Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-07-04

uCGIS, COOhS duu lACS0 0V4 600AASSs |
buglers, first sergeants and company
clerks and medical officers were In
from the Sd Maine Regi-
ment, National Guard. And that
statement means "a whole lot" for
the regular army officer Is not in
clined to overstate or over estimate.
being trained to the strict letter OF
the law and its results; hence the
colonel's brief answer is highly COM
plimentary to the school, its pupils
and what they did.
Colonel Farnum has forwarded to
the chief sof the Militia Bureau at
Washington his official report of the
school, which according to military
law he cannot give out, but 1t Is
learned from the adjutant generals
Office, which is naturally very much
interested in the Maine National
Guard and which. it may be said. is
also much pleased with the result of
the recent school and the Sd Regi-
ment, that the report contains some
thing like the following summary:
The Sd Maine Infantry az rifle and
one Machine Gun companies) Is a
new regiment, formed during the
spring of 1918. 1t was recognized,
one battalion about April. 1918, the
remainder Aug. 81. 1918. The in
struction Of the regiment In general
consisted of a fair knowledge of a
few movements in close order drill.
including a fair knowledge of the
manua! of arms and the mechanism
of deployment as prescribed in In
fantry Drill Regulations, Manual
1911. This knowledge was obtained
at an Officers school for Is days
held at State expense at Augusta
during the latter part of August.
1918. The students were quartered
in buildings and instruction was con-
fined chiefly to lines developing in
fantry drill. Little knowledge Of
camp experience had been obtained.
The adjutant general of Maine
agreed to set apart not to exceed
$4,000 of State funds. which in
cluded pay for students, to be used
in holding a school at Augusta, Me-.
during the last week of June. The
object of the school was to impart
useful instruction to be applied at a
camp for the entire regiment during
LH6 IdtIcI pdlL VI AuSuotb thS obJCSb
of the August camp being to assem-
BILE the regiment for the first time in
a camp for a period Of Is days. as
contemplated in Paragraph Z, Cir
cular 20, Militia Bureau, 1916. Few.
If any, officers and non commissioned
officers had ever been in military
camp. and none of the cooks were
familiar with the army rations.
Likewise buglers were uninstructed.
Then follows a detailed statement
of the line of instruction given dur
ing the period of the camp.
The report gives the equipment Of
the Sd Maine Infantry as follows:
Cotton uniforms and Russian rifles
with bayonets. To accomplish the
mission, it was necessary to secure
the following from the Northeastern
Department.: Fifty tents (pyramidaD:
storage tents Completely; 800 sets
individual equipment (complete), in
Guiding 300 Springfield rifles.
The following assistant instructors
were ordered to report not later than
noon. June 81: Captain Harold P.
Sheldon. Inf. musketry; Capt. George
G. Moyse. Inf, offensive combat Of
small units; First Lieut.. Ralph w.
hobart. Inf. bayonet; First Lieut..
Sidney A. Cook. Inf. physical train
ing. The following enlisted instruc-
tors were obtained on furlough from
commanding officer, coast defences of
Portland, Fort Williams, Maine:
Mess Sergeant Frank p. Vayo. 9Th
c. A. c.; Cook Elijah l.. Scott, LIST
C. A. c.; First Glass Bugler George
Amesch, 5th c. A. c.
Major Bal F. Bradbury. Medical
Reserve Corps had charge of instruc-
ton of the medical officers. Sergeant
Samuel F. Elliott. sergeant instruc-
tor. infantry. and ,Sergt. Ernest Hoff-
man. sergeant instructor, infantry,
were general assistants in all in
struction, charged with minor details
in preparation of camp and assis-
lance to all in interior economy Of the |
camp.
For Institutional purposes the Of
ficers and non commissioned officers
of the Sd Maine Infantry were organ
lied into two Provisional companies
of two platoons each under selected
officers and commissioned Of
ficers. The cooks were organized into
two kitchen forces. The provisional
officers were selected in advance
Students began assembling Satur- ,
day noon. June 81. The advance de-
of cooks furnished supper
for about 80. breakfast for about 1o5
and by noon June 90 practically all
Of the students had reported as fol-
lows: Regimental officers. 49, medical
officers. 6: on-commissioned officers,
208; cooks. %; buglers, II.
The regular course of instruction
was carried out, with in addition, the
following subjects introduced and
discussed at evening conferences:
Summary court procedures; mess
economy and interior of companies;
accounting for property (new sys-
tenn; morning reports: monthly re-
turns; monthly record of attendance
and pay rolls.
The cooks prepared all meals for
the provisional companies and in ad-
dition received a very thorough course
of instruction in maintaining kitchen.
instruction given to the cooks and
the kitchen maintained by them was
one OF the best features of the camp. |
The buglers, in addition to blowing