Read details of Battle of Seicheprey

Back in 1990, a graduate student at Central Connecticut State University, Francis Coan, wrote a thesis that told the story of the Bristol men who headed off to the trenches in France as part of the legendary Yankee Division.
Now a history professor at Tunxis Community College, Coan generously agreed to let me post here the section of his thesis that told the story of the battle of Seicheprey in April 1918, where eight Bristol soldiers died and many others were injured.
Thanks to some sort of glitch with my fax machine, it comes in two PDFs, which you can read online or print off (FYI: the cover page repeats at the beginning of part 2, but it is, in fact, the second half of the Seicheprey section of the paper).

Here's Part 1 of the story of the battle of Seicheprey and

Here's Part 2 of the story of the battle of Seicheprey

There's a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday at the World War I memorial on Memorial Boulevard to honor the Bristol troops who lost their lives in that bloody battle. Try to go if you can. There's also a display at the Bristol Historical Society afterward that's well worth seeing.
By the way, if there's an interest, I'll try to post the rest of the thesis another time.
Thank you to Fran for his willingness to share the paper with everyone and to Jack Denehy at the Bristol Military Museum for letting me borrow his copy.
I should also mention that Lori DeFillippi deserves much of the credit for pulling together the ceremony to honor the 90th anniversary of that terrible battle. She's got a passion for history and for honoring the men and women who devoted so much for their country.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Federal Hill arson plea

Within hours of the fire that destroyed a historic house at 380 Main St., former Republican City Council candidate Steve Coan was convinced it was arson -- and pretty damn sure who lit the match.
The city's fire chief, Denis Pieri, has come to the same conclusion. Pieri's asking for the public's help in solving the crime.
Though Coan's wise enough not to name anyone, he's doing what he can to convince the person he thinks is behind the fire to turn himself in.
At this week's council meeting, Coan took the podium during public participation to declare, "We have a lunatic loose in this city."
He said that he and his neighbors on Federal Hill are "afraid to sleep" at night for fear that a maniac could strike their homes.
Coan said that he hopes the arsonist will come forward.
"Turn yourself in," Coan said, aware the cameras were rolling. "Get some help."