The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04

police, stables grooming OF the hOrses)
and horse exercise.
Practice marches are an important part
OF the instruction. Every summer the
Eleventh Battery marches from its station
at Fort Hamilton TO Monteauk Point, dis
tance or 10 miles, for its target practlce
The Sixteenth Battery. when stationed at
Washington Barracks, District of Column
bia, in the autumn of 1852 took an extended
practice march lasting thirty days. y
march from Fort Riley TO Republic City TO
participate in the Pike monument teSuNl-
ties this year was interfered with by the
battery receiving orders to change station
to Fort Leavenworth, and the weak condi-
ton Of certain bridges on the road inter-
fered with march overland IN changing
station.
\ DAY WITH THE BATTERY.
1t might be interesting to follow the daily
routine of duty of the Sixteenth Battery.
Reveille sounds at o'clock in the morn
ing, followed soon after by breakfast. At
O'Clock, morning stables occurs, lasting
forty minutes From s until $50 calisthenic
drill takes place, and at o'clock the
principal drill of the day begins. This
varies with the seasons, and may be mount
ed battery drill road march, a tactical ex-
ercise or merely horse exercise. Dinner is
at noon, afternoon stables at / o'clock, re
treat at sunset. guard mounting immedi-
ately after retreat" supper at ., tattoo
oally round of duty, except for the guard,
ceases with taps" at IL o'clock.
Stable duty Is one of the most important
duties or mounted troops. At morning and
afternoon stables, each driver carefully
grooms his own pair Of horses, spending
twenty minutes ON each one, while the
cannOneers clean OUT the stables. make
down the horses beds and put their feed
In the managers. The battery officer of the
day cone of the Geutenants) is present at
stables and superintends all the work. The
battery is n
ent.
Horse exercise is another important fea-
ture OF the battery routine. If the roads
are impossible for the guns, as frequently
occurs in winter, or for any other reason, 1t
is impracticable for the battery TO go out
hitched, the horses go out for exercise,
each driver riding his near horse and lead
ing his of one, the battery officer OF the
day being in command for the horses must
have their regular exercise summer and
winter, sunshine or snow.
During the winter months instruction IN
horsemanship is given in the riding hall at
the post for an hour every day. All men
who have been I'm the battery less than d
year constitute this riding class. The men
are taught first, the proper seat how to
hold on to the horse by the thighs and how
to control the horse quickly and surely un-
der all circumstances. As this instruction
progresses II Is gradually varied by the adj
ditiOn Of mounted exercise, SO that by the
end of the season a rough riding drill of
the squad is a far better exhibition than
the average circus.
The siege howitzers used by the Sixteenth
battery as well as the other guns used in
the army are built at the Watervliet arse
nal, near Troy, y. Y, by the Ordnance De
partment. They are built of steel, are
rifed and are breech-loaders. In fact, they
are truly modern guns. The howitZer with
its carriage and timber weighs 5000 pounds
borne on a wheel base Of five by eight feet.
When it is remembered that this weight
added to that of nine horses, averaging
1850 pounds each, aggregates 20,95O pounds,
all on a base of eighteen by two yards,
even novice will understand that it takes
strong bridge to carry the battery. And
this is the weight of only one gun and
team.
The projectiles fired are shell and shrap-
mel weighing los pounds each. fired with a
charge of three and one-half pounds of
smokeless powder.
Each gun is accompanied by a platform,
as the officers of the Ordnance Department
were of opinion that the guns could not
be fired from the ground on account of
their great weight This, however, has
proved not to be the case, for at target
practice this year. 200 rounds of ammuni
ton were fired either with platform at
all, or with an improvised one consisting
of two planks, one back of each wheel, its
front end resting the ground and the
rear end on a pile of sand bags about
eighteen inches high.
This proved to be entirely satisfactory
and all that was necessary, even in soft
ground and it will probably result in the
discarding of the cumbersome platforms
heretofore in
George b. Rodney, Captain William II.
Coffin and Captain George w. Van Deu-
sen, is now in session at Fort Riley, hav-
Ing been convened to recommend the prop
er equipment for siege batteries IN Il
probability their most urgent re CONNIE nda-
tons will be directed toward the aboii,.on
of the platforms and a reduction in the
weight of the gun carriage.
THE WAR TEST TO COME.
As yet siege batteries have not had
no of war n dot
merits of their organization, though, from
the work accomplished thus far. under cir
cumstances as closely approaching war as
it is possible to obtain in time OF peace,
they have been so successful as to justify
the expectation that they Will come fully
up to what is expected of them in time of
war.
The Sixteenth Battery. then known as
siege Battery TO-" Seventh Artillery, went
as far as San Francisco last summer a
year ago, en- route TO China. as it was
thought the siege guns would be required
in reducing the walls OF Picking. The city
had been entered by the allied troops be
fore the battery could embark. and so 1t
was sent back to Fort Riley.
OF the officers of the Sixteenth Battery
Captain George W. Van DeuSen is known
throughout the army as one OF the best
| to-date artillery officers. In 1899 he was
! sent to England by the government for
/ the purpose OF inspecting and shipping
/ some Maxim Nordenfeldt mountain guns,
| which had been purchased for use in the
/ Philippines. From England he went to
Manila, where he successfully organized
/ two mountain batteries, of which, un-
/ der command of Captain Stivers, Thirty
/ first Infantry, L. 5. V, a graduate of West
/ Point, did excellent service during several
campaigns in the southern islands. The
I other battery. under his own command,
/ accompanied General Schwan's expedition
in Southern LuZOn where ii was not only
successful in everything il undertook. due
/ to Captain Van Deusen's skill as an ar
/ tillery officer. but returned 10 Manila at
4 the close of the campaign without the loss
| of a man or an animal
/ An interesting accompaniment of siege
| artillery is the Searchlight train. 1t IS in
! tended that one such train shall accompany
each battalion of four siege batteries in
| time of war. II consists of one searchlight
| carriage, resembling somewhat a light ar
/ tillery caisson, the searchlight being
mounted on what corresponds TO the mid
die and rear ammunition chests, one car
| riage, carrying on its timber an electric
| dynamo, and on its main portion a steam
! engine: one boiler with Jointed smoke stack
| also with a timber; one barrel cart for
! carrying water for the boiler, very similar
| TO watering cart; and several army
! wagons for carrying fuel. 1t is intended
that a SiX-horse team shall haul each car
riage and that the men To man the search
light and its appurtenances be made by de-
/ tails from the batteries. An officer is 10
| command the train.
! The first actual test OF the use Of search
/ lights in land warfare was made in South
| Africa where the British successfully used
/ them for long distance signaling at night
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