Full Text
For It’s About Time Column Written by Susan Parsons George Ingersoll and the Fair Haven American Legion Post In the autumn of 1921, Roy Bloomingdale decided to help bring about a Legion Post in the village of Fair Haven. Some founding members of that post were veterans Roy plus Lawrence Turner, Dr. Leon Griggs, Ludo McCrae, Carlton King, Osgar Elmer, Philip McDonald, George Fralick, Leslie Pettit, Leonard Lyons, Leon Sampson, Leland Demarest, John McElveney, Kenneth Bradley and Lawrence Taber. The first meeting was held on December 27, 1921, in order to organize the Post. Dr. Leon Griggs, Fair Haven’s resident physician, was elected temporary commander. The group voted to have the new American Legion Post named after Private George E. Ingersoll who had died during the so-called “Great War.” The GAR, a similar organization for Civil War veterans, asked the group of World War I veterans to take charge of Memorial Day ceremonies in 1922, as the number of Civil War veterans was rapidly dwindling and those left alive were getting old and frail. That year, the old Civil War veterans lined up in front of the Methodist Church with the World War I veterans right behind them, and they all marched into the church and took their seats in a church filled to capacity. Roy Bloomingdale, Initiator of Fair Haven’s American Legion Post ---PAGE BREAK--- Last of the GAR veterans, date unknown In 1923 Mr. and Mrs. John Ingersoll presented the Post with a picture of their son, George, who was Sterling’s first casualty of World War I. In 1923 the group decided to build its own clubhouse. They did most of the work themselves. The building still stands, on Lake Street, Fair Haven and still functions as the quarters of the Legion Post as well as the Fair Haven Community Center. ---PAGE BREAK--- World War Two veterans standing in Front of American Legion Building, approximately 1950 Building was constructed by World War I Veterans George E. Ingersoll was born to John R. and Emma Van Patten Ingersoll in 1891. The family lived in Sterling near where the Ouellette Farm and the Renaissance Faire are located today. By about 1913 George and his brother Calvin had built and were running a garage on the north side of Main Street, Fair Haven, near the railroad station. They sold cars at this garage. The garage was later run by Roy Rasbeck and leased to the Hadcock Brothers on January 1, 1930.. It burned down in the early 1930’s and was later rebuilt. ---PAGE BREAK--- George Ingersoll as an infant ---PAGE BREAK--- Young George Ingersoll ---PAGE BREAK--- Private George Ingersoll, World War I ---PAGE BREAK--- Prior to World War I the use of deadly gasses in war was considered uncivilized. However, the “rules of war” changed and gasses became weapons as part of World War I, known at the time as the “Great War.” The Germans were the first to use gasses—also known as chemical weapons. On April 22, 1915 they used chlorine gas against the Allies at the Second Battle of Ypres. In response, the French and English began developing chemical weapons as well as gas masks. The Germans introduced mustard gas in 1917. Three major kinds of gas were produced for this war: chlorine, phosgene and mustard, plus many lesser used such as bromine and nerve gas. At first gas was released from cylinders in “favorable winds” toward the enemy’s trenches. Later, gasses were put into artillery shells and mortars. From the USA, 1500 individuals were “officially” listed as dying from poisonous gasses. After World War I, in 1925, the use of poisonous gasses was banned, though stockpiling was not prohibited. George Ingersoll was inducted into the U.S. Army on July 29, 1918. The following are portions of letters or clippings, to, from or about George that appeared in the Fair Haven Register: Edgewood, Md., Sep. 5, 1918 To George Adams, Dear Uncle:--Received your letter yesterday and was some glad to get it, for, as you know, mail is the one thing that a soldier looks forward to and helps to keep things going better. … The Allies are sure doing some fighting on the other side and looks as if things might come to an end soon. … They are sending soldiers out of here every day to different cities for guard and fire duty also for military police. I may get transferred at any time for a fellow cannot tell a day ahead where he will be next in this man’s army. PVT George Ingersoll Detachment F, 2nd Batt., Edgewood Plant, Edgewood Arsenal Edgewood, Maryland To My Dear Friends:--I extend my most heartfelt thanks to you for the dandy gifts I received in camp a few days ago—a beautiful wrist watch (which sure is a peach), a fine razor…I hope that I may be able to repay each one of you someday in some way. ---PAGE BREAK--- I feel sure that I have a lot of friends in the old home town. … Your true friend, PVT George Ingersoll Edgewood, Maryland [date unknown] [from a letter to George’s Aunt]: It takes up most of my spare time to answer all the letters I get but don’t mind for I like to get all the mail I can. Have been sick and that has put me behind but I am feeling fine again. … Well, I had something for about a week that they called the flu. Whatever it was I don’t want it again. It was like the grippe only four times as bad. Hope you have escaped the darn disease. I suppose you would like to know what we do here. We make three kinds of gas and fill shells with it. We fill 75 mm and 155m and also bombs about 2 ft. long and eight inches in diameter which are dropped by plane. They are filled with the most deadliest gas known. … A mask is no good whatever. We carry masks with us everywhere we go. So it must be a little dangerous. The gas gets away once in a while and knocks some of the fellows out. Oct. 12, 1918. Dear Uncle:-- I am feeling fine again after my turn with the Flu but some of the boys are still in the hospital. I suppose you would like to know what we are doing here. Three kinds of gas are made here and put into shells and also aeroplane bombs. … We have gas here three times a day and in between. The leaves are about all dead from the effects of it. We all have masks to wear when the darn stuff gets loose. Well, must close and go out and drill. From your nephew, PVT George Ingersoll From a newspaper headline: GEORGE INGERSOLL DIES IN CAMP (Fair Haven Register 10/24/1918) The town of Sterling was shocked this week to receive the news of the death of George Ingersoll, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Ingersoll of Sterling, which occurred at Edgewood Camp in Maryland. A telegram reached here Monday morning that the young man was seriously ill, and ---PAGE BREAK--- his father started for the place at once. Soon after his departure another message came that George had passed. He had been sick from influenza but had recovered and was feeling well. … Sunday night he retired in apparent good health and during the fore part of the night he and his chum talked back and forth from their cots. About five o’clock next morning the chum was awakened by groans coming from young Ingersoll, and going to him he found him unconscious. … He died about five hours from that time. The cause of death was given as pneumococcic meningitis. George E. Ingersoll was born on the farm where his parents now live and spent his entire life in this town. His age was 26 years. Several years ago, Calvin, and himself came to Fair Haven and built and opened up a garage on Main Street… He was a good-hearted, genial young fellow and had a host of friends who will join with the bereaved family in deeply mourning his death. The following letter was written by the late George Ingersoll’s “chum.” George was a friend of every man in our company; he is missed very much here. … Now what caused his death: I have talked with the Orderly who worked with the doctors on him at the hospital and he said he had been gassed. It does not show right away and you do not know just when it takes effect. It is a slow poison; sometimes does not work until two or three days after one has been around it. I know one case where a fellow got it in a trench and was not sick until four days after. It sure is a very sad thing to think men will get up such things to kill each other with. They have all kinds of it here. Men are burned or gassed with it almost every day in some part of the plant. … They can’t stop it burning very quick, it is so poisonous. Am glad they had a military funeral for the poor boy. … Below are copies of George Ingersoll’s military records: ---PAGE BREAK--- George Ingersoll’s draft card, page 1 ---PAGE BREAK--- Draft card, page 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Military Service Abstract including “cause of death” The official cause of death as described by the military was disease, but the information from a friend as well as Mr. Ingersoll’s letter that he had recovered from the flu ended up describing an entirely different end of the story for George E. Ingersoll. Sources: Fair Haven Register Archives, Fair Haven and Sterling Fair Haven Public Library Ancestry.com New York, Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919