Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-07
The Blues Successfully Resist
Attack Of the Browns on Fort
Riley
lNTRENcHMENTs THROWN UP
Mai. Leach Praised for the Work Of the
Army in This Direction Browns
Make. Clever Attack, But Lose
Many Men in Charge Across the
Open.

y,
defended the line of the Union Pacific
and the base of supplies at Fort Riley
from capture by a superior force OF
browns yesterday by the most effective
bit OF entertainment work performed
during the maneuvers here.
Both armies did their work i'll such
| a soldierly manner that the umpires
| and spectators were at times as wildly
enthusia site as a crowd of foot ball
rooters.
Gen. Kobbe led the attacking forces
and Maj. Leach of the engineers was in
charge OF the blue defenders. When the
days operations closed Maj. Leach was
still in possession of his trenches and
Gen. Kobbe had lost q great number
of his men by a bold infantry charge,
the last 500 yards of which was across
the open, exposed to the full fire of the
entrenched blues.
< The entertainments for the defense
We're made under the direction OF Capt.
j. b. Cavanaugh of the engineers, and
We're most skillfully constructed. The
loose earth thrown up in creating the
trench was covered with grass, placed
at right angle to the line OF the
trench. This gave the eye at distance
of 1Os yards little Indication of the To-
cation OF the trenches. When the
brown army moved out from camp
to take the position from which ii later
advanced to the attack it passed within
l, 500 yards of the blues, and the Local
ton of the intrenchments was In plain
view. Later in the morning they We're
unable to see these same trenches, and
their men suffered heavily in front of
them.
Gen. Kobbe commenced his attack by
sending detachments around both
TANKS OF the blue line to create appre-
hension for the blue communications,
while he pushed his artillery straight
up to Morris hill. the highest point
on the reservation. His batteries were
seen for nearly an hour before they
opened, the delay being for the pur-
pose of allowing the thanking columns
to march into position. Gen. Hobbies
artillery kept up rapid fire, his OBJ
ject being to provoke Il reply from the
blues and thus unmask their positions.
finally two mountain guns opened on
the left, as did the two of the Sixth
battery. II They fired only few times,
however, and then We're silencel 1t
was enough for the browns, however,
and twelve guns We're trained on the
four blue guns.
The odds were too great, and after
short combat the four guns of the
blues were ruled out Of action.
The brown infantry was coming in
steadily across the fields straight on
to the intrenchments. Brown scouts
pushed forward over ridge 500 yeards
distant in the effort to provoke a fire
from the blues, whose defenseS they
We're unable to locate.
A cavalry guidon was displayed
above the ridge, as tho a detachment
was riding just out of sight below the
crest, but no reply came from the
blues, and then, apparently assured
of no enemy in their front over the
hill, came a battalion of the brown in
fantry. When fairly over the crest the
blues simply shot them into construc-
tive little pieces, and four companies
of the Twenty second were lost to Gen.
kobbe.
The brown artillery now came flying
down from Morris hill, and while part
of it took position at 1000 yards several
other guns were cleverly pushed up
behind a ridge into splendid position
at 1900 yards. Other guns moved on
to theebrown right and came dashing
over the ridge not more than 400 yards
distant. They were all punched in re-
lief against the sky line, and the spec
tators fairly danced in glee at the beau
tiful mark presented.
The blue guns poured volley after
yOlley into them, and before they could
regain the safe side of the ridge an
entire brown battery and a platoon
eight guns in all, were deprived of all
usefulness.
Other guns were pushed forward,
however, and kept up steady fire on
the blue entertainments. and then two
battalions of infantry came forward on
the run to charge the blue intrench-
ments.
They came fully exposed, and must
have suffered frightfully from the fire
that met them. They came on rapidly.
however, and We're preparing to cross
the ravine when Gen. Bates, who was
observing the fight carefully, said;
Get some umpires in there quick.
those fellows will be at close range in
q few minutes