Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-12-10
TROOPS GUARD
ASHEN REMAINS
OF WONDER CITY
Blues and Grays Make
Quick Response to
Military Call.
RICHMOND MILITIA
SHOWS PREPAREDNESS
Governor Acts Promptly on Re-
quest for Soldiers to Pre-
serve Order.
TRAIN HELD AT PETERSBURG
Railroads Fail to Explain Long De-
lay in Handling Emergency
Situation.
TRAIN HELD AT pETERsBuHG
Railroads Fail to Explain Long De-
lay in Handling Emergency
Situation.

idH III tiaINiilIlS emergency
Situation.
Within one hour and forty-sive min
utcs after the hrc bells sounded the
military call. fifteen strokes. yesterday
afternoon. the Richmond Light infan-
try Blues battalion and two compan-
les Of Richmond Grays were entraincd
at Byrd street station and ready to
move to the protection OF liopcwcll.
Th" troop train pulled out with over
2o0 aboard at $50 o'clock
Ia some respects this movement Of
militia WAS a superb demonstration Of
efficiency. The Blues. in particular
gave an exhibition OF preparedness for
the emergency highly crcditnblc. with
l25 officers and mon. parts Of the four
companies. under arms and carryin.;
the heavy impedimcuta OF the full win
ter field equipment. the Blues were
marching from their aimory twenty
live minutes before Major !. Fumcr
Bright gave the Forward. march" to
his TWO companies. between seventy
FIVE and eighty In all
MILITIA DEMON sTHATE:s
ITS PREPAREDNESS
The military cal! was sounded by
the fire bells at 4:IV O'Clock At i:30
O'clock Major T.. W. Bow!cs. the first
officer 10 reach the Blues armory,
counted eighty men getting into uni-
form and grabbing equipment. At
i:3J these eighty men We're under arms
and ready for muster into ranks. The
Nilitiumcn continued coming III from
i their places OF employment on homes
In all parts of the city untn half an
| hour after the special train had start
/ ed for Hopewcl.
y Al the Grays .>rmory the response
10 the emergency call was no, quite
go prompt. This WAS due, il was eN-
n plaincd. 10 the fact that - Very large
\ proportion Of the membership Of the
fBlues battalion is made UP OF men
z employed ia Offices, stores and manu-
featuring plants not distant from the
armory. The greater number OF these
men heard the clung of the bell and
had only to put on their coats and
] hais and hurry To their arinory on
the other hand. large mai-Fity OF
the Grays are employed IL .nants more
distant from the cent. OF the city
Many of them learm' OF the call to
arms from their c,.ployers or fore
men under whom they were working
-\bou; nfty men were under arms
! within half an hour OF the time the
first strokes OF the bell were sounded
The Grays' battalion has a large num-
Der OF members working in the Du
Iont plan; at Hopcwell who were ex-
pected 10 Join the colors on arrival
of the troops in powder town.
GOVERNOR ORDERS
TROOPS TO HOpEWEI.I.
Governor Stuart's attention to the
situation at Iiopcwell was first at
| ,ractcd by the following telegram
which came to the executive Office
shortly before o'clock dated at
| IIopewoll and signed "Kobert Y. Gcir-
ing: Militia viii be OF service here
as the town is in chaos and ahrc."
The Governor had been previously
. advised Of the fire in the guncotton
| city by his secretary, Alexander For
| ward. but in the early reports no in
timation was given as to apprehen-
sion regarding the protection of prop
crty not destroyed by flames or the
possibility OF an outbreak OF iawless-
| ness. The sender of the telegram was
not known to the executive or any of
the State officers. The Governor
ceived other adyiccS, however immc-
diately after, that excited his anxiety.
and he proceeded to draw upon every
available source of information. It was
but a few minutes aslcr ne received the
GierinE telegram that he was in COM
munication with Acknowledgement Sale,
Under his instructions, the Adjutant
General ordered out for service two
companies OF the Blues and two of
the Grays.
COMPANIES MUSTER
NEARLY Full. STRENGTH
Major Bowles ana Major Bright. af-
ter a hurried conference with General
Sale decided TO muster from their com
mands at large two companies, each
with about forty men. The quick re-
sponse of the Blues and later reports
telling of looting at Hopewell caused
a change in that arrangement, the com
manding officers deciding to muster as
far as possible to their full strength
shortly after o'clock the Adjutant-
General called on the Atlantic Coast
Line and Norfolk and Western officials
for q special train. SO eNpcditiously
was that matter handled by the rail-
road at the Richmond end of the line
the troop train was made up and a
locomotive under full steam was in
Continued on Third Pagc)