Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1917-07-14
STATES GUARD
IN FINE FE1TLE
Brigade Never Before in Such
Excellent Condition.
is AWAITING CALL EAGERLY
Federal Order For Coast Artillery Ex'
pected Next Monday-For Other
Units Week Later-PhysicaI
Standing Raised.

On Monday, July Is, President VIII
son will probably flash an order to
Governor Harrington to call out the
First Battalion, Maryland Coast Artil-
lery, and the Governor, through Adj
Gen. Henry M. Warfield, will transmit
the order to Brig.-Gen Charles d.
Gather.
Immediately the mobilization OF
Maryland's fighting units will begin.
A little more than week later the
President will probably fash second
order to call out every other unit. Then
Maryland's entire brigade, consisting
now of about 5000 officers and men,
will be in the field, preparing to go to
France. There is every reason to be-
lieve that it will be drilling behind the
battlelines overseas by the time the
first snow flies.
1t will be the finest fighting organ
ization, in numbers and efficiency, that
has ever represented the State OF
Maryland. For about three months
now recruiting has been going on
steadily. Not day has passed with
out substantial additions to one of the
three regiments or separate units.
Officers have laid aside personal busi-
ness, put on their uniforms and spent
whole days and weeks whipping their
commands into shape, though they
were not in Federal service and were
getting only State pay.
Only the most physically fit men
have been accepted. In anticipation
of rigid physical examinations when
the Federal muster starts, Maryland
officers have made their physical
standards higher than ever. to the ex-
tent even of getting rid of men already
enlisted who were not up to the
scratch.
Reports to General Gather for the
past month show almost 100 per
cent. attendance at drills for the units
still in State service-something I'm.
precedented in Maryland National
Guard history. Every officer will be
qualified tactician and drillmaster
when the brigade goes into service All
appointed since June 3, 1916, have sub
mitted to examination lasting several
days by regular army board, cover
ing every phase of an officers knOwl-
edge, including horsemanship. Most
of them have the Mexican border serv-
ice to their credit. Those who did not
pass have been dropped and their
MI hxyv rh0
The whole brigade is different in
every way from the brigade Maryland
ers have known in the past. By July
Is there will be at least two batteries
of field artillery, equipped with 3-inch
field guns. There are already four
companies of Coast Artillery, capable
of handling guns that can batter the
stoutest Notifications and sink big
ships.
There will be no delays in the COM
ing mobilization such as there were
during the Mexican mobilization-no
weary weeks in a Maryland camp.
When the call comes the guardsmen
will 60 at once to their armories and
get into their uniforms. Every COM
pany commander will have his perlim-
mary paper work finished. Every man
and every piece of equipment will be
accounted for, and the whole brigade
will be ready to leave the State the
next day.
The Coast Artillery officers are busy
at their paper work now. On July Is
the officers of the other commands will
begin theirs. The officers of the
Fourth and Fifth Regiments, being al
ready in the Federal service, are, of
course, up to the minute in all their
records and accounts.