The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-11-24
THE MAINE MILITIA.
An Experts Commentator and
Criticism.
The Strong and Weak Points OF Our
Regiments.

follows:
/ arrived at Bangor Tuesday evening June
20, and reported at once to Brigadier General
John Marshall Brown, commanding State
troops by whom / was most courteously re-
eeived. walked out with General Brown and
saw the parade of the second regiment, Colonel
Henry L. Mitchell. was very much struck
with the size and physical condition of the
men. Tall, straight, stalwart and broad
shouldered, they far surpassed anything had
seen in the way Of State militia. The line was
fairly formed. the manual was rather slow, and
the time irregular, due to the very large
number Of recruits, fully one third
Of the line being men who were
The command was encamped upon the State
fair ground, consisting Of an enclosed space of
about thirteen acres Of rather rough ground,
on which was laid out well graded mile track
and the space enclosed by the track was also
well graded. while the space outside consisted
Of quite irregular and broken ground. The
soil was chalky clay which when stirred up
produced clouds of dust, which oecasioned
great annoyance. II was not at all a favorable
location for camp, crowded with fences,
buildings, stables. stands. &c. 1t was furnished,
however, with an abundance Of excellent water,
and was high and cool.
u
large building, having a steam cooking de-
partment provided with two boilers of sixty
gallons capacity each for coffee. four for water
one steamer for potatoes, capacity 3 barrels
one fat receiver, one steamer for fresh and one
vessel for corned beef. | examined and tested
everything that went on the table, and found
the breadexcellent; the potatoes thoroughly
cooked and Of good quality the coffee very fair
although rather weak; the meat thoroughly
cooked and containing much more Of the Juice
and flavor than boiled meat but not seasoned
enough, and very insipid as compared with
roast or boiled meat. l questioned the men
and found that there was no stint in anything.
They complained Of the weakness Of the coffee
the first two days, but said il improved after
that. found all the company officers mess
ing in the same building and on exactly the
same fare as the men, except the officers Of
Company ID Norway Light Infantry, who
ran a company mess.
The tents were serviceable, generally well
pitched and hoored. although some floors were
loosely and badly laid.
The police was only fair; good many floors
showed abuse, stains Of tobacco Juice, oil, &C.;
there were too many cans and sardine boxes
laid around; although it is only justice to say
that being upon fair ground, used for all
sorts OF purposes, the command was probably
task Of cleaning was made correspondingly
laborious.
DRILLS AND CEREMONIES.
At guard mounting the observer was struck
at once with the unusually fine physical con-
dition Of the men and also with the fact that
there was a large percentage of absolutely raw
recruits. The second guard mount was at
tended with great deal Of difficulty in get
ting off fours, the sergeant major being obliged
to count off in whole numbers. and finally in
platoons Of eight; officers of the guard were
slow in finding their places and noncom-
missioned Offices showed great hesitation. The
men were unsteady during inspection, the
manual Of inspection was bad and open boxes
irregular; parade rest and attention very fair.
The wheels were very good except for the
failure of the pivots TO stand fast; passages
and salutes very fair. This gives fair sample
Of the guard mounts until the last morning
when there was a remarkable Improvement in
all respects except the pivots.
The dress parades were very fair in the I'd
regiment and very good indeed in the LIST in
the I'd the parade rest of the third and sixth
was notceably good. During the beat off the
drum major saluted in passing the CON-
manding ofiicer-a universal custom in Maine.
The men were admirably steady and attentive
during the beat off; occasionally the stock Of
iuuohCt NOhA0 DC tbAhtu tuc WNOuE way hl
parade rest. The command 'sattention" did
not seem to be well heard and was usually
obeyed irregularly; the present and carry
were always fair and during the last good.
The manual was only tolerable, irregular from
the large percentage Of recruits, and showing
a want of snap. The company officers showed
a very fair knowledge of their part Of the
ceremony, and the salutes Of the LIST sergeants
were admirably soldierly, except that in this
regiment they insisted in prefxing the word
"all" to "present or accounted for"
The parades of the lst regiment were con-
| spcuously good. There were some Jaws.
especially at first, such as LIST sergeants march
| ing on with unhxed bayonets and company
commanders giving support arms" before the
companies following them had got upon the
lines; but the excellence was very marked.
| The parade rest of the fifth, seventh and
eighth companies was excellent, the fifth
almost perfection. The manual was very
good, excellent at times and in many Of the
companies marked with precision and snap
that spoke very highly for the officers and the
men. The commands were admirably given
/ by Colonel Lynch, who is an exc lent drill
master, tactieian, and disciplinai N. The
officers line was admirably dressed and their
final advance and salute smart from he highest
professional standpoint. In both regiments
officers always omitted to unlock their scab-
bards in drawing or returning swords.
The company drills were marked by palms.
| taking ON the part of the officers and great
interest and evident desire to learn on the
part of the men. l was particularly
struck with the care and patience
bestowed upon rudimentary formations before
proceeding to other movements. l saw one
commander executing "front into line" in
quick time over aud over again until each four
Il l.kl.- ..ene ...l. -
line in good shape. The step was good, in
time and nearly Of tactical length. The weak
est points were loading and firing. due to the
officers want Of knowledge as to nice points.
The position Of the feet was often bad, and the
"ready" very irregular, muskets being at all
heights. The actual frings were better than
the drill. Company E, Montgomery Guards
of Portland. Captain John A. Gallagher. Isl
regiment, is probably one Of the best drilled
companies in the Eastern States, and gave an
exhibition drill which was really wonderful
Their wheels about in line and columns and
their obliques were superb; their friugs the
best have seen in my life. do not remember
ever having seen even an attempt in loading AT
will to have the muskels brought 70 a ready
together; but they have attained such accuracy
that you could not have told that the command
'ready" had not been given. Their left obliquo
aim and recover was apparently done by clock
work, and their firings, kneeling and lying.
beautiful.
The battalion drill showed, of course. the
large proportion of recruits; but it was a
noticeable fact, and one that speaks well for
the rank and file, that most OF the mistakes
were on the part Of the officers. The matter
of mark and guides was very negligently at
tended to in the I'd regiment. markers being
placed for ployments, guides often failing en-
tirely 10 come on the line. Distances in Close
columns were also taken very irregularly. In
breaking by companies from the right TO march
to the left all the companies but one wheeled
instead of turning. Double column was exc
cuted at close column distance instead Of COM
pany distance. and the same failure of pivotl
to stand fast as was noticed at guard mount
was shown.
/ would feel inclined to say that the mosl
important point in the drill for the militia is tt
make guides understand that for them the
command "march" in many cases, e. e., al
wheels from lineto column and vice versa
means halt.
The LIST regiment did not undertake so much
or go over so much ground, butdid better wha
they did attempt, although in the matter o
guides and markers they also showed grea
want of instruction. The men in both regi
ments did admirably considering their instrue