The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-17
VAR CAME PLAYED
 AROUND BOSTON
Opposing Armies Almost Meet
 in Bloody Conflict
CAMPS CLOSE T0GE TIER
outposts Have Many Skirmishes With the Opposing Guards and the Att tack Upon the City Is AL
 most at Hand.

Boston, August 16.-The field of the war game now being played in South western Massachusetts became oonsId- erably enlarged tonight when it was announced that a theoretical fleet of battleships and smaller war craft was on its way to assist the invading army of the red, by a series of night at- tacks on the Boston harbor 6cferses. The harbor forts today received rein- forcements when the transport Sumner brought six companies of coast artil lery from New York. a total of 720 men.
 The two big armies in the south east, the red commanded by Gen. Task CT H. Bliss and the blue commanded by Gen. William A. Pew, of the Mes sachusetts volunteer militia, drew close together during the day and tonight. Tonight the opposing camps were sep arated by a few miles only. There were various skirmishes during the day between outposts, number of cop lures of scouts were effected, and there were a score of minor theoretical cas- ualties, but no general engagement was fought. The first real clash is looked for tomorrow.
 The situation follows a day which proved eventful as deciding on which sides of the group of lakes north of New Bedford Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, commanding the red army. would make lis advance. While he sent the Tenth cavalry and the Fourteenth New York s.lr l. eme west this movement was only a felnt and the real advance was along the eastern end of the line Tonight the headquarters of the commander in- chief are about four miles southeast of M'adleboro, a most strategic posi- tion. IL this position General Biiss is so situated that he still may haze chance to move his army quickly around Assa wontsett lake past Watch hill and then swing his full strength against Gen. William A. PeWs blue forces on the latters right wing.
 The advance of the red army during the day was over a distance of about seven nilec for the main body, although some of the troops had a much longer march than that.
 As a result of the forward movement, most of the forces of General Bliss are concentrated around Rock Station and Middleboro The Fourteenth New York, which iii the morning constituted the ad- vance guard of the left wing, is now the rear guard of the red army, and Is sepa- rated some distance from the main body.
 The scouts of the two armies had sev- eral brief encounters in the vicinity of Middleboro in the half hour preceding the close of the days maneuvers.
 There was a conflict between q mixed patrol of cavalrymen from Squadron A of New York and the Essex troops of New Jersey and detachment of District of Columbia bicycle scouts, representing the invaders, and portion of the Eigh Massachusetts infantry on outpost duty. This resulted in the killing of 10 caval- rymen and six infantrymen, according to the umpire. It was merely a slirmish and at its close the two scouting parties fell back to their supporting bodies
 Just to the north of this point, six blue scouts were captured by a cavalry ad- vance, a mixed patrol made up of mem- bers of several commands. Without knowing it this mixed patrol was within a very short distance of strong force of blue infantry which was marching to- ward Middleboro. It was said by one of the umpires tonight that had the red cavalrymen been sufficiently alert they could have located this body of blue in- fantry and could have sent an orderly back to the main cavalry body, about mile in the rear, and strong force could have been hurried around to cut off the blues. a very important capture.
 Before they were ordered to fall back to the rear the scouts of Captain Ryan of the mixed cavalry captured about 40 privates of the blue scouting parties and outposts. These prisoners, however, were later recaptured by the blues and two rec scouts with them. The blue out | posts followed up the retreating cavalry men so closely that they caught two red troopers and a blue soldier prisoner.