USA > New York > The Minute men of '17 - a history of the service rendered during the recent world war by the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, New York Guard and the Veteran Corps of Artillery, state of New York > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
"Back in V. C. A. days it was the leftflank squad and suffered from short legs and still shorter wind. Whenever the Second executed a column right or left, led off by its taller squads, the noble Fifth Squad did some spread-eagle stepping around the corner, and when turns were made in company line Privates Murray and Bellows gave dangerous imitations of school-boys on the tail end of a 'crack-the-whip.'
"But Captain Gage always called them the 'old reliables,' and the War furnished no better examples of patriots than the men of sere years who made good in the ranks, although any of them could have secured an honorable discharge by telling the surgeon how old they were." [From "Ninth Coast News," January, 1919.]
Digitized by Google
LIBERTY
-
CHAPTER FOURTEEN IN TIME OF NEED
O RDERS were issued in the spring of 1918 from Brigade Headquarters for the Regiment to help out with the Third Liberty Loan Drive which was just starting. The first day the Band with the field music did yeoman's service. The Regi- ment was thoroughly canvassed, and, in addition, men of the Regi- ment worked hard in their business and professional circles. At the end of the first week of the Drive it was determined to parade the Liberty Loan district and by means of the music, speeches, solicitation, to see what could be done. On Saturday afternoon the First Battalion was ordered out. The Franklin Trust Com- pany, now the Bank of America, in this and every similar parade furnished skilled men, well stocked with bonds, subscription
152
Digitized by Google
-
153
IN TIME OF NEED
blanks, weekly payment books, circulars, etc., who rode in the motor trucks under the command of a Lieutenant blessed with a voice which had the penetrative qualities of a steam calliope. The Regiment marched west on Fifteenth Street to Eighth Avenue and up Eighth Avenue till the Band reached Twenty-Third Street, and then and there began to try to sell bonds. A frost occurred. The only people who could even attract attention were Captain Thebaud and Captain Barrett Smith. Thebaud would spot a vic- tim, fix him with his eagle eye, while Barrett Smith would, in his snappiest manner, give him a pen and say "sign here." How- ever, he didn't sign there or anywhere else, so Major Delafield determined to hie with his Battalion to the haunts of the rich and fashionable. The Battalion marched East to Fifth Avenue and up to Thirty-Fourth Street, and there the Lieutenant referred to, when the Band stopped invited them every one to "come buy a bond," in tones that would penetrate the deafest of ears. When Captain Smith wasn't looking Captain Thebaud hypnotized a citizen and took his fifty dollars, letting the bank men give him a bond. The women were pretty and modishly gowned and the men looked rich but they didn't buy. Then off marched the Bat- talion to Eighth Avenue and down to Twenty-Third Street. It soon became apparent what a difference it means in New York business which side of the street you are on. Several hundred dollars worth were sold and when the Battalion got tired standing it hiked off for Abingdon Square and left one truck with several suave and fascinating privates to exhaust the finances of the neigh- borhood. Catching up with the Battalion in Fourteenth Street, after their visit to Abingdon Square which was unsuccessful, they proceeded to Union Square. There began real business. The band played, men made short addresses, trained bond salesmen and men who wanted to try their luck circulated through the crowd. Some one started the cry "Come sign up for your bond on a soldier's back." Looking over the crowd it didn't seem possible to sell over a few fifty-dollar subscriptions, but nearly ten thousand dollars worth were sold.
Digitized by Google
154
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
Two or three times a week one of the Battalions would undertake this duty. One evening they stopped in front of a large restaurant with a foreign clientele. The Band played and people crowded to the windows to watch and applaud the men as they were put through the Manual of Arms. Then a group of picked salesmen from the ranks, with their rifles slung over their shoulders, went inside and got busy. A few short, snappy speeches were made. Every announcement of increased subscriptions added to the enthu- siasm. Finally one gentlemen said that he would double the sub- scription in that room up to ten thousand dollars. "Let's stick the old Guy," a sportive lady cried, and they did. He was game and finally came up to over twelve thousand dollars. One parade landed over twenty-nine thousand dollars, another over thirty-seven thou- sand. One evening a battalion went through the Italian quarter about Bleecker Street. How the beaus and belles of the Forties would have been astonished at the condition of their once aristocratic homes. The parade ended at Abingdon Square and sold over forty-five hundred dollars worth of bonds. A gray-haired Calabrian kept shouting "boy ten feefty-girl twelve feefty." Someone finally guessed that he had two children, a boy of ten and a girl of twelve, and that he wanted to buy a fifty dollar bond for each, so they took his money and made him happy.
Woman's Service Flag Parade
In order to promote enthusiasm for the Liberty Loan it was de- termined to have a large parade on April 26th. The striking fea- ture of which was to be the Woman's Service Flag Division to be composed entirely of women entitled to carry the service flag. Offers to participate came pouring in on the authorities until they realized that it was going to be a tremendous task to organize this division which eventually turned out fifteen thousand women.
Colonel Delafield was appointed Chief of Staff to the Marshal, or rather the Maréchale. We did not know until the last minute who was to be chosen nor what difficulties there were in making the decision. When made it was certainly an excellent choice.
Digitized by Google
-
155
IN TIME OF NEED
All the officers and most of the non-coms of the Ninth were ordered to report for duty in assisting the Chief of Staff in organ- izing and placing in position the various units and the thousands of unorganized participants. Of course many of the organizations knew their business, knew it well. Others had had no experience, and there was the great mass of women to be organized in platoons of twenty files. Trained then and there to keep their alignment, preserve their intervals and to "eyes left" at the reviewing stand. Platoon leaders to be selected, taught to give the right hand salute and to preserve their intervals.
The contingent from the Ninth knew their business. They had fine material to work with and made a good job of it. It seemed as if all the women in New York and its suburbs were going to march in that parade. They came in well organized bodies. Marching like veterans. They came singly and with hesitation, they came in two's and three's and in larger groups and each one carried her service flag; her heart was with her man. In hundreds of instances with her men. The work was well done, a credit to the teachers and to the taught.
The parade was a fine one. The First Division was made up of United States Infanty, Marines and Sailors. The Second Division was rather uninteresting, made up of many business and industrial organizations. Then came the women, headed by their Maréchale, Mrs. Robert Bacon, whose charm of manner and distinguished bearing showed the wisdom of those who appointed her; and in immediate attendance upon her was our big Colonel, a soldier every inch of him, and there were over seventy-six inches. With him were the Adjutant, Captain Frank E. Davidson and Sergeant- Major Paul Tillinghast. After Mrs. Bacon's comely Staff came a few automobiles carrying women who had five and six stars in their flags, then the women each with a service flag, platoons of twenty files, each with its leader. They marched well, mighty well, and still they came rich and poor, well dressed and in old clothes. Scholars in cap and gown, nurses in their trim uniforms, black and white; and as the mighty host passed by in order and with dignity,
Digitized by Google
156
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
it seemed as if one could sense the intense patriotism of the woman heart of America, its devotion to duty, its steadfast purpose.
On April 20 the entire Guard was ordered to parade as a demon- stration in aid of the Loan Drive. It was the first appearance of the New York Guard in a body. The Ninth received its full share of the applause, and there was plenty of it. One of the great metropolitan newspapers rang up the armory to know if the Regi- ment were not Regulars. They insisted that it must be, because it marched so well and were so well equipped. The Adjutant and Sergeant-Major say that they frequently heard the cry "There come the Regulars" as the Ninth approached, and one youth was heard to say to his mother: "I hope when I get to be a soldier that my Colonel will be like that big one."
The line of march was up Fifth Avenue from Washington Square to Fifty-seventh Street, down by the Sixth Avenue Ele- vated to Eighteenth Street and a short march round the neighbor- hood. The Armory was then thrown open to the public. After evening parade the Colonel reviewed the Regiment and then came speeches. The Collector of Internal Revenue and Dr. Richard Derby, son-in-law of Col. Theodore Roosevelt, were among the speakers. Altogether the Regiment was credited with a total of $1,218,650.
While this Liberty Loan work was going on the men were also busy getting ready for first inspection. There had been no inspec- tion by Brigade or State Headquarters in the V. C. A., and so to many of the officers this was a new experience. As far as the Field and Staff were concerned it was a formality, but it was no mere formality to the Adjutant, the Sergeant-Major and the Regimental Clerk. The latter was a very hard-worked individual. Shortly after the transfer from the V. C. A. the Ninth secured the services of Sergeant Paul J. Hulser as Regimental Clerk. He knew the regulations, was familiar with the Guard paper work and was always good-natured and courteous, and his untimely death months later in Serbia, came as a shock to the Regiment.
This first inspection did a world of good in teaching the neces-
Digitized by Google
1 57
IN TIME OF NEED
sity of proper handling of company paper-work. The muster rolls were not up to the mark, but with that exception the Regiment showed up well, extraordinarily so for a command which had so many inexperienced officers.
On April 8, 1918, a service was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral, in memory of a number of American citizens who had been killed by a German shell while attending divine service in the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris. The officers of the Regiment were notified that a requiem mass would be sung on April 8, and invited to at- tend in a body. The north side of the main aisle was occupied by Guard officers and by units of American nurses. In addition to the solemn and beautiful service there was an eloquent and pa- triotic sermon.
During the winter of 1917-1918 a special guard was maintained in the Armory for the protection of the rifles, machine-guns and ammunition so essential to the protection of the city. Every night an officer, one or two non-coms, and half-a-dozen privates of one of the several companies in turn marched guard in the Armory lest perchance any evil-intentioned group of would-be malcontents should make an attempt to seize the building or the rifles, machine- guns and plentiful ammunition therefor then stored within its walls. The guard was posted at night and relieved each morning at day- break. It was excellent practice for officers and men, and demon- strates in its way the tendency of the authorities to neglect no pre- caution in times of stress.
On May 1, about 8 o'clock P. M. a telephone message was re- ceived to mobilize at 8 A. M. the next morning and to proceed to the Battery at 8:30 A. M. to act as escort to two bodies of foreign troops, a battalion of Anzacs and a company of French Riflemen (Shock Troops)-"the famous Blue Devils." Every thing went smoothly and easily; and had it not been that the telephone ex- change was out of order in Staten Island and prevented our notify- ing one company, it would have made a record. Several companies had 99 per cent present. At 8 o'clock A. M. the regiment was trans- ported to the Battery by the Elevated Railroad in a special train.
Digitized by Google.
158
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
MAYOR JOHN PURROY MITCHEL.
Digitized by Google
-
1 59
IN TIME OF NEED
The foreign guests arrived and were received with ceremony. They were splendid fellows and the Ninth was glad that it had been chosen to welcome them. The Band did finely, tackled the Marseillaise at sight, and played so well that the French Major with characteristic French tact asked Colonel Delafield if they were not mostly of French descent.
The visitors were escorted to the City Hall where they were formally received by the municipal authorities; after which all proceeded uptown. They were greeted with much enthusiasm all along the line.
THE FUNERAL OF JOHN PURROY MITCHEL.
Digitized by Google
160
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
GOVERNOR CHARLES SEYMOUR WHITMAN.
Digitized by Google
161
IN TIME OF NEED
On May 24th the Regiment tendered a review to Governor Whit- man. Before the review, Colonel Delafield entertained the Gover- nor and a number of guests at dinner at the Union Club. Among those present were: Col. John J. Byrne, Mr. H. M. Myrick, Major Howard Thayer Kingsbury, Rev. William T. Manning, Mr. How- ard R. Bayne, Maj. Howard C. Smith, Commo. Louis M. Joseph- thal, Mr. E. H. Outerbridge, Justice Edward R. Finch, Lieut-Col. Howard E. Crall, Maj. Edwin W. Moore, Mr. Frederick C. Har- riman, Brig .- Gen. Charles H. Sherrill, Lieut .- Col. George W. Bur- leigh, Maj. Edward C. Delafield, Maj. William L. Hodges, Capt. Frank E. Davidson, Justice Henry A. Gildersleeve, Lieut .- Col. Arthur Schermerhorn, Maj. Francis L. V. Hoppin, Mr. Eliot Tuckerman, Capt. Paul Gibert Thebaud, Maj. Charles A. Clinton, and Chaplain Howard Duffield.
The Governor was properly received as he entered the Armory: the Field Music played flourishes and the Second Company, under Captain Gage, the Senior Captain, presented arms. After the re- view the Second Battalion gave a riot drill, and the Motor Corps of the National League for Women's Service, an exhibition drill. The Governor made a short speech to the Regiment, which was fol- lowed by Evening Parade and Retreat, and later by a reception in the Colonel's room.
On July 11, 1918, at New York City, occurred the public fun- eral of Major John Purroy Mitchel of the United States Aviation Service, who lost his life at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California. Lieutenant-Colonel George W Burleigh was in charge of all the arrangements at the City Hall, and in the large military escort fol- lowing the casket containing Major Mitchel's remains, the Ninth Coast, led by Colonel John Ross Delafield, occupied a place in line. The procession passed from the City Hall to St. Pat- rick's Cathedral, where a vast gathering witnessed the last services performed over the body of the late Mayor. The public funeral of Major Mitchel was impressive. The youth and great promise of this public and patriotic official won for him the respect and admira- tion of men and women throughout the country, and his friends in
Digitized by Google
162
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
New York were counted by the thousands. In the many high places occupied by Mr. Mitchel in the city government, his ability and patri- otic qualities attracted an ever-widening attention, and his rise to the position of Chief Magistrate of the American Metropolis was remarkably swift. When his term of office as Mayor expired he was at the height, and his immediate entry into the military service of his country was to be expected of a man of his calibre.
While ruling the affairs of the city, it was Mayor Mitchel's duty to receive many of the foreign missions from overseas, sent to this country in the effort to secure America's aid to bring peace to a tortured world. In these days Mayor Mitchel conducted his great responsibilities with perfect tact, giving further proof of his unusual ability to meet and successfully cope with the most difficult and trying moments in the life of a prominent public official in the momentous years of the great international conflict.
Beneath and above all the public and private acts and utterances of John Purroy Mitchel, his outstanding qualities of a highly intelligent gentlemen, were evident to those who were his political opponents as well as to his friends. In the life of New York City his place has not been filled, and, as the years come and go, the citizens of the Metropolis are learning more and more to appre- ciate what has been taken from the civic progress of the Nation's most important community.
There are many semi-official branches of helpful work in the Army and Navy both abroad and in the camps in the United States. Of these a very important one was the Young Men's Christian Association. We at home did not always appreciate the importance of this, and indeed the men abroad did not always sense its great value. "Give me nine hundred men who have a Y. M. C. A. rather than one thousand men who have none and I will have better fighters every time," said Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. Wheeler, U. S. A., to General Pershing. General Pershing directed that Colonel Wheeler's letter be sent to the Y. M. C. A. officials and added the following endorsement. "The conclusions and opinions of Lieutenant-Colonel Wheeler are concurred in by
Digitized by Google
163
IN TIME OF NEED
OVERSEAS SECRETARIES ON THE SHEEP MEADOW, CENTRAL PARK, READY TO PASS IN REVIEW.
these headquarters." The Y. M. C. A. Overseas Secretaries, as they were called, were in reality part of the Military establishment. They were subject to the articles of War (n-Sub-div. D. Art. 2) and wore the uniform prescribed for them by the regulations. They were ranked as sub-lieutenants.
It was of the greatest importance that these men, most of whom had no military experience, should be taught enough of the School of the Soldier to preserve a military bearing, to have correct military manners. Indeed it was essential that every Secretary should be a model of military obedience, military courtesy and military bearing; that he owed to himself, to his comrades, to his
Digitized by Google
164
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
Association and to the United States Army. General Orders 183-Division of the Philippines, 1901, says:
"In all armies the manner in which military courtesies are observed and rendered by officers and soldiers is the index to the manner in which other duties are performed."
This was as true of the Y. M. C. A. Secretaries as it has always been of the officers and men of the Army.
In order to help these devoted men, by giving them some training in the fundamentals of military life, Lieutenant-Colonel Burleigh of the Ninth had given a great deal of time and attention to the work of teaching them how to carry themselves and how to behave, with the rudiments of the School of the Soldier. Upon request Colonel Delafield gave the use of the Armory of the Ninth to the Y. M. C. A. training classes. Colonel Burleigh was ably assisted by Major Charles A. Clinton, Captains H. Pushae Wil- liams, Edwin B. Jenks, Leonhard A. Keyes, H. King Coolidge, Lieutenants Tillinghast, Malcolm Simpson and H. P. Gallaher, and others. At first only a few hours were allowed, which made the work difficult. In every instance something was accomplished and in many instances a great deal. The adaptability of the Amer- ican when in earnest, his quickness of perception, were wonder- fully illustrated. To carry the work further, Colonel Burleigh compiled a very clear, precise set of rules which were printed in pamphlet form and entitled "Elementary Text-Book for Y. M. C. A. Secretaries." This was published by the National War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Associations. With their training started and this little book to study under the leader- ship of the most experienced in each unit, they had an opportunity to perfect themselves before their voyage to Europe. In addition to the strictly military regulations, were some very clear, sensible instructions as to exercises and general behavior, the book also containing a set of valuable rules for instruction in litter-bearing, arranged by Captain Edwin B. Jenks, Sanitary Detachment.
The value of this preliminary training was apparent and a longer time was allotted to it. The new Secretary upon reporting was at
Digitized by Google
1
1
165
IN TIME OF NEED
once inducted into the Company and the new company into the training regiment. This induction into the larger units had a very gratifying effect on the morale of the men. It gave each man an immediate appreciation of his responsibility and a fuller realiza- tion of the fact that he was a member of a larger unit with which his individual welfare was inseparably connected. It impressed upon him the absolute necessity for performing his part of the work accurately and completely to insure the team work which the mili- tary machine demands. After such an introduction the new companies were divided daily for squad work, but were placed as a part of a larger unit battalion or regiment for a short period during each day's drill. This system acted as a stimulus and brought about a competition that was helpful.
By the kindness of the Park and Police departments drills were held in the open. These were varied by visits to West Point, Camp Merritt and Pelham Bay Camp. During the summer Captain Jenks brought to the Park two ambulances manned by the American Red Cross Ambulance Unit of Yonkers, N. Y., and gave instructions to the Y. M. C. A. men, in groups of one hundred, in lifting and carrying wounded. On July 25, 1918, the pro-
LT .- COL. BURLEIGH AND HIS STAFF AT THE HEAD OF THE "Y" SECRETARIES.
Digitized by Google
166
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
GENERAL MANN AND STAFF.
visional regiment of Y. M. C. A. Secretaries was reviewed by Brigadier-General William H. Mann, U. S. A. In the reviewing party were Messrs. John Sherman Hoyt, Francis Louis Slade, Colonel John Ross Delafield, Ninth C. A. C., Major Howard Thayer Kingsbury, Captain Frank E. Davidson, Ninth C. A. C., Colonel Dennis, Canadian Army, William G. Gardner, of British Consulate, Lieutenant-Colonel Cathel, British Army, Señor Que- sada, Vice-Consul of Cuba. Colonel Burleigh and his assistants were highly gratified by the fine appearance and soldierly bearing of the Secretaries. Any one who heard Colonel Burleigh's short, pungent address to the Secretaries would be firmly convinced of its good effect. With his forceful common sense he emphasized the practical things they should do, even to making their own beds when visiting, and the like homely but essential courtesies of daily life overseas. That these had great effect could be seen from the faces of the men addressed. No man could go through that train- ing, short as it was, without being improved and to a certain extent
Digitized by Google
167
IN TIME OF NEED
prepared for his frequently exacting duties in the A. E. F. In all, over four thousand "Y" Secretaries received their training by the officers of the Ninth.
At an assembly of the training regiment in Central Park on August 27, 1918, after Colonel Burleigh had completed his usual address to the men, a committee of the overseas Secretaries form- ally presented him with a .45 Colt automatic pistol and holster. The pistol was suitably inscribed upon a silver plate set in the stock. It read :
Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Burleigh, 9th Coast Artillery Corps, New York Guard-Training Regiment Overseas Secretaries, Y. M. C. A., August 27th 1918.
The following is a copy of the special permit issued by the Police Department for this instruction :
POLICE DEPARTMENT CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INSPECTOR
New York, July 29th, 1918.
To Whom It May Concern :
Lieutenant Colonel George W. Burleigh, 9th Coast Artillery, New York Guard, is instructing and drilling the Overseas Secretaries of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, before their departure abroad. These drills are liable to take place on any of the streets of Manhattan or the Bronx.
Do not interfere with him.
(Sgd.) JOHN DALY, Chief Inspector.
During the summer of 1918 the drills and other regimental activities continued. On July 27 the armed guard patrolling the Armory was relieved from duty.
During the spring and summer special attention had been given to rifle practice. A complete acount of this training and the results are shown later in this book in a comprehensive article prepared under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward C. Delafield.
Digitized by Google
168
THE MINUTE MEN OF '17
Another interesting phase of military work was military map reading and making. Instruction was given under Colonel Dela- field's direction to a class of our officers and men by two professors from the faculty of the College of the City of New York.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.