The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-01-16
-COMBED DOWN
AN OFFICER.
A Captain of the Eighth Ohio
Who Was Brought to Time.
A NON COM TELLS THE STORY.
Captain Did Not Get what Beer He
Wanted and Ordered Strict Discipline
Made HIM Tired of His Own
Orders.

A story that will interest local mem
bers of the Eighth Ohio was printed
in the Cleveland Leader, Sunday. The
company is not mentioned, but 1t is
evident that it was not one of the Can
ton companies, as there were three
companies from this city and the in
ference to be drawn is that 1t was one
of the companies that came from one
of the smaller towns. The story is not
without it's interest on that account,
however, as all the boys were acquaint-
ed with the officers and men of the other
companies. The Leader story follows:
Did / ever tell you how we combed
down our stuck up captain?" inquired
a non-commissioned offer of the Eighth
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, known dur
ing the Spanish American war as THE
Presidents own"
mo? Welk it is q good story" he
continued, in response to a Leader re-
porter's reply in reference to the men
ton.
You know our company was made
up of 100 congenial young fellows, all
raised together in our home city, friends
from babyhood. Naturally, strict army
discipline did not go with u.s. OF course,
we preserved an outward form of dis
cipline, but in our company street we
were all intimate friends as at home.
| Our officers did not require q salute
every time we met them, and other
formalities were dispensed with in the
company street. But our captain,
hitherto a respected and genial officer,
gradually developed a swelled head at
Camp Alger. He was quite young, you
| know. After a number of small indi-
| cations of his exaggerated notions of
his own Importance, trouble started in
| earnest.
"Our mess, known as the Bloody
Five had several cases of beer brought
over from Washington. Paid for 1t
| out of our own money, you know. The
| captain learned that the Eighth Regi-
ment band was going to serenade him
that evening. He wanted our beer to
| fix it right with the band boys. We
| 'non-coms' refused to give or sell 1t to
him at any price, despite his rawlings
| and pleadings. The band serenaded him
| and the best he could do was to set up
the lemonade. Then we captured the
| band, took 'em down our company
street. They played hard for us and
we saturated them with our beer.
1.-The captain was furious. He &C
cused us 'non-coms' of trying to make
| a fool of him, and said that hereafter
there would be no more foolishness-
the company would be run on strictly
military principles. He gave us the ne
cessary orders to bring this about. Then
we got sore, and planned to take the
starch out of him. The men of the
company gladly co-operated. You
never saw such a strict interchange OF
courtesies between offers and men
The captain never appeared anywhere
in that street but that every man arose
saluted and stood at attention. AL
talking ceased; it was as quiet as a
graveyard.
Such conduct bored the life out OF
him. He felt lonesome deserted. He
longed for the old free and easy days
Meantime, through the boys letters
home, the report got out in our native
town that he was a tyrant and abused
the boys Home people began. to fee
embittered against him. Finally his
relatives wrote him of the situation al
home. That settled it. He had had
enough, and decided to bury his pride
We nome commissioned officers were
called to his tent. Mutual explanations
followed, and peace was restored. II
was home again on our company
| street.
I'VE respected and loved our cap.
tain after that and during our most
trying days in Cuba a better company
could not be found. We We're soldiers
too, despite our 'depraved volunteer
tendencies and the lax discipline in oul
company street"