USA > New York > The first hundred years : records and reminiscences of a century of Company I, Seventh Regiment, N.G.N.Y., 1838-1938 > 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 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
The Lark Club of many pleasant memories is once more to exist, and prob- ably the first seance will occur after Inspection, November 15. Everybody requested to keep that evening in reserve for the "Larks"-a pleasant time is assured to all. Don't forget it.
Creedmoor, October 26, 1889 .- A red-letter day in our experience-added to our string of marksmen six more new names-Gray, Molleson, Plummer, Sperry, Stout and Van Iderstine. You who read in cold type the announcement of the qualification of the above named, cannot imagine the pleasure the win- ning of their bars gave to these men and also to the Rifle Committee. Nor can the writer convey to you the enthusiasm that marked their triumphal exit from the range-tightly squeezed into one little carry-all and drawn by a steed that closely resembled "McGinty's inquisitive quadruped."
168
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF COMPANY I
Creedmoor, November 5 .- Cold? Well, we should think so, but today ends the season and all depends upon our success today. One hundred and fourteen is the record in marksmen this morning. Now what will the evening show? "Greene has qualified" is the report that cheers us. "Kissam 32" comes next and Bob Major smiles broadly and is happy in his success. "Murray adds one more," says Corporal Cleveland, almost dancing in his excitement. "Norton's all right," reports Mort Osborne, and now all depends on our old comrade- Quartermaster Sergeant Delafield-if he can "hold" we are on top. Can he do it? One silent prayer goes up at least. Mort takes him in hand, the balance of us gather together and look into each other's faces for a gleam of hope. "Eighteen off the shoulder" reports Mort as he passes us on his way to the five hundred range, accompanied by our Q. M., who certainly looks as if he meant business, and then the time comes for him to shoot "lying down." What happened? The writer was there but felt he could not do the scene justice. Lieutenant Du Val has kindly come to the rescue and the following lines from his pen describe the scene to a nicety :
HOW DELAFIELD QUALIFIED
There's a hush down at Creedmoor; the patter and "zip" Of the lead, and the calls of the scores, are stilled; A murmur of caution is heard on each lip; The air with nervous excitement is filled.
For word has been passed on the "five-hundred" range That Delafield now makes the shot of his life; And a "miss" or an "inner" or "outer" may change Results in the scores of a season of strife.
The Sergeant is ready, his piece firmly grasped ; Mort Osborne is coaching him, down on his knees. "Keep cool ! Hold her steady!" The trigger is clasped- "Take plenty of time. Don't jerk,-simply squeeze !"
Just back of the scorer is grouped a gray ring Of "Seventh" men, breathlessly watching each shot, And list'ning intently to catch the sharp "ping" That tells that the bullet has reached the right spot.
While Palmer, the genial and great I. R. P., Stops coaching to watch for the rise of the trap; Then comes the white disk we are longing to see, And puts on our glory its climax and cap.
"He's qualified !" Up go our caps in the air, A cheer rattles out that would waken the dead; "Thanks, Albert, old man, you've a cartridge to spare"- Bang !- "Dirt to the right" goes the whistling. lead.
We care not, the "bank" can keep all it's got; A good twenty-six with a miss is all right ; The target was found when he needed the shot, And pluck and persistence have won the long fight.
169
, THE 1880's
And so our season ended. One hundred and nineteen marksmen was the sum total, and home we go, our hearts filled with great joy, for in percentage we are first, and the Brigade and the State prize, so much longed for by our com- mittee, is safe in our hands. For the first time in the history of our Company we stand first in the Regiment in rifle practice. There stands the record- 93.36 per cent-and for the purpose of making a lasting testimonial to those members who have made this possible, we publish their names herewith :
RIFLE COMMITTEE, "I" COMPANY, 1889 Lieutenant Geo. H. Gould, Chairman
Corporal J. Wray Cleveland
Private Mort. Osborne
Private L. C. Ketchum
Private A. Hebbard, Jr.
DECEMBER-1889
The crop of Corporals has been unusually large. With Messrs. Billings, Lyman and Osborne wearing brand-new stripes, the 'Company has a very fresh appearance, a sort of "new-goods-for-Christmas" look. They are all first-class men, and will do the Company credit. Mr. Osborne made a very neat and earnest speech when he was appointed, and said he would never do so any more, that his kicking days were over, and for the future he would rival the lamb for meekness. The same gentleman broke the record for quick time in passing, being appointed, examined and received his papers within a week. He passed a splendid examination, and is now walking 'way up in G.
December 7 .-- Games. The Company did not have as large a representation in the Games this year as they had last, but Messrs. Moore, Grey, Sperry, Blake and Montgomery worked hard for the general good. Grey finished first in the two-mile bicycle race and Moore was second in the one thousand-yard run and the high jump, and third in four hundred and forty-yard run, the rest of the men being unplaced.
If Sergeant Landon had called out "Fall in" at the opening night of the Broadway Theatre a large percentage of this Company would have shown up to answer to their names. The quartette were all there in the front row (oh, boys!) and you could spot 'em all over the theatre, from squad men up to commissioned officers, "but there are things 'tis better not to dwell on."
It is a good thing that Sergeant Clayton is not writing this article, as other- wise his natural modesty might keep him from mentioning the chaste and elegant pocket carafe that was presented to him by his squad at their last drill. On one side there is a most beautiful picture in pounded silver of two lovely young ladies standing upon nothing at all and badly in need of ulsters, and on the other side a suitable inscription and the names of the members of the squad, Baldwin, Kissam, Nichols, Nicholson and Whitney. It is a lovely thing and shows great good taste.
Captain Francis Griswold Landon Elected April 16, 1895, resigned October 15, 1902
V THE GAY 'NINETIES
REMINISCENCES OF THE 'NINETIES BY HARRY H. BOTTOME
T HE New York of the present day differs much more from the New York of the 'nineties than the New York of the 'nineties did from the city of colonial days.
The New York we knew at the beginning of the 'nineties had a population of less than a million and a half, and it was the old New York-that is, Man- hattan Island.
Such excrescences as Brooklyn and the Bronx were outlying provinces and people who lived in those places generally registered from New York in order to avoid explanations.
Brooklyn was a row of houses and churches lying somewhere between New York City and Coney Island-a place to get lost in. Today, any one of the five Boroughs, with the exception of Richmond, has a larger population than the city of New York had in the early 'nineties.
The skyline of New York was not greatly different in the 'nineties from what it was in the 'sixties. There were comparatively few buildings above ten stories in height. Steel construction, the modern elevator and the telephone had not yet come into such general use as to make the modern high building possible or practical.
We were like a great big village compared to what we are now. We knew · one another in a way residents of New York will never again know each other.
Families of the same name were often distinguished from one another by the streets they lived on-like the "44th Street O'Connors" and the "12th Street O'Connors."
At certain hours we knew where we would find our friends, assuming that our friends had the same bibulous habits as ourselves, and a walk uptown with stops at strategic points was sure to result in meeting one or more congenial companions who helped solve the question of what we were going to do with ourselves during the evening.
When walking uptown, say from City Hall, one could stop in such places as Stewart's, Wiley's, the Ashland House, and having arrived at the Morton House on Broadway at 14th Street, there take thought as to whether one would turn to the right to Luchow's or proceed across the square up to the Hoffman, Delmonico's, the Brunswick and other convenient places for satisfying one's thirst. All those places had an atmosphere of their own.
172
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF COMPANY 1
I joined the Company in 1895, right after the Brooklyn strike. I waited until the strike was over before joining. I think it was the appearance of Arthur Coppell in uniform that caused me to enlist. What a wonderful Company it was, officered by Frank Landon, Harry Du Val and Wray Cleveland! It is my recollection there were sixty graduates of college in the Company at the time I went in. The Regiment in its personnel, past and present, corresponded to a Social Register. It was a distinction to belong to it. Of course the Regi- ment had a different appeal to each according to his point of view. To me, its charm lay in its social character. While I undoubtedly would have made a wonderful soldier, I never wanted to be.
They used to say of the Regiment that no job could be mentioned which some- one in its ranks could not perform. This recalls an incident during my first Peekskill Camp. With the aid of several towels stuffed under the chest of my dress coat and the fact that Otto Tousant was Regimental Sergeant Major, I was selected as Colonel's orderly at Guard Mount. Colonel Appleton called me in his tent and told me the bartender at Headquarters canteen had come down with an attack of appendicitis and asked me if I knew of anyone in the Regiment who could temporarily act as bartender; that he was expecting a number of guests that afternoon and possibly they might want a drink. With
23
Artillery Section Van Cortlandt Park, April 1892
my usual modesty I volunteered, stating my qualifications in no uncertain terms. I acted in that capacity for two days-as far as the Colonel and his guests were concerned, how well, I am uncertain-but to my friends in the Ninth Com- pany, to whom I conveyed various potables purloined from the canteen, I was
173
THE GAY 'NINETIES
a great success. This experience with a bartender's manual stood me in great stead during so-called Prohibition when amateur bartenders were in demand.
Thank God we lived in the days before the automobile. Who will ever forget those bicycle rides with Billy Wall, Guy Carroll, Stan Foster and their com- panions, some on singles and others on bicycles built for two, "Sometimes on Sunday and sometimes on Monday." Try to find Bath Beach today or "Daisy Bell."
We recall occasional forays from the Military Club on 58th Street into the wilds of Central Park, the more venturesome souls continuing farthest north to Claremont. Can't you hear the tinkle of the bells and see the flash of the lights as we rode along the bicycle path on Riverside Drive on a summer eve- ning? Or, if the weather was too warm, we would get into a seagoing hack and drive to the Casino or McGowan's Pass for refreshments and polite society.
Then on drill nights, after the darn thing was over, we would hustle into our street clothes and hurry down to the "Indian" on 59th Street, there to settle down to serious drinking and listen to the Irish waiters sing their sentimental ballads. Or, with Ham Harding at the piano, watch Charlie and Arb Slosson do what we would now call a tap dance. Occasionally this program would be varied and we would have a poker game in the back of the saloon on Lexing- ton Avenue across from the Armory-or we would retire to Piel's Brewery in an attempt to drink it dry.
Big events would occasionally happen, like the Old Guard's Ball, or for the more frolicsome, the Arion and French Balls. These latter were somewhat rough and no place for a soldier.
Everywhere we went we knew someone. Who will ever forget the trip to Boston to attend the unveiling of the Shaw Monument? George Weaver, the Regimental Adjutant, asked me to act as a bicycle orderly, a sort of messenger, on account of my knowledge of Boston streets gained as an undergraduate of Harvard. Unfortunately, Yale was my college and the first time I visited Boston was when I went with the Regiment. The first message I carried was from Headquarters to Major Lydecker. By the time I found his hotel, I had forgotten the message. The other two orderlies were Guy Carroll and Stanley Van Note. We had special uniforms and leggings made for ourselves-and Oh Boy! We were figuratively and literally the last word in bicycle orderlies, for there were never any more. The story of the Battle of Bunker Hill has always meant much more to me since that trip to Boston.
And then some of the has-beens must remember our entertaining the Boston Cadets and the 5th Maryland at the Military Club at the time of some func- tion-possibly the Dewey Parade.
The Military Club at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue was a great place for a buck private. It brought him in contact with such old soldiers as Arthur Dean, Eddie Candee and Billy Daniels-the three musketeers. None of us who ever
174
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF COMPANY I
The famous "Landon Trot" or Guard Mount in double time, Peekskill Camp, 1891
visited Stan Foster at Babylon and Oak Island, or Bug Beach as we called it, will ever forget his comestibles, potables and mosquitoes. And the extraordinary hospitality some of us enjoyed who visited the apartments of Arthur Dean, Stan Foster and Billy Wall when they lived at 34th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Those were the days of Shanley's and Rector's, of Mollie's and Jack's. I could go on forever reminiscencing, and I would only touch a few. You will all remember other incidents.
It was a wonderful city in the 'nineties. There may have been as wonderful decades before, but there will never be again-that city is gone forever-and so has the Regiment as we knew it.
When we paraded, we went by private houses where friends and relatives looked out of windows and could recognize our faces and we could recognize theirs. And speaking of parades, I have a general recollection of one or more parades on Decoration Day marching down Fifth Avenue and in some way con- tinuing on and reaching Bay Ridge, the home of the Crescent Athletic Club and the Star Cocktail. Just how we got there I don't know, and I have an even more indistinct recollection of how we ever got away. As a matter of fact, I think we just stopped there-and could anyone find a better place in which to stop these reminiscences than the Crescent Athletic Club at Bay Ridge on the afternoon of May 30 in the Gay 'Nineties? I don't think so-so here we stop.
THE NINTH COMPANY THEATRICALS
Seven nights and one matinée of houses crowded to the doors, audiences sometimes at first cold and unappreciative, but gradually breaking into laughter and applause of the most genuine character, testify more strongly than any words that could be written to the excellence of this entertainment. On the first night, every seat was taken and standing room was fought for. The seats were crowded with Ninth Company men, singly and in groups,
175
THE GAY 'NINETIES
and with their wives, aunts, sisters and other fellows' sisters. The curtains parted as Mr. Preston started that dear old lullaby, "My Gallant Crew, Good Evening"-but that was all. Everything else stayed and had a grand time.
Mr. Preston's song to "Stella" (words and music written by himself), was very pretty indeed; his voice has a great deal of feeling in it, and he handles it well, making his part the most artistic bit of the entire play. The "Peter Piper" duet between Preston and Landon was first rate, and a capital parody on the opera in general. It was the hit of the evening. Clayton as "Hilda" took his dimpled chin through the play as calmly and sweetly as a summer morning, and was simply ravishing in his blue dress. A genuine buzz of admiration passed over the house as the duster girls came out, and they were pretty, all of them. Murray did finely as an Irish lad, and the people caught right on to him-he has a future to live for. Stewart portrayed the dusky savage in a vivid and realistic manner. The original "Powhatan" never was half so handsome and manly. Stout made a lovely Indian maiden. Landon's dance was simply immense, and the house laughed from the time he came on until he left the stage. He was the funniest looking object ever seen on the boards. What can we say of Wall that will do him justice? His "Stella" was superb. He makes a splendid girl, shapely, graceful, and with such cunning little feet that would make any real girl envious, and then his dancing-well! The skirt dance was a dream of graceful posturing, and as he floated over the stage as lightly as a bit of down, in perfect time to the music, it was difficult to think that he was not a singularly graceful woman instead of our own Billy. His "Oh, mother, give me strength," when Preston proposed to him, kept the house laughing for two minutes.
William F. Wall
"Première Danseuse"
A Modern Columbus
W. D.Preston C. S. Martin F. G. Landon the Author a Photographer a Dancer as "Captain Smith"
To Messrs. Preston and Landon fell the lion's share of the labor of building up the piece. The quiet workers behind the scenes, who do so much and say so little, must not be forgot- ten, but where they all did well, who can be said to have done the best? Perhaps Warren, Dowd and McLeod did as much as anyone, and then Palmer-oh, well, we simply could not exist without him. He is a terror for work when he gets started.
-Excerpts from the Gazette
176
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF COMPANY I
A MODERN "COLUMBUS"
Time: 1492-1792.
Costumes : Promiscuous. Cause : Despair. An Original Burlesque By William Duncan Preston, Company "I," Produced by COMPANY "I," SEVENTH REGIMENT, N.G., S.N.Y. at the BERKELEY LYCEUM, 23 West 44th Street, April 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and Saturday Matinée 1890.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings, for the purpose of redecorating Company I Room in Armory.
Thursday evening, for the benefit of the Lana ac Tela Society of New York City.
Friday evening, for the benefit of the Fresh Air Fund.
Saturday afternoon matinée, April 19, for the benefit of the Training School for Nurses of St. Luke's Hospital.
CAST
Columbus, the original
John Smith, a susceptible Jack Tar
Kerry, always Irish
Amateur Photographer, a prevalent nuisance Bugology Starology & La Grippe ¿ scientists in search of "love"
Fishology & Policeman j
1st Mate
2nd Mate found in nautical works
Sailors, with dance
5
Sailors
Stella, an accomplished star
Hilda, an athletic dame of fifty winters
Wanda & In-Flu-En-Za
Thelma & Bill-Post-Er
Sisters To ?- Fairies
Eve-Ning-Sunhat Mack-Gin-Tca Smi-Ling-Eye-Sack Mad-a-Shorn-Ex Cute-Ah-Cure-Ah
Powhattan, chief figure of Act Third to terminate affairs Pochahontas, papoose extraordinary. Determined to wed across the color line
Francis G. Landon William D. Preston George C. Murray Clinton S. Martin Newton E. Stout Horace H. Hatch E. Hunt Allen, Jr. S. Theodore Hodgman Geo. Lord Varker Edward J. Chaffee, Jr. Frederick P. Sperry Henry A. Bostwick, Jr. Chester A. Darling Charles McDougall John L. Roberts, Jr. William F. Wall Arthur C. Clayton William Alden Pratt Ira A. Kip, Jr. William Gray, Jr. Rowland McClave John Morrison G. Loring Smith Theodore B. Taylor William D. Stewart
Newton E. Stout
ACT I "Deck of Santa Maria"
ACT II "The Interior of Iceberg"
ACT III "The Landing of Columbus"
177
THE GAY 'NINETIES
SHARPSHOOTER'S NIGHT By Harry C. Du Val
'T was Sharpshooter's Night, and the Range was alive With men who were hoping to catch sixty-five; Our Johnson was black'ning the sights up with care, And visions of bull's-eyes were thick in the air, When out of the door there rose such a clatter, We sprang from the butts to see what was the matter, To find Captain Nesbitt pronouncing a ban On some one for scooping a rifle marked "Dan." His aspect was fierce, but his voice was so merry, We knew in a moment he wasn't mad-very. Around him the shooters of Company B Were proving in turn that it couldn't be he. The blacks were quite pained, Sergeant Leonard was sad, Jim Schuyler assured him 'twas really too bad, When, just as the Captain was phrasing a "shocker," The piece was dug up from the back of his locker.
Now all is serene, and the bang and the roar Of rifles and markers go on as before; "M. Osborne on three," and a man with a coat Which, judging by age, is entitled to vote, And looks to be part of the uniform proud That's worn by the 12th N.G., Colonel Dowd, Steps up, lets her go, and as "four" is exclaimed By the scorer, says: "Yes, that is just where I aimed." "String" Brown is on six, pulling threes out with fives, It's a "got to get there" sort of place where he thrives, While Cochran, on five, is so sure of the bulls He shuts his eyes now every time that he pulls.
What need have I here to speak Halstead's great name? That seventy gave him a cinch upon fame. Yet, while we're about it, it's well here to speak on The fact that this Halstead is not called "the Deacon"; He, too, 's a good shot, but is willing, you know, To take sixty-seven and let the rest go. But don't for a minute, however, forget McLean and some others will get to it yet.
Now thickens the conflict, the scorers get busy, The red-and-white disks set a pace that is dizzy. Now Janssen, now Hoffman, now T. Biscuit Taylor ; Keep, Cleveland the grasshopper, works like a nailer; Pressinger, Conover, Gately, and Klock, Cartridges vanishing block after block.
"Ring up on four, that's Iron on two," "Sorry, old man, the flag's waving for you," "Had your piece twisted, waited too long," "Trusting to luck when your wobbling was wrong."
178
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF COMPANY I
Can't understand it? I know, I've been there,
Nothing to do but retire and swear,
Patiently drop a new card in the slot, Work the settee where so many have "sot." Wait for your turn and remember, the race Falls to the man who has plenty of brace.
Look at the line of the hunters de mug,
Waiting a chance for the bull's-eye to plug.
Spencer and Underwood, Martin and Vaast ; Blackall, his frame of Apollo-like cast Clad in a sort of an undershirt rig,
Hard to be termed either dress or fatigue ; Valentine, Livingston (undershirt, too) ;
Thomson, too easy for him to get through. Soon from the hall you will hear him again,
Leading his choir in gladsome refrain :
"How dry I am,"-as it echoes, you know, Sung with such zeal, ev'ry word of it so.
Straight as a gun-barrel, shooting on three,
Take a good look at our great I. R. P.
Talk of devotion, zeal, and all that-
Fate, when he stepped in our ranks, cut it fat.
Soldierly, affable, faithful, and more-
Thanks, Captain Palmer, you've made a clean score.
Time is 'most up, it is after eleven,
Dunn, to improve, must pull out sixty-seven.
Weaver, a sharpshooter? First Sergeant, shake;
Creedmoor, and here, you have taken the cake.
Beach, Stebbins, Meyer, and Corporal Pratt,
John Holland, coaching a man on the mat, Spotting each shot, in order to feel
Sure of his team in the coming Abeel.
John is a worker; it's risky to dream Of winning, until you have heard from his team.
Johnson is waiting, the Armorer too;
Down go the lights, it is time we were through.
Kennedy's voice to the mourners is heard, Chirping as soft as the notes of a bird, Telling each one, as he bids him good-night, Sure to get through on next Sharpshooter's Night.
THE NINTH COMPANY DRAMATIC CLUB SCORE ANOTHER SUCCESS IN "ASYOULIKEIT"
In his latest travesty, Mr. Preston has kept very near to the original dialogue of the "Bard," merely localizing and modernizing it, and interpolating a few dances and topical songs, so that the plot and characters are familiar to everyone and need no comment, and it only remains to speak of the general excellence of the production.
The dual rôle of the two Dukes was undertaken by Mr. W. Prince Clagett, who threw into his part a contrasted degree of littleness and conceit on the one hand, and strength and
179
THE GAY 'NINETIES
"Asyoulikeit," April 1891
kindliness on the other, which was highly commendable. Jacques, the wag, was ably por- trayed by Mr. H. A. Bostwick, Jr., whose soliloquy of the "seven ages" was exceedingly well done. As "Orlando," the sentimental lover, Mr. Preston's fine voice and graceful carriage won for him universal commendation, while Mr. W. D. Stewart as "Amiens," the maker of sweet music, received many well merited encores on his Ostrich song. Mr. Pratt was very true to nature in his impersonation of "Adam," the faithful retainer of Orlando; and Mr. Martin created much amusement as the Dutch "Wilhelm." In the low comedy part of "Touchstone," Mr. Murray in the last three performances was quite beyond criticism, though the effects of his recent serious illness were apparent.
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.