New Britain herald., 1917-11-22
SIXTH ARTILLERY
FIRST SHOT in War
Identity Of Regiment Which Holds
the Honor Is Revealed

of the regiment which fired the shot
that heralded Americas entrance into
the war was revealed in this coun-
try for the first time last night by
Brig. Eli D. Hoyle, Commander in
Chief Of the Department OF the East
at dinner Of the Fifth Avenue Asso-
clifton at the Waldorf The General
said he learned the details of the &C
ton from an army officer recently
from France.
1t was Battery c of my old reg1-
ment. the 9Th Field Artillery, the
finest drilled outfit in the country at
the beginning Of the war;" said Gen
eral Hoyle. which had the honor of
beginning Americas part in the war"
The General had not expected to be
asked to speak when he came over
from Governors Island to the dinner
last night. Nevertheless when Will
lard " King, the POSTMASTER. called
on him, he said he was glad of the
opportunity to say something about
the spirit Of our army in France.
I'D give ten years of my Hfe," he
said, Ito be ordered to France. You
can't imagine if you haven't seen it
the magnificent spirit in which our
men are going into this war. I know
that some persons have said that we
have been laundering lot,i but If
those same persons will tage into con-
sideration that last April when the
war started we had only about 1OO,-
600 men in the ranks Of the army,
counting the non-f1ghting units, the
Hospital and Quartermaster Corps,
NIL ~ o&
have about a million under arms,
they will hesitate to cast slurs at the
organization and administration Of
our troops.
Let me tell the story OF the reg1-
rent that fired the first shot in this
war-the shot from the shell which
was later sent to President Wilson. It
has not been known in this country,
end I myself just learned of it a few
days ago When an officer from France
called on me on Governors Island
This officer, captain of artillery,
started from France on the Antilles,
and was one of those saved when she
went down. He said he came to see
me expressly to tell me the news that
the old regiment had fred the first
shot. You know I was colonel Of the
Sixth Field Artillery before the war,
and this officer was one of the men of
my command. He said that it was
Battery G of our old regiments, his
battery. which had the honor of be-
the actual fighting for Amer
lea.
THE 9Th Field was the finest drilled
body of men, I think, I ever saw be-
fore the war. and it nearly broke my
heart to see the regiment split up into
new commands when the war started.
I asked this captain if he didn't think
that the regiment suffered in morale
b1 having so many new men take
the places of our veterans. He said
that such was not the case, but that
the old men had inspired the recruits
with the old spirit of the regiment
and it was doing grand work on the
firing line He told me that the spirit
of our soldiers in France was splendid
all the way through"
Before General Hoyle spoke, Gas
ton Liebert, the French Consul Cen
eral here, made a short address, IN
which he said that his position In this
country had been rendered extremely
pleasant by the sincere love for
France he found everywhere among
all Americans. Following M. Liebert,
DR.. T. Iyenaga, from Japan. Director
of the East and West News Bureau,
spoke Of the relations OF Japan to the
Allies DR. Iyenaga declared that
Japan had fulfilled the mission en-
trusted her by the Allies when she
entered the war by keeping peace
throughout the Far East and watch
ing over the interests of her allies In
that part of the world. The speaker
said that insurmountable difficulties
had kept Japan from the trenches IN
Europe so far but that if the need
arose she would be ready to risk all
for the common cause. He then
mentioned the menace to Japan OF
a possible combination of Russia and
Germany, saying:
"Perchance-and you will note l
say observation-disclosures might come
under the domination OF Germany
and the combined forces Of the two
greatest military in Europe cross the
Ural. Japan will have to re-enact
again the tragic drama of 19O4-5 on
the fields of Manchuria."
Charles c. Kurzman proposed a
plan where the quota of persons now
working on Red Cross supplies might
be augmented by from $4,000 to 100,
900 people. He proposed that men
and women who were working in the
daytime should give two hours in the
evening to Red Cross work. EN-
ployes Of different firms could take an
evening a week. he said. Workrooms
could be equipped and men and wom-
| en- of every industry could give OF
! their skill and energy to the Red
Cross. Mr.. thurman said he had
| been in France recently and had seen
the need for unima gined quantities OF
| Red Cross supplies. This fact, he de-
| clared, had prompted him to suggest
| his plan.
| CUT DOWN ON COINS.