The Washington times., 1904-09-11
MANASSAS BATTLEFIELD
DESERTED BY SOLDIERS

perts. real or self-fancied. had a chance
To lave their opinions displayed under
big head lines in their papers
The press camp was BY tar the best
located on the maneuver field. u was
high and dry on hill that overlooked
General COrbin's tent. some three hum
charge Of the newspaper outnt, lcft no
stone unturned 10 make the INK sling
ers comfortable. and his efforts We're
rewarded by the most pronounced sue
cess.
Unusually good wall tents were pro-
vided with regular army cots. chairs,
and waterbuCkcts for the use OF each
CORES ondent and photographer. while
the recreation tent, the telegraph tent,
and the main tent were Tor the use OF
all. The water supply was good. and
ran out only twice, for few hours each
time Notwithstanding the ne@vy demand
upon IL, for the dust. which lay like
br own carpet over the whole Of Prince
William county, covered everyone wlrrs
baths and hydrants were in constant
The gang turned out at various hours.
the strenuous getting up at and g. and
parading over the country in search OF
copy. while the majority headed for the
scene Of hOstllities about o'clock
Lectures by Umpire.
The lectures OF Colonel Wagner. chief
umpire. which were given In the big
press tent every evening. and which
were explanatory Of the operations OF
/ the day. proved a great boon 10 the
correspondents. who were frequently
unable to cover half Of the engagements.
/ owing 10 the great distances that had
/ TO be Travelled and the uncertainty OF
/ the time and places Of the clashes. Al
! the points were made clear by Colonel
/ Wagner except as 10 who won and VINO
I lost. In this respect the statements
/ Of the chief umpire were not always
| clear.
District Guard Officers.
The officers Of the District National
! Guard. who came down as observers,
had a strenuous week Of il. but went
back delighted with the treatment they
! received and well pleased with what
they saw on the battlefelds. Every one
| OF them worked hard while he was here
General Harries had TO leave early in
the week for Sea Grit. but returned TO
Gainesville Friday morning. He was
! with the other officers at the review to-
/ day. and rode home with them
! The good people OF Prince William
county looked on the maneuyers IN
various ways. Those who lived near
the towns In the war zone succeeded
in making great deal of money out
OF the soldiers by selling all sorts Of
food supplies, and they we're happy
The farmers who were not IN a posi-
I
not so well pleased at the manner In
which their fences were cut up and torn
down, nor at the trampling Of their
corn crops. but the damage board VIII
go to work now and appraise the value
of the crops lost and the fences de-
stroyed, and fully compensate the losers.
Poor corn viii doubtless be paid for
as good corn, and due consideration
viii be given for the depredations Of
live stock. hundreds Of which were let
into the coz delds, gardens and or
/ charNa through the ring dOcvn Of the
fences
The breaking into the store at Grove
ton was the, only serious depreciation
that occurred as a result Of the volun-
tary actions OF the troops themselves.
but Captain Grimsiey. Of the damage
board. told a reporter for The Times to-
day that he thought the losses would
amount to a large sum.
Natives Liked Bell.
To man almost the natives were for
General Bells army. The name of
Grant and the blue uniform Of his army
were responsible for this, and the ma
tives spoke Of the browns as the
-'Grays'' and cheered them loudly when
ever they went into action with rebel
yell that awoke the echoes OF the two
great battles OF Manassas They want
| ed Bell 10 win nrst, last. and all the
! time. and rooted for him vigorously
| One OF the hardest worked men on
the maneuver field was Col ]. 3
| Brown, general agent OF the southern
Railway, IN charge OF traffic here.
Morning. noon, and night Colonel Brown
was busy at Gainesville. running all
| sorts OF specials up and down between
Manassas and ThOroughfare. loading
and unloading troop trains and side
tracking cars until they should be
needed today From now until Monday
viii be his busiest time. and he viii
make every effort 70 get all the Ma
tiOnaI Guard troop trains out on time,
although the task Is a gigantic one BY
inc
lation Of Prince William county viii be
materially lessened. and by Monday
night all viii have gone save the regu-
lars who Will remain under General
Barry's command. to guard the proper
p ~ within the war zone