Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-09-15
FULLER BATTERY'S EXIT.
Its Property Will BE Turned Over
to the State.

Battery was Organized By the Late Ex-
Gov. l.. IL. FuIIer In 1874 and Has Had
a Highly Commendable Record.
Capt. Fred d. Weld will in few days,
turn over to the state the property in his
possession as captain of the 1st Vermont
light battery, and will settle his account
with the quartermaster, writes the CORE
spondent of the Springfield Sunday Re-
publican. These will be the closing acts
required by special order No. 2, issued
from the adjutant and nspector-generaps
office August 10, discharging the battery
from the service of the state. The organ
ization should not be allowed to pass out
of existence without some mention of its
history and recognition of its efficiency, as
by its discharge the state loses one of its
chief military organizations. The battery
was organized in 1874 by the late ex.Gov.
Levi K. Fuller of Brattleboro. It was
then an independent organization of so
men and two Napoleon guns, muzzle load
ing. Its officers we're: Captain, L. K.
Fuller; LIST lieutenant, G. X. Briggs; I'd
lieutenant, Edwin A. Puffer; 1st sergeant,
e. II. Putnam. Mr. Briggs and Mr..
Putnam are still residents of Brattleboro,
and Mr. Puffer is member of the police
force of Meriden, Ct
ing been disbanded in 1876, Fuller battery,
as it was then called. was given two addi-
tional guns and made part of the state
militia as an infantry company, although
acting as au artillery company, and in 1877,
by an act of the state legislature, it was
STYLED the LIST light battery, to consist of
four Napoleon guns, four caissons and 80
men fully equipped. In 1889 the battery
was equipped with modern 3 2 steel breech-
loading rifles. but at the outbreak of the
late war with Spain the guns were shipped
by order of the government, to the Water
vliet arsenal to be ressued to the regular
army. Since then the battery has had no
guns, but the full complement of men has
always been kept up. Mr.. Fuller borenear-
ly all of the expenses of the organization in
its early days. He was captain from the
time of its organization until 1892, and he
was breveted colonel July 10, 1888. Three
members of the original organization re-
manned through the entire existence of the
battery, Capt. f. d. Weld, Adjutant K. H.
Putnam and Lieut.. p. F. Connors, the
two latter being veterans of the civil war;
The election of Col. Fuller, who had
previously served the state in official ca
pacities, to the governorship in 1892, left
the battery without a captain, and +. ID.
Weld, then senior lieutenant, was elected to
that Office, which position he has retained
ever since. The battery went to New York
at the time of the Washington centennial
celebration, and it has crossed the Green
Mountains several times 10 and from camp
in Bennington, being once accompanied by
the famous Gushing battery, then sta
toned at Newport, r. l. In discipline and
proficiency the battery ranked among the
best of the militia batteries of the United
States. In the war department reports of
the organized militia of the United States
special mention has several times been
made of the First Vermont Light battery
as regards its proficiency in target practice.
While in camp at Fairlee in 1895 the bat
terry hit several times in succession a tar
get II by 16 feet at distance of two miles,
performance which was pronounced by
the regular army officers present to be the
equal of the work of the regulars. All of
the missiles struck within 20 feet of the
centre Of the target.
At the breaking out of the war with
Spain Capt Weld recruited the battery to
IT'S men, and their services we're rendered
to the President, but they were not &C
cepted, greatly to the regret of the men,
owing to the fact that the regiment of in
fantry, which was increased to war foot
ing aud whose services were also rendered
to the President, more than filled the
states quota of men under Che two calls
for volunteers