Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-07

April u, 1898. company A lett Tor
Springfield. together with other
units of the Sixth regiment in re-
Spouse to the call of President Nc
kinley. With all the other militia
regiments of the state, it went into
camp at the state fair grounds,
christened Camp Tanner for the
occasion. being quartered in the
exposition building. May 10 the
militiamen were mustered into the
service of the United States and
May II the Sixth departed fer
Camp Alger, named after the sec
rotary of war, and which had just
been established in Virginia, a
few miles from the national cap
ital.
Though the period spent at
Camp Tanner was short, it was
long enough for the men and they
were glad to get away. Accommo-
dations were of the poorest. Equip
ment was slow in coming and some
of the men did not even get a gun
to drill with for week after their
arrival in camp. Rain fell almost
constantly and the fair grounds
were covered with sticky mud At
night the men made their beds on
the soft side of a concrete floor
with little between them and the
stone and often less over them.
Many took bad colds and several
cases of typhoid fever developed.
Camp Alger was not much bet
ter. at least at first The Sixth ar
rived at Dunn Loring, a short dis
lance from the camp, on the 18th
and unloaded the day following.
Wall tents were pitched just in
time to afford shelter from a soak
in a yellow clay field and OF course
there was mud. A little later it
was blistering hot and the men
sweltered Rations were abundant
enough, but much of the food was
spoiled or nearly so by the heat
and dampness. Cooking was of the
crudest and not of the cleanest and
the result was much sickness. Pri-
vate Louis Bledsoe of Company A
died at Camp Alger May 81. He
was seriously i'll with typhoid fever
and was delirious when placed on
the train at Springfield The man
ner in which his case was handled
provoked much criticism bf the
surgical staff. Funeral services
were held at Camp Alger and de-
tail of six men from the company
came with the remains back to
Rock Island where there was a
great turnout for the burial.
At Camp Alger the Sixth, which
was the only Illinois regiment sent
there, was brigaded with the Sixth
Massachusetts and the Eighth
Ohio under General Garretson- ID.
Jack Foster of Chicago was colonel
of the Sixth and Edward Kittilsen
of this city lieutenant colonel. The
majors were w. T. Channon, Rock
Island; ID. +. Clark. Monmouth and
W. f. Baldwin, Dixon, while Franz
Anthony of Sterling was regi-
mental surgeon. Company A was
in the first battalion, together
with Companies f of Sterling, l OF
Morrison, and F of Moline.
Hard Work in Camp.
There was hard work and plenty
of it at Camp Alger. All of the
men were given several hours of
hard drill daily and the work us
ually either in the mud and rain or
in the boiling sun was not easy,
but the boys, with the cheerful OPP
timism of youth, bore the discom
forts well and thought of the time
when they were~to get a crack at
the Spaniards.' 1t may be stated
that those commands which failed
TO be called to the scenes of hostil-
tiles were pretty thoroughly soured
on the war game before they were
finally returned 10 their home.
There is nothing like plenty of &C
ton TO keep soldiers in good humor
and to cause them to bear hard
ships and dangers with fortitude.
AT Camp Alger were regiments
from many eastern states Being
near Washington the boys were
visited at one time or another by
most of the dignitaries of the ma
tional capital. Senator W. z.
Mason of Illinois acted as a sort
of patron saint for the Sixth. Mark
Hanna was a frequent caller and
May % President Mckinley and
staff reviewed the troops. Dress
parade each evening was sort of
gala occasion and hundreds of men
anu NAolbOl hAOAiA
ton and from all states having
men in camp, lined the parade
ground.
Company A was recruited up to
the war strength then prescribed
of f66 officers and men by the ar
rival of 90 men secureds by Major
Ed Dunavin, then sergeant, who
made a trip back to Rock Island
for the purpose. These rockies had
scarcely time to learn the simplest
evolutions of military tactics when
orders came to entrain for the
south. July, 6 the company, with
the other units of the Sixth, left
for Charleston. arriving that night.
There with the Sixth Massachu-
sets. the Illinois boys were placed