Service Across the Sea – N. B. Carstarphen and the A.E.F.

The First World War, The Great War, or the War to End All Wars was one of the most devastating conflicts ever conducted in human history. Beginning in 1914, the world would be ravaged by the new destructive forces devised for this new conflict. No longer were armies content to form orderly columns, as the Western Front especially devolved into a mess of tangled and conflicting trench lines, trading lives and war materiel for marginal changes in the positioning of armies. There were three motivating incidents that led the United States’ intervention into the Great War: German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (a British ship carrying American passengers) at the hands of said submarines, and finally the infamous Zimmerman telegram, the German attempt to lure Mexico into joining the Central Powers in exchange for portions of American land. These incidents resulted in the United States to officially join the Entente, commonly known as the Allies. To lead the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.), the United States’ contribution to the international coalition, General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing was selected. There, among his famously well-trained and talented staff at the General Headquarters, was a Plain Dealing native by the name of Newton Blanchard (N. B.) Carstarphen

                       

Mister Carstarphen was born January 28, 1894, in Plain Dealing Louisiana to Mr. Edward M. and Mrs. Sallie Wilson. N. B. attended Georgetown University in Washington, D. C., in the 1910s to study law before graduating in 1917. While in D. C., he served as the private secretary to Louisiana Senator Joseph E. Ransdell as well as a messenger for the Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine. After his graduation, Newton volunteered for the upcoming European war effort on July 13, 1917. Newton Carstarphen’s law degree landed him a position as an Army Field Clerk, assigned to the United States General Headquarters (G.H.Q.) as an adjunct. For a period of twenty-six months he served in the A.E.F., throughout both the American involvement in the Western Front offenses, as well as the drawdown of American soldiers in Europe post-armistice. For his service to General Headquarters, Mr. Carstarphen received commendation for exceptional and meritorious service. At least one source claims that Newton served as aide-de-camp and personal courier for General Pershing himself, trusted with carrying secret military movements to the intended recipients.

The A.E.F., at the insistence of General Pershing, maintained a mostly independent command structure from the French and British armies, under his insistence that the A.E.F. would fight more effectively beneath their own flag. On May 28, 1918, the United States saw its first major action in the closing months of the Great War, at the battle of Cantigny. It is important to note, however, that this battle did not occur in a vacuum. The German armies assigned to the Western Front had spent the past two months expending the very last of the Empire’s strength in the German Spring Offensive, partly to end the war before the fresh and invigorated American

Army could arrive upon the shores of France and Belgium. The British Expeditionary Forces, as well as the French Army, were both exhausted from the past four years of brutal conflict. Whilst the A.E.F. would serve with distinction, and come to be a major contributing factor in bringing an end to the Great War, it was only through the immense suffering of the Allies that gave the United States this opportunity.

The remainder of 1918 saw vicious fighting, with the German military being forced to come to terms with their eventual defeat as became increasingly clear when the Spring Offensive failed to materialize the promised victory. On the Eleventh Hour, of the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month, the guns of the Western Front would fall silent, with the signing of the armistice that gave way to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. For his efforts in leading the United States to victory in the Great War, General Pershing was elevated to a position of which he has only two equals: General of the Armies of the United States. As for Mr. Carstarphen, Newton returned to the United States and attended Loyola University for his Masters in Law, before joining the Louisiana Bar Association in 1921. His career was one as high-powered lawyer and high-ranking politico in Louisiana politics, before his death on June 10, 1983. The Great War was viewed as the War to End All War, and while this adage would ultimately prove false, it was not through a lack of effort or bravery on the part of the Allies, and the American Expeditionary Forces served their parts valiantly in that titanic struggle.

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