The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-02-13
TEXAS STATE MILITIA.
An Essay Delivered at San Antonio BY Ad.
Iutant Spencer futchins.
WORK OF THE TEXAS VOLUNTEER GUARD
What Has Becn Accomplished n,
This Organization and How IL
Can BE Improved.

The following essay on THE State M;
litia" was delivered by First Lieutcnan
and Adjutant Spencer Hutchins before
the officers lyceum Of the Fourth Tern
volunteer infantry:
Mr. President aud Fellow Officers Of tn
Lyceum: The discussion Of the subject
The State Militia, ono of the question
scheduled Tor tonight. can hardly be en-
tered upon without considering the gen
eral proposition, The Militia" which /.
Of momentous interest to the America,
people, and peculiarly SO at the presen
time. For more than a century. unaIter.
ably opposed to a large standing army,
grumblingly doing out a pittance for
the support and maintenance OF It's small
number Of troops; frequently IhIealenins
to diminish even that small army, the,
find themselves at last driven BY the hand
OF destiny to grapple with a situation
which demands at least the quadruping
OF Its STANDING army. Finally awakened
by the cries OF helpless Cupans borne on
every breeze from across the sea, they
acted with determination and swept from
the Western hemisphere the last vcstige
OF Spanish tyranny, while our navy, the
NatiOn's price, wltn its glorious victories,
has driven spanish cruelty from the is
lahds OF the tar East ana forced 1t back
to its ancient home--the Iberian penin-
sula.
The 21st OF April, 1898. found us with
standing army or 25.oOU men, barely sur
hcienI to project our BOUNDARY nues and
to hold the partially civilized indians IN
sub1ection. Inc navy nan only recently
been placed on a war footing through me
patient labors OF Whitney, Tracy, a
Herbert, Long.
The presidents proclamation calling for
troops was answered with a pronptness
of which only freemen are capao.e lwnen
called upon to sustain national honor;
and vastly larger number could have
been enrolled win as much dispatch mad
the situation required it.
1t 10 interesting, By way of depression,
to note that only liberty-loving ma ions
have ever relied upon volunteer SOLDIERS
in struggling with their foes. The origin
OF these organizations is found in the
Anglo-Saxon 'Fyrd. 4" and In the posse
coniitatus." Even at that early time
every county had its lord lieutenant, who
commanded the troops of his county wnen
called into the service of tho natioual
government, which called upon the various
counties for their quota Of troops, who an
swcred these calls with the same enthusi-
asm their descendants have shown.
Lying dormant during the era of the
feudal system, under which the lord Ut
the manor owned even the life of his vas
sol. 1t revived in later years with re-
uewed energy and strength when the bar
ons OF England, chafing under the yoke
which tyrant king sought 10 fasten upon
them, on the field of Runnymede wrested
from King John that famous document,
Magma Charta,' the foundation stone Of
English liberty.
In the consideration of this question It
Will be we'll to remember that the United
States volunteers are that portion of the
State militia which, commanded by Of
hcers from their own localities, armed
and equipped, has been placed in the hands
OF the National government as an ad-
junct to its regular army; while the great
body OF male citizens of each State compose
its militia; and these organized into COM
panies and regiments, comprise Its yolun-
teer or National guard
Reviewing the history of the militia
system OF the various States, we lind il
very imperfect; the steady march of pro-
gress has passed 1t by and it stands to-
day. as 1t did century ago. Poorly
armed and equipped little service was
by the continental militia In the
war of the revolution; although giving
more efficient aid in subsequent wars, it
was not until the late war between tho
States (1s61-65) that the volunteer
soldier by his brilliant achievements,
placed on an enduring foundation the
value of these organizations. fateful
war, in which the American people placed
upon their countrys shrine-a willing
sacrifice--their property and lives, for
that which they deemed TO be right. while
8 10 sat,e - sf
the mighty resources of, aud the deeds of
valor enacted by, young people.
History, ancient or modern. records no
war in which SO large proportion of a
people volunteered their SER
vices.
Our object tonight, however. treats more
specifically of the State militia. or as 1t is
we find by comparison with similar or
CARNATIONS In other States, to have al
tanned wonderful degree Of efficiency
Actnated by that martial spirit which has
always inspired the Texas soldier. IL Is no
surprise that the volunteer soldiery OF
today should excel. From the days whom
Austin and his First Three Hundred"
banded then selves together; from the
time when that great military chiefiain.
Sam Houston captured the bloody field Of
San Jacinto. bringing with IL such ines
Unable results In the progress OF civil
izaton; from the days when Hoods boys
In their jackets OF Gray" epshrined the
hillsides of old Virginia, and Terry's gal
liant Texas Rangers answered their conn
try's call, they have always proven chivai-
rous soldiers.
The Texas militia law Of 1870 made
every male citizen between the ages OF IS
and AZ subject to military duty. The
great body OF militia comprised the State
Guards and the Reserve Militia" The
former were composed of men who enlist
ed in companies and uniformed them
selves. These were then ORGANIZED into
regiments, usually by counties, regiments
into bridgades, brigades into divisions.
Under that law there were fifty regi'
ments: all officers we're commissioned by
the governor. who was commander in
chief and had authority to proclaim mar
lial law. thus subordinating the civil 70
The military power. The Reserve Militia
all male citizens who We're not
enrolled in companies. They were en-
rolled by the sheriff, by whom they were
az least once IN two years. They
were. however, exempted from military
service upon the payment Of SIS annually
into a military fund. In 1915 the law