USA > Pennsylvania > History of the First regiment infantry, National guard of Pennsylvania (Grey Reserves) 1861-1911, pt 2 > Part 11
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In the war with Spain, when the President of the United States called for volunteers, this veteran soldier was found in his place at the head of his company and marched with the regiment in response to the first call. although beyond the age of three score and ten. suffering with the sears of battle received more than a half century before, ready to follow his flag where duty called. His patriotic heart was willing, but at Camp Hastings, the Mastering Officer, recognizing his physical disability. refused to muster him, and he was ordered to his home station to assume command of those who were unable to enter the service.
Thus we find him with the colors in three wars, and with equal fidelity to duty he served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna. Hazelton and Pittsburg riots. He fought his way irom private to captain. having repeatedly refused higher promotion, and as senior captain commanded the regiment when it was temporarily without field officers in 1873, and for ten months in 1877 and ISTS, after the Pittsburg riots.
Throughout his long and eventful career, whether in peace or war, in the field or the armory. Captain James Muldoon has always been distinguished for his loyal, faithful and efficient attention to every duty. His conseien- tious discharge of every trust and regard for the rights of others won for him the confidence and respect of officers and men alike.
His record will ever be regarded with just pride by his comrades, and will stand as an example to be enmilated and for the inspiration of those who may follow him in the military service of their country.
By order of Colonel Bowman.
FRED. TAYLOR PUSEY, Adjutant.
The Act of Assembly, "To provide for the organization, discipline and regulation of the National Guard of Pennsylvania." Approved April 28, 1599, made the regimental adjutant and quartermaster each an extra captain, and accordingly their rank so increased, on April 25, 1899. Regimental Adjutant Fred. Taylor Pusey was commissioned as captain, and upon the same day a commission with the like rank issued to the quartermaster, Frederick P. Koons. Three battalion adjutants were also pro- vidid for with the rank of first lieutenant, and the first appoint- ments thereunder were Augustus D. Whitney to rank from February 23. 1599: William Hotz, vice John L. Conaway. re- signed, from July 14. 1599; and George Rushton Howell from
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HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
the same date, vice Augustus Drum Porter, promoted to aide-de- camp, First Brigade. A regimental commissary with the rank of first lieutenant was added to the staff and Frank L. Mueller, practically selected for his growing reputation for proficiency in that line of duty. was named for the place July 14, 1899. The act worked a radical change in the medical corps. Each regiment of infantry was allowed " one surgeon with the rank of major and two assistant surgeons with the rank of first lieutenant, each to be appointed by the Commander-in-Chief and assigned to duty from the medical department." So on December 28, 1900, Charles S. Turnbull was appointed a major and surgeon and assigned to duty with the First Infantry. On December 15. 1899. Randolph Faries, and on January 29. 1900. William Muir Angney, were each appointed a first lieutenant and assistant sur- geon, and each, respectively, on the date of their appointment, assigned to duty with the First Infantry.
The regular spring inspections were conducted by the brigade inspector, Maj. Chas. H. Worman, and of those of the First Regiment in his official report he speaks as follows:
I shall arrange my report in the order as the several commands were inspected, commencing with the First Regiment, First Battalion. Companies I, F, G, E and H made a most excellent appearance. the personnel being of a superior order. and the physical development of the men very good. The Second Battalion, Companies B. C. D. K and A, was paraded on the night of April 11, the personnel being of the same order as that of the First Battalion, and the physical development of the men very good. A good regiment and well calculated to maintain its high record in the past. Colonel Bowman and field and staff officers were present on both nights; General Snowden was also present.
The thirty-eighth anniversary of the organization of the regi- ment was commemorated on the 19th of April (1599) by the usual street parade, in the vet incomplete re-equipment with arms furnished through the courtesy of Col. Oliver C. Bosby- shell, commanding Nineteenth Regiment. National Guard of Pennsylvania, for which in a subsequent General Order it was stated that "The colonel commanding recognizes with much pleasure the courtesy thus extended by the commandant of the Nineteenth Infantry and assures the latter of his hearty appre- ciation of the generous service thus rendered." In front of the Union League the column was reviewed by Brig .- Gen. Willis J. Hulings. United States Volunteers, who had commanded the
1899
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PARADES AND CEREMONIES
Sixteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers in the recent Porto Rico campaign. The entire ronte was lined with spectators who greeted the regiment cordially, appearing as it did in its full dress uniform, and for the first time since its muster out of the United States Service. The new State cartridge belt, a woven blue belt, with brass plate lettered N. G. P., on this occasion also made its first appearance. As the column passed the Odd Fellows' Temple, Broad and Cherry Streets, the headquarters of Geo. G. Meade Post No. 1, Grand Army of the Republic, the colors of the Post, unfurled on the sidewalk, were recognized with an appropriate marching salute. The regiment was under command of Lieut .- Col. J. Lewis Good. but Colonel Bowman, in spite of his dis- ability, rode in the rear in an ambulance. Major Williams. com- manding the First Battalion, Major Allen the second, and Colonel Wiedersheim, the Veteran Corps, in its usual place on the right.
On Thursday, April 27, with but a week's interval, at two o'clock in the afternoon the regiment, with Lieut .- Col. J. Lewis Good in command, was again summoned to participate with the First Brigade in the ceremonies ineident to the unveiling of the equestrian statue of General Ulysses S. Grant in Fairmount Park. After the dedication the Brigade was reviewed by the President of the United States, William McKinley.
The regiment. under the command of Lieut .- Col. J. Lewis Good, organized as follows, with three officers and forty-seven men to a company : First Battalion, Companies F, G. H, and I, Major A. L. Williams: Second Battalion, Companies B, C. D. and K, Major Wm. S. AAllen, participated on Friday, May 12, as part of a provisional brigade, in the dedicatory ceremonies incident to the unveiling of the imposing equestrian statue creeted on the Capitol grounds at Harrisburg as the State's tribute to the memory of Major-General and Governor John F. Hartranft. The com- mand left Philadelphia at 7.30 in the morning, and returning, left Harrisburg at ten o'clock in the evening.
It does not appear that troops, other than the six new regi- ments of the National Guard organized for the Spanish-American War. but their services not required. were in attendance at Harris- burg at the Governor's inauguration on January 17. 1599, and as shown in the following paragraph from the adjutant-general's report the encampment for that year was omitted.
1894
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
In the summer of 109. the reorganization of the National Guard and the reinstatement of the several companies that had been mustered out of the United States service was in progress. The entire Guard was to be re uniformed and re-equipped and it was not possible to do this in time for the annual encampment. The General Assembly under the circumstances evidenced a willingness to make the usual appropriation and the amount of money necessary to conduct the annual encamprant to be expended in re-uniforming and re-equipping the Guard. This was deemed wise, and the Act of Assembly approved April 2s, 1899, provided that encampments should be held annually. beginning with the year 1900.
On August 7, 1899. at a meeting of the Board of Officers called to specially consider the question it was resolved that the regiment visit Pittsburgh to participate in the home-coming wel- come it was proposed to tender the Tenth Regiment. Pennsylvania Volunteers. Col. Alexander L. Hawkins, upon its return from the Philippine Islands, where in its protracted campaign it had won conspicuous distinction in many battles. Accordingly. pursuant to a regimental general order covering the movement, the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Good in command, left the Broad Street station at 6.30 on the morning of Sunday, August 27, 1899, reaching its Pittsburgh destination in the carly even- ing, where suitable quarters were provided for its accommodations. Headquarters were established at Newell's Hotel on Fifth Avenue. The next day, Monday, the 2Sth. the regiment joined the column of parade, participating as well in that remarkable pageant as in the other ceremonies and ovations incident to the demonstra- tive welcome with which all western Pennsylvania greeted the return of its heroic sons. The badges of mourning worn by the regiment in respect to the memory of Col. Alexander L. Hawkins, who died on the homeward voyage, suggested the single shadow of gloom.
Hospitalities. attentions, entertainments bade the regiment tarry over the night of Monday and until 2 o'clock on the after- noon of Tuesday the 29th, when, cutraining for the return, it reached Philadelphia after a ten-hour run. These attentions and courtesies were subsequently appropriately acknowledged by reso- lution of the Board of Officers to the Pennsylvania Railroad, for the courtesy of free travel: to the Mayor and City Councils of Pittsburgh. Col. Albert J. Logan. Captain T. A. Anshutz, Major Sutton, and Mr. John S. Flannery for their kindness, generosity. and hospitality, and thanks were also tendered to the citizens of
1599
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AT RECEPTION OF ADMIRAL DEWEY
Philadelphia who had donated funds to aid the regiment in its undertaking.
An effective preamble expressive of the worth and value, the courage and faithfulness of Col. Alexander L. Hawkins as soldier and citizen, of the many instances of conspicuous gallantry that had marked his career, in battle, followed by resolutions of con- dolence and sympathy, was the subject of special action by the Board of Officers. Lieut .- Col. James E. Barnett, the lieutenant- colonel commanding the Tenth Regiment, acknowledging their re- ceipt said that he had just received " a copy of the resolutions of the First Regiment Infantry, National Guard of Pennsylvania, upon the death of our beloved colonel and thank you most heartily on behalf of the Tenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers In- fantry, for the kindly esteem and appreciation expressed therein."
Another event, this time of national import, followed closely. On September 25, 1899, there issued from the headquarters of the National Guard, Adjutant-General's Office, Harrisburg, Gen- eral Order No. 45. which announced that :
The First, Second and Third Regiments Infantry, First Brigade, and Ninth Regiment Infantry, Third Brigade, having accepted the invitation, arranged to provide their own transportation, and expressed their intention to participate in the reception to be given Admiral George Dewey, United States Navy, in New York City, on September 30, 1899, on the occasion of his return to the United States, will constitute a provisional brigade of the National Guard of Pennsylvania for the occasion named.
Brig .- Gen. John W. Schall, commanding First Brigade, as- signed to its command, was directed to report to Maj .- Gen. Chas. F. Roe, 280 Broadway. New York, for instructions as to hour and place of formation.
Admiral Dewey was to arrive in New York harbor on that date or thereabouts, flying his bome pennant on the completion of his lengthy voyage from our Philippine possessions, his first appearance in the country since Cavite and Manila fell before his guns on that eventful May day of '9S. This New York welcome was the nation's greeting to this now famous hero of the seas.
The 30th of September, 1899. happened to fall upon a Saturday and at seven o'clock in the morning, by the Pennsylvania Railroad. the regiment in most creditable numbers, with Lieut .- Col. J. Lewis Good in command, had entrained for and by ten-
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HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT. N. G. P.
1899
thirty had reached the point designated for its juncture with the main column of the great New York Dewey military parade. The procession was all that had been promised for it and the occasion went into the regimental annals as an event distinctively to be remembered. The Sixty-ninth Regiment, National Guard of New York, had graciously tendered its armory, 7th Street and 3d Avenue. for the use of the First Regiment during its stay in New York, and there the regiment was quartered until Sunday afternoon at four o'clock, when it again assembled, marched to the ferry at the foot of West 13th Street, and by boat to Jersey City and train to Philadelphia was, before the night was over. once more at home.
For a year, officially spoken of in the reports as one of re- equipment and re-organization, the functions were frequent and important. To his brief summary of these events in his annual report, Colonel Bowman adds a paragraph as follows :
On all the above occasions. the regiment was in command of Lieut. Col. J. Lewis Good, owing to the absence of the regimental commander on leave. on account of physical disability.
The rifle practice was, throughout the season allotted to it, lacking in its usual activities. The regiment qualified 7 sharp- shooters, 54 first-class marksmen, 396 second-elass marksmen, 13 third-class marksmen, a total of 470 out of an aggregate of 578, 10S having practised but failed to qualify. Forty-two officers qualified with the revolver, seven of whom were experts. The officers match for the Bailey Medal was won by Company E, and the revolver competition for commissioned officers by First Lieutenant H. J. Mehard, Regimental Inspector of Riffe Practice, and Captain Charles P. Hunt, of Company E.
In the First Class Regimental Match. a brigade competition, the First Regiment team with a total score of 336. First Lieuten- ant H. J. Mehard, 80; Corporal James Stewart, S3; Private William S. Sloan. $4; Private T. F. Shonert. 89: won first place. Its prize, the Morrell Trophy, which had been now won for the third time, under the rules of the contest became the property of the First Regiment. Colonel Bowman in his General Order makes mention of this as "the distinguishing feature of the rifle practice season of 1899," giving the names of those who " won this honor and distinction for the regiment's esentcheon."
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ASSIGNMENTS OF COMPANIES
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Also in the Second Class Regimental Match the First Regiment won first place with a score of 216; Lieutenant Walter M. Holz, 33; Major W. S. Allen, 47; Private W. de V. Foulke, 37; and Private E. C. Goddard, 59. In the Company Team Mateli, six companies participating, Company E, First Regiment, stood second with a score of 109, and Company D fifth with a score of 94. The regiment also participated in the regimental competition for company teams of ten enlisted men each; also a regimental monthly competition for the Board of Officers Trophy, both of which were won by Company F.
As announced in General Orders No. 63, Headquarters National Guard of Pennsylvania, Adjutant-General's Office, Har- risburg, Pa., November 23, 1599, the assignments of companies of the Nineteenth Regiment of Infantry included Company E, Captain William L. Bosbyshell, to be Company L, First Regi- ment Infantry, and Company M, Captain Henry L. Brooks, to be Company M, First Regiment Infantry. Captain Brooks, who had been private and non-commissioned officer in Company H, First Regiment, since November 17, 180, was transferred to the retired list, and February 27, 1900, his first lieutenant. W. Baner Gray, was elceted to succeed him. On August 1, 1900, Captain George A. Scattergood was elected to succeed Captain William L. Bosbyshell, resigned. Captain Scattergood had been in the ranks in Company C, First Regiment, from December 14, 1893, to May 27, 1897. When honorably discharged he enlisted May 24, 1897, as a private in Company C, Third United States Cavalry, from which, after his promotion to corporal and ser- geant. he was honorably discharged on the expiration of his term, May 23, 1900.
Colonel Bowman opens his annual report for the year 1900 with the statement that, "During the year the regiment has attended faithfully to the regular routine of military duty, con- sisting of instruction in the school of the soldier and company, school of the battalion. and regimental evolutions and extended order work."
The first General Order that appears. No. 2 of March 21, 1900, recognizing the three-battalion formation. permitted by the addition of Companies L and M, assigns to the First Battalion Companies I. F. M, and K, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel
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HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
1900
J. Lewis Good; to the Second, Companies II, D, A, and E, under command of Major A. L. Williams ; and to the Third. Companies B, C, L, and G, under command of Major William S. Allen.
The thirty-ninth anniversary commemorated on April 19 by the usual street parade with Col. Wendell P. Bowman in com- mand, was the first public appearance of the regiment in the three-battalion formation. The command, the new companies not having had time to equip themselves with the dress uniform of the regiment, appeared in service uniform without leggings. with white gloves and regulation cap. The Veteran Corps under Colonel Wiedersheim had its place on the right. The column was reviewed at the Union League by Maj .- Gen. John R. Brooke. United States Army. This ceremony had a special significance. General Brooke, of our own neighboring county of Montgomery. a soldier all his life from the veriest beginnings of the War of the Rebellion, colonel of the Fifty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers, brigadier-general of volunteers, colonel, brigadier-general, major- general, in the Regular Army, his distinctive courage, skill and efficiency repeatedly recognized by brevet commissions, general orders, and otherwise; his consent to review the regiment carried with it an appreciation due not alone to his eminence as a soldier, but to the further fact that he was a distinguished contribution of our own great Commonwealth to the honor roll of the nation. What he said of the regiment in his acknowledgment of the courtesy is helpful to standardize its annals as well worthy of preservation and remembrance.
WASHINGTON, APRIL 28, 1900.
COL. WENDELL P. BOWMAN, FIRST REG. INF. N. G. P.,
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
COLONEL :- I regret that a press of matters since my return to Washington has deferred my writing this to you. In the review of your regiment I was exceedingly gratified at the soldierly bearing of the men. The evidence of a thorough appreciation and knowledge of their duties on the part of officers and guides was marked. Of course, as you said to me. your regiment was largely composed of recruits, still as recruits they manifested that they had been receiving considerable valuable instruction. I am sure that with a little time your regiment will reach, if it does not surpass, the standard which was so high prior to the Spanish War. Should it be probable that we should be called to the field in war again I should be very much gratified indeed to have your command assigned to me. I have always felt and always will feel a deep interest in the National Guard of our country, and particularly in that of
1900
DONATION OF STANDARD
my native State. You will. of course, understand this and not think that ] am trying to say pleasant things. All I say is based upon the plain Quaker fuet, as I see it.
Trusting that you have recovered entirely from your exertions of that day, which I regret to hear disabled you somewhat, I am, with kindest remembrance, to your command.
Very truly yours, JOHN R. BROOKE, Major-General.
In recognition of courtesies extended to them by the regiment, the command was assembled at the armory on Wednesday evening. May 2, 1900, to receive from the sisters of the House of Good Shepherd of Philadelphia a national color of regulation standard for a regiment of infantry made and donated by themselves.
At the expiration of his second five-years' term on July 25, 1900, Maj .- Gen. George R. Snowden was succeeded by Maj .- Gen. Charles Miller. Twenty-five years a soldier, two in the civil war and twenty-three in the National General Guard. General Snowden, close as a student and patient in research, was of high scholarly attainments as well in literature and learning as in the art of war. His scholarship. courage, skill, and tactful ad- justment of delicate questions of border-line authority make his terms as inajor-general memorable for the wisdom with which he met his responsibilities, particularly as manifested when the Homestead erisis of '92 demanded the judicious treatment that he so aptly gave it.
A proposition was submitted by the Veteran Corps at the meeting of the Board of Officers May 7, 1900, requesting the appointment of a committee to act in conjunction with a similar committee from the Veteran Corps for the purpose of compiling " A Ilistory of the Regiment." Captains Kensil and Pusey and Lieutenant Mehard were named on the part of the regiment. These propositions from time to time appear among the records. but none seem to have materialized save the small volume of April 19. 15>0. " compiled from the official records by Edwin N. Benson. R. Dale Benson, and Theo. E. Wiedersheim, Committee of the Veteran Corps."
Serious attention had been given from time to time to athletics and the organization of the First Regiment Athletic Association had given impetus and zest to the better accomplishment of their purpose.
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1900
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
The encampments provided for by the 32d Section of the Act of Assembly approved April 28. 1599, were to be held annually, beginning with the year nineteen hundred, at such times and places and for such periods as the Commander-in-Chief might direct, not to exceed in any one year a period of fourteen days. Accordingly it was announced from the Adjutant-Gen- eral's office at Harrisburg, on March 30, 1900, in General Orders No. 23, that the National Guard would encamp by Division from August 4, 1900, to August 11, 1900, inclusive, detailed in- structions, name, and location to be thereafter published. The name, Camp Alexander L. Hawkins; the location, Mount Gretna, Lebanon County, were afterwards made known and specific in- structions given in General Orders No. 2, from Division Head- quarters, of July 10, 1900. . The camp was formally opened Saturday, August 4. at nine o'clock in the morning with Maj .- Gen. Charles Miller in command, General Snowden's commission having meanwhile expired.
The advance detail from the First Regiment for camp con- struction under command of First Lieutenant Charles P. Smith, of Company E, reporting to Maj. William S. Allen of the First Regiment, in charge of the several details of the First Brigade, left the Broad Street station for Mount Gretna at six- thirty on the morning of Thursday, August 2, and was followed by the regiment, under command of Colonel Bowman, entraining from the same station at 10.20 on the evening of Friday, August 3. The regiment had answered to reveille roll-call and it- guard mounting was over before the nine o'clock hour announced from general headquarters for the formal opening of the camp. From thence on until the end of the tour it continued in the watchful performance of the never-ceasing duties of the camp to the satisfaction and approval of all concerned. notably, as will be shown from their reports. to those of the general and inspecting officers.
The annual muster and inspection, preceded by a review by the adjutant-general and followed by the usual inspection drills, was held on the morning of Tuesday, August 7. A cautionary circular from the inspector-general, to which the colonel command- ing had directed especial attention, had, among other things, pre- viously announced that inspection drills would be confined to
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1900
CAMP ALEXANDER L. HAWKINS
Battalion Drill, Extended Order and Outpost Duty. That the inspection of Guard Momming under the direction of the division inspector would cover the entire period of the encampment, and would as far as possible be made at the hour set for the ceremony in the camp schedule. And also that the inspector general would himself make the ratings for discipline and base his conclusions upon his observations during the entire tour of camp duty, and as a further suggestion it was stated that the condition of camps as to cleanliness and neatness of quarters, and the condnet of men off duty and after taps would be important factors in the making up of this rating. How the warning found lodgement and the admonition abiding place has official demonstration later on.
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