William G. Sharp, the American Ambassador to France, visited the wrecked
church shortly after the disaster and sent a detailed report to
Secretary Lansing at Washington. The State Department, on April 3,
issued the following:
The Secretary of State has received from Ambassador Sharp in
Paris a graphic report of his visit to the scene of the horrible
tragedy which occurred on the afternoon of Good Friday in a
church by the explosion of a German shell projected from far
back of the enemy lines a distance of more than seventy miles.
The appalling destruction wrought by this shell is, as the
Ambassador remarked, probably not equaled by any single
discharge of any hostile gun in the cruelty and horrors of its
results.
In no other one spot in Paris, even where poverty had gathered
on that holy day to worship, could destruction of life have been
so great. Nearly a hundred mangled corpses lying in the morgues,
with almost as many seriously wounded, attested to the measure
of the toll exacted. Far up to the high, vaulted arches, between
the flying buttresses well to the front of the church, is a
great gap in the wall, from which fell upon the heads of the
devoted worshippers many tons of solid masonry. It was this that
caused such a great loss of life.
As the Ambassador entered the church, where but a few hours
before had been gathered the worshippers, he could easily
picture the scene that followed the explosion. The amount of
débris, remaining just as it fell on the floor, covered the
entire space between the lofty columns supporting the arches at
each side. Only a miracle could have saved from death or serious
injury those who escaped the falling mass. The scene was that of
some horrible shambles, and it was not until well into the night
that all the bodies were recovered. Upon the floor in many
places could still be seen the blood of the victims, among whom
were many prominent and well-to-do people.
The Ambassador called to express his sympathy to his Swiss
colleague, whose lifelong friend, the Secretary of the Swiss
Legation, was killed while leaving the church. The Minister was
deeply affected as he spoke of the great loss to him through the
Secretary's death. The Secretary was well known in Washington,
where he served with the Swiss Legation from 1902 to 1904, and
was very highly esteemed by all who knew him.
In conclusion, Mr. Sharp says that the exceptional circumstances
under which this tragedy occurred, both as to the sacred
character of the day and the place, have greatly aroused the
indignation of the people of Paris toward an enemy who seeks to
destroy human life without regard to the immunities prescribed
by the laws of civilization and humanity, and, instead of
terrorizing the people, shells of the great cannons, as well as
the bombs dropped from the German airplanes, only serve to
strengthen the resolve of the French to resist, to the last man,
if necessary, the invasion of such a foe.