Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-17
ARMY AND NAVY NEWS
Cruise Of the Midshipmen.

Cruise Of the Midshipmen.
Active preparations are under way for
+he annual summer cruise of the midship-
mon 10 begin early in June. Instead OF
arranging the itinerary of the ships to
extend along the New England coast
or abroad as has been the custom. the
ships will establish headquarters In
Hampton roads, Va. and will take week
" cruises outside of the capes OF the
Chesapeake The cruise. as usual. VIII
extend until September |, at the explra-
tiou of which time the midshlpmen Will
Gisembark from the ships at Annapolis
and star. on their annual vacations oi
one month.
According 10 the custom of the last
few wears the commandant of midship-
men will be III command during the
cruise. So Commander William S. Benson
will have the cruiser Olympia or 4Mdhild
bay fame as his flagship
Commander Benson VIII nave as ms
executive officer Lieut.. Commander D. T.
Dismukes. The navigating officer VIII De
Lieut. + f. Ridgely and the engineering
officer will be Lieut.. Frank u. karns.
The following have been assigned as
watch officers: Lieuts. Clarence ..
Kempff. IL G. Cook and ]. +. Green.
The officers who have been assigned 10
duty aboard the other ships for the
cruise follow.
John \. Hoogerwerf commanding; eXecu-
tive officer. Lieut.. Commander e. r.
Preston: navigating officer Lleut. WI
liam D. I.eahy. engineer ofhcer. Lieut. ~.
q Murfin: watch officers. Lleuts Hll-
leary Williams. Benjamin B. Wyant anu
owen II oakley.
Frigate Hartford-Lieut. Commander
Henry J Ziegmeier commanding; execu-
tive officer, Lieut.. Commander y: r.
Hines navigating officer. Lieut. waiter
J. Manion engineer officer, Lieut. A. T.
Graham: watch officers, Lleuts. A w.
johnson. Raymond S. Reyes and William
S Pye.
Monitor Arkansas-Commander Harry
NJ Dombaugh commanding; executive Of
tcer Lieut. Commander Michael h.
Trench: navigating officer. Lieut.. {. r.
owens: engineer officer. Lieut.. Frank L.
Pinney: watch officers. Lieuts. w. ii.
Hunt and B. c. Allen.
Monitor Neyada-Commander larry +.
Huse commanding; executive officer,
Lieut. Commander S. F. James; navlsat-
ing officer. Lieut.. w. G. Asserson; enSl-
neer officer. Lieut.. A. K. Watson; watch
officers. Lieuts. Samuel W. Bryant and
Orie W. Fowler.
Joint Military Maneuvers.
Gen. Grant comma nding the Depart
ment of the East. which includes all the
posts in this vicinity. has planned a series
of maneuvers in which the regulars anc
National Guardsmen from several states
and the District of Columbia are to take
part more extensive and of wider scope
than any which have been held SO far.
Il am preparing sea coast maneuvers
for this summer said Gen. Grant in eX-
PLANTATION of his plans. Ito show how oul
big guns could knock out any foreign
fleet that might come poking around with
evil intentions. With the regular estab-
liShment of the Department of the East
nd a. p1ilif iamen the states Will
let me have. l shall get to work at Wash
ington. Baltimore, New York, Boston ano
in Long Island sound The militiamer
will be taught how to move and care FOL
troops and will be drilled. in company
with the regulars in everything that goes
TO make coast defense.
About a month later I shall send my
mobile troops from Washington. Buffalo
Oswego. P,attsburg and New York to a
concentration camp near Watertown al
place called Pine Plains. / have plan
ned 10 get them there all on the same
day and within three hours of each other
and that's thing that has never been
done before on SO big scale. | believe
Some of them will have only nineteen
miles TO march, others will have to foot
1t 400 miles. The men will be put through
every form of drill. from open order COM
pany drill to the evolutions supposed to
mask the march of vast army.
Important Appointment in Prospect.
The death of Rear Admiral Rae leaves
q vacancy in one of the most importan,
billets on shore, that of chief of the ma
val bureau of steam engineering. The
selection of his successor is a matter OF
moment, in view of the important Ques-
tons of naval design and equipment par
ticularIy in the feature of motive power
likely to arise during the next few years
Among those officers of the old Engineer
Corps regarded as eligible for appoint
ment are Capt. Albert +. Dixon. the
principal assistant of the engineer-in
the Portsmouth. n. H., navy yard. anG
formerly on duty in the bureau of steam
engineering. and Capt. John X. Barton
formerly head of the engineering depart
ment at the Naval Academy. Ii is pos
sible that officer of the line who has
never been connected with the engineer.
ing branch may be selected to succeed
Rear Admiral Rae. If such view OF
the situation Is taken by the President
among those who are regarded as eligible
are Capt. Thomas c. Mclean, member
of the board of inspection and survey
Capt. Hugo Osterhaus. commanding the
ISIS. Come cticut. and Capt. Joseph B
Murdoch, commanding the U.S.S. Rhode
Island.
Fine Artillery Shooting.
Gen Murray. chief of artillery. has re-
ceived report OF excellent target firing
done by the 91st Company OF Coast Ar
t!lery at Fort Pickens. Fla, several
weeks ago. One hundred per cent was
made III two series of practices. In the
first the mean range was ), 500 yards at d
target moving four and one-half miles an
hour. and six hits We're made in six shots
n the second practice four hits were
made at a range of J625 yards at a
target moving four and one-half miles
hour
The President Acting as Commander
Owing to the fact that Gen. Edgerly
commanding the Department of Dakota
the headquarters of which is al St. Paul
MINI. is temporarily absent from the
post, il has been necessary for the Presi-
dent to act III the cases of tWenty-three
enlisted men of the army on duty In that
department who were convicted By
courier martial Of various infractions OF
the army regulations, principally deser-
ton. III "a large majority of these cases
the President approved the findings and
sentence OF the court. but in ii few cases
he mtisated the sentence To a lighter
punishment than that imposed.
Studying Battlefields.
Maj. f. Swift, with a number of United
States Army officers and a detachment OF
the faculty of the War College, have lust
concluded visit to Antetam. They
are engaged III series OF campaign
studies of the hattIetelds.
Those il the party were Mai =, Su,if+