The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-03-15
II STATE GUARD
Reserves for the Federal Army-CHn he Or-
dersd to Any Portion Of the Globe by the
PRESIDENT strength of the Guards In
Inis State aud h 10 Needed to Fully
Equip Them for Service in the Field
Especial Correspondence.)
Raleigh, y. c.. March /

10 StAli III 4SS0 c-AA<S tnA
years 1sS1-65. The national guard
now, under the changed order OF
Things. is the first reserve, coming next
after ne regular army. So the guard
IN North Carolina. in the event OF a
call for troops, would be modified as
1t stands. Il is therefore Of paculiar
interest . take a look al the force. Ey-
cry day for a fortnight or more the
ordlna-y citizen has been heard u say:
l nope | Will not be drafted" No
greater evidence Of ignorance could be
presented. A war under present con-
dltlons is a volunteer war, without the
rlSorS OF the draft or the conservation
or the horrors of Nassau bacon" and
worse still, nothing at all. for Your
CncIe sam Is backing things now.
There are four infantry regiments
now in the guard in this state, a sec
tlon OF artillery, five divisions Of naval
reserves, and a colored The
total strength December 81, 1897, was
l.'ol officers and men. The four regi-
ments are now 'skeletons'-that is.
nave only two battalions Of four COM
panies each, whereas they should have
three battaliOnS, or twelve companie
of n~inety-Six men each.
The roster is as follows: First ragi-
III NOlOlltI w. ID. 1SOuIlld1. OF WASH
lngtOn, Linetenant Colonel w. T.
Hughes: majors. Alfred Williams. Jr..
and 5. S. Meadows; Captains, Company
A. TarbOro, John w. Gotten; Company
B., Scotland Neck, Claude Kitchin;
Company c, Raleigh, A. J. Crawford:
Company D. GOldsboro, T. H. Balm:
Company E, Plymouth. J. f. Ried;
Company F, Hartford, Thomas G. Skin
er; Company CT, Washington. F. c.
Madison: Company H, G~reenville, J. T.
Smith. Strength of regiment, 400.
Second regiment-Colonel. John F.
Bruton, Of Wilson; Lieutenant Colonel,
Walker Taylor; Majors, w. f. Warren
and ~(vacanoy Second battalion): Cap
tainS, Company A, Clinton, H. j. Hines;
Company B., Lumber Bridge, S. ].
Cobb; Company C, Wilmington. D..
MacRae: Company D, Edenton, J.. 9.
Bond; Company E, Maxton, w. NJ.
Jones': Company F, Wilson, S. NJ. Bob
bit; Company G, Charlotte, Thomas
r. Robertson Strength of regiment,
322.
Third regiment-COlonel, w. A. Bob
bit, of Oxford; Lieutenant Colonel,
Henry Pervey; Majors, T. J.. Winston
and j. III. Craig; Captains, Company A,
fWinston, j. c. Bessent; Company C,
Henderson, P. T. Jones; Company .,
Durham, J. c. Wichie; Company E,
Oxford. H. J.. Skinner; Company F.,
Franklinton WI. McGhee; Company G
Reidsville; r. l.. Gladstone; Company
I, Reidsvifle, A. J. Ellington. Strength
of regiment, $40.
Fourth regiment-Colonel, J. F. Arm
field, of Statesville; Lieutenant Colonel,
B. C. Hamrick; Majors, Geo. F. Rutz-
Ter and w. j. Smith. Captains, Company
A, S~tatesville, r. l.. Flannigan; Com
pay G, Waynesville, w. J. Hannah,
Company E, Charlotte, H. S. Chadwick:
Company F, Asheville, T. w. BookharI;
Company G, Concord, Edward Hill.
Company H, Shelby, ]. T. Gardiner.
Strength of regiment, ga.
Naval battalion-Commander, George
l.. Morton, of WilmingtOn; Lieutenant
Wilmington Division, w. H. McIlhen-
ny; Kinston division, w. ID. Pollock:
Elizabeth City division, w. T. Old;
New Bern division, r. S. Primrose;
Southport division, NJ. Fargusson.
Strength of battalion, 253.
Artillery section-Lieutenant, W. F.
Moody, of Charlotte. Strength, 240.
Unattached infantry company, color
ed, at Charlotte, Captain, c. S. L. A.
Taylor; strength, 43.
The infantry are armed with Spring.
field rifles, calibre 40, which was the
mode used by the regular army four
years ago when the Krag-Jorgensen
magazine was issued. The naval re-
serves are armed with the Lee maya
zine rife, also with cutlasses and re-
v%Olvers. Each infantry officer also has
a revolver, calibre A.. The artillery
detachment has a calibre 45 gatling:
a 3-inch hOWitzer and revOlvers. There
are in the possession Of the state two
Hotchkiss rapid-fre ~1-pounder mon
tain guns: four naval hOWitZerS, etc.
At the battery at Wrightsville are -four
10-inch mOrtarS and two 10-inch smooth
bore cannon, all Misunderstanding, all ut
terly obsolete, and nothing more than
so much old iron.
Major Hayes, L. s. A, who is on duty
here at headquarters, in his report for
1897 TO the secretary of war, gives the
strength of the guard available for i'm
mediate duty. He says the authorized
strength CT companies is so men. There
is no b~rigadier general. Company Off
GERS are elected ~biennially by the en-
listed men and are required to pass an
examination before a board within SIX
months after election. There IS no
ambulance and hospital corps. There
is a signal corps, but not ytt complete
ly equipped. There is no fund for en-
campment. AS to the time required
for mobilization it is stated as follows:
For service out of state, Norfolk thirty
hours. Weldon seventeen, New Bern
seventeen, Wilmington seventeen,
Greensboro fourteen, Asheville
four, Charlotte twenty-fOur, Hamlet
twenty. The adjutant general haS the
plans for the concentration OF troops
in an Ninety per cent. OF
the force would turn out for service IN
the time named. Last year troops were
called out in service eight times, TO
preserve the peace. and in each case
responded promptly and with full
ranks. The entire state appropriation
is only $1,000 annually. The
national appropriation entirely in
ordnance and quartermasters' stores
is s., Ass. The rifles in the hands
of the infantry ave in many cases
been in continuous use since 1877,
when the issue began, and the condi-
ton is bad. owing 10 wear. Cartridge
boxes have been discarded and can
vass webbing cartridge belts issued in
stead. The uniform cloChing Is the
same as that Of the regular army and
its condition is good. Each Company
or division Is required 70 keep II store
1000 rounds Of ball cartridges and on ar
rival nj troops at the point OF cOncen-