]> <emph>William Bradley and Merle Davis Umstead papers (#4529). My Diary. A Soldier's Record. 16 August 1917-4 July 1918:</emph> Electronic Edition. Umstead, William Bradley, 1895-1954 Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the electronic publication of this title. Diary transcribed by Amy Davis Images scanned by Harris Henderson Text encoded by Melissa Meeks and Natalia Smith First edition, 2002 ca. 40 K Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2002.

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 My Diary My Diary: A Soldier's Record William B. Umstead 36 p., page images Call number SHC #4529 (Manuscripts Dept., Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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 Library of Congress Subject Headings English United States. Army -- Military life. North Carolina -- Social life and customs. Soldiers -- North Carolina -- Diaries. World War, 1914-1918 -- North Carolina. World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American. United States. Army -- Officers -- Diaries. Umstead, William Bradley, 1895-1954 -- Diaries. Soldiers -- Religious life. 2002-06-13, Celine Noel and Wanda Gunther revised TEIHeader and created catalog record for the electronic edition. 2002-05-29, Natalia Smith, project manager, finished TEI-conformant encoding and final proofing. 2002-05-20, Melissa Meeks finished TEI/SGML encoding 2002-04-10, finished transcribing the manuscript. MY DIARY A SOLDIER'S RECORD PROPERTY OF Wm. B. Umstead GRADE 2nd Lt. No. ____ COMPANY A REGIMENT 317 M. G. Bat. MY DIARY

DIARY HINTS USE SNAPSHOTS TO ILLUSTRATE ENTRIES IN THIS BOOK. IN THE BACK OF THIS DIARY, SPACE IS ALLOTTED FOR PRESS CLIPPINGS AND ACCOUNTS IN PASTING CLIPPINGS, PUT PASTE ALONG LEFT EDGE AND THEN AFFIX TO A PERPENDICULAR LINE —WHEN PAGE IS FULL, CLIPPINGS WILL OVERLAP. KEEP ACCOUNT OF YOUR RE- CEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. PERSEVERE WITH YOUR DIARY — WHEN THE TOIL OF THE GAME IS OVER, THE BOOK WILL BE A SOURCE OF PLEASURE NEVER ENDING. MY DIARY Paste your photo here 1917 MOFFAT, YARD& COMPANY New York Copyright 1917 By MOFFAT, YARD& COMPANY STATISTICS FULL NAME Wm. B. Umstead DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1895 PLACE OF BIRTH Durham Co. N. Car. MY WEIGHT 150 MY HEIGHT 5 ft. 9 1/2 in. DATE OF ENLISTMENT IN U.S. ARMY _____ ENLISTED AT _____________________ REGIMENT _______________________ COMPANY ________________________ DATE OF ENLISTMENT IN NATIONAL GUARD REGIMENT ______________ COMPANY _______________________________ MUSTERED INTO FEDERAL SERVICE __________ TRANSFERS AND PROMOTIONS ______________ MY NEAREST RELATIVE Mr. J. W Umstead ADDRESS Bahama N. Car.

IN CASE OF MY DEATH, SEND THIS BOOK TO ABOVE.

MY FIRST COMPANY COMMANDER ________________________________________________ MY PRESENT CAPTAIN _________________________ REGIMENTAL COMMANDER ____________________ BATTALION COMMANDER ______________________ I AM A MEMBER OF __________________ SQUAD THE CORPORAL IS ______________________________ THE OTHER MEMBERS ARE— ______________________ ___________________ ______________________ ___________________ ______________________ ___________________ WE LEFT ___________________________ ON THE PRESENT TOUR OF SERVICE ___________ 191 TIME __________________ FIRST STOP AT ____________________________ DATE ________________________ TIME __________

AUTOGRAPHS NAME MET AT DATE

AUTOGRAPHS NAME MET AT DATE

AUTOGRAPHS NAME MET AT DATE

AUTOGRAPHS NAME MET AT DATE

HEALTH HINTS Take care of your feet. They are your best friends. Keep them clean and dry. Nightly washing prevents aching feet. Puncture blisters but leave loose skin in place, covering blister spot with adhesive tape. Apply tape to an aching spot and you'll never have a blister. Shun lewd women. Bathe whenever possible. Keep your teeth in good condition. When on the march, take full advantage of halts. Remember, the first stop is longest so that you can obey demands of nature and also ad- just your pack. Use this time for your own comfort. Familiarize yourself with the prin- ciples of First Aid. If you feel “off color,” swallow your false pride and report the fact. Avoid all alcoholic beverages. Never fail to wash your hands before eating and after soiling them in any manner. Aug. 16, 1917

After three monthshard and intensetraining at Ft. Ogle-thorpe Ga, I wascommissioned asa second Lt. Inf.O. R. C. I wasappointed Aug. 151917, and wasordered into activeService on thatdate, with ordersto report at CampJackson, ColumbiaS. C. Aug. 29, 1917.

 Aug. 29, 1917

My leave of absenseis past. Reportedthis morning atCamp Jackson. The past ten days havebeen pleasant onesfor me. Went to Kinstonon Sun. night, Aug 19.and stayed untilWed. night Aug. 22.Saw there manydear friends andthe handshake ofeach made my heartglad. Spent Sun.night with Mac Lewis.and took breakfastthere also Mon. A finehome, and alwaysnice to me. Tookdinner that day withRed Allen, son of JudgeO. H. Allen, one of the most godly men Ihave ever seen. Tooksupper, and spentthe night with Mr.and Mrs. Hines, inwhose home I livedwhile teaching inKinston. I alwayswill love them, andfeel at ease in theirhome. Robert and Willisare still my partners.Took breakfast there.Took dinner Tues. Aug21, at Frank Hooker's. Met his father, mother, and sisters. Thehospitality of theirhome was delightful.Frank was a pupilof mine, and verynear to me. Am ex-tremely interested in him.(over)

Tues night I went to Red Allens to a

Tuesday afternoon I wentout to Kelley's mill withNannie, Sallie, and M. MarianStanley, Frank Hooker andBevsie Stanley and IdaAsttenger. I am very fondof Ida, Sallie and Nannie.They were pupils of mineand fine girls. Went inswimming, and on thewhole, spent a de-lightful afternoon.

brunswick stew andimmediately afterwardswent to Leah Hine's dinnerparty. Those presentwere— Melly Lewis andJosephine Copeland —JohnDuffy and Leah Hines —Reynold Allen and PaulineHood and William B.Umstead and KatherineCopeland. After the dinnerwhich was delightful inevery way, we took along automobile ride.

Spent Tues. night withEly Perry. The Perryhome is a delightful place.So homelike, and hospitable.Suse, her mother andEly have always beenespecially nice to me,and Noah also. Tookbreakfast there.

Weds. for dinner Iwent to Mr. GeorgeParrotts to a barbecue.As usual at that homethe eats were abundant,and served in a way inwhich all could enjoy it.The Parrott girls arecharming, and presidewith equal grace overthe table and the parlor.Both Mildred and Julia werevery intertaining. Nowherewill the hospitality of thathome be excelled. Thosepresent will never meetagain in my opinion.James McDanielMueser ParrottRed AllenMelly LewisHarry LewisRobert RouseJohn DuffyMr. BornesProf. Lewiston

Took supper at thePerrys' home, and lefton the 7.38 train for home.Wanted to stay over tothe danse that night, butwanted to get home. A goodnumber were down at theStation to tell me goodbye. On a whole thevisit was a pleasantone, and will live inmy memories far intothe future.

I arrived home safelyThurs. morning.

I spent Fri. in Roxboro.Lucille went with me.We took dinner at theNewell home. Was delightful.Met Miss Francis Sessonsfrom Lillington. Veryattractive. Took supperat Sue Langs. Think sheis one of the finest womenI have ever seen. A finephysique, attractive personality,and a head full of sense.The man who weds herwill be lucky, and unlessan unusual man, willnot be worthy of her.Mr. Will brought ushome that night. MaryHoures came with us.Mr. Will is a fine man,and one whom I likevery much. His kindnessto me have been many.

From then until Mon-day night, I stayedat home, where I enjoybeing above all placesin the world. Sun. nightAug. 26. I made a talkat, and conducted prayermeeting at Mt. Bethelchurch. Enjoyed it, andreceived much benefitfrom it.

Probably the saddesttime I have ever spentwas Mon. night. Aug 27.when I left home. Ileft father and motherin tears, and it almostwrung my heart fromwithin me. To leavethem, old and feeble athome alone was themost difficult taskof my life. It is easyenough to go to the execu-tion of one's duty, whenthat duty may meandeath, when there isno one but yourself,but to leave parentswhose joy in life restsin their paternal interestin you, is the saddest andmost trying of all tasks.

I sometimes think that the lives lost in war are trivial in comparison with the grief and sorrows their deaths leave in the aching hearts of their dear ones. I left with a heavy heart, trying to bear up manlyunder a burden whichalmost broke me down.That parting picturewill be clear in my mind'seye as long as I live.

It is hard to render one's duty to one's country when it seems to conflict withduty to parents. I chosemy course, after tryingto select the right course.God knows I did whatI think is right, andmay God care for thoseI left behind.

 Aug. 30, 1917

Columbia, with its many colonial style homes andbuildings seems on firstacquaintance to be a largecountry like town. I thinkit is fairly pretty, andat present it has theappearance of being a very clean town both from sanitary and moralstandpoints. However, Ifear that it will notstay so in the latter respectlong.

Went out to camp thismorning, and foundthat I had been assignedto the 317 Machine Gun Bat-talion. Didn't like it muchon first thought, butafter thinking it over I don'tknow that it makes muchdifference. One's best isone's best, just as “pigs ispigs,” and the branch of the service makes littledifference in the long run.I know nothing aboutit, but guess I can learn.Mac Lewis and myselfare staying in the Pres-byterian Theological Seminarybecause we could notget room at the hotel. Nota bad place to stay at that!

Met a young preachernamed Brown. Talkedphilosophy with him a little,and found him to be asnarrow as most preachersare in regard to philosophy.

 Sept. 5, 1917.

Came out to camp to stayon Monday Sept 3.

First drafted mencame in today. RegularDuke's mixture as I ex-pected. Men from allsocial castes, professions,and walks of life, broughttogether for a commonpurpose which manyof them do not understand.It is both pitiful andinspiring to look atthem. God knows theyhave my sympathy espe-cially during the first fewdays. Thoughts of lovedones; of business leftbehind; the task of adjust-ing themselves to a new life,new duties, and newhabits all together at oncewill be hard for them tohandle. The officer whois not considerate at firstmust have a heart of stone,and should not have author-ity unless temperedby justice and patience.

 Sept 8, 1917

Heard from John todaysaying that the districtboard failed to exempthim. God only knows whatSallie and the child (soonchildren) will do. I haveworried over it a greatdeal. I can't see how itis possible for them tofail to exempt him underthe circumstances. Godknows he has my sym-pathy. I wrote himat once offering myevery resource to himif he had to come. As longas I am able, no one elseshall support his family.I can save enough tosupport Sallie & the babies (?)I have worked out aplan today. They shalllive by themselves, andbe dependent on no onebut John and I. I donot want Frank Grahamto grow up under obliga-tions to anyone else for his raising. It muststing John to the quickto think of leaving Sallieand the little curly headedkid behind. May Godin his providence savehim from having itto do. I shall not seemany happy hours untilI hear definitely aboutit. All I have is his inthis his hour of trouble.May he go to God for helpand may he find solace there.All that I have to offer themshall go through him asthough he were doing it.

 Sept. 17, 1917

Sat. afternoon the 15thI went to Greensboroto see John. Much to mypleasure when he metme at the Station at 11.20he told me he had justheard he had been exempt-ed. He and I talked lateinto the night. I foundSallie doing fine, andthe little baby, born afew days before, wasdoing nicely.

Sunday morning Iwent out to the Normal tosee the girls from Kinstonwho I taught last year.I saw Hortense MoseleyKathleen Moseley, andNannie Stanley. I alsosaw Gladys. Theyseemed glad to see me,and I was equally asglad to see them. I thinkthey were a little home-sick but that was nat-ural as they had been awayfrom home only a week. Theyare fine girls, and willmake good anywhere.

I got back here abouteleven o'clock Sun night.Had a tooth pulled Mon-day, and found that itstill hurts in spite ofpainless inventions.

 Sept. 19, 1917

Our Battalion moved Mon.to section J. our permanentquarters. Today westarted our companyMess, and I have been ap-pointed Mess Officer forthe battalion. I have afine job preparing menusfor about 200 men, driv-ing rations from thecommissary, keepingthings clean, and aboveall see that nothing iswasted. Absolutely new tome, but I intend to do itby sticking to it. Rathera responsible job, formen to be satisfied, mustbe well fed.

 Oct. 6, 1917.

It has been a goodwhile since I have hadtime to write any in thisbook. Things are movingon rapidly here. Work onthe Camp continues, and theyare rapidly whipping thingsinto tip top shape. The secondincrement of drafted menare coming in. Our bat-talion now has over fourhundred men in it.

Got along fine with my mess. Saved over $250feeding 185 men for 10 days.Started Company MessesOct. 2, and now the Messesare under direct supervisionof the company commanders.I still draw the rationsand look after them ina general way.

I am also running ourOfficers Mess, and it is moretrouble than one wouldimagine. Some men are born belly akers or grumblers, andof course always find plentyto complain at.

Today I received abox of candy from the littlegirls who were in myroom last year at Kinston.No one knows how I appreciatedit. It touched me deeply tothink that I was remem-bered by so many sweet,pure, and lovable souls.The following ones sentme candy —Edna PittmanSarah NochaunsonJessie Mae HoskinsElizabeth BrooksMary Eliza SuttonEdith RountreeChristine WilliamsArlena StroudAllene BrinklyMildred ElliottHattie CunninghamVirginia SmithVerna Belle HoskinsGrace WilsonGladys Mewborne

I shall never forget the children in that gradewith whom I worked andlearned to love lastyear.

During the pastweek I received a knitsweater from KatherineCopeland. She is a very sweetgirl, and it was certainlysweet of her to send mea sweater. She was extremelynice to me while I was inKinston, and I shall notforget her kindness.

Elizabeth Canady sent mea beautiful muffler. One ofthe finest specimens of knit-ting I have ever seen. Sheis also a fine girl. Very at-tractive and I like hervery much.

My friends in Kinstonhave certainly been niceto me, and I feel verygrateful to them fortheir many kindnessesto me.

 Oct. 8, 1917

Went to church lastnight in Columbia, andheard a good sermonby the Methodist MinisterA. N. Brunson, taken fromthe tragic death anddownfall off Sampson, orrather his downfall anddeath. Sampson wasthoughtless for a momentand it cost him everything.1. Never forget the friends andassociations of childhood, thehome and parents which youleft behind, nor the God whichyour mother taught you to love.2. Never go to sleep on any job, es-pecially the one of living right.3. Never misjudge the effect of evilupon your life, nor misjudgethe results.4. Always remember that youcan come back if you will.

The above are my own ex-pressions concerning the thingswhich Sampson's downfallillustrates. I wrote thesefrom memory after thesermon.

 Jan 11. [1918]

It has been sometime since last Iopened this bookfor the purposeof writing anything.I have been verybusy during thetime which has elapsedsince last I wrote,and then I havenot yet learnedto make the mostof my spare moments.

Since Oct. 8 1917I have been quitewell most of thetime. Have had slight colds, andwas confined to myroom one day on thataccount. I amstill acting asMess Officer, anddo not know whenI will be relievedof it, but sometimesoon I hope. I haveproceeded ratherwell with it, but allkinds of difficultiesare constantlyarising, such ascooks, wood, failurein deliveries from town,unreliable cooks &waiters, lack ofclenliness, andworst of all, thinkingup something to eat.

I have been holdingSunday School classin my company onSunday Mornings, andI get a great dealof help out of it. Theclass sent the BaptistOrphanage at Thomas-ville, N. Car a checkfor $20 Xmas. A fine example ofhelpfulness andcharity.

My progress withthe men who can't readand write in the companyhas been rather slow.Yet all of them cannow write their names,and can read simplesentences very well. Ihope that I may be ableto teach them enough tobreak the veil of igno-rance so that they canadd to their intelligence.

Christmas has comeand gone, and I canhardly realize it. It wasmy good fortune tobe able to go homefor a short stay. Gotthere on the morningof Dec 23, and hadto leave on the morn-ing of Dec 26. Fatherwas sick, and I stayedat home with him theentire time exceptone afternoon whenI went over to Durhamto see if I could hireUncle Henry Harristo go out and stay withfather. I saw him butas I had figured, hewould not go. It hurtme to leave home withfather sick and motherfeeble with no oneto help them.

 May 12, 1918. Camp Hancock

Yesterday, May 11th, I wasmade B'n supply Officerby Maj. Smith. I knowlittle about it, but Ican hold it down byworking hard. Every-thing is in an awfulmess, and the responsibilityis what I dreadmost of all. I feel thatMaj. Smith knows itis a hard place to fill, and I thinkhe thinks I can do it,and I will. Tomorrowis my birthday, and Iwill be 23 years old.On Xmas day Maj.recommended me forpromotion, whichwas indeed a fineXmas present. HoweverI must say I amafraid he has given mean awful birthdaypresent. A supplyofficer's work iswithout end aggre-vating and unap-preciated, with allkinds of chances toget into trouble whenone is doing one's best.

 July 4, 1918

It has been sometime since I openedthis little book. Mytime and energy havebeen taken up by mywork. After a week's in-cessant preparationwe left Camp Jacksonfor Camp Hancockon May 20, 1918. Sincearriving here, I haveworked day andnight. I have a nicetent next to Maj's.This is a hot camp,and the hottest place Ihave ever seen is my Supply House no. 1.

We seem to be more or less undesirablesin this camp. We arenot a part of the M. T.C. and our Div isat Greenville. Thisfact makes my work that muchharder.