Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-06
THE FOURTH |MMUNES
History of That Gallant Reg
iment.
CAPT. q. J. LOCKING
GIVES SKETCH FROM ITS MUSTER
IN.
To the Very Close of Its Service In the
Spanish-American Strug-
gle.

gle.
Capt. Homer ]. Locking. the recently
| elected historian of the 4th L. s. Volunteer
Infantry Qmmunes), has prepared history
| of the regiment from its muster in to its
| muster out.
The history. in part, as read at the recent
! reunion of the Immunes at Fredericksburg.
follows:
The Regiment Organized.
The first of the regiment to pitch tents at
| Camp Cobb was Company A. under Captain
| Broom arriving from Washington about
| June l. Then came other companies from
! various parts of Virginia. West Virginia,
! Maryland and the District of Columbia.
! These fo.4owed each other at intervals of
| two or three days each, when finally Cap
tain Preston and his men from East Rad
ford arrived. thus completing the organiza-
tlon OF the regiment. Now began our hard
work In earnest, and no body of men drilled
harder nor with better spirit than did the
Fourth 1mmunes From till IL o'clock in
the morning; two till five in the afternoon;
and dress parade at $50. Although our ex-
| perience in this particular while here was
strenuous to degree, the result proved to
| be of inestmable benelt to every nan of
| the regiment in the trying service that was
| to follow. 1t made us hard seasoned SOL
| diers; drilled and disciplined; and in every
/ way htted for hard service In a tropical
| climate; a service which we performed
making a record the equal of which no
| similar organization has ever been able to
| produce. The remarkable good health of
| the men and the exceedingly low death rate
are things unprecedented In army records
losing but seven men out of the thousand
curing the entire service: and all was due
| TO the broad. practical experience and wise
management of our grand old commander,
Colonel Petit
Although we missed the glorious exne
rience or meeting the enemy on the field OF
oattie as we had hoped and longed for I
would stake the fighting capacity of the
rourth lmmunes against any other tbous-
Gnu men that ever got together under reei-
iieIlai colors Not that the regiment was
composed OF toughs, dare-devils or desper-
aooes' Out men, intellectual and oualtfed
ana IN whose veins run the host 6oh,;rn
pIoou OF Doth north and south. To a large
extent II was composed of the sons of the
men VINO opposed each other In the terrible
Struggle OF the sixties and who 90 ala
thelr fathers, went into the service oS 49,
cause from principle and their natriotisro
lod the nag under which they fought. There
were sons and grandsons of generals ~
Ippostls armies; and captains and ad-
ihirais or both navies. AS to both oa5a.,
ana men, the regiment stood ,,itho,.
equai III the whole army of the Sna,;sh
try. iS VI the coun-
i6 AtiHS capacity.
w oii4y because of its remarkable nov
ouio stake my faith in the fight
p"cI'y OF that regiment but also
- 'ne iact that the most historic place
III all the land was selected for ,+s 70,
devious and equipment which 800, 'e
put add immensely to its vaIua IN ~, -.
tniportant particular. No other place fron,
cfe rugged coast of old Maine to the GnIf
from I tbe ma, and the Rio Grande. and
of
~ me coral strand of Florida is he,ter
calculated to inspire a soldier with nobIa
S eYo!tor 10 teach him lessons of patriotic
ue.otoh, than right here-Frederickshnrn
wfth It's Mary Washington Home the EJt9
nue mansion overlooking the historic Rap
iaitssi; Kenmore, the field In which the
SouthIul washington broke the back NJ the
coit' the trees planted by the immortal M
riot and score of other landmarks and
timal OF colonial and revolutionary
sunken road and the slaughter non of ~
great civil war, the very hilItops ana trees
ana stone walls. even houses of your CITY
an an bearing the scars of that terrible con-
| met IN which every valley and slope where
struggled those mighty armies run red with
the blood OF brothers. These to which Won
may point-where is there another locality
IN al the land so replete with associations
| OF the two most trying periods of orr ma
| tlonal life-periods which tried mems souls
ana tried them, too. to the last extreme?
| A regiment composed of men such es tho
| odd Fourth" drilled and disciplined as II
was, and in the midst of these surround
| ings-who would not gamble on its valor
| In the face of the enemy?
Notwithstanding the hard work per-
| formed. the days with US here passed
| quickly. for your kindness and hospitality
made them extremely pleasant; and when
| the time came for our departure It was
| mingled with JOY and dread. On the one
| hand we were jubilant that the order had
| been received. We were anxious to be at
the front and to share in whatever glory
he ut hnr ha,
| ah! on the other hand-as we looked out
| across the fields to where the housetops and
spires OF this little city glistened among
| the green foliage of its shade trees and
| thought OF the many pleasant associations
| we had formed. and some of us the sweet
faced maiden we must leave behind; won
dering If, after our service was over there
| would be happy reuniting-or If our home
! coming would be attended with silent bit
| ter tears and the solemn notes of the dirge
we were extremely reluctant to leave.
| Many a goodbye was said with a sad heart
as the trains pulled out from the station on
that 18th day of August. leaving behind
| the pieasantest of memories and the en-
| during goodwill for the people of this com
| munfty of every soldier and civilian con-
| nected with that regiment
Then followed our services with the eth
| Army Corps under command of the grand
| old hero, Maj. Gen. FitZhugh Lee whose
| spirit so lately responded to the summons
| OF the Great Commanderin-Ch Chief of all
| Armies and all Nations. and who was at
| that time In camp at Jacksonville Fla,
| and afterward under Gen. Wood In San
tiago and in the western part of the Island
| of Cuba.
| Our experience during the remaining
| months of our service was varied: soma
| times pleasant, but at all times active and
| full of hard work; but every 4th Immune
| will ever point to Camp Cobb and to the
| city OF Fredericksburg as the places of
| their pleasantest recollections and strongest
| attachments.
Advantages of the War.
| We hear a great deal about the little
| war and the assertion that it was more
a pleasure trip or picnic party for those
| who were lucky enough to get into 1t than
even ordinary military service waste
OF millions of public money, with very lit
tie. if any. benefit derived excepting. per
! haps, Gen. Egan and the beef managers at
! Chicago. AS to Egan and the beef man