Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-02-20
RETURNING HOME
Soldier Boys of the LIST Territorial
Regiment Coming Back -Popu-
lar Young Officer.
COLONEL M'CORD'S ADDRESS
Delivered to His Men When Order fol-
Mastering Out Was Received-Record
of the Organization One to Be
Proud Of,

The city is rapidly filing up with re-
turning members of the LIST territorial
volunteer regiment, and each day chron-
icles some new arrivals. The boys are
uniformly glad to be released from the
service, although a majority of them
look as though seven months of army
discipline and rations had agreed with
them. They are all enthusiastic in their
praises of Lieutenant John w. Catron,
and there is no doubt but what the SOL
dier boys and their parents will always
keep a kindly feeling in their hearts for
the young man, who was kind to all, re-
CARELESS of military requirements, who
made Santa Fe their homes.
In some unaccountable manner the
people of the various portionsof the east
where the boys We're stationed, became
impressed with the idea that the 1st
territorial was a regiment of tire-eating
cowboys and genuine western terrors
such as is read about in dime novels. 1t
is evident that the reputation followed
them to Georgia, for the mayor of AL
bany was asked to appoint a provost
| guard of the I'd Missouri and Sd Missis-
sippi regiments to protect the town when
they were mustered out. Colonel Nc
Cord graciously offered to load the boys
on the ears at the camp and take them
out of the country without visiting Al
bany. When the citizens saw that they
| were liable to lose some of the patronage
of the regiment after it was paid off.
they sent an humble apology to the
colonel and offered the boys the keys of
the city, then run a newspaper editor
who had been especially bitter in his
town. 1t is singular that the fact that
| the regiment was from the west was
sufficient to create such an erroneous
impression as to lawlessness, for the
boys during their entire term of service
were better behaved than any other
regiment in the various camps and as
fine Il set of young gentlemen as could
be found in any city of che east.
OF those who have not returned to
their homes are Arthur Hurt who was
promoted to a sergeantcy and Hugh
Kirkman. . Trinidad boy. arthur has
Gone to Nashville to attend school and
Kirkman to Washington. He has
banana peels'' on his shoulder now
and will be appointed, in all probability
as End lieutenant in the regular army
One of the boys brings back as a relic.
II picture of the Andersonville cemetery
near Albany. The cemetery adjoins the
grounds of the old And%ersonville prison
stockade. There are 10000 soldiers oil
the civil war reposing in the cemetery
Throughout, the regiment met with
good fortune in the matter of camping
places. And it was decidedly unfor.
tunate in the matter of seeing active
service. There seemed no place for the
westerners except in barracks duty and
there was no chance for a trip to Ma
were enlisted. The Santa Fe company
lost three members through death.
They are: e. Burtin, w. Gilmore and
Hollis M. Smith. There were no deser-
tions from the company.
During the stay in Georgia, the
weather was excessively wet and the
boys enjoyed the sensation of sleeping
under condemned tents on water soaked
bedding for a good portion of the time.
Generals Ludlow, Wilson, Andrews
and Breckenridge, who reviewed the
troops at Albany, were profuse in their
praises of the regiment. They reported
to Washington on the good work done
by the officers in bringing the organiza-
ton to a higher state of efficiency in
drill evolutions and complimented the
officers for the discipline maintained.
When the order came to muster out
the regiment, the various companies
were maSsed in FROM of the colonel's
tent while he read the order. 1t was
impossible to maintain discipline then.
They broke, ranks and danced around
like a lot of wild Indians and Rugged
| and kissed one another.
Colonel McCord's speech on that occa-
sion, made a deep impression on the
listeners who had followed him through
the varying fortunes of the campaign.
He said:
''Officers and men: Whether the re-
marks am about to make to you be
pleasing or displeasing, l ask you to re-
frain from any demonstrations of APP
prevail or disapproval until | have said
what have to say. Nearly six months
ago, when your government thought it
was in peril, when it thought it needed
your services and called upon you to de-
fend it, you responded with alacrity,
with enthusiasm, and as periodically
as ever freemen V took up arms in
defense Of home and kindred. Every
day and every hour during that six
months you have stood ready to defend
with your lives, if need be, the govern
ment and country you enlisted to pro-
tect. do not believe there is one man