Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-02
I HUNGRY DOZENS"
FAME STILL LIVES
Many Here Recall Crack
Cadets of w. H. S. Who
Held Sway in 1890.
BY C. FRED COOK.

kAAAAO cAA0 oGdbC0 &A4141oCAs 1A4CAG was -
stir of expectancy from the audience.
Mr.. Hoover started to play the meas
ured strains of Germans Triumphant
March" From the wings Of the stage
was heard the sharp command, For
ward, march," A file of uniformed
young men, at short step, appeared.
with Capt. s. Carroll Ford alongside
the leader.
by the left flank, march: SQUAD,
haiti" ordered Capt. Ford. Right dress.
'FRONT.'"
Capt. Ford stepped to the front and
center of the squad and commanded:
present arms" He faced about, saluted
the audience, again faced his squad and
uttered the single exclamation: "Hepl"
The famous Hungry Dozen" of
Washington High School then proceed
ed with the series Of intricate maneuvers,
and with the silent manual of arms, for
which it was noted. and for which it
earned apparently undying fame. That
was exactly 40 years ago. Many resi-
dents OF this city still recall the Hun
CRY Dozen" as will be explained later.
Earned Widespread Reputation.
Composed of specially selected officers
and non-commissioned officers of the
then battalion of Washington High
School Cadets, the fancy drill squad
referred 70 earned a reputation that
was widespread in and out of the COM
munity. The High School Cadets then
consisted Of only four companies, COM
manded by major. They were COM
panieS A, B, G and D. There was only
one high school, located on o street
between Sixth and Seventh streets.
Central, Eastern, Western, Business,
Tech and the junior high schools were
unheard Of The following year, 1891,
the Capitol Hill High School-now
Eastern-and Western were estab-
lished, being located in inadequate and
temporary buildings otherwise occupied
by grade classes. The two-year BUSH
at the same time was established as
the Business High School in the old
Thomson School Building on Twelfth
street between K and L streets. After
January J., 1891, Eastern and Business,
having organized cadet companies Of
their own volition, were invited to afnli-
ate with the four-company battalion Of
cadets at the parent school, which soon
thereafter became known as Central,
and six-company provisional regi-
ment was formed under command OF
a lieutenant colonel The major Of the
four company battalion was promoted
and became the lieutenant colonel Of
the six-company organization.
But the outstanding and final year
when the Hungry Dozen" held sway
and cut such wide swath was 1890.
The SQUAD was in great and almost
constant demand. AS indicated, its
work was largely silent, the only COM
mands heard from start to finish were
the infrequent "Hepsl' And they were
largely to change direction or begin a
new movement. One formation that
never failed to bring down the house"
was the living reproduction Of the let
49, standing nf course
for Washington High School The
close of the exhibition was followed by
tumultuous applause.
Appeared on Stage.
Among others. it is recalled that the
"dungry Dozen" appeared frequently
on the stage, or platform, in the assem-
bly, hall on the top floor Of the o street
building. The Henry School, which
had inst been erected at the southeast
corner of Seventh and P streets, held
its entertainment in the high school
hall, and invariably featured the
hungry Dozen" Church and other
fairs were prevalent in those days, but
none of them was complete without the
appearance of the Hungry Dozen.
Drills, among others, were given In Con-
cordia Lutheran Church, the New YORK
Avenue Presbyterian Church, Linth1cum
Hall, Georgetown; Odd Fellows Hall,
jefferson School, the National Hotel,
Carroll Institute Hall, and at various
benefits given for sufferers from the
Johnstown food, which had occurred
a few months before. An outstanding
appearance was on the stage Of the Ma
tional Theater, at benefit given to
raise funds to help pay expenses to Bos-
ton and return Of the Kit Carson Post
Drum Corps, in connection with the
Grand Army of the Republic reunion
held in the Hub.
The squad, of course, appeared at the
various functions mentioned gratuitouSly,
purely as matter of pride in their
efforts to please and entertain. But
most Of the hosts, especially those in
charge at the fairs, provided refresh
ments. When the Hungry Dozen" was
on the program, a special table, as a
rule, was prepared for the members.
The fact that the squad was usually
served, and beautifully, gave rise to the
sobriquet, Hungry Dozen" Once ap-
piled it chung tenaciously throughout
the life Of the squad
Strong in memory. after 40 years, was
an individual competitive drill, in which
the members Of the Hungry Dozen"
participated, the prize being a gold
medal. The members of the squad
were noted for their proficiency in the
execution Of the manual Of arms, other
wise they would not have been selected
for the Hungry Dozen" The Judge
Of the drill was Capt.-later COL
Burton r. Ross of the Washington
1st Regiment of Infantry, National
Guard of the District of Columbia.
Capt Ross was military instructor of
the High School Cadets. The compe-
tition continued until it seemed as
though 1t would never end. The list of
competitors was finally reduced to two.
They battled for fully half an hour.
Finally, on a very fine point, Capt.
Ross decided in favor of Capt e. S.
Duvall as the winner, with second place
going TO Lieut.. F. G. Kleinschmidt.
Majority Are Alive.
OF the members Of the Hungry
Dozen, the majority are alive today.
Several have moved to other cities and
attained eminence in the practice of the
law and in other professions. Several
have attained high rank in the United
States Army, several are still active in
various pursuits in this city. Only q
few have passed on.
Clifton v. Edwards now is the head
of an outstanding firm of attorneys in
patent cases, with offices in New York
City. John Black has not been heard
from of late. Edwin Grafton died. E.
S. Duvall is active in the practice of
law in this city. j. Morrill, Chamber
lain Is practicing law in California.
Fred c. Kleinschmidt is an official Of
the Court of Claims, in this city. j.
Herbert Ford, when heard from recent
ly, was a colonel in the Medical Corps
of the Army. Charles q. Roberts and
S. Carroll Ford passed on comparative
ly soon after graduating from high
school. Tenney Ross, son of former
District Commissioner John w. Ross,
was with the Washington Loan & Trust