The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-08-21

ty and violation Of law. But inva.
riably, on the appearance Of a compar
atively small force, only a battalion
maybe, Of the regular army, mob Law
was broken as pottery under the ham
med; angry and threatening crowd!
dispersed as a gloomy fog before tn
sun.
There was military force, pure anc
simple, a pitiless machine moving
under the head and hand Of paramount
authority; q mighty engine to crush
and destroy. The regular army Is
thing different from its peace annex
the national state guard.
After all the material of the national
state guard is excellent. and its great
and chief value, Well-eQuipped, we'll,
Differed, and we'll drilled, is as a
nucleus for the mobilization anf CON
centratiOn Of raw troops in case OF
foreign war and invasion. Each good
company would be a rallying point
for the formation of new regiments
and b%rigades. This was strikingly ex-
emplified at the outbreak of the civil
war, in the great service tt the con-
federacy of the volunteer military
| Coulp dIIlCo vi JHC 0OutI, Will IHSIi
excellent equipment ready for service,
their training and habits of discipline,
their splendid personnel and fine
morale.
It is pleasant to recall the volunteer
soldiery of the south before the great
struggle Of the confederacy, say from
1910 to 1861. Then the esprit de corps
was at the food tide, not the ebb, and
the officers and men of the commands
We'd in generous emulation in eXcell-
| ence of drill and manOeuvre, skill Of
| craftsmanship, and neatness Of uni
| form; what could have been o
| tasteful and elegant than the uniform
of the old Wilmington Light Infantry
in the ~fifties, with the pigeon-tailed
coat, ornate facings, we'll tailored
trousers, and broad stripe, and shapely
hat with futtering plume? How |
did admire every man Of that fine corps
when they visited Fayetteville on some
public occasion, probably an anniVer-
sary Of the Independent Light In
fantry, The last named company was
always deeply imbued with the esprit
du corps, and kept its organization up
to g high standard. When the La
Fayette Light Infantry was organized
a few years before the war, the late
Col. John H. Cook being it's first COM
mandant, the rivalry between the two
corps was intense. The Independent
company had the advantage in great
age, brilliant prestige and long tram
ing: the La Fayeete was superior in
personnel, being in physique one of
the finest bodies of men | ever saw,
in a handsOmer dress, and in a tine
cOrnet band, which the company car
ried with into the service, n it be-
came the band of the famous Bethel
regiment at Yorktown. BY the way,
Mr.. Collins, of Wilmington, (many Of
the older readers of the Messenger
will doubtless recall him, although L
have forgotten his initials) was the
first instructor and leader Of the
La Fayette band.
When Horace Greeley passed away
shortly after his presidential cam
paign in 1S72-the SANDER and abuse
of which killed the old philosopher as
certainly as if a murderer had planted
q knife in his heart-his funeral
took place from DR.. Chapin's church CT
the Divine PatOmity on Fifth avenue,
New York, where I happened to be at
the time. Why it was SO [ have never
understood, but the military display
at these ceremonies has never been
surpassed and rarely euualed on any
similar occasion in this cOuntry-a
magnificent column OF infantry, cav
airy and artillery. At the head march
ed the famous New York Seventh reg
iment. and so splendid was their array,
so soldierly their bearing, SO mastery
their movements, that the great crowd
lining the avenue were filled with adj
miration. Just after them came the
West Point cadets. 1t is impossible
to describe the march Of this wonder
full body of young men-it was absOl-
utely faultless. perfect. l was stand
ing on the lower step Of a residence,
and above me stood one whom | knew
to be a British officer Of distinction.
AS the West Point command swept
past, he said to a companion: Il have
seen on review the best troops OF my
own country. Of Germany, of France.
of Austria: but I have eve seen any
thing comparable with that"
1t is said that one Of the finest drill
ed commands in the confederate ser
vice a. the Louisiana Zouaves, who
reached Yorktown on the day of the
battle of Bethel, TOO late to take part
in the engagement They marched to
the rattle Of a superb drum corps,
with swinging step, unlike the regu-
lar infantry. Their FURNISHED arms,
flashing In the SUM-, and gorgeous uni
form made them on parade a vivid
and striking kaleidoscope picture.
Such a set Of thieves. marauders and
cut Threats was probably never brought
together. Only a day or two after their
arrival at Yorktown, impatient at de-
lay in issuing rations, some of them
rose in mutiny. and began shooting
down COWS in the neighborhood. They
mistook the fibre and temper Of the
commander. Gen. Magruder immedi-
ately surrounded them with the other
troops of the garrison, and ordered
them to lay down their guns and re-