Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-15

| OAS odttefy language,
with red. exploded when. last
Monday at noon, Capt j. Harry
~ shannon, commander of the ist
Battery. Field ArtilIer., was noti-
fled that Col Mitcham, ordnance depart
ment, United States Army, accompanied
by his armament foreman would in
spect the battery Wednesday. begin
ming at $50 o'clock am This in
formation would not have reached the
commanding officer of the battery until
! Tuesday, when tie formal order arrived,
had not sapient and lynx-eyed gentle
man at headquarters, seeing a letter ad-
dressed to Col. Smiley. who was out of
| town, and, knowing Col. Mitchams hand
writing and suspecting trouble, opened
the letter. Il will begin an inspection
of the battery Wednesday morning at
$780,, wrote Col. Mitcham
When the battery came in from the
Frederick campaign. after a three-day
march through storm, mud and heat, the
rain had beaten through the breech COW
ers and worked all through the breech
mechanisms and into the guns and
cradles. Harness and blankets were
soaked. Mud ana rust covered every
thing in the outfit. An attempt was
made to straighten things out before
suspension of drills, but the battery was
very much soiled The gunroom of the
battery was choked with wagons and
property of the signal and hospital COM
panies and a number of junk guns pc
longing to nobody in particular. The
caretaker was in the hospital And an
ordnance inspection thirty-six hours
away.
A few minutes after the inspection news
had been passed to the commanding
officer, special delivery letters sounding
the alarm and calling on the stalwarts
of the battery to rally round the red
guidOn were being sent out An hour
after the news the order for detail
of the hardest workers in the outfit went
out by special delivery. An order to the
battery to assemble Tuesday afternoon
and again Tuesday night, and a circular
calling on every batteryman to do his
duty went out in Monday evenings mail.
Officers and men were at work in the
battery armory at o'clock Monday.
More men came as the time passed. BY
midnight the armory seethed with per-
spring men. There was no thought of
fatigue. At o'clock Tuesday morning
the detail reported though many of them
had worked nearly all the night. All dur
ing Tuesday batterymen reported and
went to work. Tuesday night things be-
gan to shape up. ard at o ciock We'd
nesday morning the battery was ready for
inspection.
Everything was clean and in its proper
place. The inspection lasted from $40
to 800 pm. BY = o'clock the guns had
been reassembled, and from that time till
the sign of the red guidon closed its
shutters the men who had brought the
battery through celebrated. The officers
and men felt that despite the odds
against them they had won. Far into
around tables fecked with foam. were
singing 'The Battery Always Comes
Across.
X K Il
Capt j. B. Allison is the busy bee in
the National Guard hive these days, to
say nothing of these nights. The new
program of schools and instructions
brings the instructor-inspectOr to the ar
mory every night in the week except
Sunday, and the general comment is that
the style of work he is putting the men
through is bound to place the guard on
more efficient footing than ever be-
fore. OF course, it is little early to
begin Growing about what sort of an or
ganiZation will go to camp next year.
but If the work of the last few days
National Guard of the District of CO.
lumbia "crack" organization.
* = x i;
Capt Allison's course of instruction on
the new infantry drill regulations, L. s.
A.. 1911, is outlined in the circular to be,
sent out from headquarters within day
or two. Lectures and talks to the of
ficers school are announced, as shown
hereafter:
First Infantry, October 10; I'd Infantry.
October L.; LIST Separate Battalion, Oc-
tober Is, lecture.
October "a, October rs and October -,
for the organizations in the order first
named. the talk will be taken from pages
to A. in the new regulations, covering
definitions orders, commands, signals,
school of the soldier, school of the squad.
November IA. November and Novem-
Der 10, for the organizations in the order
named the talk will cover the new regu-
lations, pages As to 66. In which Will be
discussed the school of the company and
close and extended order.
November %. November % and Novem-
Der "a will be assigned to the school of
the battalion, combat principles, the resi-
ment and the brigade, ending part / of
the regulations
Part of the book will be taken up
by the organizations in the order named