Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-08-10

nance 0epdIlN<s Slgnal corps, tne
officers of the UUfeau of insular affairs,
military burooo. the regular army re-
serve, the corr Of cadets at West
Point, and otllcr mailer organizations
used for discfp1[rnry grades, service
schools, and re16<1 depot detachments
and for some Oder purposes.
How It h commanded.
An army Is q huge body of men gath
cred together f6r Aghting purposes in
different units of Organization. An
army when 1t pooees certain strength
usually is commanded by a general.
Today there is1lp general in the Unit
ed States army. but 1t is probable that
within a few nnenths congress will re-
vive the rank and name some officer,
who, taking the title Of general, shall
have supreme command Of all the fight
ing forces In the field.
An army Is composed Of army corps.
There may be two or three or more
corps in an army. Sometimes when
there is a hugd humber of troops in
the field one general is put in supreme
command while his forces are divided
into several armies, each one In COM
mand Of a lieutenant general. 1t Is
likely that congress soon will make
| 'qj. Gen. John ]. Pershing lieuten-
|. general and put him in command
OF First corps, consisting Of several
divis hs Of troops, to see service in
France.
A division Of troops Is commanded
by a major general. 1t is composed
Of several brigades, each one of which
Is commanded by q. brigadier general.
1t is possible for a brigade to consist
of q combination Of cavalry, infantry
and artillery, but frequently each bri-
gade is composed Of regiments all of
the same branch of the service. The
typical infantry brigade, for instance,
consists of q headquarters and three
regiments Of infantry, while typical
cavalry brigade consists Of head
quarters and three regiments Of cav
airy.
Composition Of the Regiment.
Each regiment is commanded by q
colonel, who has under him lieuten-
ant colonel, whose duties are rather
nondescript, although his chief duty Is
to take the place Of the colonel in his
absence or In case he is wounded or
killed in battle.
Each regiment is divided into bat
talions, and each battalion Is COM
manded by major. A battalion con-
sists Of two or more companies, troops
or batteries, and each company is COM
manded by q captain. In each COM
pany there is first lieutenant and a
second lieutenant, and complete COM
plement Of noncOmmssiOned officers,
first sergeants, duty sergeants. and
corporals.
The company is divided into squads
for purposes of instruction, discipline.
control and order, each squad consist
ing of corporal and seven privates.
The corporal is the squad leader, and
when absent is replaced by a desig-
mated private. 1t might be said that
from the squad, consisting as 1t does
only of a corporal and seven privates,
the whole formation of an army is de-
veloped and in a sense regulated. The
squad is a small base unit from which
armies take their growth by a series of
developing steps.
Men who enter the United States
army as recruits have the same chance
that men had years ago not only to be-
come commissioned officers, but to
reach the high place Of command OF
all the armies of their country.
Does this seem to be an exagger-
ated statement Only recently there
died lieutenant general of the United
States army who commanded all the
forces Of Uncle Sam. He entered the
service as an enlisted man Of regulars
going to a recruiting Office just as any
boy Of today can go to recruiting
office there to don the uniform Of q
private, later to enter the ranks, and
If 1t Is In him to work his way up to
the top.
Private Goes to Top.
!, On July %, 1881, Lieut.. Gen. Adna
} R. Chaffee applied for enlistment as
regular in the army Of the United
States. There was nothing to differ
entiate him from other young men who
applied daily at the recruiting office
He was assigned as a private to TrooI
K Of the Sixth cavalry, an organization
which exists today and in which Johr
]. Pershing, now commanding oul
forces In France, saw his first hare
fighting duty. General Chaffee ros'
. from private to sergeant, to first ser
geant, to second lieutenant ant
, through the rest Of the ranks unit
he was made lieutenant general Of th'
, United States army, the ranking office
Of Uncle Sans forces.
Chaffee was a soldier Of the highes
order. His career in the Spanish
, American war was markedly efficient
He fought at San Juan and later wen
, to the Philippines. While there he wa
. ordered to take command Of the Amer
, lean forces which were to join the al
lied forces in their march on Pekine
, the forbidden city. That was one o
{ the most successful and hard-wOrkin
expeditions ever dispatched by tn
{ United States. Chaffee won fame TO
his service. Within the compass o
, his years in the army he had served Il