The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-27
Desperate Effort to Capture Fort
Riley, Which Was the Storm Gen.
ter of n Hot Fight.
SLOWER WAS IN COMMAND
AND CARR LED THE GREATLY ST.
PERIOR ATTACKING FORCE.
Texas Infantry Almost Annihilated
and Other Regiments Moved Down
by Machine Guns.

FORT RILEY, Kan, Oct. 26-Fort Riley
still belongs to the government. The enemy
made a desperate effort TO capture it this
morning and failed. They did not exactly
fail either, for the fight was hot when the
umpires stopped it, but they had not
secured it at the time the halt was called.
and consequently it's possession remains
where it was before the fight.
The enemy which sought to capture the
post was Gen. c. c. Carr with nine regi-
ments of infantry, two full regiments and
one additional squadron of cavalry and four
batteries. The force that withstood him
under the command of Col Slower, of the
Fourth Cavalry, was the first battalion of
engineers, under Major Leach, the Sixth
Infantry, commanded for the day by Lieu
tenant Colonel Loughborough, battalion
of the Twelfth Infantry, two batteries OF
artillery and one squadron of cavalry. Col.
Slower placed five companies of the Sixth
Infantry on the right under the direct COM
mand of Capt. w. X. Jones. with Lieuten-
ant Colonel Loughborough in charge of the
entire line. The battalion of the Twelfth
Infantry held the center, the engineers
and a portion of the cavalry being on the
left.
A force of cavalry sent around the Blue
left crossed the Republican river and might
have been strong factor in the fight, but
cease firing was sounded by Colonel
Wagner before this detachment was able
10 get into contact with the defending Blue
army. 1t was on the right, however, where
Lieutenant Colonel Loughborough and Cap
tain Jones held the line, that the hardest
fighting was done, and here it was that
General Cars attack, cleverly managed
as il was, met complete repulse.
Lieutenant Colonel Loughborough had
given orders that no fire should be di-
rected upon the Browns until they were
close mp, but the impudence OF Brown
squadron prancing along a ridge within
500 yards was too much for some OF his
men, who fired the few rifle shots. One
gun Of the Seventh Artillery roared out
and the Brown cavalry scampered. satisfied
with having developed the Blue position. y
In a short time the Brown infantry In
long lines poured over the hills mile and
a half distant and advanced straight upon
| ground was taken by the attacking force,
| but there was thousands of them all COM
| ing down long slope toward ravine, De-
| yond which lay the 1ntrenched infantry
with a battery and one machine gun, and
| ii seemed as though any man who could hit
| the hill could not miss Brown soldier.
The Texas infantry on General Carr s lett
made a beautiful mark as they passed in a
| flank march 500 yards away. The time for
| the defenders had come and they seized 1t
promptly. Company Is, OF the sixth, under
| Captain Welsh, opened fire, and in an in
| slant the entire line was BLAZING at the
| Texas infantry. The volume of the fire was
| so great that the umpire decided that the
| Texas regiment was for the most part out
| of the action before it reached position
| from which ii could open fire.
Other troops came down, but the steady
/ infantry fire and the unceasing pop from a
| machine gun, punctuated by the report or
/ the three-inch gum continued, and in a short
| time the left of General Carr's attack was
| i'm bad way. and the umpires decided that
| it never could have succeeded on that part
| of the line Over in the center and on the
| right General Carr was still very much in
| the battle when Colonel Wagner put period
| to the fighting.
| Tomorrow there will be no maneuvers in
| the field The militia regiments will leave
| for home and it is expected by Major Baker.
| the chief quartermaster, that the last OF
| them will be on the cars by 1880 a. m.
| Private Falvey, of San Antonio, of the
| Texas regiment, is in the hospital critically
| i'll with pneumonia.