USA > Pennsylvania > History of the First regiment infantry, National guard of Pennsylvania (Grey Reserves) 1861-1911, pt 1 > Part 26
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By virtue of his seniority and in compliance with orders from brigade headquarters, in his General Order No. 1, of December 8, 1877, Captain James Muldoon announced that he assumed command of the regiment. He named as of the regimen- tal staff First Lieutenant F. Du Pont Marston, of Company D, as acting adjutant, and Second Lieutenant James A. Filley, of Company E, as aeting quartermaster.
There was neither alteration nor interruption in the regular routine; and drills, company and battalion, and all other military exercises were continued at the usual intervals as heretofore. There were a number of incidents of local prominence.
On February 22. 1878, the regiment was paraded in honor of the day and to participate in the ceremonies attendant upon the transfer of colors of the Twentieth Regiment (Emergeney), National Guard of Pennsylvania, to the future care and custody of the Veteran Corps.
On March S the officers and men who were on duty during the active operations of July and August were mustered for pay at the armory, Broad and Race Streets, and on Sunday, March 10, the regiment attended divine service at the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Rev. W. N. MeViekar officiating.
The seventeenth anniversary had its proper recognition. On April 19 the regimental line was formed at 2.30 o'clock in the afternoon on Broad Street, right resting on Arch Street facing east, with Captain James Muldoon in command, and the usual anniversary parade, with the customary evening remembrances, followed.
On April 30 First Lieutenant F. Du Pont Marston, granted a leave of absence for six months, was relieved from duty as act- ing adjutant. First Lieutenant William B. Smith, of Company A, was named in his stead.
The centennial anniversary, on June 19, 1878, of the with-
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drawal of Washington's army from its Valley Forge cncamp- ment, had a nation-wide significance. The regimeut, with Cap- tain James Muldoon in command, leaving the armory at seven o'clock in the morning was on the ground at Valley Forge at the prescribed hour to participate in, as it did, the all-day cere- monies incident to that occasion.
On July 4, 1878, the Veteran Corps, accompanied by the officers of the regiment, participated at Wilkes-Barre in the cere- monies attendant upon the centennial anniversary of the " Mas- sacre of Wyoming," and on their return on the fifth the regiment was paraded as an escort, with this unique feature-that, the com- missioned officers being of the column that was to be escorted, it was directed that each company should be in command of the ranking non-comissioned officer.
In the " History of the First Regiment Infantry, National Guard of Pennsylvania," by Edwin N. Benson, R. Dale Benson, and Theo. E. Wiedersheim, Committee of Veteran Corps (1880), the administration of Captain Muldoon is thus creditably spoken of:
From December, 1877, until September, 1878, the First Regiment was without field officers, but was ably commanded by Captain James Muldoon, of E Company, whose thorough knowledge of the duties of a soldier enabled bim to maintain the regiment up to the standard in drill and discipline. The following resolution, offered by Col. R. Dale Benson at the regular meeting of the Veteran Corps. October, 1878, was unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That in the service rendered the First Regiment Infantry by Comrade James Muldoon during the year that he was called to its temporary command, amidst the embarrassment incident to the year, in the National Guard service of the State, this corps recognizes the soldierly ability and qualifications exhibited by Comrade Muldoon, and desires to place upon record its recognition of that service to the active command, and congratulates him upon the successful issue of his temporary administration.
Rico. ElWiederking
CHAPTER VII
COLONEL WIEDERSHEIM, 1878-1857-STATE UNIFORM ADOPTED- WASHINGTON GRAYS BECOME COMPANY G-ENCAMPMENTS, DIVISION, BRIGADE, REGIMENTAL, 1878-1SS7-REGIMENTAL ANNIVERSARIES-GENERAL GRANT'S RECEPTION -- HIS WORLD TOUR COMPLETED-NEW YORK MEMORIAL DAY, 1880-REGI- MENTAL FAIR, ISSO --- GARFIELD INAUGURATION, 1SS1-YORK- TOWN CENTENNIAL, 1851-CORNER-STONE NEW ARMORY, 1882 -OCCUPATION, 1884-REGIMENTAL FAIR, 1884-CLEVELAND'S INAUGURATION, 1SS5-GENERAL GRANT'S FUNERAL-COLONEL. WIEDERSHEIM RESIGNS
However strong may be its component parts, however sturdy its leadership, organization withont the leader weakens with time. A vice-president succeeds a president and becomes the president ; a captain follows a colonel, but remains the " captain command- ing " still. Its integrity thus impaired, organization ceases to be of cohesive force, fails in definite purpose, and ultimately dis- solves. Weakened within itself, its influence abroad is dimin- ished. No subordinate, however strong his personality, can make himself felt, as can the officer clothed with the rank which the authority he exercises entitles him to hold. If favors are to be sought, selections to be made, or precedence to be claimed, or should hostile criticism assail rights fairly won in competitive contests, the captain's powers to interpose in his own behalf are serionsly impaired when those of higher authority are his competi- tors or adversaries. Nulla restigia retrorsum (take no step back- ward)-a phrase eminently well applied-was once the motto of a regiment of our State troops. If there is to be no step backward. there must be some steps forward. Nothing can stand still and maintain itself. No step forward is in itself a step backward. The colonel only is the man wholly qualified to take this step, direct a forward movement, define its purpose, see to its fulfil- ment. The organization that fails to save itself, to strengthen itself by naming the man of its choice, must face the inevitable; it comes to all men and all things; when progression stops, when expansion ceases, shrinkage begins, extinction follows.
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These conditions, not at all new, well understood, recognized everywhere, had not escaped the consideration of the line officers on whom rested the responsibility and in whom alone was the power to permit their continuance or cause their removal. The administration of Captain Muldoon had proved satisfactory; he had repeatedly declined advancement. Two conditions-one a- necessity and the other a tradition-confronted the situation. Both needed to be well considered. Then it would be better if in the end all minds could be made to meet. It was all-essen- tial that strength be given to component parts, the better to assure the security of the whole. The company units must be main- tained in all their efficiency, and no officer be separated from his command while his presence was essential for its preservation. To this extent all minds had met; no thought was given to promotion ; every energy was bent to the single end of unswerving company allegiance. Then, too, there was the tradition that no field offi- cer had ever been selected for expediency only. The war supply was well-nigh exhausted, and as for experience and capacity, it was as available from within as it was from without. There was also the lingering hope that Colonel Benson might be per- suaded to return. This, however, had but a brief sojourn. In the end all minds met again and the choice was made from among those whose province it was to do the choosing.
As if it were by spontaneous concurrence, the choice for the coloneley fell upon Captain Theodore E. Wiedersheim, of Com- pany D, and for the lieutenant-coloneley upon Captain Washing- ton H. Gilpin, of Company A: duly nominated and elected, they were respectively commissioned colonel and lieutenant-colonel on September 26, 1878. The majority was permitted to remain vacant for a time. With the brief announcement in General Orders No. 18, of October 1, 1875, " By virtue of election by the line officers as prescribed by law, the undersigned hereby assumes command of the First Regiment Infantry. N. G. of Pa.," Colonel Wiedersheim took upon himself the duties of his office.
Of this election General Snowden, in his official report for the year of the operations of his bridgade, says: "Shortly after I assumed command the officers of the First Regiment Infantry elected to the positions of colonel and lieutenant-colonel, respect-
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ively, Theo. E. Wiedersheim and Washington H. Gilpin, gentle- men who are qualified by experience and a knowledge of their duty and have my entire confidenee."
The staff appointments were as follows: Adjutant, Wm. S. Poulterer; quartermaster, L. C. Tappey, Jr .; commissary, Henry L. Eller; paymaster, Wm. H. Taber; surgeon, Alonzo L. Leach; assistant surgeons, J. Wilkes O'Neill and William W. Van Valzalı; sergeant-major, HI. Harrison Groff; quartermaster- sergeant, Henry Avery, Jr .; commissary-sergeant, James A. Wallace ; hospital steward, Charles Ouram; drum major, William D. Baker. The Rev. Robert A. Edwards was afterward named as chaplain.
The vacancy in Company A was speedily filled by the elec- tion of Captain William B. Smith on October 18, 1878, but in Company D, Captain Joseph II. Burroughs was not elected until March 31, 1879. Meanwhile, through most of the interval, the command devolved on First Lieutenant F. Du Pont Marston. When Captain Burroughs was in March, 1880, made major and judge-advocate of the First Brigade, First Lieutenant Edward S. Sayres having resigned, the command of the company devolved upon Second Lieut. Harry O. Hastings, who on June 21, 1880, was elected to the eaptaincy.
A cireular from the Adjutant-General's office of September 24, 187S, preseribed the first " state uniform " adopted for the National Guard, and in compliance with the terms of that eir- cular the regiment proceeded to equip itself to meet its require- ment. The uniform was of the fatigue pattern, the coat for offi- eers a plain saek, of dark blue eloth, and for the mnen a blouse of dark blue flannel, single-breasted, falling collar. Except in material, they differed from each other only in the insignia and chevrons of officers and non-commissioned officers. The trousers were of light blue kersey with dark blue stripe for officers and none for the men. The cap and accoutrements were the same as had been theretofore in use. The state provided the material- it had previously passed a rigorous Government inspection at. the Schuylkill Arsenal-on requisition, sixty uniforms to a company, and charged its cost proportionately against the allowance of each
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company for the then present year. The trimmings were to be supplied and cost of manufacture was to be paid for by the com- panies themselves.
The regiment made its first appearace in the state uniform at the annual n.uster and inspection by the Adjutant-General at East Fairmount Park on November 7, and again at the review of the First Brigade by John F. Hartranft, governor and com- mander-in-chief, on November 28. Brigadier-General George R. Snowden, who had been appointed a brigadier-general August 28, 1878, was in command of the brigade, and Colonel Wieder- sheim of the regiment.
Of this inspection of November 7 the following report ap- pears in the annual report of the Adjutant-General for the year 1878:
Colonel and staff well selected, soldierly in appearance, well disciplined and attentive, and, with their knowledge of their duties, well calculated to maintain the previous superior standing of the Regiment. The entire com- mand was equipped in the new fatigue uniform, together with knapsack, haversack, and canteen. The condition of the arms was excellent. The ability of its officers and fine personnel enabled it to present a fine appear- ance at all times. With its great advantage in this respect it should be placed in a position to defy competition. The regiment is complete in all equipment and thorough in all detail and appointments.
With the inauguration of Colonel Wiedersheim's administra- tion a vigorous course of instruction, so essential at all times to the maintenance of a military efficiency, was auspiciously begun and diligently pursued. All details were critically observed. Circulars explanatory and instructive were issued at intervals to settle differences in interpretation and bring to a readier com- prehension sections and paragraphs of tactics and regulations that were the more continuously in use. Instructions in the school of the battalion-two of three companies each and one of four, under Colonels Wiedersheim and Gilpin and Captain Muldoon, respectively-were a regular routine. General Snow- den introduced something of an innovation in providing for a monthly series of battalion drills, each to be followed by the ceremony of a guard mount, which he supervised himself. The spring inspections by the brigade inspector, usually at the Rink Building, were still a feature. There were frequent changes in the regimental formation as the rank of the captains varied. Com-
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pany E, with Captain Muldoon, however, never lost its place on the right, and once for a time the colors went back to Company C, Captain MacCarroll, until Captain Huffington's rank took them off again to Company F. But about this time so often was the shifting that after a little the colors came back to C, and Cap- tain Iluffington, as the second ranking captain, had the left.
The military pageant, which, despite the usually unpropitious weather, is the universal attendant on all inaugurations, was once more in evidence when Governor Henry M. Hoyt, the first of the four-year governors under the Constitution of 1874, was inaugurated, January 21, 1879, and the regiment, under the command of Colonel Wiedersheim, was again a participant. Its full winter equipment-overcoat, knapsack, blanket-was sup- plemented with one day's cooked rations, which wisely provided against the no food or poor food always the result when the over- crowded town had been depended upon for supplies. The mili- tary eye, with the closer observation it gave the new commander, conceded his every capacity to certainly maintain if not increase the prestige the regiment had earned of yore.
A newspaper comment in the special correspondence of the Philadelphia Times reads as follows: " The military, consider- ing the state of the streets and the fatigued condition of the troops, did admirably, and gave evidence that the reorganization of the State Militia was bearing good fruit. The battalion of State Fencibles of Philadelphia bore off the palm in every re- spect, while the First Regiment gave proof of better discipline than any of the regimental commands, the Duquesne Grays (Eighteenth Regiment), of Pittsburg, however, presenting a sol- dierly appearance."
Pursuant to an order from Brigade Headquarters on Febru- ary 6, 1879, the regiment participated in the ceremonies incident to the funeral of Maj .- Gen. George Cadwalader, of eminent family lineage, and for rank, reputation, and service in war and experience in peace among the distinguished of Philadelphia's soldiery.
The military observances of Washington's Birthday had lately-winter weather and outdoor military displays never be- ing in the best accord-fallen into disuse. In 1879, February 22 fell upon a Saturday, and, that there might be something
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recorded suggestive of its commemoration, the colonel ordered that on Sunday, the 23d, the regiment, in full-dress uniform, parade to attend divine service at the Church of St. Matthias. The regiment was paraded accordingly, and the Rev. Robert A. Edwards, the newly-appointed chaplain, preached his first ser- mon to the command.
The approaching eighteenth anniversary was heralded by the opening paragraph of Circular No. 3, Regimental Headquarters, of March 8, 1879, as follows :
In accordance with a time-honored custom, the regiment will be paraded in full-dress uniform on April 19, in celebration of the eighteenth anniversary of the organization of the command, and, with the Veteran Corps, it is intended to make a grand demonstration on that day. It is hoped that every officer and man will consider it his duty to lend every effort to make the occa- sion one worthy of the organization, and it is expected that each company will parade with full ranks.
Accompanied by the Veteran Corps, the regiment made its usual anniversary parade on the afternoon of Saturday, April 19, 1879. That the preliminary cirenlar had not been ineffective. was made manifest by the very pronounced commendations made by the three distinguished officials, all of high military repute, before whom the regiment passed in review-Henry M. Hoyt, Governor and Commander-in-Chief; Maj .- Gen. John F. Hart- ranft, commanding the Division of the National Guard, and Brig .- Gen. George R. Snowden, commanding the First Brigade.
On Monday, July 21, 1879, a well-remembered anniversary day-the Battle of Bull Run and the Pittsburgh riots-in the military life of the deceased officer, the officers of the regiment, in full-dress uniform, with side arms, attended the funeral of Gen. Perer Lyle, formerly of the Nineteenth and Ninetieth Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and late commander of the Second Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania.
The concluding paragraph of the order that summoned the officers was as follows :
The brilliant record of General Lyle during the late war and his valuable service in the National Guard of the State are all well known to every mem- ber of the regiment, and it is hoped that all the officers will be present.
On Monday, September 20. the regiment was paraded in state uniform, with knapsacks, haversacks and canteens, for the annual muster and inspection by the Adjutant-General, " in ac-
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cordanee with the military code of the state." Of this muster and inspection General Order No. 26, Regimental Headquarters, September 30, 1879, directed to be printed for general distribu- tion, spoke as follows:
The Colonel commanding takes the earliest opportunity of complimenting the officers and men of the command for their satisfactory inspection and the handsome appearance made on the 20th inst., upon the occasion of the An- nual Inspection and Muster at Fairmount Park. His Excellency Governor Hoyt. Major-General Hartranft, Adjutant-General Latta, and Brigadier General Snowden passed the highest encomiums upon the drill, marching, and disei- pline of the regiment. The standard of excellence can only be maintained by constant work and the closest attention to all the details, and especially recruiting the companies to the full number required by law, which is abso- lutely necessary if we expect always to occupy our present honorable position.
On November 13, 1879, the line officers concluded wisely when they selected Captain Wendell P. Bowman, of Company HI, to fill the vacant majority that sent him on his course of well- deserved advancement.
The Artillery Corps of Washington Grays, first organized into a battalion, with Col. Sylvester Bonnaffon, Jr., as its major, and subsequently disbanded as a battalion, was disposed of by the transfer of two of its companies, A and D (the original corps), to the Third Regiment Infantry. The subsequent eon- solidation of these two companies followed, and as consolidated they were on December 11, 1879, transferred from the Third Regiment to the First Regiment Infantry, to be thereafter known as Company G of that regiment. The day for the independent military company had passed, and ancestor and progeny were thus happily united. The transfer included Captain Eugene Z. Kienzle, with his rank from October 26, 1875, and Second Lieu- tenant Gustavus K. Morehead. At the same time, Company G, of the First Regiment, as it had previously existed, was trans- ferred to and consolidated with Company B of the same regi- ment. Captain C. H. Kretselmar, of Company G, an officer of merit and distinction, had retired with the expiration of his commission, and Captain Alfred Pleasonton, elected to succeed him, had resigned October 16, 1879.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, when he retired from the presideney and made his historie journey around the world, took his depart- ure from the city of Philadelphia. After an extended absence, greeted and honored on his return everywhere throughout this
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country as he had been abroad, he was made specially welcome in this, the city that had been permitted to bid him on his departure his last farewell. Among the many of the memorable and im- pressive incidents of this home coming, as it were, was the military parade, and of this feature, on Tuesday, December 16, 1879, the regiment played so conspicuous a part that Colonel Wiedersheim took occasion, in a subsequent general order, to afterward say :
The Colonel commanding congratulates the command upon the display made on the 16th inst., participating in the reception to Gen. U. S. Grant.
The number of men in the regimental line was greater on this ocea- sion than the command has paraded for a period of nearly sixteen years, and the appearance and soldierly bearing never better.
While all are entitled to creditable mention, special notice is due to those companies that paraded a number of men far in excess of the general aver- age, thus adding material strength to the command. It is hoped that the spirit of friendly competition among the several companies will be con- tinued.
The United States Ordnance Corps from Frankford appeared with the United States Artillery Band from Fort Hamilton; United States Marines from the Philadelphia Navy Yard; First, Second and Third Brigades, National Guards of Pennsylvania ; Second Brigade, National Guards of State of New Jersey, all under command of Maj .- Gen. John F. Hartranft, made up the military escort. The regiment, its full field and staff, "620 men, band of thirty-one pieces, and drum corps of thirty," is thus reported in the Times as it passed in review :
The First Regiment marched admirably, its band playing, and the mnsie, when it had gone past, tapering off in a roll by the drum corps. Even the colored water carriers had a sense of the great importance of the occasion, and stepped ont with conspicuous dignity.
"Rifle practice in this state properly dates from 1878, when the Seranton City Guards, now part of the Thirteenth Regiment, equipped and started praetiee on their own responsibility." Slowly finding its way to a better recognition, it ultimately took on a stimulating impetus. From time to time the zest and energy the First Regiment developed was rewarded not only with the satisfaction it took to itself for its own successes, but with the high encomiums it secured from all sources. In many of its competitive contests and in making its own reeord it came out with scores above all its competitors and beyond all its fellows.
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The small beginnings as they first appeared in the Adjutant- General's Report of 1879, grew each year in the skill which the practice evolved and the large numbers it included in the several stages of qualification. The following are the few who appear in that report, the first of the First Regiment's " qualified marks- men." They deserve mention as illustrative of how few there were to start with, as contrasted with the many there are to-day :
Corporal E. C. Zehner, 37. Captain Joseph H. Burroughs, 36. Corporal A. C. Hexamer, 32. Private Coulston, 30. Lieutenant Conrad, 26.
The better organization of the National Guard progressively aceomplished with the gradual reduction in the number of mili- tary divisions, finally completed, was assured early in 1879, when all others disbanded, the one division formation was announced, and Ex-Governor John F. Hartranft, who had striven so long to this end and been most instrumental toward its attainment, was on March 12 of that year commissioned as the one major- general and assigned to the one division as its commander. Of the five brigades that made up the division, Brig .- Gen. George R. Snowden, Philadelphia, was assigned to the First; Brig .- Gen. Frank Reeder, Easton, the Second; Brig .- Gen. Joshua K. Sig- fried, Pottsville, the Third; Brig .- Gen. James A. Beaver, Belle- fonte, the Fourth, and Brig .- Gen. Henry S. Huidekoper, Mead- ville, the Fifth.
There had been changes in the company commanders and in the staff, and others followed.
Captain William B. Smith, of Company A, afterwards colonel of the Third Regiment Infantry, National Guard of Pennsyl- vania, and after that mayor of the city, who had resigned No- vember 13, 1879, was succeeded February 27, 1880, by Captain Charles A. Rose. Captain David A. MaeCarroll. of long ser- vice, painstaking and efficient, resigned his captaincy of Company C December 2, 1879. Lieutenant William S. Poulterer, when he was made adjutant, was reluctantly surrendered by his eom- pany, and at this, the first opportunity, was brought back again to fill the vacaney, February S, 1850. The vacant adjutancy was filled March 11, 1880, by the promotion of Sergeant-Major
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