by Ray Ezell, Virginia Headwaters Council Historian
Leaders and youth of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are widely known for providing praiseworthy service on America’s homefront during the years that the United States was involved in the Great War (a.k.a. World War I), during 1917-1918. However both boy scouts and adult leaders also answered the “call of Uncle Sam” or the “call to the colors” and eagerly enlisted in the ranks of the armed forces and were dispatched as a part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in order to directly confront the armies of the Central Powers in the European theatre of war. This essay provides a brief, albeit incomplete, survey of some of the scouts and scout leaders from the area encompassed by the Virginia Headwaters Council (formerly the Stonewall Jackson Area Council) and provides brief descriptions of their Scouting backgrounds and their military service.
Staunton, Virginia
Rev. John J. Gravatt, Jr. He entered the U.S. Army in October 1918 and attended Chaplain’s Training School. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant and served in the AEF in France as a chaplain. He was released from duty by special order of General John J. Pershing, commander of AEF, Europe in May 1919, and he returned to the Trinity Episcopal Church where he resumed his duties as rector. In May 1919, he became Scoutmaster of Troop No. 1 (then affiliated with the YMCA). He served as the Commissioner of the Staunton Council from 1920-1924, and he later became president of the Stonewall Jackson Council (later Stonewall Jackson Area Council) in 1927 and served several years with distinction. He was a member of the National Council of the BSA from 1920-1938.
Rev. William George McDowell. He served as scoutmaster of Troop No. 1 in Staunton beginning in 1914. McDowell was the senior scoutmaster (or commissioner) for troops that had been organized in Staunton until 1918, and he was also the rector of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Staunton. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1918 and attended chaplain’s training school at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant and was assigned to the 155th Depot Brigade at Camp Lee, Virginia. He never deployed to Europe as a part of the AEF, but he completed his enlistment at Camp Lee as chaplain and was discharged in 1919.
James Monroe Southard. In March 1911, he was a member of the first Boy Scout patrol organized in Staunton under the auspices of the First Presbyterian Church Sunday School department. He later became assistant scoutmaster of Troop No. 1 in Staunton beginning in the spring of 1916. He enlisted in the Army in July 1917, and he was assigned to Camp McClellan, Alabama where he was a part of the 104th Infantry’s regimental band. By September 1918, he was transferred to the 155th Depot Brigade at Camp Lee, Virginia, where he was also a part of the brigade band. He was discharged in the early Spring 1919. After the war, Southard relocated to Connellsville, Pennsylvania and became the scoutmaster of Troop No. 8 and was awarded the Silver Beaver award by the local Boy Scout council in that place.
George H. Powell. He became a scout in Staunton in 1912 and later was an assistant scoutmaster in Troop No. 1. He answered the call to the colors and enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1917. He served in Company G, 317th Infantry Regiment as a sergeant. While at Camp Lee, he entered the Cadet Officers Training School and then was deployed to France as part of the AEF. He was discharged from service in February 1919.
Sidney Rawlings. Another charter member of the first Boy Scout patrol in Staunton (March 1911) organized by the First Presbyterian Church of Staunton Sunday School department, Rawlings enlisted in the U.S. Army in mid-1918. By September 1918, he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant and was an instructor at Camp Gordon at Atlanta, Georgia.
Hugh Wilson “Spot” Givens. He was a decorated World War I veteran of Co. K of the famed 370th Infantry Regiment, a.k.a. the “Black Devils”, receiving the French Croix de Guerre with bronze star for bravery. He was promoted to sergeant at Camp Lee and held this rank for the duration of his service while in Europe; however, he was returned to his original rank of private upon returning to the United States. His medal citation read in part, “…for remarkable bravery and devotion. From 27th of September to 12th of October, 1918, he went out constantly , despite the fire of the enemy, to carry orders to the troops, and he always accomplished his missions in spite of extreme difficulties, by day and night.” He became the scoutmaster of Staunton’s first and only black Boy Scout troop in 1919 until approximately 1930.
Fred E. Woodson. The first Eagle Scout in Virginia (December 1912), he was a member of Staunton Troop No. 1. He joined the U.S. Army’s YMCA program in mid 1917, and he also attended the Army Officers’ Training School at Camp Zachary Taylor in the Fall of 1918, where he received a 2nd Lieutenant’s commission on December 11, 1918. He served at Fort Sill, Oklahoma during World War I. After the War, he became deputy council commissioner and then a scout executive in Oklahoma.
J. Levering Early. The second Eagle Scout in Virginia (January 1913), Early was attached to Staunton Troop No. 3 as a scout. He was drafted into the army in July 1918, and entered the Central Line Officers’ Training School at Camp Lee, Virginia in August 1918. During officer training, he contracted the flu and lost his hearing. He recovered after the Armistice was signed. He was discharged in November 1918.
Dove Augustus Burress. Burress enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 1918, and he was sent to mechanical training school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was discharged on December 13, 1918. After his return to Waynesboro, Burress was long-time scoutmaster of Staunton’s black Troop No. 15 from June 1932-June 1952.
William W. Green. Green joined the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War in 1898 and enlisted in the 24th Infantry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers Regiment). Before the Great War, he served in the Philippines and in the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico under Gen. John J. Pershing. During WWI in 1917, he was selected for the only Officer Training School held for black officers and received a captain’s commission. In France, he commanded Company H, 365th Infantry Regiment (92d Division), AEF, known as the Buffaloes. As a result of his heroism in two combat engagements in October and November 1918, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the Army’s second highest award for valor). His citation read,
On 10 October 1918, Captain Green with utter disregard of his own personal danger, went out under enemy machine-gun and shell fire and rescued three wounded men of his company who were lying in an exposed position, administered first aid, and carried them, one at a time, to a place of comparative safety. On 10 November 1918, Captain Green led his company through wire and heavy enemy fire to its objective, when he found that the right flank of his company was exposed to enemy fire. He climbed a tree in order to see over the crest of the hill behind which the enemy was advancing. In this exposed post he was subjected to heavy shrapnel and machine-gun fire…but his observation enabled him so to organize his position that his command was able to repulse successfully three enemy counterattacks…
American Decorations, a List of Awards of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished-service Cross, and the Distinguished-service Medal (1927)
Capt. Green also earned a Silver Star for his role in his company’s attack on Bois Frehaut in November 1918. This citation read in part, “For distinguished and exceptional gallantry…”. Ultimately, Green received a citation for merit from Gen. Pershing, commander-in-chief, as well as commendations from his battalion and infantry commanders for his exemplary conduct during combat on November 10, 1918. He retired from the Army in 1920 and returned to Staunton. About 1932, Capt. Green became the committee chair of black Boy Scout Troop No. 15, Staunton’s only black scout troop at the time. He continued to serve in this capacity with the scout troop until 1936.
Rev. George B. Fretwell. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in mid-1917 and served as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant in 1918, and he served in the AEF in Co. I, 116th Infantry Regiment (29th Division) and in the U.S. Quartermaster Corps. In October 1918, he was wounded during battle, and he was discharged during the summer of 1919. After the War, Fretwell was the scoutmaster of Troop No. 6 formed at the Staunton Baptist Church in May 1922.
Joseph P. Ast. He mustered into the U.S. Army in March 1917 and was commissioned a captain in the Machine Gun company, 116th Infantry Regiment (29th Division), AEF. He was discharged in May 1919. In April 1922, he was appointed scoutmaster of the Boy Scout troop chartered to the Staunton First Presbyterian church and continued for a number of years as its leader. In 1932, he was appointed chairman of the Stonewall Jackson Council’s Court of Honor.
Robert E. Christian. In 1918, he enlisted in Company G, 11th Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps. After returning from the World War, he was assistant scoutmaster of Troop No. 7 at the Second Presbyterian Church of Staunton in the Spring of 1922.
Waynesboro, Virginia
Joseph Guy Rusmiselle. Scoutmaster-Waynesboro Troop No. 2 and assistant scoutmaster-Waynesboro Troop No. 1, 1916-1940. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on April 15, 1918. He attained the rating of Hospital Apprentice-1st Class. He was discharged on January 16, 1919. In the early 1920s, he returned to Scout leadership and was appointed scoutmaster of Troop No. 2 chartered by the Waynesboro Baptist Church. After serving in this capacity, Rusmiselle became a longtime assistant scoutmaster for Troop No. 1. He coached many successful scout football and baseball teams, and he was conferred the Silver Beaver award in 1965 by the Stonewall Jackson Area Council.
William C. Bragg. He was a scout in Waynesboro Troop No. 2. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in mid-1918 and served as a private-first class in Company L, 318th Infantry Regiment (80th Division) of the AEF. He was discharged from the army in May 1919.
Clifford M. Peale. He was a scout in Waynesboro Troop No. 1. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army in mid-1918, but neither his unit nor term of enlistment could be determined. However, the 1930 U.S. Census entry for Clifford confirms that he served in the military during World War I.
Ernest Milton East. He served as scoutmaster of Waynesboro Troop No. 1, 1916-ca. 1922. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and was assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Regiment (32nd Division). He was later promoted to corporal, AEF-Europe. He was wounded severely in October 1918, and he was discharged in September 1919. He became the adjutant of the newly formed Waynesboro American Legion post and returned to Scouting work after his return to Waynesboro.
Orange, Virginia
Rev. Frank C. Riley. Riley served as the scoutmaster of Orange Troop No. 1 from 1916-1930. In March of 1918, Riley requested a leave of absence from Orange Baptist Church for the duration of the war. Soon afterward, he attended Chaplain Training School at Camp Taylor, Kentucky before being deployed to the European military theatre. He left Orange in June 1918, and he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant on July 5, 1918, and served as a chaplain. Chaplain Riley was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 318th Infantry Regiment (80th Division), AEF on August 28, 1918. He participated in the famed Meuse-Argonne offensive in France from September 26-November 11, 1918. His division took their position near the center of the Allied attack during that pivotal battle. In late September, he was caught in a German gas attack at Nantillois, but suffered no critical injuries.
Maurice C. Bradbury. Bradbury was a charter member of Orange Troop No. 1 in 1915, rising to the rank of Tenderfoot scout. He also served as an assistant scoutmaster of the troop from early 1918 until 1920. Bradbury enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 11, 1918 and served in the 6th Trench Mortar Battalion as a corporal. He was discharged on January 19, 1919.
William Randolph Grymes. Grymes was another a charter member of Orange Troop No. 1 in 1915 and patrol leader of the troop’s Wolf patrol. He advanced to the rank of Second Class scout, and he also served as assistant scoutmaster from March 1918-March 1920 though he had enrolled in Virginia Military Institute in September 1918, he subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 15, 1918. While serving in the armed forces, Grymes was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was discharged on December 10, 1919. After he returned to Orange, he was again active with the Boy Scout troop serving as asst. scoutmaster from March 1923 to 1924.
Benjamin Grymes. He was briefly enrolled in Orange Troop No. 1, and then he enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 25, 1918 and was assigned to the 4th Company, Mobile Laundry Unit, Camp Meigs, Washington, D.C. This was a hospital unit training facility to train Mobile Laundry personnel in the operation of equipment for disinfecting & cleaning soldiers’ clothing at “wash up” and “de-lousing stations” at the European front. In the AEF, he served in Unit 311, Mobile Laundry and then in Unit 407 of the Army Motor Transportation Corps. He was discharged on May 16, 1919.
Ernest D. Camper. Camper was another charter member of Orange Troop No. 1. The specific details of his enlistment or military assignment are unknown, but he was discharged from military service on January 10, 1918.
Walden Hume Sisson. Also a charter member of Orange Troop No. 1, Sisson enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 24, 1917 in Company K, Recruit Depot, and he then served in Cuba from August 26, 1917 to July 18, 1918. Next he served in Company F, 13th Regiment USMC, AEF from September 25, 1918 to July 20, 1919. He was discharged on August 13, 1919. However in 1920, he apparently re-enlisted in the Marine Corps with the rank of corporal, and he was assigned to the USMC graves registration service in Europe for one year.
George Smith. He was a 20-yr old boy scout (which was not uncommon) in Orange Troop No. 1 in 1917. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 9, 1918 and served as a private in Section B, Air Corps at Langley Field, Virginia. He was promoted to corporal in December 1918, and he was discharged on January 31, 1919.
Charles K. Newman. He was a scout in Orange Troop No. 1 in 1916-1917, and he was reported to have served in the U.S. Army during WWI. His specific military service details are unknown.
Gordonsville, Virginia
Rev. William Hudson Cumpston. He was born in Yorkshire, England and is thought to be the founding scoutmaster of Gordonsville Troop No. 1 sometime in 1914. After leaving the pastorate of the Christ church in Gordonsville, Rev. Cumpston served as the Scout Commissioner for the nearby, fledgling Fredericksburg Boy Scout council beginning about February 1918. Later in 1918, Cumpston joined the Army YMCA and served as a civilian religious director, AEF-Europe until March 30, 1919 when he returned from Europe.
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charles Elmo Stevens. He is thought to be the first Boy Scout in Charlottesville, Virginia. Oral tradition holds that he and his brother, Donald, formed the first Boy Scout patrol, using Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys, in Charlottesville in 1909 under the auspices of the local YMCA chapter, establishing YMCA/Charlottesville Troop No. 1. He was discharged from military service November 27, 1918.
Marion P. Echols. He was a scout in University Troop No. 1 and enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on June 14, 1917. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army, and he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on November 1, 1918. He remained in the U.S. Army as a career soldier and artillery instructor at the Virginia Military Institute.
John A. Lile. He was also a scout in University Troop No. 1. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 30, 1918. He was discharged on September 30, 1921.
William C. Chamberlain, Jr. A member of University Troop No. 1, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 16, 1918 and was discharged on December 18, 1919.
Bernard P. Chamberlain. He was a member of University Troop No. 1, and he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a private 1st class in the medical corps. He was discharged on May 1, 1919. After the War, he went on to become Scoutmaster of this troop for several years in the 1930s.
