Reviews, Notes and Comments. 469
COLONEL FREDERICK W. GALBRAITH, JR.
NEWLY ELECTED NATIONAL COMMANDER
OF THE AMERICAN
LEGION.
Colonel Galbraith enjoys the distinction
of having been both
sailor and soldier in the course of his
career. He was born at
Watertown, Massachusetts, May 6, 1874,
and later attended
grammar school in Springfield, that
state. He was graduated
from a nautical training school at
Boston in 1893 and served in
various positions aboard American
sailing ships after his grad-
uation. In 1908 he went to Cincinnati
where he became treas-
urer of the Western Paper Goods Company.
A fellow soldier
who has intimately known the Colonel for
years has furnished
the following sketch of his military
service:
Colonel F. W. Galbraith's connection
with things military
began in 1916 when he became identified
with the First Ohio
National Guard at Cincinnati in the
capacity of Major. His first
big task was to gain for the regiment
the support and co-opera-
tion of the leading interests of
Cincinnati and the other cities
where units of the regiment were
located.
In the spring of 1917 he became Colonel
and immediately un-
dertook an intense recruiting campaign
to bring the unit of the
regiment up to full strength. The
declaration of war increased the
seriousness of the responsibility but
did not materially increase
voluntary enlisting. However, on being called into
Federal serv-
ice on July 15, 1917, the Colonel's regiment, the First Ohio In-
fantry, was in excellent shape as to
personnel and spirit. For
two and one-half months the training of the regiment
was carried
on according to a program laid out by
the Colonel.
The regiment was ordered to Camp
Sheridan and was as-
sembled in the camp quarters on October
13, 1917. Here the
first real trials began, for two weeks
after arrival the Colonel
found that the regiment he had worked so
hard to build up had
been transferred from his command and
officers and men were
divided between the 147th Infantry,
148th Infantry and the 136th
Machine Gun Battalion by the process of
organizing the 37th
Division. But it did not take him long
to show himself a capable
man. By hard work and leadership he soon
found himself in
command of the 147th Infantry where the
majority of his old
officers and men were. This unit was
formerly the old Sixth
Ohio Infantry and had seen service on
the border. The Colonel
is a man who believes in seeing the
best, doing the best, and hav-
470 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. ing the best, and endeavors to pass this spirit on to his officers and men; hence, pride in condition, personnel and efficiency be- came paramount throughout the 147th. Training was undergone with a will, and when the call to overseas duty came, the 147th was ready. |
|
Leaving Camp Sheridan, Alabama, in May, 1918, the regi- ment arrived at Camp Lee, Virginia, and towards the end of June embarked for France in two units, arriving at Brest on the 5th of July. During the next four months came the real war activity of his command. For six weeks the regiment manned the famous Rainbow Sector in the Bacarrat Sector in the Vosges, |
Reviews, Notes and Comments. 471
Lorraine, and had the honor of capturing
the first German pris-
oners taken by the Division. In this
place, the real fighting or-
ganization was developed and perfected,
and on leaving the
sector the Colonel received the highest
compliments from the
incoming French commanders.
Early in September the regiment moved
toward the famous
Argonne, and on the 26th went "over
the top" in the initial at-
tack. In the five days that followed no
commander ever showed
more thoughtfulness for his men, more
energy in holding every
inch gained, more real leadership at
critical times when the
morale or spirit of the fighting men was
low because of lack of
food or physical fatigue, or more
personal indifference to danger
when the occasion demanded. He was not
to be found in the
rear but always where he could see and
know what was the real
condition so that helpful and well
directed moves were made with-
out entirely needless sacrifice of life.
The Colonel never forgot
that mothers, wives, sisters and
sweethearts had entrusted their
all to him. It was here that he narrowly
escaped death as he was
sniped by a machine gunner, the bullet
passing through the gas
mask on his chest, and he was also
struck on the cheek by flying
shrapnel. On the second of the five days
he found himself in
command of two regiments and both in a
very serious condition.
For his splendid conduct here he
received the D. S. C.
The holding of the Xannes Sector on the
St. Mihiel front
next fell to his command. From there his
regiment went to Bel-
gium for the first and second offensive.
The 147th Infantry went
into action for the last time in the
night of November 9th, con-
tinued the attack through the 10th and
11th, until the signing of
the armistice and reached a line marking
the farthest advance
of the American Army in Belgium. Picked
troops of his com-
mand participated in the triumphal entry
into Brussels and into
Aix la Chappelle or Achen. His interest
and inspiring leadership
made the return trip to the United
States a matter to be proud
of as few units, if any, cleared the
fort of Brest with a record
that his regiment acquired as a well
disciplined and efficient
organization. The Colonel stands out as
a real American who
believes in his country and his
fellowmen and will do more than
his part to make it all that it should
be.
It is very gratifying to know that one
so entirely worthy of
the distinguished honor has been chosen
National Commander of
the Legion. The recent annual meeting of
that patriotic order
was held in Cleveland. The procession was inspiring as it
marched through the streets of that city
and the proceedings of
the meetings were of a character to
impress most favorably all
472
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
who had an opportunity to be present at
the sessions or read the
reports in the public press.
Colonel Galbraith was elected Department
Commander at the
first state convention of the American
Legion held in Ohio. He
was elected National Commander on
September 29th, two years
to the day after he performed the act of
heroism which won for
him the Distinguished Service Cross. His
citation for this honor
reads:
"For extraordinary heroism in
action near Ivoiry, France,
September 29, 1918. When an enemy
counter-attack was im-
minent, he went into the front lines
under a violent artillery
and machine-gun barrage, and by the
coolness and certainty of his
orders and the inspiring example of his
personal courage reorgan-
ized his own command and took command of
other units whose
officers had been lost or diverted in
the confusion of battle.
Knocked down by a shell, he refused to
be evacuated and con-
tinued to carry on the work of
reorganizing his position and dis-
posing the troops to a successful
conclusion."
OHIO-ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME
William D. Gallagher, the well-known
early Ohio poet in
1835 wrote an ode to "Our Western
Land" in which the follow-
ing lines occur:
"Ohio-peh-he-le !-Peek-han-he! The
pride
Of the land where thy waters,
O-pe-le-chen glide.
* * *
"Ohio-Pechen! Belle Riviere!
For beauty none with thee compare."
In notes the explanation is made that
"Ohio-peh-he-le" means
very white frothy water;
"Peek-han-ne," deep and white stream;
"O-pe-le-chen," bright,
shining; "Ohio-pe-chen," it is of a white
color. Here is material from which we
may arrive at the poet's
conception of the significance of the
name Ohio.
In the New International
Encyclopedia, edition of 1904, we
find the statement that Ohio is a
corruption of the Iroquois
Ohionhiio which means beautiful river.
A writer in the Quarterly (Vol. XIV,
page 274) suggests