Brown in the Great War

 “IT WOULD BE SWEET AND GLORIOUS TO DIE FOR FRANCE.”
– Henri F. Micoleau, 1914.¹1. BUA. BAM, 15:10. May, 1915. pp261-262

In the summer of 1914, Professor Henri F. Micoleau prepared to sail for Europe, but not for pleasure like student, Sarah Ida Morse. Micoleau felt that war between Germany and France was inevitable, and as a reservist in the French Army, he considered it his patriotic duty to return to France and aid in preparations. War had not yet been declared, but Professor Micoleau made plans to leave Brown, leave his family, and join his regiment.

Micoleau, hired by the Romance Department in 1912, had only been at Brown for a couple of years, but was popular with both the students and faculty. He had just been promoted to Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literature, and was known for his enthusiasm, friendliness, and sympathy.²2. BUA. Henri F. Micoleau, Bio File

Micoleau’s early life indicates an adventurous spirit. As a teenager, he spent a year in Germany teaching French. He was just 16 when he immigrated to New York, arriving from Hamburg in 1902. After he secured a teaching position at the Berlitz School of Languages in New York, he went on to become head of the French Department at the the same institution in Boston. In 1905, Micoleau moved to Maine and established the Portland School of Languages³3. BUA. Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. Providence, RI., 1912. pp9-10 It was in Portland, as head of the French Department at the Portland High School, that he met and married Elizabeth Whipple. Not long after their marriage, Micoleau was called upon to fulfill required service in the French Army. He trained in France during the years of 1907-1909, and at the completion of his service was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. After Henri Jr. was born in 1910, the family left France and returned to Maine. When Micoleau was hired by Brown in 1912, the family relocated to Providence.

On the 1st of August, 1914, Lieutenant Micoleau said goodbye to his wife, two sons, and infant daughter and embarked for France. After arriving, Micoleau helped to train men for three weeks, and then departed for St. Gaudens with his regiment on August 31st. On the morning of September 9th, Micoleau had been at the front for two days. During the French charge, at what would become known as the First Battle of the Marne, Micoleau was killed instantly by a shell. He fell near Virty-le-Francois and was buried in a little pine grove near a farm called La Certine.⁴4. BUA. OF-1E-3, World War I Files, box 9

Back on campus, the reports of Micoleau’s death were hard to believe. There was no official confirmation and a postcard had been received from him dated September 2nd, the initial reported date of his death. President Faunce wrote to the State Department seeking information. Months later, at the end of December, Micoleau’s family received a cablegram from the International Red Cross Headquarters informing them that he was alive and reported to be a prisoner in a German camp. Professor Camillo von Klenze wrote to the German Ambassador in Washington for aid in seeking more information.⁵5. BUA. BDH, January 5, 1915 Finally, in March of 1915 after 6 months with no word from Micoleau, his death was confirmed by a series of letters from one of his comrades in the 83rd Regiment.⁶6. BUA. BDH. 24:131. March 22, 1915. pg.3

On April 13th, his career was celebrated at a memorial service held in the chapel. President Faunce stated that “Henri Micoleau came to Brown in 1912. In July, 1914 he left. Nothing has been heard of him since September 1st. During the short time he was with us he gained the intellectual respect and warm regard of all that really knew him.”⁷7. BUA. BDH. 24:145. April 14, 1915 In a letter to President Faunce, Homer Emsley Van Derwerken (1915), Co. “C” 2nd Balloon Squadron, Amex Force, France, expressed his desire to find Micoleau’s grave and asked Faunce if anything was known as to its location. “I believe I was the last from the circle of the University to bid him farewell – it was in August 1914 at Southhampton, he was leaving for France as I started for London.” In 1917, after America had joined the war, the second of three Brown ambulances that the University donated to the American Field Service in France was named in remembrance of Professor Micoleau; and in 1922, he was awarded a posthumous Cross of Legion of Honor.⁸8. BUA, BAM 23:1. June, 1922. p15

Widowed Elizabeth remained in Providence, and raised their three children, Henri, Tyler, and Lisette. After graduating from Bowdoin, Henri became an economist. Tyler attended the Rhode Island School of Design and became a painter. Lisette, who also attended the Rhode Island School of Design, went on to marry Charles C. Tillinghast (1932), Chancellor of Brown University from 1968-1979. When Lisette died in 2005, she was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grandchildren, many of whom attended Brown.

Professor Henri F. Micoleau has the distinction of being the first member of the Brown community and the one faculty member to die in the war.

1. BUA. BAM, 15:10. May, 1915. pp261-262
2. BUA. Henri F. Micoleau, Bio File
3. BUA. Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. Providence, RI., 1912. pp9-10
4. BUA. OF-1E-3, World War I Files, box 9
5. BUA. BDH, January 5, 1915
6. BUA. BDH. 24:131. March 22, 1915. pg.3
7. BUA. BDH. 24:145. April 14, 1915
8. BUA, BAM 23:1. June, 1922. p15