Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-09-21

"A new regiment
In. g0!7 ~ must have good
l~----- officers to save 1t
from disgrace. The conclusions of the
Seventy first regiment inquiry fix the
status of the officers of that regiment.
The officers of the Second Massacbu
sets respected one another, and the
men respected their officers. Not only
that, the Massachusetts officers and men
looked up to and respected the regular
officers and men. This fact was i'm
pressed upon me in many ways at Camp
Wikoff, and could see the spirit which
had made good soldiers out Of these
novices. Colonel Clark Of the Second
saSd: "Our men didn't equal the regu-
lars, but did well. There was the best
Of feeling between us and the regulars.
We found the regulars gentlemen, and,
much to our surprise, comrades. We
supposed they'd be critical" " The reg
ulars criticised the Massachusetts men
for careless discipline, but praised their
courage and pluck.
The Second Massachusetts bears an
old number famous in the militia and
! in the civil war. It's district is western
Massachusetts,, headquarters at Spring
field About SO per cent of the men are
skilled mechanics from Springfield,
Worcester and other manufacturing
| cities 1t is the best drilled and best
equipped regiment in the state, so Colo
mel Clark says, and there must be truth
| in it since Governor Wolcott designated
! il as the first to be mustered in in re-
sponse to the call of President McKin
ley Two of the field officers, Colonel
Embury P Clark and Major F. G.
Southmayd. are Springfield men. and
two, Lieutenant Colonel E. r. Shumway
and Major H. B. Fairbanks. from
Worcester Major K. A. Whipple is an
Adams man. Lieutenant Colonel Shum-
way and Major Whipple are war vet
Grams, and instead of being looked upon
as back numbers by the other officers
and the men they are the stars Of the
regiment.
The truth is that the Second Massa-
chusetts went to Cuba expecting hard
time, prepared to face it and anxious
to take points from old hands at the
business of 'ldiering. About half the
men were raw recruits, for the old
members didn't all pass the doctors.
! The recruits were Of the same class as
the original members and from the
same towns and cities. Springfield has
3 companies ont of 12; Worcester, 3;
Holyoke, / Orange, |; Gardner, !:
Northampton, 1 Greenfield, l, and Ad-
ans, |.
The Second left the ship at Daiguiri
without rations, and as one of the cam
paigners declared, the Great Hunger
commenced as soon as the regiment was
ashore. A hurry cali took the regiment
out to Sevilla to re-enforCe General
Young's cavalry on the field Of Las
Guasi1nas Getting short of rations the
mounted officers turned their horses in
to pack animals to get ur supplies from
Siboney landing Tobacco became SC
scarce that $5 would be given for fine
cut plug The adjutant went to Siboney
for a supply of the weed but could not
get more than square inch of thin
plug per man. All these trials and pri'
|
again in print and the most has been
made of them. l mention them here al
the outset to show that the Second had
its share of every i'll, and ! found the
men at Camp Wikoff not disposed &c
dwell much upon them. They were
proud of their military achievement and
took all, except the fever, as a matter
of course The fever record of the Sec
ond was terrible.
But it was on the march from Sevilla
to FL Caney that the real hardship oi
the campaign began. Rations for thres
davs had been distributed and the meI
had orders to cook them, but few obey
ed. Some of the rations were not dis
tributed by the company commissarie'
and were carried in bulk by men detail
ed for the purpose. All Of this brings uK
the issue as between novices and old sol
diers, and, of course, officers as well al
men must be included in the structures
The idea of the crowd is that the gov
ernment can and will do everything
There is a time when soldiers must do
for themselves.
1t was 8 O'Clock p. m. when the regi
ment, with the rest of General Lud
lows brigade, set out for Ell Caney. Th'
march was over rough and slippery
hill trail, wet from an afternoon rain
The men detailed to carry rations, hat
also their Springfield rifles and extr'
| ..s,,,,t;n, ~ tha trail WAS aoQn atraWy