The National tribune., 1900-08-16

was bettering my condition in every par,
! ticular.
My new duty at st. Philip was to take
| charge of the ordnance and ordnance
stores appertaining thereto, and render
proper returns of the same to the Chief
of Ordnance at Washington.
If THERE HAD BEEN WAR.
The Virginius affair at Santiago de
Cuba in 1873 caused some commotion in
| the United States, lest the Spaniards
should attack the seaboard cities, particu-
larly those of the Gulf States. / was
not of those who thought Spain foolish
J enough 10 go to war with this country
| but had she taken the notion to lombard
the dcfenses of the Gulf ports, nothing
| could have prevented her ships from en-
| trance to the cities, provided that all
| other fOrtiiications were in the same un-
prepared and dilapidated condition as
Fort Philip was in at that time. With
no garrison at the post outside of a soi-
tary Ordnance Sergeant, several good 10
| inch guns mounted, but not pound of
serviceable powder TO load them; four
| 100-pounder Parrots and two 15-inch Rod
man guns mounted on wooden platforms
that were at the time perfectly rotten.
This was actually the defensive prepared
ness of st. Philip at the time.
During the excitement the Ordnance
from New Orleans and ordered several
hundred solid shot and fixed shells from
New York for the Parrot guns, but no
powder, and did not take into considera-
tion the fact that the platforms on which
they were mounted would drop from un-
der them at the first fire. But the ex-
citcment blew over, and 1t was well it
did.
had some heavy and undesirable work
| to do here, owing to the condition of the
munitions OF war, but believe L performed
my duties satisfactorily.
PRAISE FOR REGULARS.
In conclusion I have only to say that
Of my 81 years of life, more than 20 of
| them were in the army, and similar
time in civil life in the employ of rail
| way company. The foregoing, for what
| ever it is worth, is hereby dedicated to
the memory Of the Regulars Of the Old
Army in the war for the Union-men
who, although not volunteers from any
particular State rs such, volunteered their
services from all parts of the country and
upheld and fought for the Union on more
than a hundred battlefields, chief among
which may be mentioned the plains of
| Manassas, Springfield, or Wilson's Creek.
| the siege Of Sumter and Pickens, Shiloh,
Yorktown, Stone River, Antietam, Fred
erlcksburS, Chickamauga, Chancellors-
ness, Cold Harbor North Anna, the Bat
| tie Above the Clouds" Gaines's Mill.
Malvern Hill, Yellow Tavern, siege of
| Petersburg, Brandy Station, Poplar Grove
Church, the ramparts of Vicksburg, the
| fields of the Shenandoah, and the finale
at Appomattox. Numerous other minor
fields could be credited to the valor, pa
triOtism and prowess of the Regulars.
A more loyal and patriotic organiza-
ton of armed men never went forth to
battle for God, country and flag than that
little army Of Regulars, of whom Gen.
Wesley Merritt said some years ago that
| with 10000 at the opening of the war
the rebellion could have been ended in six
months.
Gen. Mcdowell also said in going into
| the first Manassas, when Sykes's battal-
ion OF eight companies passed him on the
! road:
Twelve thousand such disciplined
sion Of the day"
It was Just such Regulars that stood
behind their guns in Shafter's Fifth
Corps at Santiago The stubbornness
with which they tenacjously advanced.
inch by Inch, against the Spanish fortif-
cations, is only eQualled by the old lst
| U. S. at Shiloh, the 18th u. s. at Vicks-
burg, the 10th U. s. at Stone River, and
the 9th U: s. Cav. and I'd U. S. at
Gaines's Mill.
Beside the aforementioned, the Regu-
lar light batteries were always to the
fms battery in particular in Sykes's Di-
vision Of the Fifth Corps of the Army
Of the Potomac. Whenever that battery
wheeled into action Its move was to hit
the enemy hard at once, and Il was gen.
orally successful In doing 30. All other