New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-05-03
The object of the scape, beside be-


nc very striking uniform 10 10 protect the clothes
tom oil which nav drop from the torches Goa.
voud be EXPENSIVE and the cape was adopted for the
rank and file On account Of it's cheapnsss The torchss
are made Of tin and will hold about quart each Tney
srs hung in rngIke ships compass and will swing
in every direction and by adapting themselves 10 the
motion of tie carrier, are always upright The sticks
are about FIVE feet long and inch and half in d.
smeter The officers of the Company wear glazed has
Of caps and instead OF torches they carry col
ored lanterps-tbe captain red lantern and the lieu
tenants green or blue. Whole of uniform and torch
e. IS.
The men are regularly drilled in marching, and are
ss strictly under arms any military company. In
this lies the great beauty and efficiency of the organic
alton. The regularity of their movements in torch
light procession ELECTS the warmest admiration from all
who zee them; and their obedience 70 the word Of
command and their strict discipline render them of
great service in escort duty and in their attendance
upon ont ofdoor meetings. The rules of marching
rs strictly enforced with the Wide-Awakes as In the
9TH Regiment and cigar smoking talking leaving the
ranks, and oher irregularities, are no more allowed in
the one than in the other corps.
The organization lie extremely popular in Hartford.
The young and older also enrolling them
selves as members and at their last parade they turned
out over 400 strong. The Waterbury Company have
improved upon the Hartford Company in their uniform.
They have their capes trimmed with facing of white
cloth or leather which relieves the sod black Of the
enameled cloth, and gives the dress lighter and more
military appearance Their torches slso got up 10
| little better style
The origin of the Wide-Agskes as nearly as we
can trace it, is this: In the torchght procession which
escorted Casus NJ. Clay 10 his quarters after his
| speech in Hartford on the evening of February
| q. and which marched through the streets
| after that duty, were two yourg men named
d. G.. Francis and II. p. Blair, who wore
| black cambria capss TO protect themselves from
the oil which experience had Taught them would occa
sionalIy drip from the torches. Mr.. G. p Bssel, the
marshal of the procession noticed the uniform, and
comphmented them upon it, and at the suggestion of
Mr. ii. G. Beckwith be had them put at the head Of
the proc essioD and gave of them fine swinging
torch which he Mr. Bissell had had made for his
use II was the subject of very general remark that
the car e. were grand ides and the next day it
| proposed among the young men to get up company
Of fifty and to adopt uniform, glazed capes and
caps and 10 carry torches ike the made for Mr..
Bissel Mr.. S. Is. Ives and Mr. Ii. j. Hitchcock took
| active steps and meeting called This meeting
was held in the room Of Mr. Allen Francis over the
| City Bank, q company WAS organized, and j. 5.
Chalker, esq, was chosen captain. Six ilsutenants
| were also chosen The name Wide-A wake was sug-
gesed by paragraph in The Daily Courdat of March
| g. written BY the assistant editor, Mr.. VIM r. Fuller.
II wac proposed TO the company by Mr. ii. L. Hitch
coei end 1T adopted just e Of all others.
After the organization the ranks filed up rapidly,
and when on the 18th Of March they went 70 Water
bury, they marched to the one hundred strong.
We have not room 10 give in this article accoun.
of what ths company has done daring the campaign.
We can only state in brief that they drove of crowd
OF rowdies who wers determined 70 break op a
meeting in Waterbury; they have protected meetings,
proeefsora ard speakers in Hartford, and election
day they stationed fifty men st each Of tbs voting
places in Hartford and did noble service In thalsng
ing sending for voters, suppres1Dg rowdysa and a.
temps to browbcat those who had recently left ne
Loco -Foco party.
| The second company was formed a. Waterbury, and
| then New Britain, New Haven, and other towns
| quickly followed. The Shami terribly s'dOyed
| by this Wide-Awake movement. Tas.s Papers try IN
| every way 20 throw Iidicule upon them by calling
/ them "iDfsnt politicians" &c The Hqrfori Tines,
Just before election, was ed with abuse aud vile
slaLders about the company and il was evident from
the bitterness of that oodandgall sheet that
| the Wide Awake movement was carrying consserna-
ton into the ranks Of the Seymour men. They could
endure any thing and everything which the ENTHUSIASM
Of the Republicans prompted them TO do except the
getting up Of the Wide.A wakes That form Of onihu
eiasm, drawing in as did very many OF their young
men, was absolutely agonizing TO them, and they ex-
| claimed Take any shape but that y