The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-12

to repair a biundsr of which he had not
been apprised. he threw his brigade into
battle line with marvellous rapid:ty, taking
advantage of every point of position. and
so shattered the Brown brigade when mao
hurled itself upon him that the unpires
gave IL losses of over 800 men and stayed
It's advance, thereby destroying its flrst
success gained by piercing the Blue adj
vance. This might just as well have occur
red In real war as on practice held. Inc
point that a totally unexpected
condition was instantly comprehended and
taken advantage of in the best possipie
way. In real war Colonel Smith would
have had full brigadier generalship for
this achievement
INDIANA'S FINE OFFICERS.
The other regimental commanders, Col.
George w. Mccoy, of Vincennes, COM
handing the First and Lieutenant Colonel
Bowman, commanding the Third, In the
absence of Colonel Studebaker, of South
Bend. gained their laurels in the advance
guard maneuvers of last Monday. They
so handled their regiments that in time or
actual hostilities the main columns fol-
lowing would not have been delayed or
crippled without appreciable loss to their
own commands. They exhibited qualities
of quick thinking, in addition to military
technique, which gained them the COM
mendation of the umpres.
AS for the commissioned men lower In
rank too much can hardly be said. Lieut..
Col. Edwin =. Thayer. of Greenfield, was
given a chance to show the stuff that is
In him as commander of the Second in the
big fight of Thursday. The skill and speed
with which he threw the Second Regiment
into battle line, and the strategical genius
exhibited by him, opened the eyes of some
OF the regular army umpires who saw the
engagement. The three majors or the sec
ond. Henry I. Condo, of Indianapolis, John
j. Backman, of Aurora, and John III. Tarl-
ton, showed that the business Of handling
4 a al . me-
thing they know perfectly. In camp they
took care of their men like fathers: In the
field they led them like men of brains IN
stead of shoulder-strapped automatons. A
inner lot of company commanders than
those of the Second would be hard TO find.
| There is that veteran Captain Charles A.
Garrard, of Company A; George s. Harvey,
| OF Charlottesville, one of the best all-round
soldiers in the State; Taylor c. Power and
| William G. Comfy, of Indianapolis, Com
panies C and d. both clean-cut young men.
soldiers to the bone; Captain Harry Frank
| lin. or this city, of Company III, one OF the
most popular officers with his men Of any
| In the regiment Captains Middleton, of Z;
Jericho, of F; Griffis, of 1; Kinter, of *;
Caldwell of L. and Bragg. of III, all men
know their business.
ESPECIALLY COMMENDED.
On the regimental staff Maj. Frederick r.
! Charlton, who looked after the sick men Of
| the brigade: Capt. Homer L. Jones. the as
sstant surgeon; Capt Hoyt n. McClain,
regimental adjutant; Capt. Raymond p. Van
Camp, regimental quartermaster, and the
| other staff officers. Lieutenants Moorhead
| Maltby, Unversaw, Bridges, Naftzger and
| Sears, gained the commentator Of their
| colonel for efficient services. They took
| the hard with the soft, the fair with the
| foul, like good soldiers, and helped to form
the impression that everybody gained at
Camp Young-Indiana's men are not tin
A q
All this may be said with equal reason OF
the officers of the First and Third regf-
| ments. Colonel McCoy'S majors, Theodore
j. Louden, William j. Coleman and Thomas
| b. Coulter. well as Lieut. Col. James +.
| Fee, manifested all the qualities of good
the First is the adjutant, Capt David r.
| Gebhart. of New Albany. To his efforts is
| due largely the efficiency of the First. In
| were given especial opportunities for dis
tinction, and they took advantage of them
! well.
| MKEE'S ENERGETIC STAFF.
| On General McKee's brigade staff four
men were especially hard worked and COM
| mended. Lieut.. Col. John 7. Barnett, as
sistant inspector general of the guard, and
| appointed brigade observer by Major Cen
eral Bates for the maneuvers, is former
| officer of regular cavalry, having served
ten years with the Fifth Cavalry, resigning
his commission in the late eighties. Colonel
Barnetts experience has been of great
value to the troops. He was always on hand
| at the right time, and was one of the most
energetic, interchangeable workers in the
camp. Major William H. Kershner, chief
commissary Of subsistence. had a hard job
but he looked after 1t with signal ability
There were all sorts of compliments for
Lieutenant Alfred B. Schanz, General Nc
! KEGS aid-de-camp. OF the younger men
| perhaps the one who worked the hardest
in staff duty and who made fine record is
Lieutenant Robert Tindall. of Battery A,
who was on detached duty as acting brigade
Quartermaster. His was the most vexatious
job, perhaps, of the lot, but he handled it
with the intelligence and skill of veteran
Quartermaster, saving the State hundreds
of dollars, without exaggeration, by his
careful conservation of supplies.
Indiana's soldier boys, to man, are
praying that they will have the same
chance for hard work next year.