From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott & Charles Riggle From Camp Lee to the Great War podcast Archiving Wheeling in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library and the Wheeling Academy of Law & Science

On January 4, 2023, staff of the Ohio County Public Library sat down with Daryl Clausell, Tressie Fitzhugh, Karla Wood, Ron Johnson, Kathy Fuller, Betty Gordon, and Delores Long to record this oral history for the Wheeling Memory Project.

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, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. These are their letters home.

Credits:
"From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (www.walswheeling.com).

Jeremy Richter is the voice of Lester Scott. Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler. Music courtesy the Library of Congress.

Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.

"I think we will start for Camp Lee the 2nd to be mustered out of the Army. I think I will get home some day next week. Gee but I would like to see all of you. It been nearly a year and a half since I saw you..."
In his twenty-second and final letter home dated May 31, 1919, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, is writing from Camp Stuart in Newpoert News Virginia, having just returned from France. He tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he didn't get sick on the long journey overseas. He thinks he'll soon be sent back to Camp Lee to be mustered out of the Army. He tells his brother to watch the Wheeling newspapers for word about the troops coming home.

Elsewhere on the same day, Howdy Wilcox won the Indianapolis 500 in five hours and forty minutes. By comparison, the 2019 winner took just two hours and fifty minutes. With the war over, the effort to cross the Atlantic ocean by airplane was resumed. On May 31, 1919, the Curtiss seaplane NC-4, a US Navy plane commanded by Albert C. Read, made the crossing with six stops before finally landing in England in 23 days. The first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight would be made by Charles Lindbergh eight years later in 1927. He made it from New York to Paris in just 33.5 hours. A modern jet plane can make the same flight in about 9 hours.

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 Battery F of 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 twenty-second and final letter home, dated 100 years ago today, May 31, 1919.

In his twenty-first letter home since leaving for Camp Lee, and his sixth letter home from France, dated February 25, 1919, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that they are having a good bit of rain in France. He’s read that his division will finally sail for home in May. He’s glad because he hopes the sea will be less rough in a few months. The trip will be smoother with less chance of seasickness. It took 14 days to get to France. Dutch thinks the return trip will be faster. Dutch has finally been informed about the telegram announcing the death of Lester Scott, but he still hasn’t been able to find out anything from the Army.

Elsewhere on the same day, future professional baseball hall of famer Monte Irvin, one of the best players to make the switch from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues after Jackie Robinson, was born.

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, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his letter home, September 29, 1917.

Digital scans and a transcript of Charles Riggle's February 25, 1919 letter can be viewed at: http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/from-camp-lee-to-the-great-war-february-25-1919-charles-riggle

Credits:
"From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (walswheeling.com).

Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler.

Music: Castle's half and half | James Reese(composer), 1916, courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010646/

Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.

In his twentieth letter home since leaving for Camp Lee, and his fifth letter home from France, dated January 26, 1919, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that, despite being homesick, he is well and hearty and feeling fine. They are stuck in France taking care of 107 horses and mules. Dutch wants to get back to farming by spring. He is getting all the cheap wine he wants but the French whiskey is no good. He still hasn’t heard anything about Les [the family back home received a death notice by telegram dated January 8]. He’s heard a rumor that Les died, and another rumor from Tib Meriner that Les was back at Camp Lee. He’s not sure when he’ll get to leave for home.

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, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his letter home, September 29, 1917.

Digital scans and a transcript of Charles Riggle's January 26, 1919 letter can be viewed at: http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/from-camp-lee-to-the-great-war-january-26-1919-charles-riggle

Credits:
"From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (walswheeling.com).

Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler.

Music: Castle's half and half | James Reese(composer), 1916, courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010646/

Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.

“I think the war is over for good don’t you? For I think them Germans won’t want another war very soon the way they got beat in this one….”

In his nineteenth letter home since leaving for Camp Lee, and his fourth letter home from France, dated December 16, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he’s been worried about his family back home about because of that “disease raging” [a reference to the 1918 influenza or “Spanish Flu” pandemic, fueled in part by troop movements during the war, that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide]. He wants to know if they've heard anything about his brother-in-law Les Scott [who had actually died on October 29, but neither Dutch nor his family would learn of this until January]. He knows Les was taken to the hospital and heard once that he might have died, but Dutch hopes his friend is somehow still alive. He’d seen Les about a week before he was injured but couldn’t talk because the German shelling was too intense. He’s not sure when they’ll get to come home, but hopes maybe sometime in the winter. He can’t talk about his experiences on the front until he gets home, except to say he was in the fight for 50 straight days and nights.

Elsewhere on the same day, German forces continued to withdraw from places like Finland, Kiev, and Estonia, and a “spectacular procession” and “stunning” woman suffrage protest was held in Washinton, D.C. on the anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party.

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 Battery F of 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. This is his nineteenth letter home, dated 100 years ago today, December 16, 1918.

Digital scans and a transcript of Charles Riggle's December 16, 1918 letter can be viewed at: www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/from-camp-lee-to-the-great-war-december-16-1918-podcast

Credits:
"From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (walswheeling.com).

Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler.

Music: "Old Pal (Why don't you answer me?)," Soman, Herbert. (performer), Lieberield, Daniel. (performer), 1921, courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/item/00694035/

Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.