The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-11
BRIEF HISTORY OF
FAMOUS ALA. CADET is
Company { of University Corps
Won Big Prize
THE COMPANY ROSTER
outdrilIed All Other Military organi-
cations at New Orleans In 1885
General Clark Was the
Captain.

Gen. Louis V. Clark, who commanded
Company e of the Alabama Cadet Corps
OF 1885, has prepared the following data
concerning the crack company:
This company was organized from the
Cadet Corps of the University of Ala
bama for the purpose of competing with
similar organizations from colleges
throughout the south at worlds
great fair, being held in New Orleans in
SO; one of the attractions of the exposi-
ton being an interstate drill at which
companies assembled from all parts of
the union.
Company e. drilled in the Cadet
Class and were not allowed to enter the
National Guard Class" but this organi-
cation. was pronounced by judges, CON-
posed of five officers of the United States
West Point, ar being the best drilled
company the. had ever seen.
Competing companies were from the
universities of Louisiana, Baton Rouge,
Citadel Military Academy of South
Carolina Charleston, and Alabama Poly
technic Institute, Auburn, Ala Company
e. carried off the first prize, purse of
$500, and a gold medal for the captain.
The surviving members of this COM
taken a very decided and successful po-
sition in the social, financial, engineering,
business and political world, most of
whom now reside in the state of Alabama.
and all of whom are honored and re-
spected citizens.
The Company Roster.
The following is the roll of Company
81" showing respective positions of men
comprising same. taken from an auto
graph album containing the signature of
each man, in possession of Thomas P.
Brown. Mobile, class 'S5:
Captain. Louis V. Clark; first lieuten-
ant. o. L. Gray; second lieutenant, j. r.
Vidmer; first sergeant, w. j. Boothe; Sec
ond sergeant, T. p. Brown, Jr.
Privates-First four, e. b. Cottingham,
C. e. McCord, A. M. CARRIER, Jr., G. II.
Forney.
Second four, B. u. Boylsin. Aston Fits,
George W. Feagin, J. M. Anderson.
Third four II. p. Williams. Thomas e.
Gary, w. w. Campbell, b. A. Wood.
Fourth four, w. b. Oliver, N. N. Glenn
ents. Jr., J. C. Pugh. IL. f. Wilson, ].
Fifth four, j. l.. Horn, w. Il. Booker,
o. A. Hobby, A. w. Nelson.
Sixth four. Glenn Foster, J. NJ Glenn
ents. w. ID. Gay, s. J. Mccoy.
supernumeraries. w. T. Lenoir, T. NJ.
Stevens, w. w. Quarles.
Won Big Prize.
Company &c was the winner of first
prize at New Orleans on May -. 1885,
In competition with cadet companies of
the United States.
The following have passed to the Great
Beyond since the memorable drill of this
company at New Orleans: Sergeant w.
J. Boothe Private f. b. Cottingham. Pri-
vate n. N. Clements, Private w. e.
Booker, Private o. A. Hobby. Private s.
J. Mccoy.
Company Reunion.
General Clark has In his possession the
following letter:
Tuscaloosa, Ala, June l, 1905.
General Louis V. Clark, Birmingham,
Ala:
My Dear General--I wish to offer you
my personal thanks for the happy idea
which you conceived of having a re-
union of the members of the famous
Company e. of the Alabama corps of
cadets on the twentieth anniversary OF
their victory in the competitive drill at
the New Orleans exposition in 1885
Although the military department of the
university has been abolished-and, as l
think rightly so, for reasons unneces-
sary here to state-it Is pleasant to re-
call the excellence of the drill and dis
cipline of those good old days of twenty
years ago, and certainly there could be
no more testimonial to that excellence
than the result Of the competition at New
Orleans
/ have not at hand copy of the oni-
clal report made to the adjutant general
by the board of army officers who acted
as judges on that occasion; but, II my
memory serves me rightly, they Vlrtu-
oIly said I'm that report that the company
which you commanded was the most ac-
curately drilled body of troops on the
continent
Furthermore. | recall that they paid
Won individually a most notable compli-
ment, saying in substance that they had
never seen more capable officer In COM
mand of a company, not excepting even
officers in the regular service. When 1t
is remembered that the board-headed by
the lamented Satterlee-was composed OF
West Point graduates, specially selected
by the war department as experts in tao
tics, and that you were then boy, stu
in your teens" the value of the compli-
ment is apparent.
| can afford to speak OF these matters
as | do for the reason that while
utas commandment of cadets at the time,