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 23
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At Peekskill, 1905, Captain McAlpin commanding
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that it is twelve years since we have had a full company inspected, and in every instance where we have failed, the hardest kind of work has been done to succeed. To just fall short of accomplishing what we did is the bitterest pill to swallow, and the air was full of just that kind when Sergeant Le Boutillier went out to beat the bushes for the doubtful ones. Bill Edwards was separated from "business" in a most inhuman manner, and rushed up town in a strong cab to swell the ranks of the Company. Weeks came in on the run in a wheel chair, and was afterwards inspected at full length on the sofa, a can of oxygen at his head and a priest within easy call. A lump had already begun to rise in the throats of the officers when' "Dave" McAlpin came in unassisted, but smiles broke virgin ground in back of the ears when Dougherty reported, and the trick was done. So much for one hundred per cent attendance, but the compliments of the Colonel and the inspecting officers were almost as gratify- ing and were sufficient proof of the care and attention to detail which had been expended to make this inspection the most unqualified success in the history of the Company.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM CHANDLER CASEY Died March 2, 1905
There died the other day, at his residence near Katonah, N.Y., a modest Christian gentleman, whose character and services deserve grateful remem- brance by citizens and churchmen of New York.
Captain William Chandler Casey was born of Connecticut ancestry, and was inheritor of some of the best traits of his New England lineage. Added to these, were a nurture and culture that made of him a loyal churchman and a self-sacrificing citizen, and these characteristics were, best of all, enriched by an engaging benignity and beneficence of temper, which made him a welcome companion in all companies, and a steadfast friend in all emergencies.
Captain Casey, at an early age, entered the famous 7th Regiment of New York City with a keen sense of his civic responsibilities; and so able and assiduous were his services in that fellowship, that he was rapidly promoted to a captaincy. He took his military training and his high sense of chivalric obligations into the church's mission work, in connection with the pro-cathedral in Stanton Street, New York, and there are, today, men in lower New York who will never forget his high ideals of military duty and service, nor the admirable training which rank after rank of boys received at his firm but kindly hands. That all who knew him recognized the exceptional excellence which he illustrated by the vast throng of men, representing mainly associates of long ago, in the 7th Regiment, who assembled on the occasion of his funeral, in the Church of the Ascension, New York.
Of other services that he rendered to Church and State, and of the charm of his large and unwearied hospitality, it would not be easy, fitly, to speak here. As treasurer of the Cathedral Fresh-Air Fund, as a member of the Stand- ing Committee of the pro-cathedral, and as a host and friend to many who
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can never forget him, his name will always be dear. He shed light wherever he moved, and so we may venture to pray, "May light perpetual shine upon him!"
-BISHOP HENRY C. POTTER
CAPTAIN GEORGE J. WEAVER
The untimely death caused by pneumonia at the age of forty-three of Captain George J. Weaver, formerly Adjutant of the Regiment, and long a loyal and model soldier of the Ninth Company, has cast a gloom over his many warm friends and admirers. He died on Monday, April 24, at his late residence, 49 East 92d St. His parents were the late Michael Weaver and Eliza Wall. His irreparable loss is mourned by a wife and son. The funeral services, the Rev. W. E. McCord, Chaplain of the Regiment, officiating, were at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 27, at St. George's Church, Stuyvesant Square. Music at the funeral services was by the choir of St. George's Church and the 7th Regiment Band. The numbers included "The Soldier's Farewell." The body- bearers were the Non-Commissioned Staff officers. The honorary pallbearers were: Colonel Daniel Appleton and Messrs. Richard H. Halsted, Sydney L. Smith, Adjutant C. Otto Toussaint, Egbert C. Denison, William B. Nivin, Fred C. Baillard and Herbert Groesbeck. The services were attended by a large number of veterans and active members of the Regiment and other guardsmen and delegates from the Ninth Company, veterans of the Regiment and members of the New York Stock Exchange. The interment was at Greenwood. Over the grave three volleys were fired by a detail from Company I under command of Captain B. B. McAlpin. -Seventh Regiment Gazette
1907 THE NEW RIFLE RANGE
Rifle shooting at Creedmoor came to a rather abrupt end with the closing of the range by order of the Governor. A good many men who never go to Creedmoor before the drill season opens will now have to be content with last year's honors. Some effort has been made to use the ranges of the other brigades, but it involves a good deal of expense and red tape. A party went up to the Newburgh range on October 24, and one man, Private Lush, got his expert bar. There was but one target for each range and some of the men did not fire a single shot.
Sergeant Paddock, through the kind offices of a rural jehu, got almost hope- lessly lost in the woods, but when he had despaired of even catching a glimpse of the range, he suddenly found himself in the zone of fire, with bullets whistling about his ears; he executed a flank movement in quadruple time, and the scared cabby "beat it" at top speed toward home and mother.
The social amenities of the range are said to be delightfully simple; there is no telephone service and the attention of the markers in the pits is secured by
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firing three shots in quick succession. The markers deport themselves with naïve simplicity and trustfulness. When the firing becomes desultory they come out of the pits and take a look at the firing line. The men who are firing are natu- rally expected to shout "Fore!" if they perceive that a bullet is about to hit a marker.
The captain of the local company extended many gracious courtesies to our men, sending his own private armorer and several servants to the range, and offering them the freedom of his armory.
THE NINTH COMPANY NATURE FAKERS
The Society of Ninth Company Nature Fakers took its first flight on Sun- day, November 17. A large turnout was promised, but several members over- slept and missed the boat, so the roll call at the start showed Sergeant Paddock in command; Private Lush, adjutant and stage manager; Private Bonner, com- missary; Private Maxey, committee on transportation and stenographers. The route extended from Fresh Kills, Staten Island, to the most logical destination, a 'ospitable public 'ouse at a distant point on the island. The first part of the tour was unmarked by any unusual event.
Good time was made throughout the trip, the last lap, when in sight of the public 'ouse, being covered at a run. The distance traversed was thought to have been eighteen miles, but a post-prandial discussion extended it to twenty- one miles, one man even claiming to have counted 'em. The dinner at the goal was declared "fit-frr-'e gods," and the trip home was made by wireless. Some valuable data were acquired for the archives of the club: Hasenpfeffer, a va- riety of Leporidae, family Rodentia, was found to abound in the island; and a new and strange species of bird was discovered, its most marked characteristic being in the fact that it flew and perched in trios, three specimens being ob- served together in every instance. Oddly enough, the same phenomenon of triplicity was observed in the rising moon, but why drag in astronomy?
The flora of the locality was pronounced down and out, although there was some casual mention of peaches, which would seem to be quite out of season. Not a single specimen of the order Reptilia was recorded, it being late in the year, but this may be attributed to hard and seasoned skepticism and incredu- lity, for we have authentic records of very lively snakes being observed in midwinter as far north as Herald Square. Altogether the trip was voted to be a huge Pickwickian success. Aspirants who have the nerve can apply for membership in the society to Secretary Lush.
1908 THE SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
The seventieth anniversary of the Company was celebrated in fitting style at the Hotel Astor on the evening of March 7. Mr. J. Hegeman Foster, the presi- dent of the Veteran Society, ably presided over the waxworks and the resulting
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scintillations of oratory were far above the common garden variety. Colonel Appleton never appealed more forcibly to the hearts of his grey jackets, and General Kipp made one of his real old stirring "all the way round" speeches. A speech which made both vets and actives sit up and take notice was made by our junior subaltern, Mr. Le Boutillier. Captain McAlpin and Mr. Houston were both unavoidably prevented from being present, and the ranking Company officer betrayed much trepidation on suddenly finding himself saddled with the official responsibilities of the active Company, but so seriously did he take the situation that his speech will go down in the archives of the Company as a thing of more than passing interest. The usual vaudeville entertainment fol- lowed the speeches and the festivities were prolonged until a new week was well started on its hustling career. Special mention must be made of the strikingly original design for the menu cards which came from the generous pencil of Private Gordon Grant. His cleverly conceived spotted devils, with their irre- sistibly merry faces would chase away any blue devils that the worst grouches of Tom Corning and Jerry Sherwood could conjure up, but at the same time we confess that they add a new terror to death.
Captain Benjamin B. McAlpin, 1902-1908
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VALE, CAPTAIN McALPIN! HAIL, CAPTAIN HOUSTON September 1908
The Company acknowledges a melancholy appreciation of the honor the State has conferred upon it in depriving it of its Captain, and it feels a pro- found satisfaction in the significant fact that the retiring incumbent of the high office is likewise one of our favorite sons, Lieutenant Colonel J. Wray Cleveland.
The shock of such a loss is always rude, but when it comes as this one did, out of a clear sky, it is paralyzing. A house bereft of its head always sends up despairing wails, but sober analysis finds in the wailing more personal anguish than despair for the future of the house. Ninth Company history shows the names of men who have been models for the community in both military and civil virtues and graces; through all the years the loss of such men has thrown the Company again and again into panic, but successors have always arisen and shown themselves prepared for the trust. A subaltern must never display
7
N. Y. 7
Captain Buchanan Houston, 1908-1912
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the airs or powers of a captain, but by his restraint and subordination we are able to judge broadly the use he has made of his novitiate.
No official action has been taken, at this writing, but we may say freely that probably never in the history of the Company has a popular sentiment been more unanimous, than it now is in favor of a ranking officer as a suc- cessor to the retiring Captain. Buchanan Houston has been a Lieutenant in every sense of the word; he has consistently avoided the limelight, but his unusual ability to do the self-effacing work of the subordinate, as it has been given to few men to read it, has made him unavoidably conspicuous in the military circles in which he has moved. As a taskmaster and disciplinarian he has been a terror to evildoers, but his unfailing judgment and fairness have saved him from making enemies. Headquarters has placed its stamp of ap- proval on him in more than one instance and there is an affectionate but calm confidence throughout the Regiment, from the high places to the humble ones, that Captain Houston will be such a Captain as Lieutenant Houston has been a Lieutenant.
CAPTAIN BUCHANAN HOUSTON 1908-1912
It was a foregone conclusion that the man to succeed Captain McAlpin would be his popular First Lieutenant, and at an election held on September 17, 1908, Buchanan Houston was duly chosen for that honor.
Captain Houston, an outstanding athlete, a sportsman in the best sense of the word, a man of wide business and social acquaintance, was the type of New York gentleman who naturally gravitated to the 7th Regiment and rose rapidly from the ranks to a position of command.
His quiet, courteous and dignified manner made him an officer of unusual ability. And in addition to winning the love and respect of his officers and men he enjoyed at Headquarters a reputation second to none in the Regiment as master of the book.
Captain Houston enlisted in Company I January 11, 1893; was made Lance Corporal, October 2, 1896; Corporal, March 18, 1897; Sergeant, June 14, 1900; First Sergeant, December 19, 1901; Second Lieutenant, March 31, 1903; and First Lieutenant, January 20, 1908.
Colonel Appleton announced the result of the balloting and said a num- ber of graceful things, deeply gratifying to both the new commander and the Company at large. Mr. Houston accepted the office with warm grate- fulness, and spoke briefly and modestly, but with no signs of trepidation in viewing the new responsibility. Lieutenant Colonel McAlpin was present and spoke feelingly and pointedly of his recently terminated relations with the Company. And it's pretty sorry business trying to keep a stiff upper lip when you must mingle the pathos and gaiety of ringing out the old and ringing in the new. It must be melancholy business, getting out of the Regi- ment, when you've had the boys with you from the time you were a rookie until you were supreme boss of the bloomin' outfit. We can only speak for
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"the boys," but it makes them swallow and wink hard, hearing Benny say goodbye. But there must be a great satisfaction in having the Company choose as one's successor, one's closest friend and coworker. If there were any "my policies" game about it, Buck Houston would be the logical heir to the throne, but these two lifelong friends and colleagues have never relinquished their own aggressive individualities, and Ben will carry his big stick away to new fields and Buck will wield one of his own.
THE ORGANIZATION OF COMPANY L
COMPANY I, 7TH INFANTRY, N.G.N.Y.
New York, March 31, 1909
Dear Sir:
At a meeting of the Company held March 31, 1909, a resolution was unani- mously adopted of which the following is a copy:
It having become necessary for the 7th Regiment to comply with the present Federal statute governing the National Guard and increase its organization from ten to twelve companies, the Ninth Company has been called upon to face this new condition with its characteristic generosity of Regimental spirit and furnish from its ranks the nucleus round which a new company can be built with assurances of success from its inception.
The voluntary acceptance of this duty by fourteen splendidly typical Ninth Company men, meaning as it does the official severing of ties that have grown steadily stronger year by year, immediately stamps them worthy of the tradi- tions we so jealously guard and of which we are so justly proud.
Giving, as we do, of our best and most representative men, the realization of our loss but adds to our regret, tempered though it may be by the satisfac- tion of knowing that the Ninth Company has contributed so handsomely to the future welfare of Company L and the increased prestige of our Regi- mental organization.
At this, the last formal assembly to be participated in as Ninth Company men by
Lieutenant Harry L. Stratton Private Harrison Dougherty
Corporal J. Stuart Eakin
Private Littleton H. Fitch
Lance Corporal Arthur J. McKenna
Private Dighton W. Forrest
Private J. Stanley Foster
Private Chas. M. Horton
Private Chas. J. McKenna
Private Augustus W. Kelley
Private J. Crosby Beakes
Private Franklin M. Millikan
Private Ralph P. Buell
Private Donald J. Powers
Be it Resolved: That the Company with heartfelt sympathy keenly realizes the loss of its fourteen members named in the preamble of this resolution and in conveying to them their regret assures them of their confidence, and wishes them the speedy realization of the unbounded success made inevitable by the
AULD LANGSY
Ninth Company Silver
Upper left : Cup presented to Captain Andrew B. Brinckerhoff by the National Guard Troop, 1847.
Upper right : Cup presented to Captain Buchanan Houston by the Company I detail sent to form Company L, 1909.
Below: Tiffany Bowl given to Captain Francis G. Landon as a wedding present by Company I, May 1897.
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devotion to duty and singleness of purpose characterizing their work in the Ninth Company.
Be it further Resolved: That this preamble and resolution be spread upon the minutes of the Company and the Secretary be instructed to forward a certi- fied copy thereof to each man mentioned herein.
Yours respectfully, Secretary
CUP PRESENTED TO CAPTAIN HOUSTON
May 1909
Captain Harry Stratton and his little band of intrepid emigrants go forth from the old Company room with our affectionate regrets and hearty good wishes. It is no small matter to build a new company in our venerable family of ten, and it is no light thing to leave the dingy old Company room with its faded carpet, and the clock which speaks correctly but twice a day. It takes more than one season or ten to get your quarters as dingy as that, and the furniture permeated with the good tobacco smoke of two generations. But they're goin', anyhow, and in the friendly rivalry of the Regiment there will be one of the companies whose triumphs we shall view with parental pride, even if they jolt the old 'un a bit now and then. At the last Company meeting the emi- grants presented a very handsome silver loving cup to Captain Houston. Ralph Buell made the presentation and established a new and unassailable record in Ninth Company oratory. The Captain was sensibly touched and responded briefly and feelingly. Corporal Hayes, acting for us, the bereaved, framed a set of resolutions appropriate to the solemn event of this unusual leave-taking, and voiced the deep emotion of the Company in admirable style.
June 1909
Close on the heels of our loss of the fourteen good men and true who went to L, comes the deplorable retirement from active service of Sergeant T. H. Gee-otherwise "Hully Gee" and "Theo"-and none but the men who have worked with him and know him can begin to appreciate the magnitude of this loss to the Company, from both military and social standpoints. Gee served faithfully in Britannia's yeomanry while under her patronage and protection, and after adopting our country as his home he characteristically hastened tc offer it the same service, and made himself an example of what a gentleman- soldier should be.
George Nichols (or in the Hartsdale vernacular, Neorge Gichols) is the new sergeant, elected by hearty acclamation; and the huzzas would be never- so-loud were not the voices a bit husky from saying goodbye to Theo. Gee.
The spring hatch of downy corporalets turned out Grant, Gould and Carle- ton, and they peeped and chirped with no little promise at that Hartsdale dinner.
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Under the hearty, generous patronage and leadership of Major Landon and Captain Houston the Ninth Company history will positively be gotten under way this summer. Every effort will be made to collect statistics, anecdotes, etc., through meetings, correspondence and interviews, and the results will be pub- lished in some form without more ado. There is nothing too insignificant to be considered in the way of data, and the history committee is ready and eager to hear anything and everything; from how Robinson lost his shirt at the Tarry- town encampment to how Jones became a major general, though married. The time is ripe and the job must be finished. The committee's ambition is to have an accurate account of the bright deeds of every veteran and active of this bright Company, for the enlightenment and inspiration of posterity, but the said veteran or active must send the committee his little tale now, or for- ever hold his peace.
TAFT INAUGURAL, MARCH 4, 1909 By GEORGE P. NICHOLS
Your correspondent was just nursing a new pair of corporal's chevrons when word was passed along that the Regiment had been selected to go to Wash- ington as escort to Governor Hughes for the Taft Inaugural Parade. It was the first inauguration the Regiment had attended in so many years that we had to ask Al Delafield how far back it was, and even he had to go home and find out what shirt he wore before he could state definitely.
However, we surely were going this time and how! The 1903 Panic was far enough in the background to permit the profiteers of Wall Street to have recouped sufficiently to subscribe a sum which-in addition to the assessment of $15 on each man-was able to support most of us in the style we had read about in fairy books.
Inauguration trip to Washington, 1909 Lush, Little, Hubby, Gee, Maxey
Hubby, Durham
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Captain Wes Myers, commissary par excellence, was to take no chances on having the boys compelled to eat hurried snacks in the crowded Capital and therefore the B. & O. freight sheds were hired for the "emergency" (which word was not, of course, known in those days) and his staff of assistants, re- cruited from Louis Sherry, was to go down twelve hours ahead and have a modest breakfast of fruit, cereal, chops, french-fried potatoes, bacon and eggs, coffee and what have you, steaming and ready when the troop train of Pullmans rolled in at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. In fact it was to be one of those cozy parties to which malefactors of great wealth so often apply the term "modest in every way."
And so it came about that, after an early dinner and a last farewell to the girl you left behind, we left the Armory at 9 p.m. The line of march was to Sixth Avenue and 58th Street, thence by the El to Cortlandt Street and over the Liberty Street Ferry to the Jersey City Station of the B. & O., where we found the Pullmans all set up (not made up) and those that did not play poker sat around and waited until the games were over before they could turn in. Your correspondent, as stated before, being a full-fledged Corporal, rated a "lower" for the first time in his military experience and was inflated no end when he finally found himself in possession about midnight. Looking at the lights of Philadelphia about that time, some observant rookie announced that it was snowing, but was promptly put in his place by a chorus of "What of it?" And so to bed.
Imagine the surprise of waking in that hushed stillness that exists only on Christmas Eve just prior to the arrival of Santa and his reindeers, with not even the motion of the cars to make us realize we were on a railway journey. Looking at his military wrist watch (new with the chevrons) your corre- spondent noted it was after the time for our arrival at the nation's Capital, and started immediately to round up his squad from the "uppers," when he was informed by a smiling Senegambian that "Dere ain't no hurry. We done stuck in de snow." About that moment the inner man collectively began to visualize Captain Myers' promised breakfast of fruit, cereal, chops, eggs, coffee, et al., and casually inquired how near we were to it, only to be informed that we were midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore with telegraph poles down and wires draping the tracks as far as the eye could see. Here were campaign hardships before we had reached the front. However, in no time at all, men were seen pulling in their belts, faces set with grim determination to fight starvation to the end.
But a kind providence had not overlooked us entirely, thanks to the Third Company and its distinguished alumni-for had not the brewers known that an army travels on its stomach and provided sufficient bottled beer for all? Then again the aforementioned Senegambian and his colleagues among the crew had stowed away a supply of Peters chocolate which was disposed of so quickly the price did not have a chance to rise. And so, as we partook of our breakfast of beer and Peters chocolate, we had time to philosophize and decided to have a quick shave and get the poker game under way. In the midst of this
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the water supply was exhausted and recourse was had to melted snow but there were no casualties and the poker was not interfered with in any way.
Train crews working out of Baltimore finally cleared the track and we pro- ceeded to limp along but were interrupted once when a telegraph pole took the wrong moment and the wrong direction to prostrate itself and side-swiped two cars, taking the windows as they passed by. The Ninth Company was not affected, however, because even a telegraph pole knew it could not crash any- thing as snooty as Company I. During the wait some light-fingered gentry boarded the train and proceeded to go through the pockets of the married men.
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