women and children worked overtime in canneries and the textile mills in Winooski to keep up the demand for supplies when Vermont had lost practically one-third of her workers as men had either gone into the army or into the munitions plants and shipyards outside of the State.

Green Mountain pride

Even though the hopes of creating a new all-Vermont regiment were never realized, the sense of Green Mountain loyalty and pride that was developed at Forth Ethan Allen persisted and became an indispensable sense of strength for Vermonters here at home and on the battlefields of Europe.

According to Fred Thomas in his reflections in 1919, “When the 26th Division had finished with us there remained scarcely more than 300 of the officers and men of that Old Vermont First Infantry which had recruited under this banner to a strength of more than 2,000 and under this banner had quickly grasped the spirit of a Green Mountain Regiment organized for war, which had justly won the pride of our State and which we firmly believed was to carry the standard of Vermont onto the battlefields of Europe. From the ashes of that first hope there rose a second hope, that this remnant of the Old First Vermont might yet become the nucleus of a new regiment, which should get at least one real Green Mountain punch at the face of Prussianism.”

True, the Old Vermont First did not get its chance to deliver this Green Mountain punch alone, but the state of Vermont as a whole did more to combat Prussianism than one regiment would have been able to achieve alone.

So it seems then that this idea of indomitable Green Mountain spirit, this Green Mountain punch, has historically been more than just an idea, more than just a joke about the insufferable pride of being allowed to call oneself a “Vermonter.” Often, it has been an essential life raft buoying our collective sense of hope and faith amid a roiling sea of war and conflict.

Bethany Fair is an archivist at the Vermont State Archives. She has an M.A. in history and an M.S. in library and information science from Simmons College and a B.A. in English literature from the University of Florida.