Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-02-05
STRUCK By LIGHTNING.
What Happened to a Battalion at
West Point.

I was once struck by lightning, and
yet am alive to tell the tale, says Captain
King in the Philadelphia Press. 1t was
late in May, 1865, warm, beautiful,
sunshiny afternoon, and when the drum
beat for battalion drill. in front of the
old gray barracks at West Point. The
long ranks of gray uniforms. with their
glistening brasses, the white cross belts,
and the Furnished steel of the rifle bar
rels that we used in those days, stood
motionless as statues, while our soldierly
Adjutant, Harry Hall, of Ohio, marched
out with a quick, nervous step, then
rung out the command that brought us
with simultaneous clash of steel to the
present to our commander.
The sun was peeping under the visor
OF my shake. remember, as we faced
westward the first time, but the next
thing knew, as we were moving brisk
ly about from one position to another,
changing front on the flank company,
playing into close column, forming
square or column against cavalry" as
the tactics of the old war days provided,
it seemed to be suddenly growing
darker.
The sun was still shining, but dense,
black clouds were gathering overhead,
and far up the gorge of the Hudson to-
ward Newburg the rain seemed pouring
in torrents. We couldn't see what was
going on overhead, because, being in
ranks. it was our business to keep our
eyes straight to the front, but l couldn't
help noting that once or twice our
Colonel glanced inquiringly aloft az
though estimating whether sudden
shower was about to fall or not. Some
of the visitors evidently thought one
was, and began to seek shelter, but we
went right on.
And now, to explain what follows, let
me give you leaf from the tactics Two
adjoining companies constitute a division
on battalion drill. and the most compact
formation in which regiment can be
massed on given ground is ''close column
by division" Then the four or five di-
visions are placed one exactly behind the
other, and so close together that the
guides on each flank are but SIX yards
apart.
For this was how we were standing
just about o'clock on this warm, moist
May afternoon. We had just formed
''close columns by division" Each
Cadet Captain, after aligning his divi-.
sion, had ordered support arms and
there stood the battalion of cadets with
200 steel-tipped glistening tubes resting
on their left forearms, and in as compact
mass as you could get them, pointing
straight up into a dense black thunder
cloud right overhead.
1t was too much for Jupiter Tonans.
There was a crash like 100 twelve
Founders going off at once, binding,
dazzling CLEAN of intense blue light, in
the midst of hich l saw the Colonel's
great black horse fall to his knees / felt
sudden jar along my arm. The whole
battalion seemed to culver and shake
Two cadets Tell fiat on their faces, half
dozen staggered on: of ranks, dropping
their rifles and grabbing their left arms
Just where the hammer had rested, and
comforting their faces with odd expires.
sions of shock and pain.
Tall Bill Butler, of Kentucky, our col
orbearer, reeled to and fro an instant,
the sllken colors and silver tipped lance
swaying downward, but he rallied, raised
them pie ckily aloft aud, in another in
slant, except the three or four, too badly
stunned to pick up their guns, and the
two who had been knocked fiat, every
man was ready in his place; every rifle
at the support Except the guides every
eye to the front, and, true to its splendid
discipline, there stood the battalion OF
cadets. 1t had been struck by lightning
and never f1inched.
Now any one, or any two, or three, OF
four, out there at that time, would have
had the full force of the belt and been
knocked dead, but the electric fluid had
been distributed over some 220 points,
you see, and thus weakened. Many
fellow had sore left arm for day or
two, and all of us, fancy, looked lit.
tie white around the gillsn for a mo.
ment, and 1t took considerable coaxing
to bring to" the fellows who were fat
tened out, bus IN five minutes the drill
was going on as though at West Point 1t
was N everyday occurrence to be struck
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