This is the beginning of a story of a man named Lewis Arthur Mothersbaugh, “Uncle Bud” and me. I never had the chance to meet him but I have gotten to know him through Bud’s own words. As we sorted Roma’s possessions following her death in 1988, I discovered a small leather-bound book that looked interesting to me. Later I would realize that this small book was Lewis’s diary from his time in the United States Marine Corps (1898-1902). I looked at the diary in the months and years that followed and figured out a few details, but never got much further until my uncle, Carl D. Siegel, passed away in 1999. In his attic we found Bud’s service trunk that was filled with pictures, letters, and other ephemera. In addition to Bud’s mementos, Bud’s mother had lovingly kept every letter her son wrote home to his family. It was a treasure trove unveiling a life.
The third of eight children, “Bud” was born in Illinois to Samuel A. (1846-1917) and Artelia Mechia Martin Mothersbaugh (1848-1915). When Bud was four, the Mothersbaugh family moved closer to some of his mother’s kin to a farm between Florence and Syracuse, Missouri; close to my ancestors, the W.P. Siegel and Carl Raiffeisen families. Later Bud became part of my family when he married my 2x great aunt Maria Raiffeisen. Bud was a Missouri farm boy who tried to scratch out a living. He left his parents farm in search of something and perhaps that is why I like him so much, our vagabond kinship. Bud wrote this letter a while after he left explaining that he joined the United States Marines and would be traveling the world on a navy ship. This is one of the earliest of a few dozen I have. This year is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Marine Corps. To celebrate I will be sharing Bud’s letters and our 30+ year story throughout 2025. I hope you enjoy them!
Letter 1, USMC [verbatim]
Marine Barracks, Mare Island, CA
June 6, 1898
Dear Folks,
I suppose you wonder where I will turn up next. Well I about know and I do not know whether Uncle Sam does either. I have enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years. I suppose Pa can tell all of you about the Marines. It is one branch of the navy – a Marine is a soldier on board a ship. When on land is stationed at the navy yards – one here (Mare Island), New Orleans and in the Eastern Ports.
A Marine soldier is supposed to be at sea ½ of the time and the rest in port. Before my time is out I will be over a good part of the world. There was [sic] 25 left here yesterday for Honolulu. The Battleship Philadelphia is there for repairs; will leave in a few days for the Philippine Islands. But I will be here 2 months yet drilling. Us [sic] recruits has only 2 hours a day to drill and is a 1000 things to learn. The hardest part for me to learn is the Bugle Call and the step and time. I don’t believe I will ever learn them apart.
[missing page 3].
Bud