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World War 1 – disaster and fraternity (in Champagne)

The American war effort seen in a wider context

Our excursions begins near the ridge of Chemin des Dames, where three weeks of senseless carnage (April 16 - May 9, 1917) led half the French army to refuse major offensives: in fact there have been none since.

Our American origins lead us to discover sites that are little-known to Europeans, in an  excursion that goes far beyond the interests of a single nationality.

 

 

 

 

Americans marched off as enthusiastically as had Europeans, to the war through which the 20th -centuries' calamities began.

 

Visiting the cemetery next to the first major U.S. battlefield in Europe evokes these soldiers' tragedy.

 

By commemorating the humanitarian aid of American volunteers, many of whom were women, a museum reveals a ray of light in the disaster.

 

 

       

       

      • French and American memories

       

       
      "Le Miroir", French weekly, June 1917
      American chapel window

       

      "Lafayette, we are here", General Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force, is supposed to have said when he landed with his troops in France. That declaration inspired a stained-glass window.
      "Welcome" (notice the English), March 1918

       

      American families financed it in memory of their sons killed in the war and to recall their solidarity with France.

       

      The church is closed except for services. We visit it by special permission.

       

       

      • A few miles away, a museum and a garden have replaced a château's rubble

       

      The Museum of Franco-Américan Cooperation at Blérancourt occupies the site of a château that the fighting destroyed. A garden of North American flowers is dedicated to the U.S. volunteers who helped France during and after the war, and the museum presents vivid records of their action.

       

      On the luminous upper floors, works of art illustrate French and American cultural synergy from the 18th century until the 1930's.

       

       

      • Nearby: Please see our suggestions on Champagne, particularly Reims.

         

         

        • Peaceful help from patricians for whom privilege meant obligation

         

         
        The colors recall both flags.
        Anne Morgan during the war

         

        Ann Morgan, handsome daughter of tycoon J.P. Morgan, could have been a central society figure of her time. Instead she organized relief and founded the museum.
        Anne Morgan, museum founder

         

        We tell what is known of her and use the museum's and our own records to explain this side of the Franco-American story.

         

         

        French mother, American nurse, shelter soldiers left

         

        "Many American women have come to Europe to bring the Allies their devotion and courage. In ambulances, in garages, wearing masculine dress, they are energetic, alert, and gay."

        -" Le Miroir", 18 April 1915
        American volunteers

         

        We evoke their little-known story as well as that of the volunteer American ambulance drivers who tore back from the front with the wounded – and sometimes were destroyed themselves

         

         

        • At the end of the afternoon we visit the graves of soldiers who died in the first major American battle on European soil

         

         

         

        Cemetery near battle-site of Belleau Wood, June 6-24, 1918

        If we arrive shortly before closing time, we may participate in the ceremony of lowering the flag, a moment of great dignity.

         

         

        • Costs: Please CLICK

         

         

        Credits: chapel window / Flora Trumelon (assistant to the Director, Belleau Wood Memorial; American troops depart, the welcome to them and the bombardment Reims cathedral / "Le Miroir" (photo magazine of the time) ; young Anne Morgan and help to refugee/ Blerancourt Museum publication; portrait of Anne Morgan (at the Blérancourt Museum) and garden / Claude Abron; cemetery / Frank Atkinson, former Director of the Belleau Wood Memorial

         

         

        Unexpected Paris guided tours