USA > Pennsylvania > History of the First regiment infantry, National guard of Pennsylvania (Grey Reserves) 1861-1911, pt 2 > Part 22
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
" Without doubt." said General Bowman in an interview, " this encampment has been the most strenuous in the history of the brigade and the men have worked hard and with a will. I have been impressed with the strict observance of all orders issued and with the general conduct of the guardsmen."
This story is told of an opportunity that came to the First Regiment to make something of a record for itself :
About the proudest soldiers in camp were the guardsmen of the Second and Third Battalions of the First Infantry, who captured half a troop of regular cavalry in the field.
These battalions were halted in a wood on both sides of a road northwest of Colebrook. They were under shelter when the regular cavalry arrived. Company B, Captain Hess, opened fire and the regulars scampered down the road at full canter. A patrol of the Second Battalion swing an ammuni- tion wagon across the road. and the troopers were hemmed in. The guards- men were all the more pleased by the capture because the wagon was part of the camp equipment of the troopers and had been detailed with the infantry.
Orders to break camp went into effect with the infantry at nine o'clock on the morning of Saturday, July 31. The First Regi- ment left at noon over the Pennsylvania to detrain at Broad Street Station. The movement had been carefully planned, minor details
592
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
1903
had not been neglected, nothing had been left to conjecture, and the regiment was at the armory and dismissed ere the long summer day was over.
The inspector-general, Colonel Sweeney, in his official report in general reference to the problem solution and field manoeuvres in all three brigades spoke as follows:
During the encampments the commanding general required the organiza- tions of their respective brigades to engage in small manoeuvres and their officers in tactieal rides and walks, under the supervision of officers of the Army, and while the inspector-general did not witness any of these exercises, he has learned that they were both interesting and profitable.
Officers of the Army were in attendance at all of the eneampments, acting as umpires in problem work, and giving instruction wherever needed. all of which was most helpful to the Guard and was thoroughly appreciated.
And he also sounds this note of warning:
For the information and guidance of those who did not. sce circular No. 2. Headquarters, 3rd Brigade, N. G. P., dated July 1, 1909, the inspector-general quotes therefrom an extract, which was taken from a letter of Captain Charles Dudley Rhodes, Sixth United States Cavalry. to General C. B. Dougherty. Captain Rhodes is a graduate of the War College and might be styled the father of manuvres in the National Guard of Pennsylvania.
" The Pennsylvania Guard is certainly won over to the problem work and now you (General Dougherty) and the other brigade commanders will probably have to hold them in a little to prevent your regiments from swinging too far toward field work and neglecting the more monotonous close- order instruction, including gnard duty, which inculcates discipline and subordination. Paradoxical as it may seem. "the field' is a poor locality in which to hammer discipline into the men. except heroically, and such work must be done in the armories."
In his general order, published for the information of all con- cerned, this report of the inspector-general of the annual inspec- tions of the several organizations during brigade encampment. 1909, the governor and commander-in-chief paid this tribute to the National Guard of the State:
A careful reading of the report is enjoined upon every officer. The Commander-in-Chief congratulates the officers and enlisted men of the Na- tional Guard upon the satisfactory conditions of the organization along all lines, evidencing, as it does, earnest effort and close application upon the part of all to acquire knowledge of their respective duties, and thus render the National Guard an efficient organization, in which it is an honor to acquire membership.
593
PROGRESS OF GUARD
1909
There is no story that can be told so exclusively of itself as to be wholly independent of kindred events concurrent with its own happenings. Especially is this so with troops serving together in the same brigade. division, corps or army. The stories of each are meant to and should interweave. Much as each unit may rival the other for competitive distinction, what each may win for itself tends to make the whole famous. The decided progress of the Pennsylvania National Guard has made in the readiness with which it has acquainted itself with this ever-expanding new mili- tary science, the tendency the larger body has for its better exem- plification, the coming together of the entire Guard in its encamp- ments, its frequent assembling on other occasions, has made of it such a cohesive whole that to be a Pennsylvania guardsman, aside from that regimental touch of fellowship, upon which so much de- pends, is of itself a proud distinction. A practical illustration of these conclusions is in a measure supplied in the happenings, the teachings. the results of the encampments and inspections for the years 1908 and 1909.
What the governor said in his order extending his congratula- tions, the favorable deductions drawn from the operations of the field exercises, problems and manœuvres of Camp Pennsypacker, is further strengthened by what the inspector-general, speaking generally of the encampments of 1909, said of the results of the annual inspection.
Both official reports and personal observation enable the inspector-general to report improvement in all branches of the service. The personal appear- ance of the troops. at the ceremony of inspection, was exceedingly satisfactory, both as to " set up" and military bearing. as well as to condition of clothing, mums and equipment.
The discipline of the Guard, determined by the entraining and detrain- ing of the troops. their appearance at inspection and the general condition of the camps, was excellent.
Military courtesy was more generally observed than has been the rule, although the salute was oftentimes improperly and carelessly rendered.
Guard duty was exceptionally well performed, and this from the fact that on the day of inspection old and experienced men were selected by each command for this service. Then, too. the small pamphlets on guard duty. issued prior to the encampment. played their part. Major Worman. the inspector. states that each man detailed for guard had a copy in his possession and was making it the subject of study.
The work in extended order. advance and rear guard and outpost duty was in the main satisfactory. There were errors noted, of course, due
594
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
1909
largely to the many recruits in the ranks, men without training in extended order and fire discipline, as, also, to the lack of opportunity for practice in the field.
The highest general average, not quite so high as the year pre- vious, the lowest the same, vet all are well within the nineties, gives to this year, as it did to the last, a special significance. In 190S the highest average was 96.17, the lowest 92.53; in 1909, 95.76 was high and 92.53 was low.
The 95.76, the ranking general average for the annual inspec- tions of 1909, belonged to the Eighth Regiment, its discipline rating 96, its guard duty 93; the Third Regiment was second, its general average 95.12, its discipline 96, guard duty 94; the First Regiment was third with a general average of 95.26, discipline 96, guard duty 96; the Twelfth Regiment was fourth, general average 95.13, discipline 96, guard duty 93; the Sixth Regiment was fifth, with a general average of 95.03, discipline 95, guard duty 94; the Thirteenth Regiment was sixth, general average 94.95, discipline 96, guard duty 92: the Eighteenth Regiment seventh, general average 94.94, discipline 96, guard duty 90; the Sixteenth Regiment was eighth, general average 94.52, discipline 95, guard duty 95; the Fourteenth Regiment was ninth, general average 94.29, discipline 94, guard duty 93; the Ninth Regiment was tenth, general average 94.14, discipline 96, guard duty 90; the Tenth Regiment was eleventh, general average 93.96, disci- pline 96, guard duty 92 ; the Fourth Regiment was twelfth, general average 93.81, discipline 95, guard duty 93: the Second Regi- ment was thirteenth, general average 93.78, discipline 96, guard duty 93; the Fifth Regiment was fourteenth. general average 92.53, discipline 95, guard duty 94. In the 95 class there were five regiments: Eighth, Third, First. Twelfth and Sixth; in the 94 class five regiments : Thirteenth, Eighteenth, Sixteenth. Four- teenth, and Ninth : in the 93 class three regiments : Tenth. Fourth. and Second : in the 92 class, one regiment, the Fifth.
In riffe-firing classification and figure of merit the First Regiment made quite an appreciable increase of 7.17 from 69.03 in 1908 to 76.20 in 1909. Company C was highest for 1909. 111.57, Company K next with 110.71. and Company E third with 109.21. In the regimental increase of 7.17 points seven com- panies had a notable share. Their figure of merit increased : Com-
595
FIGURES OF MERIT
1010
pany AA from 46.95 in 1908 to 65.71 in 1909, Company B from 57.77 to 70.37, Company ( from $5.20 to 111.57, Company E from 105.47 to 109.21, Company HI from 46.96 to 59.77, Com- pany K from $7. 50 to 110.71. Company I from 46.62 to 59.04. Headquarters increased from 182.80 to 147.50. In per cent. of average strength qualified, Headquarters and Company E had the full maximum of 100. The entire regimental classification was as follows : Average strength present and absent, commissioned and enlisted for entire period of firing, 884; per cent. of average strength qualified, 89.47: expert riflemen, $1; marksmen, 348; first-class men, 141; second-class men. 104; third-class men, 59; fourth-class men, 151; figure of merit, 76.20; total firing rifle, 791 : total firing pistol. 38.
On Friday evening, October 15, 1909, the regiment in full- dress uniform was paraded at the armory for inspection by the colonel commanding, the exercises concluding with "evening parade."
In honor of Brig .- Gen. Wendell P. Bowman the regiment in full-dress uniform was assembled at the armory for parade and review on the evening of Friday, January 28, 1910.
An appropriate minute was made at the session of the Board of Officers of March 1, 1910, upon the sudden death, on Febru- ary 18, 1909, of First Lientenant William W. Bentley, of Com- pany L, which in part read as follows: " That our deceased com- panion in more than ten years of continuons and faithful service in this regiment fully demonstrated his patriotic and manly character, which, together with his conscientious discharge of duty, makes a most worthy record for the consolation of us all, who mourn his loss, officers and men alike, and for his devoted wife and parents and worthy son."
Captain James Muldoon, National Guard Pennsylvania, re- tired, died at Philadelphia on Thursday, March 31, 1910, at the advanced age of eighty-five years, " with his faculties still alert, his memory unimpaired, tenacions of life, and anxious to be active."
Captain Muldoon enlisted for the war with Mexico as a private in the United States Voltiguer Regiment, January 5, 1847 ; pro- inoted sergeant March 2, 1847, he was honorably discharged for
596
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
1910
disability-wounds received in action-at New Orleans Barracks, Louisiana, January 23, 1848.
He began his service with the First Regiment as a private soldier, enlisting on the date of its organization, April 19, 1861. one year in the ranks, nearly forty years a commissioned officer, through the Antietam and Gettysburg compaigns, in the field whenever there was call to preserve the peace and suppress violence. he remained with the regiment continuously until placed on the retired list August 20, 1899. Including his membership in the Veteran Corps. his service as officer and soldier in the regiment and member of the Corps covered a period of forty-nine years.
Captain Muldoon repeatedly declined all proffered promotion. As ranking captain he was frequently in command of the regi- ment; once, during a protracted vacaney, in the field for an extended period from December 12. 1877, to September 26, 1875.
General Order No. 4. Headquarters First Regiment Infantry, National Guard Pennsylvania. March 31, 1910. announced with deep regret the death of Captain James Muldoon, distinguished for his forty years of uninterrupted and faithful service with the regiment and as " a veteran of the Mexican War and the war for the suppression of the Rebellion, in both of which he served with patriotic zeal and conspicuous ability." The order also announced that the funeral services would be held at the armory, Saturday. April 2, 1910, where the remains would lie in state and the flag be displayed at half staff. The commanding officer of Company E was instructed to parade his company as a military escort. The Veteran Corps as a body, the regimental field. staff. and company officers. and General Bowman and his staff were also in attendance.
A minute made by the Veteran Corps in its quarterly com- munication of April S. 1910, commemorative of the " virtues, and the manhood. the patriotism, and the valor of Captain Muldoon." coneluded as follows :
Faithful unto all things, negligent of none, ever active, never slothful. always ready, never tardy. his perceptions were acute, his execution speedy. He had the regard of the young. the appreciation of the old, the confidence of his superiors. the support of his soldiers, the affections of all. He never sought a favor he had not earned. uor cultivated friendships to use them. In camp, in bivouac, in the field, his home was with his company. and at headquarters he was rarely seen, save as the bidden guest of welcome, or when summoned for a duty.
Consistent in hi- membership in a church of rigorous discipline, devoted
597
SPRING INSPECTIONS
1910
as a husband, dutiful as a father, honest, sincere, brave and truc, he led through all his length of years a life which gives the promise of a blissful and eternal peace.
On March 29. 1910, Brig .- Gen. Wendell P. Bowman was appointed major-general of the National Guard vice Maj .- Gen. John A. Wiley, retired, August 25, 1909, and assigned to the command of the division.
Col. William G. Price, Third Regiment Infantry, National Guard Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1910, was appointed a brigadier- general in the National Guard of Pennsylvania and assigned to the command of the First Brigade.
The introductory words of the governor's order publishing the official reports of the inspecting officers for the spring inspec- tions for 1910 were not of the same forceful commendation that characterized those of the previous year. They indicate that the troops needed rather to be cautioned than commended.
" These reports," said he, " contain timely observations and suggestions of importance, and should be carefully read and studied by every officer. It is evident that more attention should be given to instructions in gnard duty and to increasing the effi- ciency of non-commissioned officers."
Issued in compliance with General Orders Nos. 40 and 43, Current Series 1909, Adjutant-General's Office, Harrisburg, Gen- eral Order No. 2, January 22, 1910, Headquarters First Regi- ment Infantry, announced the spring inspections by companies to be conducted at the armory through the month of March by Maj. Thomas Biddle Ellis, Sixth Infantry, National Guard Penn- sylvania, acting brigade inspector. with Captain Archibald A. Cabaniss. Twenty-fourth United States Infantry, as the repre- sentative of the War Department.
In the First Regiment each of the twelve companies received a rating of 100 in " condition of arms " and " condition of cloth- ing." Each company except A and G-their percentages respec- tively 89.47 and 83.68-scenred a "percentage of attendance " of 100. Company C had the highest "general average," 96. and the highest " figure of efficiency," 97.20, with discipline at 07. guard duty at SS. Company B was second with a general average of 95.87, and figure of effi- cieney of 97.10, discipline 96, guard duty SS. Of the other
598
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
1910
companies, Company A's general average was 93.75, figure of etfi- cieney 92.46, discipline 95, guard duty 86; Company D, general average 94.37, figure of efficiency 96.05, discipline 96. guard duty 80; Company E, general average 94.87, figure of efficiency 96.40, discipline 96, guard duty 90; Company F. general average 93, figure of efficiency 95.10, discipline 95, guard duty $5; Com- pany G, general average 92.37, figure of efficiency 89.37. discipline 94, guard duty 80; Company II, general average 93.25. figure of efficiency 95.27, discipline 95, guard duty SS ; Company I. general average 94.57, figure of efficiency 96.40, discipline 97, guard duty $5; Company K, general average 94, figure of efficiency 95.80. discipline 95 (the highest), guard duty SO; Company L, general average 95, figure of efficiency 96.50, discipline 96. guard duty S5; Company MI, general average 94.37, figure of efficiency 96.05. discipline 95, guard duty S5.
In the tabulated statement of ratings and averages of the regi- ment " special mention is made of the condition of the arms of this regiment," and in the text of his report Major Ellis said : " The rifles in general were found to be in good serviceable condi- tion. Those of the First Infantry evidenced especial care and are worthy of special mention."
That Major Ellis has not been chary in uncovering deficiencies, the following sentences are a typical illustration : " The foregoing are but a few of the movements exemplificd and the defects therein noted. They suffice to show the result of deficiency in elementary training, combined with a lack of attendance at drill. Radical measures should be adopted to cure both shortcomings." Yet of the better results his general conclusions are by no means discouraging: " As a whole, the companies inspected, with but two or three exceptions, occasioned by a temporary deterioration inci- dental to reconstruction, were found in good condition. though there is marked opportunity for improvement. especially if the high plane to which our citizen soldiers aspire and are capable of attaining is to be reached."
Major Ellis' entire report is a notable example of the well- grounded knowledge, thoroughness of detail, and clarity of expres- sion that pervaded the entire Bureau of Inspection of the Penn- sylvania National Guard. Though on detached duty-he was of lengthy service and wide experience-what he says of the officer
1910
599
FORTY-NINTH ANNIVERSARY
whose place he temporarily filled is confirmatory of this deduc- tion : " Throughout the entire tour of inspection the excellent, earnest, and untiring work performed in the past by Maj. Charles II. Worman, inspector of the First Brigade, was constantly apparent."
Captain William H. Hey resigned his captainey of Company F in September. 1909, and on the 4th of April, 1910, his first lieutenant, Charles A. Bhunhardt, Jr., was elected to succeed him. Captain Blumhardt was private, Company F, First Regiment Infantry, May 6, 1899: appointed hospital steward, First Regi- ment, July 14, 1899; discharged, December, 1599; private, Com- pany F, First Regiment Infantry, February 5, 1900; corporal, October 6, 1902; second lieutenant, April 20, 1903; first lieu- tenant, December 17, 1906. In the Spanish-American War he was private, Company F. First Regiment Infantry, Pennsylvania Volunteers, June 14, 1893; transferred to Hospital Corps, Second Division, First Army Corps, August 14, 1898; mustered out, November 21, 1898.
The regiment in compliance with the provisions of Regimental General Order No. 6. of April 4, 1910, and the Veteran Corps pursuant to its general order of concurrent date, were jointly paraded on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 19, 1910, in com- memoration of the regiment's forty-ninth anniversary. Col. J. Lewis Good was in command of the regiment, and the battalions were respectively commanded as follows: the first, composed of Companies K. E, A. and I, by Maj. George B. Zane, Jr .; the second, Companies M, L, D, and B, by Maj. Charles P. Hunt; and the third. Companies C, G, F, and H. by Maj. George A. Scattergood. The Veteran Corps, under command of Col. Theo. E. Wiedersheim, was in its usual place on the right of the column.
A heavy storm struck the column at Broad and Arch Streets, and from thence on over the following route it " braved a pelting rain ": to Locust. to Sixteenth, to Chestnut, to Tenth, to Walnut, to Broad, and the armory.
The column was reviewed at the Union League by Maj .- Gen. Wendell P. Bowman. The regiment has the pleasing romem- brance of having afforded its old commander the opportunity of performing his first publie official duty under his then quite recent well-deserved promotion.
600
1910
HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, N. G. P.
Maj .- Gen. Charles B. Dick, commanding the National Guard of, and United States Senator from the State of Ohio, the con- spicuous figure of the anniversary, it was expected would partici- pate in this review; but, unexpectedly detained, he did not reach the city until evening. His speech at the Veteran Corps' anniver- sary banquet at the Union League, famous as a learned and elo- quent disquisition on the National Guard of the country, will ever occupy a prominent place in the archives of the Corps.
Accompanied by the Veteran Corps, and with Maj .- Gen. Wen- dell P. Bowman and his staff participating, the regiment in full- dress uniform attended its annual memorial service on the after- noon of Sunday, May 15, 1910, at Holy Trinity Church, the ser- vices being conducted by and under the auspices of the Rev. Floyd W. Tomkins, D.D., its rector and the regimental chaplain.
General Order No. S, of July 30, 1910, from regimental head- quarters, issued pursuant to general orders from headquarters of the National Guard, supplemented at division headquarters by permission to construct the camp as brigade commanders might prescibe, and at First Brigade headquarters with directions that construction must await arrival, announced the annual tour of camp duty of the division, with Gettysburg as the place and August 11 to August 20, 1910, as the time. In this regimental general order there was set forth this new and significant feature : " No details of any character will be sent to camp nor will issue of any description be made until arrival in camp. The regiment will erect its own camp and the company commandants and chief musician will see that their men are fully instructed in the proper methods of erecting the canvas."
In honor of that distinguished Pennsylvania soldier, a former division commander of the National Guard recently deceased, the encampment was named " Camp J. P. S. Gobin."
The movement by rail-troop trains given precedence-of the First Brigade from Philadelphia on the night of Friday, August 12, was without incident, save that the quick work of the trainmen on the train on board of which was the First Regiment prevented a serious accident when a broken coupling in the middle of its long line of day coaches cut loose a number of cars and left them for the moment helpless. Though moving rapidly, prompt action brought a speedy halt, recoupled the cars, and the journey
.
1910
CAMP J. P. S. GOBIN
601
was resumed. Good time was made in entraining and getting away, as it was in detraining and marching to the grounds allotted for the regimental camp, where ere the first streak of dawn the troops were hard at work erecting their tents, and where in gener- ous rivalry each regiment, while striving to do its work well, sought to surpass its fellows in doing it quickly. The Second was reported to be the first regiment to have its canvas up, and the First quickly followed.
Maj .- Gen. Wendell P. Bowman was in command of the camp, Brig .- Gen. William G. Price, of the First Brigade, and Col. J. Lewis Good, of the First Regiment. The grounds occupied, be- tween the Emmettsburg Road and Confederate Avenue, were in the same general locality as those in use in 1908.
The prescribed observances-guard mount, morning inspec- tion, religious services, evening parade, with slight innovations, permitted to pass without comment in preparation for the annual inspections, announced for Monday-covered the fourteenth, the only Sunday included in the time fixed for the encampment.
The annual inspection of the First Brigade was held on the parade-ground in front of division headquarters on Monday, August 15. The inspections began with the Second Regiment at seven o'clock in the morning, followed three hours later by the First, with the Third still later on in the afternoon. Field exercises were the order of the day, and the only other ceremony to interfere with the execution of this onerous schedule was the most creditable and impressive review by the governor and com- mander-in-chief on Wednesday, August 17. A rain when the camp was a few days old levelled a choking dust that had accumulated on the roadways to the depth of several inches.
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.