Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-29
SEARCHL|GHT FUTILE
Blue Army Advances, Despite
Its Binding Rays.
HARRIES is IN COMMAND
The Thing He Accompanies Upsets
Some Traditions.
UMPIRES' DECISION PENDS
But Consensus of Opinion Is That
Brigade Crossed Mile and
Half Without Detection.
JMPIREs' DECISION PENDs
Special Dispatch to The Star.

] Gen. George H. Harries, commanding q
brigade which included the District Ma
tional Guard and a regiment Of regulars,
a troop of New Jersey cavalry and the
Sd United States Field Artillery. This
| is in advance of the umpire's decision,
| but IT is considered to be accurate by
military men here.
With every possible hindrance thrown
in the way of the attacking army by
the conditions of the problem and the
lay of the land, it was considered by
| many of the brigade staff to be a hope
| less game before it started But by the
greatest skill and the most consummate
planning Gen. Harries. managed to get
three whole regiments across a mile and
a half of comparatively open country
while three enormous army searchlights
in the line of defense were sweeping
the entire front trying to find the creep
ing, crouching. stealthy army. Not shot
| was fired by an infantryman on the at
lacking side. And out of the entire three
| regiments. all of which got within zoo
yards of the searchlights, only half a
| dozen individuals were seen.
Guns Hidden by Smoke.
Not only that. but the artillerymen fired
| shell after shell into the trenches of the
defensive army, and after the first flash
the smoke hung so heavily over the guns
that the searchlights were not able to
pick them out, leaving fair target for
the hundreds of shots fired at them. It
is certainly probable that in actual war
the searchlights would have gone SILVER
ing to the ground from the shock Of
shell.
AS a picture the attack was beautiful.
Along ridge three and half miles
east of Gettysburg lay the Red army,
and Gen. Harries, leading the Blue army
for change, lay along another ridge a
mile and a half further on. The prob
| lem said the two armies had been fight
ing all day and that the Blues had de-
cided on a night attack. q
AS night fell the two armies were fac
ing each other. Against the opal sunset
the men in the Blue line could see at
silhouetted sentries Of the Reds. There
was a haze of dust lying over roads.
caused by the hundreds OF hOofs Of horses
of the two artillery organizations which
rumbled into position just after shutdown.
| The guns were laid a mile from the Red
| line. At their first fire the Blues were to
| get into attacking formation.
Soldiers in Creeping Act.
Gen. Harries called his staff about
him. Capt. Manus MacClosky,, U. s. A..
acting as the generals aid, gave the
detailed instructions for the attack, to
| which the general added two words,
| stealth and quiet" 1t was to be an
attack over mile and a half of all
sorts of country actually crawling on
the stomach.
Then, as night fell, the scouts and
skirmishers went stealing out. They
lodged behind bushes, they wriggled
like snakes along the rail fences. They
deployed right and left to keep the
Red army from coming IN on the Hanks.
Meantime the Signal Corps Company
under Lieut.. Barker was busy string
ing field telephone line that went up
| speedily and put the general and his
stat in touch with every vital point
| of the brigade as 1t went forward over
| the stumbled field.
| Standing behind a fence on the last
ridge held by the Blues, we OF that
army could see the searchlights start
| ing into action. The first light sparkled
on the skyline exactly like an enor-
nous star. Another one cleaned. and
then a big German light with yell
| low beam came into view.
With broad sweep the three of them
| bore down upon the vale between the
ridges. and then up again. until they
shone full into the faces of the men be-
hind the fence. At that long distance, a
mile and a half, 1t was possible to read
creeping advance, taking advantage Of
every bush and clump of grass, fiattened
| against the earth and crept on unseen.
Opened by Artillery Fire.
The artillery opened fire before any real
advance started. For five minutes they
| banged away with persistence. Instantly
after the first shots the lights played
upon the white smoke from the guns.
| lighting up the clouds that rose from the
muzzles. but actually unable to find the
| real positions of the batteries.
Creeping along a rail fence went the
18th United States Infantry and the LIST
| and I'd Regiments of the National
Guard of the District of Columbia AS
time went by and no sign of the advanc-
| ing Blues was seen the men in the trench
| of the Red army fired in volleys. aiming
at every bush and tree in sight, hoping
by chance to rake all the cover in view.
so that If any District soldiers or their
erstwhile brigade comrades were there
| they would be shot to pieces.
1t seems possible. In advance of the
| umpires statements. that the District
National Guard, especially the 1st and I'd
Regiments. could have formed for a bay
onet charge within 200 yards of the
| searchlights before their entire line had
| or not Will be discussed by all officers
today, but observers on both sides last
night have made that statement.
Close to the Enemy.
Recall was sounded when three COM
panies Of the advance from the regiment
were almost within hundred yards OF
| one Of the Red trenches. The men were
| pitched to a high key, and there was
possibility of the personal element en-
| tering the scrap. If it had there might
| have been a real charge and some one
| would have been hurt.
| Lieut.. John Doyle Carmody and Col
| Ourand. with some scouts, were within
800 feet of the Red line at recall and had
| not been discovered.
| searchlight rays help the attack In some
instances. The Blues were able to cross
difficult stream by the back reflection
| from one of the rays while 1t played
over their heads.
| Gen. Harries is loud in his praises OF
/ the District National Guard Signal Corps
| Company. commanded by Lieut. Barker
| The company is the only signal outfit in
| camp, and has the entire maneuvers to
| cover. During the big battle Of Tues
1 day much Of the success of the quick
/ movement of the Red attachments was
| due to the buzzer stations established by
| the signalmen.
Visitors in the c imp.