Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-09-16
The Return of Our Soldiers.

Manila. The transport made better
time than was expected and the formal
welcome which was a hearty one did
not take place until the 10th. The boys
of both regiments are ingood health and
spirits with the exception of some trou.
BILE among the officers which we trust will
soon be settled without formal trial by
court martial which seems at present to
| be eminent. Our exchanges are full of
accounts giving the cause of the trouble,
but the following which We copy from a
| exchange is about as near the truth as
we can get at this writing
Two primary causes are back of all
the difficulty in the First South Dakota
regiment politics and revival after
the active campaign of the old feeling
among the men that Col. Frost, while a
brave officer and good leader, is very
ambitious and Of tyrannical disposition.
The yoluntee had been unaccustomed
to restraint and the severe discipline
imposed by their colonel, who had been
in the regular service for years, had be-
come almost unbearable to some. There
occasional letter home conce rning these
sore points, prior to the regimen ts's de-
parture for the fighting line. In the
field little was thought of save furnishing
the enemy and upholding the good re.
putation of the troops. When the regi-
ment was encdmped at San Fernando
and other points and was suffering
greatly from its exertions and exposure
incident to the campaign, the feeling
against the colonel revived in quarters
that had previously been prejudiced
against him. This was intensified by
the general understanding that he had
bitterly opposed relief for the regiment
from the firing line, and that he had
held large numbers Of the men to active
duties who were alleged to be fit only
for the hospital. Out of these disagree
ments has arisen about all the trouble.
The volunteers were in constant corre-
spondence with relatives and friends,
and the arrests made at the instance Of
Colonel Frost were the consequence of
the charges and statements made con-
concerning his conduct.
When the regiment reached Nagasaki,
on its return by the Sheridan, ii receiv-
| ed accumulation Of mail forwarded from
San Francisco There was an abundance
Of South Dakota papers containing sol
dier letters addressed to Senator Petit
grew and other citizens. The Warne
letter was in this collection, and the
| surgeons arrest followed without delay.
After leaving Yokohoma, the arrest of
Quartermaster Sergeant Wiehe of Spear
fish company and Sergeant McCoshen of
the Watertown company were ordered.
Private Jones, orderly to Colonel Frost,
felt sorry for the predicament Of Ser.
geunt Wiehe and told him that if he
kept a stiff upper lip and acknowledged
nothing, he would easily get off This
circumstance came out and Jones arrest
followed. Wiehe had written letter
to Pettigrew, in which he stated that it
| was understood Frost was to be made
a brigadier general, and Major Howard
Of Aberdeen, colonel Of the regiment.
McCoshen, who distinguished himself
by special act Of bravery early in the
cam paign, had written home some es-
pecially severe structures on the conduct
of the commanding officer, which found
their way into the WATERFOWL, Sioux
Falls and other state papers. Both ser
geants wrote that Frost cared nothing
for the welfare Of the rank AID file, and
that he was ready to sacrifice them in
any way to further his own ambitions.
Major Howard was called an arrant
coward, and Lieutenant Colonel Stover
was named as tie man who ought to
command the regiment.
Stover's arrest is said to have followed
a confession imputed to Wiehe that he
(Wiehe) was inspired to write the letter
by Stover. Lieutenant Bates is also
charged with having written letter re
tieCting on the colonel when he was a
second lieutenant in Company |.
Lieutenant Colonel Slower, it is said,
has made Il e following statement:
Colonel Frost is a good commanding
officer and man against whose record
nothing can be said. But he is an ego
tist and consumed with ambition. He
was first lieutenant in the Twenty.sec
ond regiment, and as such was attached
to the agricultural college at Brookings,
) ID. He lost that position and fought
hard for his restoration. He sent pitiful
letters to me to help him, and did.
Then when it came to the colonel of the
regiment, / worked with Governor
Sheldon and made him sign his com
mission. The governor opposed il, al
most tearing the paper with his pen
when he signed the commission.
"'You'll be sorry for this some day"
he said, and he seemed to be gifted with
prophesy."
When Governor Lee was appointed
by the populists Colonel Frost sent HIM
a telegram Of congratulation, asking
Stover to sign it. After the lieutenant
co onel had done so. it is claimed the
commanding officer added: 1--WE hope
you will win" Lieutenant Stover, hear.
ing this, scratched his name from the
telegram.
Congressman Gamble is endeavoring
to adjust the difficulty, but has met with
small encouragement. The case will
undoubtedly be laid before General
Shafter, and should he order court
martial, the South Dakotans may not be
mustered out for months.
Since the above was placed in type We
have received word to the effect that Col.
Frost had withdrawn the charges and
the trouble had been settled. The Off.
GERS had been liberated. and the regI-
ment would be mustered out on the 27tl.