The Washington times., 1938-11-11
CANTICNY FIGHT
is RE-ENA CTED.
IN SILVER SPRING.
National Guard, Regular
Army Participate
By W. A. S. DOUGLAS

BY w. A. S. DOUGLAS
The second battle of Cantlgny
fought last night at North Sligo
Park. Silver Spring, was a vas
Improvement on the first-whicf
took place on a May morning II
France more than twenty year!
ago. The Maryland re-enactment
had sex appeal. an item entirely
lacking in the original engage
ment.
The lure, as the boys used to cal
1t in the cantonments, was furn
ished by bevy of pretty young
nurses in starched white frocks-
If you please-who dashed hither
and yon midst shot and shell
and just didn't seem to give a
damn. Col. Robert R. Mccormick
editor and publisher of the
Chicago Tribune, an artillery
commander in the battle over
there. and who flew here for
the demonstration, was particular
ly enthusiastic over the courage
and the costumes of the young
ladies.
JOINED BY CONLEY
In this tribute he was ioined
By Adjutant General E. T.
Conley of the United States Army
and other hardbitten old soldiers
whose ill-luck it has been and will
be to miss such tender perfumed
ministrationS in No Mans Land.
A tremendous throng Of auto
mobiles and persons on foot
blocked the highways leading to
the park for several hours before
and after the d m on ration
which was arranged by Cissel-
Saxon Post of the American Legion
and was taken part in by in
fantry, air, tank and artillery
units of the Maryland and Dis
trict of Columbia National Guard
and the regular Army. It was
estimated that more than 10000
people were in attendance.
SEPARATE DEMONSTRATIONS
A number of separate military
demonstrations preceded the re-
enactment of Americas first en-
gagement in the World War as a
distinct battle unit-from which
the various troops then engaged
emerged with great credit and
complete victory, destroying Ger
many's most important observation
point on the Montdidier line-a
salient Of which Cantigny was the
center.
These displays consisted OF
machine gun assembling, disas
Sembling and re-assembling, a tank
corps Steeplechase, an airplane
raid with flare demonstration
an anti-aircraft gun show and q
Songfest by boys and girls from
the University of Maryland. This
latter effort was also voted a
tremendous improvement on the
original battle.
CAST AS "THE ENEMY"
After that came the war. Time
early morning, May %, 1918
Place-Western front, near Can.
tigny, France. The enemy-there
had to be an enemy, of course
was portrayed by the Radio Sec
tion, headquarters company Mary.
land National Guard, of Frederick,
commanded by Capt. Charles M.
Stanley; by Company A, of Fred
erick-Capt. Guy Anders-and
Company H. of Westminster
Capt. John Magin; by Company
M, of Annapolis Robert
Bean-and Headquarters com
pany, Second Battalion, of Laruel
Lieut.. T. F. Murphy.
Opposed to these Huns were the
American troops portrayed by
Company B, Maryland National
Guard, of Hagerstown-Capt. C.
H. McCleary; Company F, OF
HyattSville-Capt. H. T. McClay;
HoWitzer company, of Kensington
Capt. o. C. Pugh; Tank Com
pany c of the Sixth Infantry, U
S. A.-Capt. F. M. Thompson; by
260th Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft
Battery, District of Columbia Ma
tional Guard-Col. Walter w
Burns, commanding.
CLOSE TO REAL THING
The boys did a nice Job anc
came as close as they could under
the circumstances to Col. McCor
mick'S brief and to the point de
Scriptlon of the historic engage
ment as far as he was concerned
"As remember, the battle be
gan little after 6 a. m. I hat
the job of clearing the front Gel
man trench, and in those days W
made our temperature observa
tionS the night before. That ha
been improved on since. 1 IT
member that I was worried abou
either overShooting the trenche
and so not clearing them, or ur
derShooting and thus messing u
our own infantry. AS it turne
out, we did beautifully. Whe
our men got to the trench ther
wasn't a live German in it."