Morning journal and courier., 1884-02-13

and curved sword completed their equip ment. Still among these seven companies were individuals who had complete uniforms of blue, cuffsd faced and Tapped with red and where they appeared in such they were exempted from the poll tax placed upon al voters, which was, we think, two dollars pel annum. Among the priVates of these com panies were yet others who had only parts oi uniforms, heirlooms of the Revolutionary war or that of the war of 1872 These they would bring out and wear. Sometimes il
 was 8 military cap, sometimes a military coat only, but 1t made no difference. It was mill tary as far as it went, and that was better than nothing.
 These ''melish companies" as they were popularly called, presented farcical appear ance with their odd mixture of costumes anG strutting officers filled with their sense of authority. A strutting captain with back following and abdomen protruding, and he often raw country gawkey who had never been fifty miles from his own COW pasture, was often prominent feature on parade. Every company had it's color bearer, its ensign, who bore the State flag with its
 beautiful insignia and motto ''Qui transtulit sustinet" i. @. ''He who transplanted still sustains;" and when the boys looked up and saw that waving they felt like exclaiming, ''Old Connecticut forever" No discipline nor pride of discipline existed among these companies, and as they marched through the streets, drums beating, flies squeaking, colors flying, officers strutting and to the
 tunes often of Yankee Doodle" Betsy Baker" or 'sThe Girl Left Behind Me" the whole thing looked indeed, as it was, bur lesque on war. Opprobious epithets were applied to these companies as the flood wood, |" "bad-smelling..me :" ''tag-rag and
 bob tail etc, /" and they marched the small boys grinned while the marchers themselves grinned also looking upon the day as a re- frf m fnI If fT7v1 md frolic. These training days were educating to the people. They brought all classes to gether and they learned more of each other of individual peculiarities and general traits in those few days than they ever would have learned in any other manner. In this point of view the abolition of that old militia sys- tenn has been a social injury and herein we have no substitute. To each regiment was attached two flank companies and a rifle company. These were disciplined and uni formed. The regiment of this region was the Second regiment, second brigade. Its colonel was Dennis Kimberly, surgeon, Sam
 uel Punderson, and quarter-master's sergeant, filling Brown. It was formed from compa
 nies from New Haven, East Haven, Milford, Derby and the Society of Amity in Wood
 bridge. It's flank companies were the New Haven Grays, George J. Whiting, captain Phillip $. Galpin and Charles NichoIl, lieu tenants Milford Grenadiers, William Platt, captain Theophilus Smith and Curtis Sum- mers, lieutenants; Derby Rifles, AIpheus Clarke, captain, Samuel Potter and Alllon Clarke, lieutenants.
 The uniform of the New Haven Gra5s was of course gray. Originally the name was the t'Iron Grays," and we think the color first adopted was a very dark gray.
 That of the Derby Rifles was green and that of the Milford Grenadiers a bright scarlet
 This company also wore tall conical caps
 
 burnt farmers presented warlike, hardy ap- pearance. It is said there is not preserved in Milford single specimen of this very striking and handsome uniform. Betw them and the Grays a bitter spirit of rivalry existed as to which should have the post of honor, the right of the regiment. It was town against country, which On several occa- sions came near producing bloodshed. The cavalry and artillery regiments of the State V ere uniformed. There were four regiments ! of cavalry consisting of four companies each or ''troops," hence the expression ''troopers'' as applied to horse soldiers. The nearest of the cavalry companies attached to regiment to us was one at North Haven; their uniform
 was scarlet.
 In the State was brigade of artillery con- sisting of two regiments of light artillery, three battaIions of four compapies to each regiment, and three regiments of horse ar tillery, each regiment consisting of two bat talions and each battalion of two companies The 7th company, 1st regiment of light artillery, belonged to New Haven. Charles Hequembourg was captain, Egbert D. Peck
 Joshua Bennett, Wyllis Peck and Henry Peck, lieutenants. This company paraded
 with swords, as indeed did all the artillery of the State, and dressed in blue. In the prog ress of years feeling that parading with swords, which the boys in unhands )me phrase called cheese-knives, rendered them less an object of admiration than the infantry companies who bore muskets. they adopted carbines and took the name of National Blues" About the year 1925 entire ar tillery regiment of 12 companies assembled on the Green and with drawn swords and some twenty or thirty pieces of artillery in line and banners flying and drums beating marched the streets being hand somely uni formed they made grand display. There must have been from 800 to 1000 "cheese knives" in line beside the artillery.
 At the period of the war of 1872 the artil- lery of the State was not divided into regi ments, only into companies, one of each be- ing attached to an infantry regiment. The word artillery" was not used then to desig- nate an artillery company. The designation used was 'tmatross company" matross being then synonymous with cannonier. Tne word matross is now obsolete.
 Aside from the infantry, cavalry and tillery there was then as now all independent organization, the Governors Guards under the immediate command of the Governor and only compelled to appear on the parade day of the Governors election. This consisted of foot and horse company at Hartford and the same at New Haven. The uniform of the foot company here was similar to that of the present Hartford Foot Guard The Horse Guards were clad in blue and buff with heavy caps of the old style. The officers of t @ Foot Guards were Bella T. Peck, major. XViIlion1 w RaQr6n1an Eli 1T Dickerman, ieutenants, and Rodney Bur ton, ensign. The officers of the Horse Guards were Henry Huggins, major, William Forbas and Joshua Barnes, ,lieutenants, and William K, Townsend. eornet or trumpeter
 His Exoellency Oliver Wolcett, Governor was captain general and commander in chief His Honor Lieutenant Governor Jonathan Ingersoll, lieutenant general, His aids, Majors Roger S. Baldwin and Charles A. lngersoN- The total number of military companies, foot horse and artillery. wes ex- actly 300. The uniform companies were limited to 64 men each Some of the militia companies, as those were called which were not in uniform, sometimes had more than 100 privates.
 We here close these dry details and round out the chapter with remiuiscence. About the year 1880 our downtown militia compa- ny elected as matter of sport for their cap tain an Irish hostler and family serving man to boarding school of smiling young pisses Mike was greatly elated at the honor and on the first parade day appeared to take charge of his company in a magnificent new uniform, and at cost of months of his sav- ngs from waiting at table and eurrying and rubbing down horses, The starch was taken put of hipa almost in a twinkling. They worried the poor fellow so by their practical okes that he was forced to resign, It was said that one of their feats was to run him | off the Green and up the Tontine steps under | , charge of bayonets. The company elected | IS his successor their foremost man in pranks 4pon poor Mike expecting to have an easy ime- Never were 100 men more badly | 'sold," for that was the measure of his com oany. They had caught Tartar. He al owed no rollicking and put them under such severe course of needed discipline, gave