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 16

Author:
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: [New York?] Published by Memorial and Property Committee of the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps
Number of Pages: 441


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 16


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


Captain Ford


190


Marksman


Gardner


184


Pape


181


Trussell


180


Drucker


180


Dusterdieck


179


Tefft


172


Corporal Godfrey


172


THIRD COMPANY (Cont.)


Bugbird


167


Skinner


165


Corporal Funk.


165


FOURTH COMPANY Sharpshooter


Church


203


Hengerer


197


Sergeant Crosley


197


Butler


195


Rogers


190


Marksman


Strong


181


Ayer


181


Lieutenant Lowther


175


O'Toole


175


Morgan


173


Sergeant Pinckney.


170


Rossire


169


Sergeant Elliott


168


Sergeant Crummey


166


Sherman, C. A.


162


Sergeant Howard.


160


FIFTH COMPANY Expert


Sergeant Delmonico.


227


Sharpshooter


Schindele


200


Lieutenant Richard.


198


Sergeant Stokes.


190


Marksman


Wheatley, A. F. J


179


Wheatley, Ralph.


169


Carnahan


162


SIXTH COMPANY Expert


Farrington, W. L.


21I


Sergeant Lawrence.


211


Sergeant Emmons


211


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198


THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


SIXTH COMPANY (Cont.) Sharpshooter


Edge


203


Severance


193


Farrington, C. L. 191


Marksman


Sergeant Lyall.


186


Loscomb


176


Chapin


174


Captain Smith


169


Rotchford


166


Corporal Bennett.


166


Sergeant Nast


165


McLachlan


163


Hall


161


SEVENTH COMPANY Sharpshooter


Gilbert


200


Seeley


192


Corporal Clark.


190


Marksman


Nichols


181


Hoffman


180


Smith


179


Corporal Hunter


176


LaCour


174


Lieutenant Smith


172


Corporal Chase


169


McKnight


167


Captain Lane.


165


Watson


164


Whipple


164


Sergeant Willets


162


EIGHTH COMPANY Sharpshooter


Sergeant Sarkisian


195


Hough


195


Lieutenant Messenger.


194


EIGHTH COMPANY (Cont.) Sharpshooter


Sergeant Larkin.


194


Lieutenant Teague 193


Sergeant Moir 193


Childs


193


Burdick


190


Sergeant Wye.


190


Marksman


Captain Pomeroy 185


Sergeant Guiler 183


Harriss


179


Richards


178


Van Wagenen


176


Heine


176


Patterson 175


Corporal Locke 172


Hasselriis


169


Skinner


163


Ermish


162


Wilson


160


NINTH COMPANY Expert


Beinert


214


Wheeler


210


Dickie


210


Sharpshooter


Dannenberg 207


Sergeant Wood.


198


Lieutenant Seward.


196


Daly


193


Deschere


191


Marksman


Nichols


173


Randolph


172


Vinton


172


Gildersleeve


163


Knitel


163


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RECORD PRACTICE-PEEKSKILL, 1918 199


TENTH COMPANY Sharpshooter


Captain Hoes


204


Ruoff


204


Fagan


196


Lieutenant Earle.


194


Johnson


191


Murphy


190


Sergeant Easton.


190


Marksman


Sergeant Battelle 182


Corporal Brown 179


Campkin


175


Sergeant Thayer


167


Dodge


167


Hubbell


163


Corporal Boddington


162


Dawless


160


ELEVENTH COMPANY


Expert


Lieutenant Wilcox.


212


Sharpshooter


Corporal West


208


Sergeant Sanford.


196


Captain Keyes.


191


Marksman


Yetman


187


Knight 186


Sergeant Dougherty 183


McDermott


181


Firth


186


Hurley


175


Kinsella


174


Haskell


173


ELEVENTH COMPANY (Cont.)


Morrison


168


Allen


168


Burdick


168


Corporal Foley


165


Drew


163


Louderback


161


TWELFTH COMPANY Expert


Harvey


212


Marksman


Burgess


185


Robbins


181


Holloway


179


Sergeant Britten


177


Jaeger


174


Sergeant Vandervoort.


165


Sergeant Manowitch


161


MACHINE GUN COMPANY Expert


Richards


210


Sharpshooter


Boyd


. 190


Marksman


Roe


177


Corporal Snyder 175


Palmer


172


Lieutenant Knickerbocker


170


Lieutenant Callingham


170


Liddle


169


Corporal Wildnauer


166


Corporal Kene.


166


Many of these men, and also numerous others, at later dates shot for record, and either bettered the above scores or swelled the ranks of experts, sharpshooters and marks- men of the regiment.


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


LIEUT .- COL. EDWARD C. DELAFIELD.


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FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


Major Edward C. Delafield made the New York State team which participated in the Interstate Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, in September. Before the matches began he attended for three weeks the United States Course in Rifle Practice and Sharpshooting for Officers. In the Wimbledon Cup Match at 1,000 yards, he was number twelve out of 920 entrants, with a score of 87 out of a possible 100. The scores of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd entrants were respectively 92, 91 and 90. The New York State Team won the Hilton Trophy, and Major Delafield stood second on that team. A mighty fine record for the representative of our new regiment.


When Colonel Burleigh assumed command of the Ninth Coast he announced to the Regiment that Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Dela- field would have direct supervision of the new rifle practice pro- grams. In accordance with this step Lieutenant-Colonel Delafield put into operation a short instruction course for rifle practice. The purpose of the course was to help the Ninth Coast in its bid for first place in the rifle work of the Guard. The outline of the preliminary instruction course, including the text of the ten commandments and the three cautionary rules, were as follows:


PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTION COURSE :


I. Position Drills


a. Standing with and without sling: Be sure to get left elbow under piece and rest on chest, right elbow drawn up so that recoil is properly taken.


b. Kneeling with and without sling:


c. Sitting with sling; Explain method of sitting without jar and without losing balance, also explain carefully position of elbows on knees so as to avoid soreness. An angle of about 30 degrees should be used.


d. Prone Position with sling: Special care must be taken that the sling does not slip below the muscle of the arm, and that it is very tight. The 45 degree position is an aid. The left elbow must be directly under the piece, so as to decrease the possibility of cant.


In all of the above position drills no snapping of the pieces must be allowed so as to avoid bad habits before this stage has been reached, and great care must be taken by the instructor to cover all details.


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


2. Manipulation.


With the cut-off, the recruit must be taught proper manipulation of the bolt. Take hold of the bolt in raising it with the thumb and forefinger. In returning the bolt to place use the thumb portion of the palm of the hand. This method is the quickest devised, and can be used for the 1917 model with the pressure of the main spring on the return, as well as for the Springfield or Krag. In standing and kneeling positions the piece can be taken from the shoulder for manipulation, al- though it is preferable to hold it to the shoulder. In sitting and prone positions all men must be taught to hold the piece at the shoulder when bolt is manipulated. This can best be accomplished by instructing the men before taking hold of the bolt to cant the top of the piece to the right with the left hand and by pressure of the cheek roll the body slightly toward the right and lift the head to avoid the back- ward motion of the bolt. When the above has been properly taught, and the aim- ing and sighting drills also have been covered, one minute time practice should be employed.


3. Aiming and Sighting Drills.


This drill should be taught from the prone position only until the men are well versed in the requirements. Use the sighting box with targets the full length of the armory, pieces to be wedged into the sighting box.


First Exercise.


The recruit will carefully sight his piece and the target will be moved until he considers it correct. With an open sight the front sight must be levelled with the rear sight. There is no such thing as a fine sight or a full sight in correct shooting. The sight point must be centered in the middle of the peep, and care must be taken that the recruit is satisfied with his sight; the instructor must take the recruit's place and see whether the sights are properly centered or levelled and whether the bull is properly set on the front sight with the proper light space between. When this is once accomplished the recruit is ready for the second exercise, or triangle exercise


Triangle Exercise.


It is most important that this exercise be carried out on the full length of the armory. Short distances are of but little use, and the triangle at this distance, resulting from marks made through the center of the bull's eye, should be, when the recruit has practice, within the size of a 25 c. piece at 100 yards. When this has been successfully accomplished proceed to


Sandbag Exercise.


Raise the piece on the sandbag at proper height for ground position. Hold the strap in the left hand just under the explosion chamber, and place the knuckles of the hand on the sandbag, the hand guard of the piece resting on the partly closed


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203


FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


fingers and held with the thumb and forefinger. This position enables the rifleman to pull hard against the shoulder and is better than the regulation strap hold, as there is no attempt to fight the sandbag or the strap hold. The recruit should then take as careful aim as though he were in a match. There is no such thing as an approximate aim. It must be perfect, and the alignment must be gotten by rapidly focusing the eye from the rear sight to the front sight to the bull, and while the final squeeze takes place the focus must be on the bull. The recruit should not know when the firing pin will actually fall, but when it does fall should immediately call his shot, as for instance, a four at eleven o'clock, and this should be plotted in a score book as though actually fired. Should the recruit always call bulls he is either not honest with himself or does not understand his previous instruction and should begin over again. He should not be allowed on the range until the instructor is convinced that the squeezing of the trigger fires the gun at a time not definitely pre- determined by the recruit, and does not in so firing it alter the sight of the piece.


Gallery practice will be postponed for any company officer or enlisted men until this course has been successfully carried out.


The Ten Commandments


All these instructions must be carried out, with particular attention being given to the Ten Commandments, which follow:


I. Position 45.


So as to allow the body to roll as a result of the discharge of the piece rather than be struck by it.


2. Adjust sling high.


Otherwise the advantages of the sling are lost.


3. Hard on shoulder.


Prevents flinching and avoids bruises.


4. Freeze face to stock.


Avoids injury to the face and insures uniformity on the distance and line of sight.


5. Hold breath.


Prevent rising and falling of the muzzle with each breath. Should be held as the front sight approaches the bull.


6. Take command of trigger.


When the slack is taken up the probability of jerking the trigger is much lessened.


7. Align sights.


Always remembering that a peep does not necessarily naturally center itself and that the center must be held.


8. Last focus on bull.


As the results of a'rapid change of focus from rear to front to bull.


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


9. Final squeeze.


The most important point of all shooting.


10. Call shot.


If the piece was fired by a squeeze and not a pull, the shot can always be called.


Three points which must be especially watched in target work:


1. Watch the muzzle of the rifle for injuries due to neglect or cleaning. A rifle with an injured muzzle cannot shoot accurately.


2. Watch the guard screws. A loose guard screw not only makes erratic shoot- ing but continues to change the zero of the rifle in one direction or another.


3. Watch trigger squeeze. This must always be kept before a rifle-man.


When all of the above is thoroughly mastered, work with the Hollifield rod should be taken up, and then armory gallery practice followed, all of the instructions above to hold.


Practice on the outdoor range would conform to the above on the short ranges, that is, 200 and 300 yards. Mid-ranges, 500 and 600 yards, or long ranges, 800 and 1000 yards, require additional instruction which can only be taken up through lectures or actual range work.


These instructions were developed through the company officers. Instructions were first carefully given the officers; by them to the non-coms, and then to the men. The work was carefully super- vised and constantly followed up.


The matter of organizing a rifle team to represent the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps in the outdoor matches presented many difficul- ties. The National Matches at Caldwell came at a time when most people were away on a vacation and as both Caldwell and Peekskill were not available for team practice prior to the matches, the team presented more of an effort of individual than "team shooting."


Captain Wilcox was confronted with the problem of keeping twelve men for the National Match after the N. Y. National Guard team had taken four men from his list. This left him with prac- tically no alternates, and the completeness of his team was more a matter of having twelve men present.


The four men from the Ninth Coast on the N. Y. State Team were Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Delafield, First Lieutenant J. F. Sulger, First Lieutenant J. G. Phelps Stokes, Private J. Pospisil-the last named being an alternate. Colonel George W. Burleigh was de-


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FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


205


BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEORGE RATHBONE DYER.


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


tailed as an observer. In the National Team Match the high score on the N. Y. State team was made by Lieutenant Sulger with 277 out of a possible 300. Colonel Delafield with 270 was second high. This was excellent work by Colonel Delafield as he reported to the team the night before the match and had no practice whatever. Lieu- tenant Sulger also was selected as member of the National Guard United States team in the United Service match in which he was high score of the N. G. team with 276. High score of the winning Navy team was 282.


The Ninth Coast entered the National Match for practice only, as the thought of winning was not entertained by anyone. The work there made the men familiar with team matches, it gave them a chance to see how a rifle range functions during important matches and it made it a fact that when the team again entered competition it would not be "green." This all showed itself when the team com- peted in the New York State matches at Peekskill on September 8, 9, and 10.


The matches at Peekskill started with the Headquarters and Bri- gade Matches, team of twelve on Monday September 8. This was preceded by two days team practice at which the Ninth Coast did not have a full team present, so that we entered the Headquarters match with men that had no practice at all. The team did all that was expected of it-it won. The scores:


200 yds. 300 yds. 600 yds. Total


Lieutenant-Colonel Delafield


47


44


47


138


Lieutenant Sulger


46


43


47


136


Major Hodges


44


47


43


134


Captain Perry


47


43


43


133


Lieutenant Stokes


45


43


42


130


Captain Earle


43


43


41


128


Lieutenant Messenger, L. A.


46


40


40


126


Lieutenant Leach


47


38


37


122


Lieutenant Messenger, J.


43


40


38


121


Lieutenant Schwab


41


44


35


120


Colonel Burleigh


40


40


38


118


Private Pospisil


42


36


37


115


521


501


488


1520


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FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


207


Squadron A 13 C. D. C.


525


505


466


1496


500


459


406


1365


First Brigade Match


Won by Seventh Inf.


503


501


450


1454


Second Brigade Match


Won by Twenty-third Inf.


506


482


470


1458


Won by Second Inf.


494


482


450


1426


Fourth Brigade Match


Won by Seventy-fourth Inf.


515


507


498


1520


In the Governor's Match on September 9 the team had almost everyone entered, and finished the skirmish run as follows:


Conditions: 5 shots, 30 seconds, D target at 600 yards, 500 yards, 300 yards and 200 yards.


Won by Lieutenant L. D. Stickles, Co. D, Seventy-First Inf. Score of 89 5th place Lieutenant Sulger, Staff, Ninth C. A. C. 81


9th " Lieutenant Stokes, Staff, Ninth C. A. C.


77


15th Lieutenant Messenger, L. A., Staff, Ninth C. A. C. 72


18th Colonel Delafield, Field, Ninth C. A. C.


72


22nd


" Captain Perry, Thirteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C.


68


27th " Corporal Church, Sixteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C.


64


4Ist


" Sergeant Hengerer, Sixteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C.


54


47th


Private Pospisil, Headquarters Co., Ninth C. A. C. 52


5Ist


Lieutenant Foley, Twenty-Third Co., Ninth C. A. C. 49


65th


Major Hodges, Field, Ninth C. A. C.


41


66th


Lieutenant Messenger, J., Staff, Ninth C. A. S.


41


70th Major Hoes, Field, Ninth C. A. C.


39


82nd Colonel Burleigh, Field, Ninth C. A. C.


25


83rd


" Corporal Yetman, Twenty-Third Co., Ninth C. A. C.


25


85th Lieutenant Howard, Sixteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C. 90 entries


23


In the Adjutant-General's Match on September 9 we had five en- tries, which finished as follows :-


Won by Co. E, Seventy-First Inf., with a total score of 319.


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Third Brigade Match


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


NEW YORK DAY AT THE NAVY RIFLE RANGE, CALDWELL, N. J.


Front row, left to right: Col. Smith, 13th C. A. C., N. Y. G .; Commo. Josephthal, N. M. S., N. Y .; Moj .- Gen. Barnett, U. S. M. C .; Adj .- Gen. Berry, N. Y. G .; Col. Burleigh, 9th C. A. C., N. Y. G.


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FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


209


3rd place F & S, Ninth C. A. C.


300 yards Standing


600 yards Prone


200 yards R. F.


Total


Colonel Delafield


26


31


39


96


Lieutenant Sulger


26


33


45


104


Lieutenant Stokes


22


32


41


95


74


96


125


295


7th place F & S, Ninth C. A. C.


Lieutenant Messenger


28


20


43


91


Major Hodges


28


32


29


89


Lieutenant Leach


15


27


41


83


71


79


115


263


15th place


Sixteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C.


Sergeant Hengerer


23


26


42


91


Lieutenant Howard


21


9


32


62


Corporal Church


23


18


21


62


67


53


95


215


21st place F & S, Ninth C. A. C.


Captain Watjen


8


15


38


61


Colonel Burleigh


14


24


23


60


Major Hoes


14


20


23


57


36


59


84


179


23rd place Fifteenth Co., Ninth C. A. C.


Sergeant Johnson


22


2


30


54


Private Pagan


17


29


13


59


Private Hubbell


18


15


13


47


57


46


56


159


24 entries


In the State Team Match September 10, teams of twelve (prac- tically the qualification course) we finished 4th to the 71st, 74th, and 7th Infantry teams. Changes were made in the team, as some of the men found it necessary to return to the city, and the showing was not so good. High score of the match (all teams) was made by Lieutenant-Colonel Delafield, 234 out of a possible 250, Lieutenant Sulger being 3d high (all teams) with 230.


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


The scores :


State Match


Pos.


Team


200


300


600


200RF 300RF Total


I


Seventy-First Inf.


533


531


527


520


517


2628


2


Seventy-Fourth Inf.


534


523


532


524


506


2609


3


Seventh Inf.


502


502


524


385


474


2487


4


Ninth C. A. C.


510


499


470


492


490


2461


5


Twenty-Third Inf.


492


488


475


473


481


2409


6


Second Inf.


510


485


470


424


484


2373


7


Tenth Inf.


485


474


485


448


454


2346


8


Forty-Seventh Inf.


456


461


426


440


4II


2194


9


Fourteenth Inf.


427


440


388


342


265


1962


Individual scores Ninth C. A. C.


Lieut. Col. Delafield


46


45


48


46


49


234


Lieutenant Sulger


47


45


45


47


46


230


Captain Perry


45


43


44


47


48


221


Captain Earle


44


43


43


44


44


218


Lieut. Messenger, J.


42


41


39


46


48


216


Major Hodges


46


40


39


42


49


216


Lieutenant Stokes


40


42


40


45


44


211


Lieut. Messenger, L. A. 43


44


34


43


39


203


Private Pospisil


41


40


33


36


39


190


Sergeant Hengerer


41


41


38


39


28


187


Lieutenant Leach


40


38


42


32


25


177


Corporal Church


35


37


25


31


31


159


510


499


470


492


490


2461


1


All told, the team did very well but would have made a much better showing if there had been a greater number of candidates for the team.


The following is a complete list of Officers and men that repre- sented the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps in the matches at Caldwell and Peekskill:


Colonel G. W. Burleigh


Lieutenant W. B. Cass


Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Delafield


Lieutenant W. I. Foley


Major W. L. Hodges


Lieutenant A. C. Leach


Major L. A. Keyes


Lieutenant C. H. Ellard


Captain J. M. Perry


Lieutenant G. Schwab


Captain V. M. Earle


Sergeant L. Hengerer


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FIELD DAYS AND RIFLE WORK


Captain Burt Wilcox


Corporal F. E. Church


Lieutenant J. F. Sulger


Private J. Pospisil


Lieutenant J. G. Phelps Stokes


Private S. Yetman


Lieutenant L. A. Messenger


Private M. C. Lewis


Lieutenant J. Messenger


Private J. Lewis


To give an idea of the work at Caldwell and of the interest it held for those present we give an account of the work at the range by one of our officers, told in his own words.


"On July 7, 1919 I was ordered by Colonel Burleigh to proceed to Caldwell, New Jersey, and report to the commanding officer of the U. S. Navy Rifle Range as Prop- erty and Supply officer of the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, New York Guard. A few days after arriving there, the commanding officer advised Colonel Burleigh that he was in need of additional officers to assist in the work of organizing the N. R. A. Matches, and requested the use of my services as information officer and as Acting Adjutant to Major Paul A. Capron, U. S. M. C., of his staff at such times as my regular duty did not demand my attention. Colonel Burleigh was glad to permit me to do this and I was soon detailed to this duty. I was appointed officer of the day shortly after this, and for the rest of the time that I was there so acted on every sixth day in rotation with five other officers of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.


About the middle of July, there was a serious flood at the post, and for the time being I had no duties to perform in connection with my own unit, and therefore was able to give my entire time to assist Colonel Harllee and his officers in restoring condi- tions at the camp. It was a long, tedious piece of work, as the water was very slow in receding and we were only able to get things into fair shape by the time that the first of the matches were shot early in August. Nevertheless, the season was a successful one and I would be the last to find fault with conditions which could not have been in any way avoided.


From the time the matches began until after Labor Day our work was endless, as there were about 5,000 in the camp, of whom about 3,000 were civilians, and the difficulties and perplexities that were brought to our attention by the latter were numerous. The duties of the staff officers in that post were varied and continuous under the conditions described, as we were endeavoring to keep a lot of civilians, who had probably never been obliged to live under such unpleasant conditions, in an agree- able frame of mind, and endeavoring to get them to remain through the matches, and at the same time make them as nearly comfortable as possible. I have never seen such fine spirit displayed by any body of men as by those officers at Caldwell. Lieutenant-Colonel Harllee was tireless in his endeavors not only to hold the matches,


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THE MINUTE MEN OF '17


but to hold them under as nearly normal conditions as possible. The flood and other unexpected contingencies which arose almost at the last minute were enough to stag- ger any commanding officer, but Colonel Harllee's attitude of serenity when face to face with almost superhuman difficulties made every one of his officers anxious and willing to spare nothing to lend him every endeavor and assistance at all times. That the matches were held and that they were successful was due entirely to his able leadership and determination to permit no obstacle to stand in his way. Taken as a whole, it was the most interesting experience of my brief military career, and I could ask no greater pleasure than to again have an opportunity of serving under Colonel Harllee at some future time.


The post was situated on very low ground, virtually a low-lying swamp in the valley adjoining the Passaic River northwest of Caldwell, N. J., and at the height of the matches, contained forty to fifty frame barracks and other camp buildings, and possibly 1,000 tents. One difficulty was the question of mess, as separate messes had to be provided for numerous units. When I first went to the post, there were not so many officers but that one mess was sufficient for all. By August I, however, so many more officers came that it was necessary to divide the mess, and Colonel Harllee opened a staff mess in what was termed the clubhouse, to which he invited a number of officers regularly, and nightly invited many others as guests, not to mention the rifle teams which came as units, until all had been invited at least once. These affairs were generally held in the evening, and were accompanied by music and en- tertainment, followed, as a rule, by speeches or interesting talks by some officer or other person. There was no lack of music, as through the Matches there were several bands present, and they aided very much in keeping up the spirits of the men who were doing pretty uncomfortable work and leading a very uncomfortable life. For days at a time, I saw assembly for both Marines and Sailors held in three feet of water, this to make clear the difficult conditions under which everything was done over there for a period of ten days. For the men, there were separate messes for the Marine Corps, the Navy and those of the enlisted force of the Army present, of whom there were a considerable number; also numerous messes for the civilian rifle clubs.


I have been asked to describe the routine of the arrival of a civilian rifle team. As a rule they came from great distances, many from far Western and Southern States, and they always seemed to time their arrival at Caldwell after the last transport truck had been parked and the chauffeur sent to bed, so that the officer of the day had his work cut out for him for many hours following midnight. Team Captains would call up from Caldwell at absurd hours of the morning and state they had arrived at the end of the trolley line with their men, and request prompt transportation to the camp. However, I think we invariably succeeded in satisfying them that the delay was no fault of ours. I know that no rifle team or body of men ever landed in the




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