The Arizona sentinel., 1900-02-21
Official Paper of Yuma County
COL. McCORD'S ADDRESS

Phoenix last lhurSuaf' No1' McCord delivered the following address:
 Mir. Westminster and Fellow Citi- zeng:-The last time I had the honor 1 of addressing you, addressed you as as "Officers and men of the First Ter ritorial Regiment of U. s. Volunteers" Fl F FAii17,t wss iitvfe over a year ago, the time and place doubt not you all remember most distinctly. The information I gave you upon that oc- casion was to the effect that our regi- ment was soon to be mustered out of the service and that hoped you would soon return to your homes and friends and resume your accustomed ayocations. The message was received with demonstrations of applause and approval, for the routine duties we were performing had become "stale and anprontable, and irksome to Us all But if the message had been what we all hoped for and expected, viz: Prepare and go to Cuba" or "the Philippines" it would have been more welcome and received with greater demonstrations of approval. We had been in the army eight months, and had seen no service except the service incident to preparation. We had seen so much of that, that we were prepar- cd for any kind of service as was testi- fled to by every general officer who had inspected or commanded us. Gen eral Wilson, General Ludlow and Gen. erals Sanger, Andrews. Our corps division and brigade commanders had all made special request that the First Territorial Regiment be assigned to them for duty in Cuba. Colonel Baldwin, Major Nicholson and others who had inspected our regiment had officially reported 1t as the finest or ganiz2tion in the volunteer service. It had the espirit-de-corps, it had the health and the physique; it had the craftsmanship and the intelligence and it was enured to hardships incid- ent to camp life. In fact it lacked nothing but the orders to go. The orders never came, but instead there came an order that the regiment be mustered out. This was disappoint- ment, but we were in the service to obey orders, though I must confess this one was obeyed by some with rather poor grace.
 When man enlists to fight the battles of his country he performs the highest act of patriotism citizen can perform. He offers his all to his country. Nay, he offers more than his all, for he offers not only his inter est in himself, but the interest of his father and mother, brothers and sisters, his sweetheart wife and children, if he has any. When you enlist, you enlist ed because you thought your country needed your services. You had a right to think so for it called for voluntet IFS to defend it. No man know, no man could knew, the extent duration of the war; the only thing we knew was that our country was en- gagged in a war with a foreign power. We knew not what complications might arise; we knew not what posi- ton other nations would take, nor did we care. It was sufficient for us to know that our government had called for volunteers. But by the unpar al- leled victories Of our armies both on land and sea, the conflict was of but short duration and our success was slgnal, decisive and complete. No complications followed and the gov ernment had nothing to do but mus ter out all the volunteer organizations 1t had called into service.
 In the brief time allotted to nae this evening it would be impossible to re- count all the great results and the consequences of that war; suffice it is 10 say that our government demon strated in the siIort space of IA days that it could arm and equip the most formidable army and put into service the strongest army of modern times. I An army and navy with which no sin gle nation on the face of the earth l could cope. Now while the exigen- cies of the situation were such as to preclude the First Territo ial Regi- ! ynent from actively participating ID the conflict of arms, yet we were a part of that great volunteer force that defeated the enemy in every skirmish, reconnaissance or battle, whether on land or sea, and wht tther we stood guard in the snow, hail or sleet, at Lexington always ready for orders to go to the front or charged the enemey at San Iuan hill, we oay without lm' modest. clam equal right wfth any tlao made up the rank and file ol that