Excerpt from Trench Ballads: And Other Verses

I have divided this book into three distinct parts. Part I, Trench Ballads, consists of forty American sol dier poems of America's participation in the World War, 1917 - 19, based entirely on actual facts and in cidents, and almost exclusively on my own personal experiences and observations, when a private in Com pany G, l6th Infantry, First Division, of the Ameri can Expeditionary Forces in France. Part II, Pre war Poems, consists of three sets of verses written just before the active entry of America in the war, and appertaining to, but not an integral part of, it, and therefore grouped separately. Part III, Other Poems, contains those of a general and non-military character.

It is highly desirable the Notes at the end of this volume should be consulted, and that it be rea lized that with few exceptions, all these Trench Ballads were written in France, many scribbled on odd pieces of paper or on old envelopes in the trenches themselves, and consequently, when present locality is intimated, it is always France, that is to say, from the standpoint that I am speaking in and from the seat of operations. For example, when I use the term over here, it really means what the people at home in America would call 'over there. Hyper bole or little characteristic anecdotes that really never occurred, except in the brain of an author, I have ahsolutely shunned, and have endeavored to adhere strictly to the truth, the Whole truth and nothing but the truth, and to set forth the vicissitudes; the dangers, joys and tribulations of the army man, and especially the man in the ranks, and more especially the man in the ranks of the Infantry, as these latter formed the actual front-line or combat troops that bore the brunt in this greatest of all wars.

Absolute continuity or sequence would seem super fluous, but it will be observed that I have endeavored to maintain it to a certain extent, i.e., by gradually leading from a number of military verses, without any strict inter-relation, to the day of being wounded, then on to several poems concerning the military hospital, and finally bringing the Trench Ballads to a close with those having to do with the returning home of the soldier.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.