Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-22

attention u the District National Guard. To
many of the sp,, tators the affair was a revela-
ton; they had seen the gusri-men on parate
ard in the drill hsll but thew did not until yes
terdsy realize the thoroughly practical nature
of tbs military education which Conscientious
officers arc ondeavoring with conddefa-
bic success-to plant in the minds Of every
member Of the brigade. In the battle Of Brent
wood road the onlookers- there we're thousands
of thcm-saw all the most important formations
and moyemen t. which arc provided for m
the new drill regulations and began
90 understand that Gen ordway's brigade n
being trained for business only. The evident
fact appreciated. Wherever there were
spectators there could be heard comments
mostly scnsible-snd compliments. From this
! time forth there viii be fewer "toy soldier
gibes. for tie men have shown very clearly that
they are not in the National Guard for the fun
there NAV be in il. OF course there were mI--
takes Yesterday. Occasionally officer would
misunderstsnd order that clear ~
crystal and then. for a little while, there would
be departures from the program; interesting.
but from the military standpoint improper.
When an officer becomes unduly eN-
cited he cannot blame has men
for falling into the line of
error and when company has been worked mp
To the highest pitch II il not easily controlled
fire discipline Is the hardest Kind az discipiine
90 maintain; that continually evident ye--
terday. Men on the firing line become stub
bornly anxious 20 get In ne many shots as pcs
/ sible. and this heated anxiety breeds temporary
deafness and inviting disobedionce. OF the
few weaknesses which were seen at the battle of
brentwood Road this irresponsible firing
4 the worst Absolute control Of fire IL most
essential, and on that line officers have great
/ deal of work 20 do. This error. and several
Others. may. however be easily traced TO the
absence OF such large proportion
i a. tho from fha preliminary drills
which took place during the fret two DAYS ~
/ the week. The sbsentees OF those occasions
were In the ranks yesterday and most Of them
were lacking in knowledge on one or two essen-
tial points. That they we're 40 is not surprising.
for il must be remembered that until YESTERDAY
the District National Guard knew nothing q
field days. Congress. by parsimony. has done
everything in it's power TO confine the brigade
TO Its armories.
UNNATURAL DARING.
Some Of the mistakes made yesterday will not
be repeated. In actual service no battalion
would ever be called upon TO march, bolt up
, right, with battalion front. TO within 100 yards
OF two companies Of infantry that lying
down behind natural breastwork. IL such
movement should be made that would be the
last ever executed by that battalion. There
were one or two such bunders. Then there
were failures to retreat according 20
program. These NAV have aud did
perhaps. more realistic. but they caused At least
two of the four casualties-fortunately slight
which came to guardsmon during the day. The
Individual soldier erred considerably HIS
4 principal error WAS one that should never lie
repeated at any similar maneuvers which may
take place in the future. IL is expressly stated
on the blank ammunition boxes that the dis
charge is dangerous at TWENTY-FIVE wards. but
in spite OF that warning hundreds OF men dis
I charged their pieces at each other within
] ruepfV-fiNa feat Mpst ~ aimed s-ffhar
high or low or there would have been a weeks
work for the ambulance corps. But whether
/ the aim was low or high has nothing 20 do with
! the settled principle. that in mimic strife OPP
/ posing riiemen should not fire q shot in the
direction of each other at less distance than
/ thirty yards.
! WHAT PLEASED THE ARMY OFFICERS
There was fighting spirit in the men yester-
day that delighted the old soldiers who were
present Some Of the veterans were partici-
pants. some were merely spectators. but they
all enjoyed it. Officers Of the general staff in
terfered several times when things became too
warm: then the spell was broken and the men
! laughed at the enthusiasm which had carried
! them almost to an extreme.
At least five officers Of the regular establifh-
ment witnessed the entire engagement These
were Capt. John Miller (retired), Capt. Bur
bank, tenth infantry; Lieut.. Dwyer. twenty
1 first infantry; Lieut. Frank fucker, second
.
! The latter q volunteer aid on Gen. Ord
ways staff: he Is. like 80 many army officers. a
friend to the National Guard, and he showed IL
yesterday. He rendered a great deal of useful
service and once, when riding through the lines
at a racing gait, was heartily cheered by the
combatants. All the officers expressed them
selves as more than pleased with the maneuyers
and frequently conf limented Gen. ordway
/ the proficiency and spirit of his troops.
| The concluding scenes Of the battle were in
] rpnsplV dramatic The first rsgim.nf'. oh
on Col Clays position lacked only bullets 20
| be thoroughly realistic. Most people thought
! the fighting was all over when al the invading
forces on the hill surrendered. but really the
most spirited affair did not take place until
nearly hour later Col Clay cent CAPT
Forsberg and gatling and Lieut.. Col. NJ. 4.
Urel with company Of infantry TO hold the
road below the cemetery. Now. Capt. Barbour
and his cavalry troop we're waiting for some =
| the fleeing host to come out that way; SO IL was
decided by the invaders to keep them out
/ They did not do il. For once a cav
/ airy force too much for artillery.
/ The troop had previously distinguished its.,lf
/ by capturing a number of fugitives. IL was
/ loaded down with colors and arms taken from
defeated ones. In obedience 20 orders Capt
/ Barbour had taken up station beyond the GEM
e;ery so as TO shorten the invaders line Of re-
treat. Nobody succeeded in getting NJ far Us
that point and the captain found, when all the
other fighting was over, that he was cut OF
/ from the balance of the yictors by Col Ireu
and Capt Forsberg deadly combination. Lieut.
EIker, with two platoons, Was sent out TO STIR
I up the enemy's right and had sharp exchange.
! Lieut.. Ferguson, when the attention 81 the
enemy was thus distracted, moved down the road
with couple Of sets of fours. Fifty yards
behind him rode Capt. Barbour and the rest of
| the troop. Before the defenders Of the gun
knew what had happened they
rounded. Lieut. Eiker having charged effect
| lively on tue right flank. Ii a striking
scene and IL had something Of bloodshed in H.
for Trooper George Howe had powder blown
into his face by some one who ought not to
have fired. The injury was not at all serious,
but il was painful. A few scattering shots fol-
lowed the capture Of the gatling, a few en-
thusiasts yelled once more and the battle u
| Brentwood Road was over
GEN. oRDwAY SATISFIED.
'For a first attempt" said Gen ordway. 'it
was very successful affair. great deal u
valuable experience has been acquired am
well satisfied"
Col Theodore Mosher, the adjuiant general,
was also much pleased with the manner 10
which everything had been done. He had more
| than little TO do with making IL q success.
To make individual mention of those who
worked necessarily and pluckily would require
the publication Of a brigade roster; every man
did the best he knew how.
Capt. Couch and his company OF cyclists did
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