Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-04-23
WATERVILLE.
COMPANY H WINS.
Victor in Competitive Drill With
Augusta Company.
Decision Seemed to Meet With Ao-
provaI Of Spectators.
Grand Military Ball Winds Up Festivi.
ties of Evening.

| l.. vi,
state militia left no doubt in the minds
of the supporters of the two companies
as to which squad was the better drill
e", 1or after IN hour and a half of
drlilinS on Thursday evening, and care
| lul consideration of their relative lncr-
| us by three competent judges Il deci-
| SION was given in favor of the squad
| OF Company H., and the decision SEEM
| ed to meet with the approval of the
| spectators. The squads We're put
| through the manouevres laid out on "A
| program which had been prepared with
great deliberation by the judges and
| was d1ffcult enough to faZe a company
| oil much more experienced men, but
| though these companies nave been Or
| EanlZed but year they went through
| with the program without a hitch and
| executed many of the movements rs
| we'll as regulars could have done. Ow-
| ing to the limited space of the hall
| the size of the squads was limited 20
| two sets of fOurs, and this fact pre-
vented the companies showing what
| they could do with more space in which
| to manouevre.
No better judges for Il drill of this
sort could nave been secured than
| those who off:ciated on Thursday even
| ing, Capt. james Z. Mitchell OF the
regular army was chairman of the
| judges and had to assist him, Major
II. L. Ilartnett of Portland, II former
| guardSman and captain of the famous
Montgomery Guards, and Capt. Thomas
| Hogan of Portland, captain of Com
pany F., First Regiment. n. G.. S. NJ.
| and ar authority of military matters.
These gentlemen made out the program
| for the drill which was as follows:
/. Formation Of Company: From
| company to the left. Dismiss company.
| Form company. Inspection of company.
| Close ranks.
2. Stack arms. Move company to
| rear FacinGS. Side steps. Right ana
| left hand salutes. Take arms.
| 3. Column of fourS from right to
| front. March column of fOurS to rear.
| March column of fCurs to front. Right
| and left obiique. Form company. Left
| turn and halt. Company right and left.
| Form column to right, and right on
| line. Column of fours left in front.
| Form column of twos. Form column OF
| files. Form fours. From company to
right and front March twice length of
| hall, wheeling about by fours. arms at
port. March twice length of hall eXecut-
| ing to the rear twice, arms at right
shoulder. Right and left turns and aG-
| vance. Form column Of files from col!
u;nn Of fours right in front. Form col
umn of fOurs. Form company to the
| left. oblques in company front. Column
| Of fours to right. Right and left flames.
| Form company front.
| 4. Manual of arms, to include all
| movements. Also fix bayonets, and
| charge bayonts from order, port, and
| right shoulder.
| ). Deploy company to front for bay
onct exercises. Execute bayonet eXer-
| else Assemble company.
| 6. LOadings and tirings.
T. Extended order: Line of squads on
| first squad. Assemble company on first
| squad Left front into of squads. AS
semble squads on first squad. Marching
| in company front, form line of squads
| on first squad. Deploy as skirmiShers.
| March to front and rear and halt. Fire
by company. Fire by squads at 500 and
COO yards. Advance by rushes and fire
at will. Assemble company on No. 2
| rear rank of second squad. Retire.
Copies of this program We're handed
to the company captains ten minutes
before they came on the floor, SO that
| they had no opportunity to study them
or talk them over with their men. Com
pany II. came on first with Captain
| Besse in command and were greeted
with roar of applause. The company
was formed by First Scrgt. McAiary
and then turned over to Captain Besse.
The men were perfectly at ease and
obeyed all the orders with snap and
precision. At the command stack
arms there was n hush, and every
one expected to see the stacks go to
pieces on the slippery floor. but when
the company moved to the rear and lett
them they stood as steady rs rocks.
| The company went through the
marching with 4 swing and cadence
| which showed the result of hard work,
going from fours to twos and then to
files and back to fours again with al
most perfect precision. and when they
marched the length of the hail at conf
pany front with the line as straight
as a ramrod the gallery applauded
Justify. The men went through the
manual with all the snap and precision
which marks the regular. Every motion
and every count was emphasized the
| rattle or the rifles showed making per-
feet harmony. and when the rifles were
brought to the order there was n single
thud as if but one piece instead OF 10
had been brought to the floor. The
bayonet exercise was we'll done but the
movements We're too mechanical the
men holding themselves rigid and not
giving the pieces the play which should
accompany the exercise. Both conipan-
les were weak in this exercise. The
Eloadings and firings We're executed in
fine shape and when the command was
given to fire at will from magazines
there was burst of applause from tho
gallery.
The hall was far too small to allow
lof much freedom in teh extended order
movements, but they were all We'll ex-
ecuted considering the practice the
linen have had in them. the men We're
deployed as skirmishers and made to
fire while kneeling and lying down.
movements which would have been
much better executed had the footing
been grass or earth instead of a waxed