The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-21
Regulars Needed in Northern New
England.
To the Editor of the Press:

To the Editor of the Press:
There should be a military post in
| New Hampshire and another in Maine,
| as points for concentration in case of
war with Great Britain.
| The most important military points of
| Canada are right at our doors.
| Yet while there are five posts on the
New York frontier we have only one,
and that is not finished
When the civil war was over, the vast
armies of volunteers. hardened and
| disciplined by four long years of march
ing in mud, CT sleeping under the stars
of heaven, and of charging amid the
smoke and roar of battle, melted into
the pursuits of peace SO rapidly and
quietly that even to this day foreign
nations have not ceased TO wonder
Congress has al ways been prejudiced
| against standing army nd SO, out of
the million who were under arms in
"a, only $4,000 were retained, and later
even that number was cut down to 25,-
900; just half the size of the army of
Belgium.
But few, even of that handful, were
ever seen amid the populous states of
the East, for when our white foes had
laid down their arms, the spirit of
adventure engendered by the war
prompted men to take their all and seek
their fortune in the unknown country
to the west of the Missouri and nearly
every company of regular infantry aud
Cavalry had to be hurried on ahead of
them to protect settlers in their new
homes or travellers on the great over
rand routes, from the cruel and PREACHER
Gus savages who infested prairie and
mountain.
There for years the troops were practi-
cally buried in the wilderness. But
now the situation is rapidly changing.
The Indian question is practically set
tied. The railroad, telegraph and adj
vancing population have made it next
to impossible that another great out
break should occur, and even if it did.
half of the army could be rushed to the
scene in few days.
With realizing sense of the great ex-
pense and other disadvantages of keep
ing the troops at the many little frontier
posts which We're once SO useful, but
which are now no longer needed, the
War Department is concentrating them
at larger ones as last as the necessary
accommodations can be provided No
less than so small posts. all situated
west of the Missouri river, have been
Oh <f,o1 To- 81
During the same time 8 posts, each ac-
commodating full regiment, have been
finished or commenced, and as many
more have been enlarged to the same
size. With the exception of two or
three at the large interior cities, these
new posts are located along our Cana
dian or Mexican borders, at the points
where troops would naturally be con-
centrated for an invasion in case war
should be declared. The following list
gives the location of the posts now ex-
listing along our northern border east of
the Mississippi, with the garrison of
each: Chicago, companies of Infantry,
troops of Cavalry, and l battery of
light Artillery. Mackinaw City, Mich,
com pany of Infantry. Buffalo, COM
panies of Infantry. At the mouth of
the Niagara River. 2 companies of
Infantry. Oswego, / company of In
fantry. Sacketts' Harbor N, Y, 6 COM
panies of Infantry. Plattsburg, N Y, 1
company of Infantry. Of the posts
mentioned above, those at Chicago, the
mouth of the Niagara, Sackett's Harbor
and Pls ttsburg are being enlarged,
while at Essex Junction, Vermont,a new
post to be called Fort Ethan Allen, is
nearing completion, and it is expected
that next fall garrison of troops will
be sent there. 1t thus appears that
while New York has five frontier posts
already garrsoned. and three of them
being enlarged, our New England border
has but one, and that not finished. This
is in spite of the fact that the border is
600 miles long; has untold wealth
south of it; while north and east, in
Halifax, Quebec and Montreal, are the
most important military points in all