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Title: The Bombardment of Reims

Author: Barr Ferree

Release Date: August 7, 2015 [EBook #49649]

Language: English

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From "La Cathédrale de Reims," Libraire Centrale des Beaux-Arts, Paris.

THE WEST FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF REIMS

[Pg 1]

The
BOMBARDMENT
of REIMS

By
Barr Ferree

New York
Leonard Scott Publication Company
1917

[Pg 2]

Copyright, 1917,
By Barr Ferree.
All rights reserved.

[Pg 3]

CONTENTS

[Pg 5]

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Pg 7]

The Bombardment of Reims

The bombardment of Reims, and the attendant destruction of its cathedral, is an event that has particularly excited the indignation of the civilized world. The sacrifice has seemed so wanton and so unnecessary that the souls of those who have not known the great church by personal observation have cried out in indignation against the outrage, while to those who have known it, its long continued passion has aroused the feeling of an intense personal loss. No other episode of the Great War has accomplished such complete destruction of so great a work of art. Its blackened walls and broken statues are the most formidable indictment the Germans have yet raised against themselves. As an event in the War it stands unique among countless other inexcusable horrors, and it has, therefore seemed worth while to summarize briefly the dreadful doings at Reims, that the real nature of the hideous tragedy may be made apparent.

For an American, remote from the seat of war, to attempt a survey of the bombardment of Reims is a hazardous task. Yet I have ventured to do so because the continued dreadfulness of this great siege, which has lasted more than three years, is quite unknown in this country, and, even in the[Pg 8] meagre details here set forth, not fully known in France. The bombardment of Reims has continued from September 3, 1914, without interruption, save for the few days of the German occupation in that month, and some days designated as "calm" in the daily reports. But these "calm" days form part of the history of the siege, since no one could tell at what hour the bombardment might be renewed.

Little as to the bombardment of Reims has appeared in the American papers, and not much more in the Paris papers. The official bulletins give so small space to it that they have been entirely neglected in the preparation of this chronology. More than once the papers published in Reims have complained of the silence of the Paris papers on the attacks on their beloved city, and have frequently referred to the importance attached to minor details elsewhere, while nothing at all has been said as to more important events at Reims.

The hand of the censor has at all times rested heavily on Reims, the local censor sometimes not permitting the publication of details that have appeared in the few references in Paris newspapers. At the beginning of the bombardment the papers of Reims published quite full details, giving the names and addresses of persons killed or wounded, and the location of buildings burned or otherwise injured in the bombardment. These items were speedily suppressed, and the greater[Pg 9] part of the record in available publications is not much more detailed than is given in these pages.

But if details are wanting it is not impossible to draw an outline picture of the whole bombardment. This I have undertaken to do; and while I cannot hope, from an accurate point of view, that this work can have any value, I am not without hope that as a general review of the bombardment from the beginning, this little book may find a place in the vast literature of the war. Certainly the facts here gathered are quite unknown in America, and, in their entirety, are almost as little known in France, since no one in that besieged land as yet attempted a similar undertaking.

The present record covers the three years of the bombardment from September 3, 1914 to September 3, 1917. A siege extending over so considerable a period of time, attended as it has been, with months of ferocious assaults, with great loss of life, and the useless destruction of great works of art, may well be chronicled for that period. And this is the more the case since the details here gathered have not before been grouped together in their entirety.

It is much too soon to attempt a full history of the bombardment of Reims, but the outlines of the dreadful story may now be brought together. It should be sufficiently obvious that the bombardment of Reims is not a small episode in the war, but an event continuous from the very beginning.

[Pg 10]

The chronology here published has been compiled from the local newspapers published at Reims and at Paris. I have made use of "Le Courrier de la Champagne", published in Reims, "Le Petit Rémois", published in Paris from December 15, 1915, and the journal "Reims à Paris", also published in Paris from December, 1914. The editor of the latter paper having been called to the colours, it was merged with "La Marne" and has appeared as "Reims à Paris et la Marne" since October 4, 1916. The daily records of the bombardment, printed in "Le Courrier de la Champagne", are those compiled by its own staff. The records printed in the other papers are compiled from "Le Courrier de la Champagne" and "L'Éclaireur de l'Est", also printed in Reims. "Le Petit Rémois" has made free use of both these papers, and in addition has published the reports of its editor, M. Pierre Bienvenue, residing in Reims. Owing to the fury of the bombardment in April "Le Courrier" was forced to suspend publication for the time being, but "L'Éclaireur" was able to continue in a much reduced form.

The French Republic paid a fine tribute to this journalistic heroism when President Poincaré pinned the Cross of the Legion of Honour on the breast of M. Paul Dramas, the managing editor of "L'Éclaireur de l'Est" on June 18, 1917, when the same distinction was given to Cardinal Luçon, Archbishop of Reims, and Deputy Mayors J. de[Pg 11] Bruignac and E. Charbonneaux, and some other heroic citizens. It is impossible to turn over the pages of these little Reims papers without a heartening sense of the courage that permitted their publication daily throughout a harrowing siege. Heroic journalism in a very true sense.

Among other sources of information special mention should be made of "Le Martyre de Reims", published anonymously in parts. It began with the admirable purpose of presenting a detailed summary of life and events in Reims during the bombardment, giving the names of persons killed or wounded, and the locality of buildings injured. The censor speedily fell afoul of this useful summary: names of persons and buildings were stricken out, as well as other details, and finally the diary came to a temporary end with Part 41.

I must mention also the "Journal d'un Rémois" by M. Henri Jadart, which appeared in "Les Champs de Bataille, Collection du Tour de France, Les Cités Meurtries", edited by M. Octave Beauchamp. M. Jadart is librarian and curator of the Museum of the City of Reims, and has kept in close touch with everything relating to his city. His "Bibliographie Rémoise", read before the Academy of Reims, of which he is the Secretary-General, at a meeting in Paris in June, 1916, is a useful record of the extensive literature produced by the bombardment. The series "Les Cités Meurtries" also includes "Reims sous les[Pg 12] obus en 1915" by Mlle. Alice Martin, carrying the story into that year. Mention should also be made of the publication "Reims et la Marne. Almanach de la Guerre, 1914-1915", published in Paris by M. Jules Matot. This book contains no calendar of the bombardment, but a daily summary of general events at Reims, and therefore it is more particularly of local interest. The article "Trois Semaines à Reims" by General Dubois, published in "La Revue" for Oct.-Nov., 1914, contains some useful notes on the first weeks of the bombardment. Just as my chronology had been completed I obtained the new book by M. Jules Poirier "Reims (1 Août—31 Décembre, 1914)", giving a survey of the early events of the war as they related to Reims, and summarizing the daily events in diary form. It has given me some additional facts on the first five months of the bombardment. "Sous les Bombes" by Mlle. Clotilde Jehanne Remy, of which two parts have appeared, is a personal diary of life in Reims during the bombardment.

Although I have been obliged to place complete dependence on printed records, it should be pointed out that there is often a wide divergence between them. The statements printed in the two Reims newspapers do not always agree for the same day, and "Le Petit Rémois", in endeavouring to present a fair and just account, has more than once printed the divergent reports, and clarified the matter by adding its own summary, which often differed from[Pg 13] the other two! I fancy, however, that many of these differences are apparent only, and are perhaps not so striking as they first appear.

It has seemed desirable to give the details of the bombardment as far as the local reports permit. That is to say, the hours of the bombardment, the number of shells, the number of persons killed or wounded. The hours of the bombardment are an interesting index to the agitated daily life at Reims. The number of shells is also of interest as indicating the possible intensity of the attack. But as ammunition of all kinds and sizes, huge and small shells, shrapnel, incendiary and asphyxiating bombs and many other kinds of projectiles have been used in the siege, a mere statement of number of shells hardly gives a proper index to the horror of any one bombardment. But the shell records as to kind are highly incomplete in the published reports, and it has not seemed worth while to make an effort to indicate them. In the dreadful days of March, April, May and June, 1917, when the fall of shells was colossal, even the newspapers gave up attempts at numbering them, and it is probable the actual totals will never be known. The number of persons killed and wounded help also to show the severity of the bombardments, and have no other purpose in this survey. I can scarcely hope that my records of these items approach completeness,[Pg 14] and they have been omitted from April, May and June, 1917. The number of persons killed or wounded are, for the most part, those of the civilian population of Reims.

In addition to bombardment from guns Reims has suffered from the German aviators. I have designated these birds of prey as "Taube", as an economical form of expression. Every considerable bombardment was preceded by these visitors. Nearly every day one or more of them appeared above Reims, and they seem to have been looked upon as so much matter of course that I suspect their presence was often unnoted in the reports. Whenever possible they were eagerly welcomed by the guns of Reims, and hence it followed that, not only was the city subject to the bombardment of the enemy, but on several occasions injury was done in it by antiaerial shells falling back.

A mere glance at the daily records shows that, until March, 1917, no definite purpose was behind this bombardment. It was continued for two years and a half for no other purpose than to annoy the French. Else why these daily bombardments of a few shells only, these days of calm or of little doing, these spurts of agony, bringing sudden death or useless destruction, only to be followed by lapses into silence? Had the destruction of Reims been seriously undertaken it might, I suppose, have been[Pg 15] accomplished long since. But it pleased the enemy to irritate rather than to destroy; a little harm day by day, a little annoyance, more or less, spread over a considerable period of time, with occasional outbursts of great violence, this was the programme. Or, more dreadful still, when the German forces met with defeat, the guns were opened afresh on the helpless cathedral, that it might be wounded again for disasters it had in no sense been party to. While doubtless all this has been thoroughly understood by the French military authorities, little was known of it to the outside world, for little that went on at Reims was known anywhere. There were many other and more important things in the Great War that affected the future of France and of the world. Humanity held its breath while the heroic battle of Verdun was in progress, because it was a military event of the first magnitude. But so little has been heard of Reims that a revelation of its daily martyrdom must come as a shock to those who have closely followed the war.

The story presented from the month of March, 1917, is quite different from anything that preceded. Very obviously the foolish game of play-war was abandoned, and a real effort made to accomplish the destruction of the city. The mind pales before the needless horrors of these months, so inefficiently indicated by a record of continuous[Pg 16] and continued bombardment. So full of horror has been this time that the local papers speak of a daily fall of 600 shells, or even 1000 shells, as a welcome relief from days just passed!

And the cathedral. That, of course, is the one central overpowering thing that excites the interest of the world in the bombardment of Reims. This is not so with the unfortunate people of Reims, who have seen their loved ones killed, their houses ruined, their occupations gone, and who have suffered daily privation and martyrdom. Reims is not alone among the cities and districts of France in such horrors, but its cathedral is one of the treasures of the world, and in this war of great crimes no greater crime has been attempted than the destruction of this splendid church.

Three years ago its vast bulk and massive towers rose grandly above its surrounding buildings in all the pride of lasting permanency. For seven hundred years these stones had cried aloud to the glory of God and the supreme genius of its French builders and decorators. France—that treasure-house of architectural masterpieces—had no more noble building than this, so dear to the French people by reason of the supremacy of its art and as the coronation church of their kings, and once the emblem and the expression of their nationality.

[Pg 17]

In its present dismantled, battered, more than half-ruined state, the cathedral of Reims is of all the unnecessary sacrifices in the War the most unnecessary. It has been too great and too good a thing to disappear from the world without leaving an empty place that cannot be filled. Once, in far back September, 1914, the merciless barbarian encamped before its holy portals. There he stayed for nine days, and, leaving in haste, presently bombarded it, so that his own wounded, temporarily placed within it for safety, were burned alive under the protecting flag of the Red Cross. A pitiable comment on his regard for great churches and the well-being of the wounded.

Since then—September 12, 1914, to be exact—no good news has come out of Reims. Yet of this we may be certain: devoted as the French are to their great national church, they will gladly sacrifice it utterly if that sacrifice be required to thrust out the barbaric invading hordes that know only hate of the good, the true, the beautiful.

The catastrophe of Reims supplies a very sure index as to what passes as the quality of the German mind. Although of all churches the most French, the cathedral of Reims belongs to the whole world, a rare, beautiful and precious structure, hallowed with great memories and endowed with exquisite art. The question is thus very simple: is the world better with the cathedral[Pg 18] of Reims or without it? The Germans seem unquestionably to have decreed its destruction. Of this the record of the bombardment offers ample proof. But as yet the cathedral-destroyers have offered no word, no hint, no suggestion, as to how or why the world will be bettered by the wilful destruction of this matchless church.

[Pg 19]

THE FRONT AT REIMS IN MAY, 1917

[Pg 21]

1914

[Pg 23]

September, 1914

[Pg 26]

October, 1914

[Pg 28]

November, 1914

[Pg 31]

December, 1914

[Pg 33]

1915

[Pg 35]

January, 1915

[Pg 37]

February, 1915

[Pg 39]

March, 1915

[Pg 41]

April, 1915

[Pg 43]

May, 1915

[Pg 45]

June, 1915

[Pg 47]

July, 1915

[Pg 49]

August, 1915

[Pg 51]

September, 1915

[Pg 53]

October, 1915

[Pg 55]

November, 1915

[Pg 57]

December, 1915

[Pg 59]

1916

[Pg 61]

January, 1916

[Pg 63]

February, 1916

From "La Cathédrale de Reims," Libraire Centrale des Beaux-Arts, Paris.

THE WEST PORTALS

[Pg 65]

March, 1916

[Pg 67]

April, 1916

[Pg 69]

May, 1916

[Pg 72]

June, 1916

[Pg 74]

July, 1916

[Pg 76]

August, 1916

[Pg 78]

September, 1916

[Pg 80]

October, 1916

[Pg 82]

November, 1916

[Pg 84]

December, 1916

[Pg 87]

1917

[Pg 89]

January, 1917

[Pg 91]

February, 1917

[Pg 93]

March, 1917

[Pg 96]

April, 1917

L'Illustration

THE CATHEDRAL AFTER THE BOMBARDMENTS OF APRIL, 1917

THE APSE AND SOUTH TRANSEPT

[Pg 99]

May, 1917

[Pg 101]

June, 1917

[Pg 104]

July, 1917

[Pg 107]

August, 1917

[Pg 110]

September, 1917

[Pg 111]

Postscript

The present chronicle stops at the third anniversary of the first bombardment. On September 2, 1914 the French army evacuated Reims. The bombardment actually began on September 3, 1914 by the dropping of two bombs by German aviators. It was an unexpected preface to the formal bombardment of the next day, when the Germans sent 176 shells into Reims, although actually in possession of the city. September 3, 1917 thus completes three full years of the bombardment, which has accomplished nothing save the ruin of the city and the destruction of its great cathedral.

After a city has been besieged for three years; after it has, for that time, been subjected to the agony of modern artillery warfare, it would seem quite time to review such details as are obtainable and survey the results achieved by the besiegers. The daily summary given in the foregoing pages shows exactly what the Germans have done and what they have accomplished. Day after day, particularly in 1917, they have thrown innumerable projectiles into Reims, and wrought the utmost damage they could. But the outstanding fact to the French is that the Germans are still bombarding Reims. The siege did not stop with the end of the third year, but it is still going on[Pg 112] as these pages pass through the press. This is the triumph of Reims, that it is still French, bent and broken as it is, bowed as its vast church is with the great trials to which it has been subjected, the city and its cathedral are still French! Before this ruined heap of stones—for Reims is scarce more than that, this may yield small comfort. Yet Reims is still France, knock the barbarian ever so fiercely.

It is, perhaps ominous that while detailed figures of the German missiles thrown in Reims have been published in the local newspapers rather freely, no word as to the destruction they may have accomplished has been uttered. The veil that covers Reims has not yet been lifted, nor can the full measure of her agony yet be reckoned.

THE HÔTEL DE VILLE

[Pg 113]

The Buildings of Reims

THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME

This magnificent church was begun May 6, 1211, the foundation stone being laid on that date on the site of an earlier edifice burned in 1210. The work was pushed so rapidly that the choir was completed and occupied September 7, 1241. The architect was Jean d'Orbais, to whom the initial conception is due, and who continued in charge to 1231. He was succeeded by Jean Le Loup (1231-1247), who completed the choir and about 1240 undertook the façade of the north transept. Gaucher de Reims (1247-1255) apparently began the west portals towards 1255, before the nave was completed. Bernard de Soissons (1255-1290) built the five west bays of the nave and the great west rose window. He was succeeded by Robert de Coucy, who died in 1311, to whom is attributed the towers and the upper parts of the west front. The roof and upper parts of the cathedral were heavily damaged by fire in 1481, but repairs were speedily carried out. Restored several times in the nineteenth century, new restorations were in progress until the time of the first bombardment.

The cathedral is a vast and splendid church,[Pg 114] with a nave of nine bays, transepts with aisles, and a rather short choir, surrounded with five chapels. There are no nave chapels. The decorations are of great magnificence, the external sculptures, especially those of the great west portals and the portals of the north transept, being most elaborate, and including some of the finest mediæval sculptures in France. The interior is noted for the arcaded screen applied to the west end of the nave, surrounding the central doorway, consisting of a series of niches with statues. The foliated capitals of the nave piers also deserve mention. The glass of the windows, which suffered some unfortunate changes in the XVIII century, was of extraordinary beauty and interest, and ranked among the finest in France; most of it was destroyed in the bombardment. The cathedral had a superb collection of tapestries, fortunately removed to Paris before the fire. The Treasury of the cathedral contained many rare and beautiful objects.

Notwithstanding the numerous and heavy bombardments to which the cathedral has been subjected, the statue of Jeanne d'Arc by Paul Dubois, erected in the open space before the cathedral (Place du Parvis) in 1896, has not yet been touched by shells. The sculpture of the west front and of other exposed parts were heavily protected by sand bags immediately after the first bombardment.

[Pg 115]

Palais Archiépiscopal

Immediately adjoins the south transept of the cathedral. Repaired and rebuilt many times. The oldest surviving portion is the chapel called the "Chapelle Palatine," built in two stories, and attributed to Jean d'Orbais, the architect of the cathedral. It lost its roof early in the bombardment. The great hall of the place, called the "Salle du Tau" was built at the end of the XV century; it contains a Gothic chimneypiece dating from 1498. The apartments of the King consisting of five rooms, restored in 1825, were richly decorated. The palace was totally destroyed in the bombardment.

THE ABBEY CHURCH OF ST. REMI

One of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in northern France. The larger part of its structure dates from 1005 to 1049, having been built in three efforts within that time. The choir, with its fine circlet of radiating chapels, was built between 1170 and 1190. The south transept front was rebuilt in 1506. The church has been many times repaired and its form and structure modified. The west front was so completely modified after 1840 that only the two lower stages remain of the earlier building. The building is of vast size, and[Pg 116] the upper windows contained some remarkable glass. The tomb of St. Remi, the bishop of Reims who baptized Clovis, and which for centuries was a famous place of pilgrimage, was built in 1847, replacing an earlier monument destroyed in the Revolution, which, in its turn, replaced an earlier memorial.

ST. JACQUES

Of the church begun in 1190 and continued in the first years of the XII century, only fragmentary parts remain. It was partially reconstructed at the beginning of the XIV century. The choir and its chapels date from the XVI century. The lantern of the crossing replaced a Gothic spire removed in 1711, and the north transept and other parts were rebuilt in 1854.

ST. MAURICE

The choir, dating from 1627, is flanked by a beautiful flamboyant chapel built towards 1546. The nave is modern.

MODERN CHURCHES

St. André, built between 1857 and 1864.—St. Thomas, built in 1847.—St. Geneviève, built in 1877.—St. Clotilde, built in commemoration of the fourteenth centenary of the baptism of Clovis (496-1896).—St. Benoît and St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle are very recent churches.

[Pg 117]

HÔTEL DE VILLE

The fine Hôtel de Ville was commenced in 1627 on the plans of a native architect, Jean Bonhomme. Begun with the left pavilion, the main façade, with the central pavilion and its tower, were completed by 1630. Left incomplete for nearly two centuries, the right pavilion was added in 1823-1825 by Serrurier, also an architect of Reims. Great additions and new buildings around a central court were added between 1875 and 1880. The relief of Louis XIII in the central pediment by Milhomme, placed in 1818, occupies the place of an earlier one by Nicolas Jacques, placed in 1636 and destroyed in the Revolution. The building contained the Museum and Public Library of Reims. Destroyed by fire, May 3, 1917. The more valuable books of the library, and the departmental archives had long before been placed in safety elsewhere.

BUILDINGS OF NOTE

The Place Royale, begun in 1757, is closed on one side by the Hôtel des Fermes, a stately edifice with a central pediment supported by columns. In the centre of the Place is a statue of Louis XV by Cartellier, replacing an earlier statue by Pigalle, inaugurated in 1765 and destroyed in the Revolution. Two allegorical groups by Pigalle for the pedestal survived.

[Pg 118]

Maison des Musiciens, dating from the time of St. Louis, has a remarkable façade of large twin-windows alternating with trilobed niches containing seated statues of musicians, larger than life size. Purchased by the city and by public subscription in 1905.

Reims contains two other dwellings of the XIII century. A larger house in the Rue de Tambour, with a completely modernized interior, offers a façade of much interest, notwithstanding a repair in 1832.—Another house, in the Rue de Sedan, is a simple artisan's dwelling, retaining almost intact its gabled façade of the end of the XIII century.—A Gothic building in the same street, transformed into a school in 1890, retains parts of the XVI and XVII centuries.—A house in the Rue de Vesle has a façade of the XIV century, destroyed and burned by the bombardment of September 19, 1914.—Fragments of the former priory of St. Bernard remain in the same street behind a modern store front.—A house in the Rue de la Grue is an interesting type of the end of the XVII century; ruined in bombardment of September 19, 1914.

Hôtel de Bezannes, a large dwelling of the middle of the XV century, was probably built by Pierre de Bezannes, lieutenant of the inhabitants of Reims (1450-1467), whose arms remain on the buildings of the court. It became a school in 1901.

[Pg 119]

Hôtel Le Vergeur, a large building retaining fragments of all styles since the end of the XIII century.—The Maison du Long-Vêtu, the birthplace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV, has a façade of the middle ages, and another of the XVII century.—A hotel of the XV century, in the Rue de Pouilly, was the dwelling of an uncle of Colbert's. It is now the house of the Sœurs de l'Espérance; a part of the façade was demolished in 1908.—Pavilion de Muire, built by Nicolas Noel, lord of Muire, towards 1565, a remarkable structure in the style of Henri III.—Hôtel de Montlaurent of the XVI century, has lost much of its interior interest, but the court offers some of the primitive decoration.—Hôtel de la Salle, the birthplace of J. B. de la Salle, is one of the most beautiful types of domestic Renaissance architecture in Reims; the façade bears the date 1545.—Cour Mopinot has a portico of the XVI century.—Hôtel Thiret de Prin was built under Henri IV; Richelieu lived in this building during his sojourn in Reims in 1641.—Maison de l'Ecu de Reims bears the date 1652.—Maison de Jean Maillefer, built in 1651.—Hôtel Lagoille de Courtagnon has a façade of the XVII century.—Hôtel Rogier, built towards 1750; sold at public auction, in January, 1914.—Two wooden houses with pointed gables of the end of the XV century, are in the Place des Marchés.—An inscription on[Pg 120] the Hôtel de la Maison-Rouge states that the father and mother of Jeanne d'Arc were lodged in this building at public expense in 1429, at the coronation of Charles VII. It was then known as the Ane Rayé.—The Société des Amis du Vieux Reims maintained an extensive collection of objects relating to Reims in the former Hôtel Coquebert.

The Porte de Mars, a Roman triumphal arch of three arches, is the most considerable monument in Reims dating from Roman times.

EDUCATIONAL BUILDINGS

Grand Séminaire, occupies the buildings of the former abbey of St. Denis. The original parts are of the time of Louis XV; they were considerably modified and added to in 1822, when the seminary took possession of them. It later served as the Musée des Beaux-Arts, inaugurated in 1913.

The Lycée occupies the buildings of the University or college founded by the Cardinal of Lorraine in the XVI century, and rebuilt in 1676. Although greatly changed, the interior court, half wood, half masonry, retains the original aspect of the XVI century. Much new construction was added at the end of the last century.

HOSPITALS

Hôtel-Dieu [Civil Hospital], founded by archbishop Hincmar in 848, was transferred to the[Pg 121] buildings of the abbey of St. Remi in 1827. Repaired and rebuilt at various times, they retain few vestiges of the middle ages. They were partly renewed after a fire in 1774. Burned in the bombardment of August 13, 1916.—Hôpital General, occupies the former college of the Jesuits, the older parts dating from the XVII century. The former library, now the linen room, is an apartment of some magnificence. It adjoins the church of St. Maurice.—Hôpital St. Marcoul, or home for incurables, dates from about 1650; it was added to in 1651, 1869 and 1873.—Maison de Retraite, a modern foundation due to bequests and munificent gifts.

OTHER BUILDINGS

Palais de Justice, built in 1845, on the site of the old Hôtel Dieu; a new façade was recently added.—Théâtre, built between 1866-1873.—Chambre de Commerce occupies the former Hôtel Clicquot-Ponsardin, in the style of Louis XVI.

[Pg 122]

The Destructions of the Buildings of Reims

While the material for a survey of the destruction of the buildings of Reims is not yet available, the following notes may be found of interest in forming a judgment on the effects of the bombardment, and its military uselessness. The record is manifestly incomplete, for practically the entire city has been destroyed.

THE CATHEDRAL

1914

September 4. The window glass in the aisle of the north transept was broken by a bomb falling in the adjoining street. Other shells fell directly on the cathedral, striking the gable of the north transept; the upper nave windows were pierced, and the rose window over the central west portal. Some of the portal statues, including the Virgin of the group of the Visitation, and an apostle of the south porch were broken. There were various external indications of projectiles and minor injuries.

September 17. Three shells fell on the cathedral, striking the stone gallery and roof of the north transept; the chevet was subjected to similar injury, and the glass of the choir chapel windows was destroyed.

[Pg 123]

September 18. Thirteen shells fell on the cathedral. The windows of the south aisle of the nave to the transept were broken, many being emptied of their ancient glass. The buttresses on the south side were mutilated in their lower parts, and many of the pinnacles broken off or destroyed. The flying buttress at the angle of the choir and north transept was entirely destroyed. The stone gallery surrounding the base of the nave roof was ruined in many places, and parts of it thrown onto the roof created other injuries and broke windows.

September 19. The day of the fire. Sixteen shells on the cathedral, one on the summit of the north tower. At 2:30 P. M. (the exact hour varies in different accounts) an incendiary bomb set afire the scaffolding erected in May, 1913, for the repair of this tower. Although not the first catastrophe, it was the most serious. The fire spread with great rapidity, the great roof, with its magnificent internal woodwork of the fifteenth century, was wholly consumed. The "Clocher à l'Ange", at the furthest extremity of the roof, and which dated from 1485, fell. Its name was derived from a copper angel formerly on the summit, removed for security in 1860. The carillon on the low tower at the crossing of the nave and transept, and which had been re-established by the Académie Nationale de Reims, was destroyed. Much of the old glass in the upper windows, dating from the[Pg 124] thirteenth century, was destroyed, as well as much of the external sculpture. The internal injuries were also very grave. The cathedral was filled with straw, requisitioned by the German command for the use of wounded German soldiers it was proposed to place within the church, but who were only taken there after the evacuation; some of them lost their lives in the fire. The greater part of the interior furniture was destroyed, including the eighteenth century woodwork of the choir, together with the stalls and the archiepiscopal throne. A tapestry of the coronation of Charles X was lost. The remarkable sculptures surrounding the interior of the nave doorway were ruined.

September 24. Three bombs struck the cathedral, one of which fell on the vault of the crossing, bared by the fire of September 19. One struck the third buttress on the south side of the nave.

October 12. A bomb of large calibre fell on the high gallery of the chevet, ruining eight metres of the arcading. Two gargoyles of the chevet were broken off.

October 13. A shell fell on the north side of the cathedral at 3 P. M.

November 11. A bomb fell near the cathedral, enveloping it in thick clouds of smoke.

November 12. A shell exploded on the roof, demolishing a pinnacle on the south side of the chevet, and damaging some sculptures. Shrapnel fell within near the high altar.

[Pg 125]

November 22. Two shells fell on the superstructure, accomplishing no great harm.

1915

February 26. Two shells fell on the cathedral.

March 28. A Taube dropped a bomb on the cathedral apse.

June 1. The "Communiqué Officiel" of this date, for 3 P. M., says the cathedral was particularly bombarded. This is not mentioned in the local reports.

June 15. Several shells fell on the cathedral.

1917

April 15. 15 shells fell on the cathedral. The chapel of the Cardinal ruined.

April 19. 20 shells on the cathedral. The north tower, vaults and transept injured.

The cathedral was subjected to other injuries on April 20 (2 shells), April 21 (8 shells), April 22 (3 shells), April 23 and April 24. The angle of the south transept and the chevet was particularly hurt on the date last named.

PALAIS ARCHIÉPISCOPAL

Burned on September 19, 1914, in which the cathedral was so seriously injured. The building was almost wholly destroyed. The chapel lost its roof and glass. The library and collections of the[Pg 126] Académie Nationale de Reims, which were housed in the palace, were lost, together with the archeological collections, including the prehistoric collection (Collection Posteaux) and the ethnographic collection (Musée Guillot).

ST. REMI

Injured in the bombardment of September 4, 1914. The vault of the south transept fell through, the ancient glass of the apse triforium and of the upper nave windows was broken, as well as the modern glass of the apse chapels windows, and in other parts. The interior was ruined, the losses including a painting "The Entry of Clovis to Reims" and one of the tapestries of the "Life of St. Remi". The chapel facing the baptismal font suffered some exterior injury.

A bomb destroyed the apse chapel of Notre Dame de l'Usine et de l'Atelier on November 16, 1914. On August 13, 1916, the church was menaced by the fire of the Hôtel Dieu (Civil Hospital). Flames attacked the north transept, destroying the glass of the rose window.

OTHER CHURCHES

St. André. On September 19, 1914, a bomb fell on the left transept portal, breaking the glass in near-by parts; painting of "The Baptism of Clovis" lost. September 22, 1914, a shell fell on[Pg 127] the church at 11 A. M. April 15, 1917, it caught fire, and it was again injured on April 28.

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle. 3 shells fell on this church in the bombardment of December, 1914. The glass was broken and the interior injured.

St. Clotilde. September 22, 1914, most of the glass ruined by a near-by shell. January 4, 1915, injured by 4 bombs.

St. Benoît. 3 shells in January, 1915.

St. Geneviève. Injured in the bombardment of April 15, 1917.

CIVIC BUILDINGS

Hôtel de Ville. Lost the glass of the west side September 14, 1914. Received several shells in the bombardment of September 19, 1914. A fire started, but no essential injury resulted. It was gravely injured April 21, 1917, and was destroyed by fire on May 3.

Palais de Justice. Lost the glass of its main façades September 4, 1914. A shell fell through the roof on October 2, 1914, injuring the interior; both façades were hurt, especially the newer one. February 3, 1916, some fragments of French shells fell on the building. September 18, 1916, a bomb fell through the roof and upper story.

Hôtel Dieu [Civil Hospital]. Some shells fell on the buildings on September 18, 1914; two patients were killed and another buried under[Pg 128] débris; two nurses were badly wounded. On August 13, 1916, the Hospital caught fire in the bombardment and was destroyed save for two pavilions.

Théâtre. The lantern was destroyed in the bombardment of September 4, 1914, and the chandelier suspended from it fell down. A bomb fell on the building on October 5, 1914.

Musée des Beaux-Arts. Injured September 4, 1914, by three bombs on the west front. Much interior damage and many valuable paintings lost.

Sous-Préfecture. Burned September 18, 1914.

Place Royale. Many of the buildings surroundings this place were burned in the bombardment of September 19, 1914.

Hôtel de la Salle. Injured by a shell in November, 1914.

Gothic House in Rue de Vesle. Wholly ruined in the catastrophe of September 19, 1914.

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