The National tribune., 1902-07-10

Tribune
| am inviting the boys of the "Critter
Companies'' to turn backward to the days
when they first began to drill. and espe-
ciaIlv when they first began to drill
mounted The boys viii every one of them
recall the fun and the incidents of their
first drill on horseback. This leads me
I'M to = story told by my friend, Mr.. John
fleetwood Moore. of Columbia. Tenn. de-
scribing a Cavalry Drill in Old Ten
neSscc.' as follows:
Fall in, gentlemen. fall in. Two er-
breast. there. an no foolishncss, Tom
Riddick. can't You keep that mule still:
Come. come. gentlemen. 30 fail in at the
command Do cit into line. l'romptnesS
is the fust thing in milertary.
1t wis a balmy Saturday afternoon IN
n village of TenneSSee-a drill day with
the boys-before the war. 10 correctly
understand this sketch. and it is taken
from nature, reader. we must first ask
YOU to remember that from its earliest
history Tennessee has been called the
"Voluntecr State" an appellatiOn won
by the promptness of her SONS to respond
TO their cOuntry's call for volunteers. In
fact the State may almost be said to
have been born fighting. if such term
may be applied to an abstract Common
wealth, for certain it is that her sons
played conspicuous part in the ,Revo-
lutianary War, before the then Nv este1n
District of North Carolina had been
divided of into the present State OF Ten
neSsee After that war the aggressive
spirit of the warlike tribes of Indians
which occupied the beautiful country of
middle and west Tennessee and the fine
virgin land of the Gulf States assisted IN
no small degree in keeping up that mill
tary spirit so earnestly begun in the
earlier days 1t needed only the fiery
spirit of Andrew Jackson TO firmly fix the
fighting spirit of the State. and in him it
received the full measure of all that was
neeled-yes ami more.
The head and front of all this military
enthusiasm was centered in the infantry
musters, cavalry drills being rarer, and,
we believe. not often being attempted till
the period directly following the Mexican
War. and then not to the extent of the old
muSters. The following account which
was given Us by an Octogenar1an of the
good old times. we have endeavored faith
fully TO narrste. If it appears little
rough, reader. pray remember that those
were rough-and-ready times. and TO at
tempt to describe the drill without giving
the language and personnel of the drill
ers would be Ike painting a battle scene
and leaving out the blood.
Fall in. gentlemen. fall inr'
This command came from Col. Dick
Posey, fine old gentlemen of 80 years,
who had seen service IN the War of 1872
and the Mexican War. brave, honest, sim
pie and unaffected, but who had forgot
ten all his military learning except n
proud and martial bearing. and that ''all
cavalrymen must turn out their toes while
riding"
On this particular evening the Colonels
bearing was truly grand, the occasion be-
ing one of great Importance to him; for,
aside from the fact that he was proud of
the military position he held and the repu-
tatiOn he had made in the war, it was
well known that the Colonel was Il candi-
date for the State Legislature, and much
of his success depended upon the manner
in which he displayed his knowledge of
war. He was mounted On a long, slim,
raw-bOned black mare, whose every rib
could be counted, but as fat as a nervous
three-quarter thoroughbred could well be
with the saddle scarcely ever off her dur
ing the day and as often as once a week
good for half nights chase after the
hounds. She carried high head and a
rat tail. and was so thin in the girth that
the Colonel could almost wrap his long
legs around her. Withal, she was a
great fool and ready to shy at the slight
est provocation, a trick which gave to her
rider the opportunity he wanted to show
off his skill as a rider.
To the Coloners side was buckled
long saber which nearly touched the
ground balanced by pistol in a holster
that looked large enough to be n leather
coffin for a baby mummy. This pistol,
by the way, was q character which we
cannot in justice pass over without a
word as TO its Individuality. 1t was load
ed by means CT powder, balls and caps,
and was nearly as heavy as a sporting
gun of today. Its peculiarity lay in the
fact that it was exceedingly ''touchous"
about going off, and if loaded too heavily.
when fired every chamber went off stimuli
taneously, the balls flying in every direc-
ton except straight forward 1t required
more skill to FIRE it without killing every
body on each side of it than it now re-
quircs 10 fire Gatling or a H0tchkisS
But TO return TO the Colonel. 4 hOmespun
suit dyed with cOpperas, slouched hat
and feather ard cavalry boots completed
his attire.
His company consisted of 80 or more
farmers mounted on nearly every beast
that the soil Of the State would grow.
Jim McHyde. the wit OF the village, had
even ridden in on a steer decorated with
COW bells. and suddenly rushing out from
the thieket behind the only grocery" in
town. he plunged into the ranks with
such elang and shout as 10 stampede
the entire company for a moment. As
the occasion vas one of more or less fun,
Jim was ordered out. his steer turned
loose, and Jim himself was told TO get up
the old cannon, brought back from
Mexico, and fire il after the drill was
over, part Of the military exercises
scrUpuiously carried out at every drill,
chiefly to impress the Importance Of the
occasion on the small boys and women
folks Of the surrounding country.
The company had been coming in since
u O'Clock. The grocery, nowadays
euphoniously called the saloon, had done
a rushing business. Several horse swaps
had taken place, there had been three
1,y,rg 4 81
street OF the village, and a fight or two
had not been omitted from the regular
program.
Many of the company had ridden in on
brood mares, and as it was the Spring of
the year all Of these had brought their
colts with them. Each colt had been care
fully criticised by a bunch of judges,
while its proud owner enthusiastically
pointed out IFS fine points and expatiated
on its breeding. Finally, the company
had all assembled, and after mounting,
Col. POsey advanced toward the bunch,
exclaiming:
Fall in, now, gentlemen, fall in Two
erbrcast, and set straight in the saddle
Git in quick. and turn out yer toes" And
he rode behind the bunch Of men, mares
colts and mules.
At this command there was general
spurring and rush as each one endeavored
TO get into line with military pr0mptness
but no one seemed TO know where the
line was and how TO get into it, and. &c
add to the general confusion, the colts got
mixed up and rushed around ueighing fol