Washington sentinel., 1899-01-28
OF the Ordnance
Corps.
Written fOr the WASHINGTON SENTINEL by
WEST STEEvER.

tion Of the Army of the United States
and for other purposes" introduced
into the House Of Representatives by
Hon. George B. Mcclellan OF New York
on December IA. 1898, it is proposed by
Section IA, to consolidate the Ordnance
| Department with a Corps OF Artillery,
to be established by the same bill,
through the abolition of its present
regimental organization and dividing it
into two branches. the fortress artillery
and the field artillery.
The Ordnance Corps has earned in
the past high reputation for efficiency,
but there has been a growing disposition
to regard it as becoming effete and
obsolete in its present form of organi.
zation, especially since the recent
pansh-American war. 1t IS IN this
spirit that the merging of il into The
proposed Corps of Artillery has been
introduced into the above mentioned
legislation, The part taken by the
Ordnance Corps on both sides in the
Civil War was certainly as brilliant as
that OF any other branch Of the service.
The arming and equipping such large
bodies of troops as were so quickly
raised by both parties to the conflict
astOnished the military critics in Euro
pean armies. Perhaps those officers
who resigned from the service and
joined the Ordnance Department Of the
Confederate Army were entitled 70
even greater credit than their confreres
who remained in the United States Army
as from paucitY of resource, they had
greater difficulties to overcome. They
we're found though equal to the task,
and with Josiah Gorgas at their head,
as Chief Of Ordnance, they certainly
worked miracles. When the fact that
there did not exist a single gun factory
for small arms, nor a foundry capable
OF casting ordnance, in all the territory
held by the Confederate army in the
beginning Of the contest, such fact being
taken into consideration, It seems mar
velous with what rapiditY everything
was found by those indeiatigable officers
to arm and equip the vast force thrown
into the held. The policy Of using
every weapon obtainable, So as to get
every man into a military organization
of some character or other, for
future development, ard then furnish
him with the best up to date weapons,
was the policy pursued by these officers.
The infantry. which was armed with
flintlock muskets and old squirrel rifles,
had become veteran soldiers, before
they received the modern Enfield rifle.
The cavalry with their double.barrel
shot guns, were drilled to a considerable
degree before they we're armed with
the more modern carbine, The light
batteries had attained considerable
efficiency before they exchanged their
smooth bore six Founders and twelve
pound howitzers for Napoleon and
rife guns, with which they were later
armed. In siege and heavy artillery
the cannoneers were first exercised with
the smooth bore siege twenty four
Founders, eight inch howitzer and
thirty-two Founders before they were
replaced with rifle guns and eight and
ten inch Columoiads. In this manner
raw troops were drilled, disciplined and
accustomed to military duties in the
field without awaiting being supplied
with modern weapons.
The great number or men in this
country liable to military duty, over
ten millions at the lowest calculation,
will always make it difficult to supply
any considerable number OF this
vast horde at the beginning Of war
with up to date weapons. AS Napoleon
pointed out in letter to his brother King
Joseph Of Spain, man was not born
soldier but had to be made one. The fact
that the first step towards making him a
soldier Is to herd him with other men,
and in this change OF his previous life,
he must be taught to take care OF himself
in his new condition, renders 1t neces-
sary TO begin this education, alter a
declaration of hostilties, as soon as
possible. The rapid change, necessitated
by the Improvements introduced by
inventive genius, must always lead to
every nation having a large supply Of
obsolete weapons on hand at the begin
ming OF every great war The first line
Of troops, who will have to bear the
brunt Of attack. should not be armed
with obsolete guns. Nothing discCurages
the raw recruit so much as to force him
into the fight when armed with a weapon
which he believes to be Inferior to that
OF the enemy. There was no excuse
sending the volunteers to Santiago, while
so many regulars we're disposable. The
former armed with what Roosevelt very
correctly termed archaic weapons. were
piac ed at every disadvantage. When in
line of battle, the regulars complained
veryjustly Of their bringing the fire Of the
enemy upon them, and on the skirmish
line the individual skirmisher after firing
his Springfield, with black powder, had
to roll twenty feet or more to escape
almost certain death from the return
fire OF the Mauser, aiming at the puff Of
smoke curling over the point of fire,
Nothing was more unfortunate previous
than the assertion that this was the
proper weapon tor the volunteer and
casting a slur upon his intelligence, by
declaring that he could not be trusted
with the Krag Torgensen, The reasons
given blythe Chief Of Ordnance for this
extraordinary assertion were almost
| Immediately ialsihed by the events Of
the ensuing campaign. II has done
more to cast discredit upon the ordnance
corps than any other incident Of the war;
No wonder should be expressed If our
legislators think It is high time 10 send
L - !. 49, Of tha nrlnanre cnrnS into