Evening star., 1897-03-04
THE SEVENTEENTH INFANTRY.
a Full Rrgimcnt of Regulars March
in the Line.

4 Full Regiment of Regulars March
in the Line.
The only fun regiment Of regulars in l're
tod3v was IN" 18th Infantry. Major + ~
Tracy commanding. This is one of tle
younger organizations OF the army. havt
come III existence in May. lsG1. when
number of regiments were added 10 The
military establishment by proclamation OF
President Lincoln 1t differed from Tie
elder regiments of infantry in that II haa
three battaiions of eight companies each
with one major. one adjutant. one quarter
master etc. with provision for rel
rental stryednt-mainr. CoT1rnissary ser
geant or hospital steward lis earliest fei'i
officers incsuGei Ca:pre!s Helntz' mar
Greene, Doubleday. Wood and Andrews l.
revsr had lis full complement OF nNctfS
until after ;ha reuCgdE-zd ION ot lN"'. FHf'
prehle Na-Ie. was The original heaG. mar
ter- of the regiment. anI recruits Ior II
were obtained in Maine and New Hamp-
shire The Trent affair caused Great
Britain 70 send several hHttstiioHs 10 Cai-
ada in 1S'il-2. Many 0S the men deserted
and Nec2rat non-com-nissionei officers u
the 18th aiding materially l. its cT-l2lza-
tion and discipline. ''Poppenberg : Ian"
OF EuffHiC WAS enlisted as an ORGANIZATION
and became the 1Tth Infantry Band. Dur
ina. ISs:-I.fi4 il was stationed al tieHs':;t4
HcintzelnlaH's headquarters in Washington.
AMI played al the White House. alternating
Win yhe Marine Band. with WniHh Ii Was
favoTabiy compared
nv March l. is4Tl 1--WE companies were or
gaaizef They left Fort Prehic under corr
maHd Of Mai Andrews and Joined sykes
TeEuiar brigade near Arlington lte-ghtS-
A few days afterNard cOmpdhles Is ana ID
were made part oil the prtvO-t guard at
Con McfIeIlIr.s headquarters Tor seye al
months. The regiment went Up th. Il 4
iESUia'' in 1N:3. and participated In the
.seIse Of Yorktown. and several of the com
pau!es were present al Gaines Mill and
Malvern Hill. After Withdrawing from tie
Peninsula. the entire battalion WAS en-
gdEed al Bail Run. Antietam. Shepherds
town and f'r-dc-ickSburC- In this last
named battle tncir position tryi. g
one. For ore entire day the men lay fiat
their faces eighty yards IN front of the
famous stove wal. behind which the
eremy posted IN large numbers. and
any motion q, tEsIr part w2s sure 10 draw
the fire Of H. F'.hel sharr@h00ters The
regiment afterward was deI.loye1 skir-
miShers and opened the hattie o< ChanceI-
lorsyille \ detachment Of the regiment
was sent after the vessels Caleb Gushing
and Arcfsf:whch rad fallen into the
hands of the rebels in Portland harbor. and
succeeded in recapturing the Archer with
twenty-five prisoners.
Reaching Gettysburg after a forced
march de- RI rffre-wflich many of the men sue
cumbed to the heat, the regiment engaged
In the fierce fight in DEVILS Glen, with
heavy loss in killed and wounded. In 1852
the iTtk was detached from the Army of
In New York city. during which time il
was active in suppressing the draft riots
In the faf Of that year the regiment re-
turned To the old dominion and had more
hard fighting to do. II took part in the
Wilderness campaign. the operations before
Petersburg and at SpOttSylvdnia Court
House BY October. 1864. tha regiment had
become so reduced In numbers that ii was
Withdraw from the field and stationed at
Fort Lafayette. New York harbOr. In the
number of officers killed the 18th was ex-
ceeded by no other regiment. and equaled
by only the ist Cavalry ard the 18th In
fantry. both larger organizations. Gen
Helatzeirldn joined in October. 1SE. thus
giving the regiment, for the first time. its
colonel present for duty.
After service in Michigan. Kansas and
Missouri. the regiment sent TO Texas.
where it first suffered severely from ;he
cholera, and then from yellow fever. while
engaged in what was known recon
strIction duty" return was made to
Virginia in 1853. and three companies OF
the 18th We're broken up. and what Ie-
mained Of the 4ith Infantry took their
places.
In consequence of the Sioux troubles In
1910. the regiment was transferred to Da-
kota and began long tour OF service. last
ing over sixteen years-a longer period
with single exception. than any regiment
has served continuously in one lie epartmen
since the war The labor and nardships OF
those days are not now required Of troops.
Posts were built and repaired. wood and
hay provided. mails carried and roads kept
in repair-all by the work OF soldiers. In
the winter communication with the outer
world was cut off during he first years the
paymaster did not visit the post oftener
than once in four months, and some
times SIX months. and IL was consid-
cred fortunate IL The mails averaged cncs
month The coldeSt weather recorded
was sixty-one degrees below zero at For;
Pembina, and the entries in the returns
were frequently frozen to death or kill
ed by Indians" Of the thirty-iye officers
WhQ he gtb
ment but eight remained leave with il
and of the original enlisted men only seven
Detachments Of the regiment formed part
OF the Yellowstone expeditions under Cen
eral Stanley IN ISL and 1873 and had fire.
quent engagements with Indians on those
occasions. and subsequently Company G
Joined the Black Hills expedition. under
tIeneTal custer and marched 12J miles
This company and Company - We're with
General Terry in the Big Horn g, peditfor
against the Sioux in 1876 and Companies
and III were with General Terry a,
Standing Rock and at CHEYENNE Com
panies E and F assisting IN the disarminl
OF the Indians at the former place an(
Companies I and X assisting at the latter
In June 1881. Company II escorted Sittin.
Bull and his band Of iIS warriors from
Standing Rock 10 Fort Randall for con
fnement- In 1856 the regiment vas trans
ferred to the Department of the Platte
and has since rendered efficient but com
paratively uneventfuI service In Utah. Ne
braska AMI South Dakota In December
1880. the regiment left Fort ID. A Russell
FOR South Dakota to tax. part in the cam
paisn against the hostile Sioux The,
marched through the Black Hills cCLntr!
and finally concentrated At Pine Ridg
agency. The Indians were subdued with
out Dloodshed. Recently the regiment wa
transferred 10 Columbus barracks. Ohio
and 1t was from there that h came I
Washington Colonel John S. Poland VIII
assumed command OF the 18th In August
1881. commanded the first brigade of tn
frst division In tojay's parade.
THE MARINE CORPS.