Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-03
WILL SOON 60 AWAY
TWO COMPANIES OF ENGINEERS
TO LEAVE ON THE 18th.
The Rest Will Follow-To Take Places
Of q Battalion in the
Philippines.

Two companies Of the engineers battal-
ion that has been under instruction at the
Washington barracks during the last two
years will start for the Philippines April
Id. The rest will follow. This battalion
will take the place of the battalion of en-
gineers that is now in the Philippines 1t
will pI e5ably be the best equipped organ
ization Of the kind that has ever gone
from its school Of instruction to active
duty
Major Curtis Med. Townsend, corps of
engineers. who recently arrived from Rock
Island, ILL.,, will command Companies and
X. who will leave first. He will devote
the next two weeks to drilling his COM
mand and fitting 1t out for the tour of
service in the Philippines, so as to have
1T ready to sail from San Francisco May 1.
The battalion represents the highest de-
velopment in training that 1t is possible
to give force of engineers who are to be
In readiness to carry on their work while
under fire. The men of the four companies
Of engineers have been trained in all sorts
Of skilled trades that are likely to be of
service In connection with the operations
of an army. Two years ago they were
nearly all new men. OF the four companies
there were but thirty-four 'old soldiers. ~
The old soldiers are not men old in years,
service in the army. Only thirty-four of
the four companies had ever known any
military service. But the recruits being
young men Of good physique and generally
promising material with which to make up
an engineer corps.
instruction Of the Corps.
They found in their life at the Washing
ton barracks a sufficiently diversified rou-
tine to inspire interest and to call out their
best efforts. They were drilled like ordi-
q, t. - fho%x x-oI ",
ing they were instructed in different trades.
Some Of them have been taught carpenter
ing. some brick laying, bridge building, pho
Biography and great variety of useful
knowledge that is necessary for an efficient
corps of engineers who are to go into
hostile country and be ready to construct
public works needed for military purposes
or to demolish others that 1t Is desired to
get rid Of. They have been instructed in
map making and in the arts Of the scout,
so that when 1t is desired by the command
ing officer to obtain from his own men ac-
curate information concerning the country
through which he is to lead his army they
will be able to supply the want.
The instruction of this battalion has been
largely under Major Blacks corps of engi-
neers, who will go down to the isthmus
with the canal commission. In his place
as commanding officer there has been or
dered Major Burr
Extensive Improvements.
The grounds of the War College are now
in the course of extensive improvements.
When they are completed the engineer
battalion will have very much better quar-
tiers in which the work Of instruction can
be carried on. They will be provided with
new and cemmodious barracks with every
modern facility for caring for body of
men and other branches of the War Col
lege will also be there. 1t is there that
the postgraduate school will be located
for officers who have been graduated from
the Military Academy. The northern part
of the grounds has been cleared of nearly
every building that stood there, and the
work of reclaiming the swampy land be-
tween the grounds and the James Creek
canal is going on. Capt. Seweu of the
corps of engineers, who has just finished
the construction Of the new government
printing Office building, has general charge
of the construction of the new buildings of
the War College. The entire work will in
volve the tearing down of every building
in the historic grounds and the construc-
ton of what is designed to be the most
complete plant for a War College that
exists anywhere.