The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-11
NO SPLIT IN THE GUARDS.
CAUSED THE OGLETHORPE LIGHT
INFANTRY TO BE FORMED.

Col. Charlton III. Way, a Lieutenant
in the Company at the Organiza-
ton, Writes Interestingly About 1t.
story of How the Plan to Organize
New Company Was Set AfOOt.
Work of the Young Men to Make
1t successful-Their Early Drills
and the Handsome Uniform They
Decided Upon-The Birthday Pa
rade Memorable One.
Col. Charlton II. Way, who was a lieu
tenant in the Oglethorpe Light Infantry
when the command was organized in 1856
has written very interesting sketch of
the company. a His knowledge of it. as
that of an officer and original member
enables him to give complete story.
A mistaken idea at which Co. Way par
ticularly aims is that of the OgIethorpes
having been organized as a result of a
schism in the Savannah Volunteer Guards,
an error that is probably due to two or
three former members of the latter com
mand having Joined the new. Some time
ago the Morning News published a state
ment which was seen by Capt. James
Jacobson of Darien, who was captain of
the Oglethorpes who served in the army
of the West during the Civil War, Capt
Lachlison wrote Col. Way as follows:
Some time ago there appeared in the
Morning News a statement to the effect
that the Oglethorpe Light Infantry was
| formed by a secession from the Guards.
| You and L are among the few living
| who organized that grand old historic
| corps, and you must know this statement
af i. 1Or,sf ON
Der any old members of the Guards who
| Joined us outside of Capt John n. Lewis,
| who was not al that time an active men,
| ber but a major in the Georgia militia;
| Bulloch Jackson, who had been orderly
| sergeant of the Guards, but had resigned
from them some months before our or
ganization, and William N. Valleau, who
left them to join us.
! II cannot remember any of the boys now
| living who formed the original company,
with the exception of Ben George, You
and myself. Surely your recollection about
the company being formed by the seces-
sion of members from the Guards is the
l same as mine. Write and correct the
| statement. Your "reminiscences of the for
nation of the command and its early his
tory would surely be interesting. Write
them an account of all these things"
"I have learned from several members
Of the company" Col Way writes, that
all of their records up to the time of their
departure for Virginia nave been lost and
that they do not possess even copy of
its original roll of charter members
This / have endeaVored to supply, but as
all my papers were destroyed by fire, I
have been forced in great part to rely upon
my memory.
In preparing the following list of Off
GERS and members on JAM 8, 1856, 1 give
only the charter members those par
Lit
then l may have omitted one or two
names. If so, 1 trust some Oglethorpe
will let me know, so that l may correct
any error, if. indeed. there be one:
Capt John N. Lewis, First Lieuten-
ant William Bulloch Jackson, Second
Lieutenant James Erwin Godfrey, Junior
Second Lieutenant Charlton H. Way.
First Sergeant T. Spaulding Mcintosh,
Second Sergeant John L. Branch, Third
Sergeant Joseph j. West, Fourth Ser
geant Robert Grant.
First Corporal James Lachlison, Second
Corporal f. NJ. Bouineau, Third Corporal
| Theodore D. Torisley, Fourth Corporal
William N. Valleau.
"Privates Simeon Adams, T. D. Acosta,
J. w. Avery Sanford w. Branch. Alfred
Bliss, Fred Bliss, William Bowen. LAM
uel Crabtree, George Crabtree, William
Cotton, DR.. G. L. Colding, Mortimer Davis,
Il J. H. Estill, Miller b. Grant, c. w. God
frey, C. W. Gould, Ben George Ebb Law,
w. H. Long, John A. Lewis, Edd Hay
wood, Thomas Maxey, Theodore B. Mar
shall, Thomas Massonburg George Mar
shall, Henry Raysor, Don Mcdonald,
John d. Nicely, p. NJ. OBrien, George p.
Snider, William Sharp, John Thompson,
Dr. Ed Winkler and A. p Williamson.
During the month of August 1855. a
party of four or five young men Were in
the office OF Capt. Robert Grant, in the
building lately occupied by Mr.. George N
| Nichols as printing room. We were dis
cussing the various occupations we were
to undertake; one to the law. another to
merchandise and still another to medicine
l had just graduated from the Georgia Mil
itary Institute and was law student in
the office of Hon. John E. Ward.
Or Joe j. West (who was presently was
| commenting upon the time wasted in ac-
quiring a military education. He took the
| ground that in a country like ours, peace
full in its traditions, and in its policy,
there was no reason why we should be
| educated as soldiers. He cited my case
| as an illustration of his argument, and
asked: OF what use is your military ed
ucation to you in your chosen profession?'
Il was about to reply to him when Capt.
Grant said: In tell you how you can
make use of your military training. Form
a new volunteer company
Il told him 1 did moi believe we had
enough material to form a new corps. He
replied L believe you can get 100 young
on proper lines-make IL crack compa-
ny and you will get the men,
"After discussing the matter for while.
II was agreed upon between us Cant
Robert Grant, DR.. Joseph j. West, Spauld-
ing Mcintosh, Eli NJ. Bouineau and the
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