Evening star., 1905-02-18
DISTRICT ARTILLERY
FIRST OFFICIAL LOCAL ORGANI-
ZATION.
Unique and Odd Body of Men
Veteran Newspaper Man
Was Captain.


Written for The Evening Star.
There are some of the white-haired and
white-whiskered members of the District
National Guard who recall with feelings of
good humcr the first official artillery of the
District of Columbia, the unique and odd
organiza ton known as 'Hahnnemann's Bat
terry or, Major julius Hahnnemann, its
con mander, was wont to term it, Light
Battery of the District of Columbia Mi
litia."
A veteran newspaper man who held cap
taincy in the battery by virtue of the
''puffs" he gave the organization, back in
the early seventies today related some in
cidents, funny and pathetic, in the history
of Light Battery A. which is now only a
distant memory. Julius Hahnnemann was
a fine. sodierly looking fellow and trained
artilleriSt, for he had been for several years
an officer of artillery in the German army.
When he started in to organize the bat
terry the military spirit was rampant in the
District, and the militia force here was
composed of several companies which had
meeting places or armories in different sec
tions of the city, Company D, for instance,
meeting in West Washington, while Com
rany E held forth in the east end of the
city.
The tendency of the military-enthused
youth of the District at that time, however,
service, and Major Hahnnemann expert
enced much difficulty in securing recruits
for his battery, as amateur big gun prac
tice in those days with the old muzzle-load-
ing cannon was considered dangerous sport.
Hit Upon Expedient.
Hahnnemann finally hit upon the happy
eXpedient of making Light Battery A at
tractive for young men by offering sort of
prize inducements. He announced, for in
stance, that any political, fraternal or So
cial organization desiring the battery to
fire a salute of from ten to one hundred
guns or shots could secure the services of
the organization by providing the gunpow
der sufficient to make the blank cartridges
and treating the gunners to one or more
kegs of beer. Consequently, as Major
Hahnncmann expressed it, every time we
fire a salute it means picnic for my boys
of Battery A
Hahnemann finally managed to draw
about him a motley crew of gunners-boys.
men of all ages, all sizes and all conditions.
And the uniformsi They were as yariegat-
ed as the gunners. There was collecting
committee whose duty it was to secure
donations from citizens for the battery
fund. The QuartermaSter was required to
provide uniforms for the men and horses
to haul the guns whenever there was to be
a turnout.
The uniform was a mixture of the suits
worn by every branch of Uncle Sans army
and navy. They were procured from dis
charged soldiers, sailors and marines, or
from the secondhand shops. 1t not
an unusual thing to see on parade one of
Hahnnemann's artillerists wearing pair of
cavalry trousers with yellow stripes, an in
fantrymans coat with white trimmings and
the discarded cap of one of Uncle Sans
marine soldiers. The rule seemed to be
anything so it was military uniform. The
result was that the battery on parade pre-
sented variety in both color. shape and
design. The various physiques of the men,
CT m nViT
man with faltering steps, half-sailor suit
and two weeks growth of white whiskerS,
would be a slender youth of fifteen, be-
deeked in a homemade uniform, put to-
gether by his fond mamma. and trimmed
with red. white and yellow. Some of the
gunners were well-known city characters,
and of them was veritable giant,
standing six and a half feet high. Another
was a dwarf, known as Shorty" and
famous among his comrades for the great
quantity Of beer he could drink on occa-
siOns of parade or salutes.
The Scars of War.
The guns of the battery bore the scars
of war, for they had seen hard service in
the civil war campaigns in the south. The
horses that hauled them were as varied
in color and design the uniforms. Some
were cart horses of halting gait and an
ever present appetite. Others had done
service propelling furniture wagons and
were of slow and deliberate movement.
They were bOny and blind and were af-
fecttd by the 'sweeneys" and go backs
and other diseases which equines are heir to.
There was none of that dash about the
movements of Light Battery A that is
pictured in song and story. 1t was slow
going, labored aggregation, and each
rider was provided with large and brutal
whip, which it was necessary to WELD
vigorously over the lean, spawned frames
of the animals to keep them in bare mo-
tion.
on parade the battery looked as though
il might be the big gun detachment of
some FalStaffian army. Two horseS 10 a
gun was all the battery fund could afford
and whenever it became necessary Tor
Light Battery A to visit East Washing
ton all the gunners and several citizens
besides were required as pushers TO get
the cannon to the top of the incline.
Membership in the battery meant hard
work at times but 1t also meant beer. ana
the old men and young therefore olo the
work uncomplainingly.
The pathetic side of the history of Bat
terry was the number OF gunners VINO
were blown into eternity at the muZzles Oh
the old wartime cannon, and those who
had either one arm or leg, or both blown
off by a premature discharge. 1t came 10
be q saying rere that whenever the battery
went out 20 fire a salute it was necessary
to have an ambulance in the wake OF the
guns to carry off the dead and wounded.
1t is recalled that on the occasion of one
of the last salutes fired by the battery in
honor of a political victory the gunners
were given a keG of beer before they ge-
gan firing The casualties were three. one
man blown about 100 feet and dangerously
wounded, another lost an arm and another
was struck and knocked down by the hrst
gunner as ne sped through space with a
big charge of black powder and a great
roll of smoke behind him.