While in the state service, the regiment was fed by a caterer, after the fashion then prevalent at Framingham. When they became U. S. soldiers, they messed themselves. All thru this war, ammunition was very scarce indeed. The least a self-respecting military post can do is to fire morning and evening guns; this was possible in 1898 only by cutting cartridges in two and using half-charges. Most of the ordnance was of Civil War vintage, or very slightly more modern.
Spain had been vastly over-rated, and there was very little fight in her. The regiment passed a busy and profitable month at Fort Warren from April 26 to May 30, being mustered into the United States service on May 7. During these weeks the companies or "batteries" attained a high degree of proficiency in both infantry and artillery drill. Shortly after midnight on May 13 the Engineers' steamer, the "Tourist," came down the harbor from the Navy Yard to announce that the Spanish fleet had actually been sighted off Nantucket. But men watched in vain for the enemy vessels to appear.
On Memorial day, thru the exigency of service conditions, the companies were moved and distributed along the coast at posts ranging from Portsmouth to New Bedford. Maj. Frye and the Cape companies remained at Warren. Lt. Col. Woodman with the 3d and 11th Companies garrisoned the fort at Clark's Point, New Bedford, a work which had been in existence since 1857 but which awaited July 23, 1898, and these companies as godfathers, before it was christened Fort Rodman. The Colonel, Headquarters, and the remaining six companies proceeded by boat to various points along the North Shore, at some of which militia field artillery batteries had previously been on guard, the Colonel himself being stationed at Salem in command of the entire Essex County district.
This transfer of troops was accomplished without peril or even discomfort. The 1st and 7th Companies under Maj. Dyar became the garrison at Salem; Maj. Quinby and the 2d Company were at Gloucester; the 6th Company was on Plum Island near Newburyport, and subsequently at Portsmouth; the 5th Company at Marblehead; and the 8th at Nahant as guard of the mining-casemate. Lieuts. E. Dwight Fullerton of the 8th Company and P. Frank Packard of the 2d were specially detailed to duty with the regulars at Fort Columbus, Governor's Island, New York, and remained there several months. Lieut. Fullerton was called upon to untangle the snarl into which the War Department had gotten with regard to records of sick soldiers in the New York hospitals.
It fell to the lot of certain "batteries" to reconstruct and man ancient earthworks whose history ran back many years. At Salem, Fort Pickering was put in commission; at Gloucester, the old Stage Fort where Myles Standish once came near having a battle; near Portsmouth, Forts Constitution and McClary; and at Marblehead, Fort Sewall. This is very romantic to relate. No doubt the renovated works with their armament of obsolete field pieces could have afforded some protection against Spanish raiders. But those who were called upon to occupy works built for seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth century warfare, and modernize them so as to render them useful under twentieth century conditions, agree in testifying that the romance is all in the narrative and not any in the fact. The 6th Company had at first been stationed in an earthwork on the Plum Island beach which had been constructed by the field battery, whom they relieved; as Plum Island, in June, is notable chiefly for flies and fleas, this company was glad enough when the transfer to Portsmouth brought the men again on solid ground. Fort Constitution had a long history--it used to be known as Fort William and Mary, and from its ancient magazine came the powder used by the patriots at Bunker Hill; but in 1898 it was a comparatively modern work, and mounted a battery of eight-inch rifles.
This Spanish War service is something of which the regiment are justly proud. On April 26, Col. Pfaff led 99 per cent. of the full militia strength of his command into the harbor forts, itself a conclusive demonstration that the National Guard is a dependable force. Foremost were they in the entire United States to assume their post of duty.
First of all volunteers were they to be mustered in; the genius of "The Old First" was in control. Thruout the entire two-hundred-three days of duty they maintained the very highest standards of efficiency and discipline. It noway lessened the credit belonging to these volunteer soldiers that the Spaniards were so wise as to keep at a safe distance from the Massachusetts coast; the warmest kind of a welcome was awaiting them, had they come. When on Nov. 14, the command were mustered out of Federal service and returned to the militia, they had added a most creditable chapter to the long annals of their organization.
In 1899 a tour of duty was performed at Fort Rodman; and so satisfactory did it prove that the post was chosen for the annual coast defence exercises, with one exception, until 1906. In 1902 some companies were stationed at Fort Greble and other Rhode Island posts. The only serious objections to Rodman were the haze and fog, which hang low over Buzzard's Bay. As a consequence of the Spanish War, the flannel shirt and the khaki suit became part of the regimental uniform. Oct. 14, 1899, the regiment participated in the ovation to Admiral George Dewey, and at the same time turned their Spanish War flags and colors over to the custody of the State. Col. Pfaff retired as Brigadier General Apr. 20, 1900. His loyal and generous interest in the old regiment has been shown in making possible the publication of this history.
Col. James A. Frye, who commanded the regiment from May 4, 1900, until Jan. 4, 1906, had served as Major during the Spanish War. Upon relinquishing command of the regiment, he became Adj. Gen. of the State.
Col. Frye was the one selected to record the services of the command during the Spanish War; and his history will always stand as a worthy monument to his memory.
In 1903 the regiment participated in joint coast defence and naval maneuvers at Portland harbor, of which the chief feature was the long hours. The men were on duty all day and all night, so that sleeping almost became a forgotten art. On June 25, 1903, the Coast Artillery shared in the exercises of dedication around the magnificent statue of their old commander, Gen. Joseph Hooker. Members of the regiment had been foremost in securing the appropriation for the statue; and heartily did they rejoice to see the beautiful bronze by D. C. French which finally crowned their labor.
1903 witnessed the most important national militia legislation since the original militia act of 1792. By the "Dick law," with amendments added in 1908, the militia really became a national force, with clearly defined liability of service; and the name, National Guard, was officially conferred upon it. Nevertheless Massachusetts continued to call her citizen soldiers Volunteer Militia. 1904 brought the adoption of magazine-rifles.
On Nov. 1, 1905, the regiment was redesignated as the "Corps of Coast Artillery," a title which has been used by anticipation at various times in this book. Behind the change lay the fact that the War Department had been testing militia heavy or coast artillery; and the latter, in the estimation of the Washington authorities, were not found wanting. A regiment is a closely united body, and is supposed to operate as a unit.
A corps, on the contrary, is a group of smaller units associated for administrative purposes, but acting more or less independently in warfare. Tactically a corps is not a unit; each of its members is.
Inasmuch as few forts require so much as a full regiment of coast artillery to garrison them, it was deemed best to organize the artillery in smaller units, in companies, better suited to the needs of the average fort. Companies are combined in fort commands of two or more each. Moreover, by 1905, a clear distinction had arisen between coast artillery and heavy artillery; and it was necessary for organizations to decide which branch of the service they would choose. Heavy artillery follows a mobile army, and is used to batter down fortifications. Coast artillery mans the guns and submarine mines of our coast fortifications, and is not a mobile force. A moment's consideration will convince anyone that the Massachusetts men chose the more exciting branch, when they became coast artillery. The heavy artillery fire from great distances, while themselves entirely out of range of any answering shots, and fire at fixed targets. The coast artillery fire at ships, moving targets possessing the ability to return our shots, who will certainly and quickly "get us" unless we "get them" first. An increase of interest in the scientific side of artillery work immediately followed, and stimulated every officer and enlisted man to do his best. Companies were no longer termed "batteries," but were given numbers, the designations indicating seniority of charter. The band continued to wear the old regimental number "1" on their uniforms.
To the twelve companies of the Corps were, in 1907, assigned regular stations in the fortifications of Boston harbor, to which it would be their duty to repair at once in case of threatened hostilities. As they exercised each summer on the very guns which they would man in actual service, they grew familiar with their work to a degree never before possible. After experimenting at seven different posts, in 1913 the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 6th Companies became part of the garrison of Fort Strong on Long Island (named in honor of Gen. Wm. K. Strong); the 5th, 7th, 8th and 11th Companies were assigned to Fort Andrews; and the 4th, 9th, 10th and 12th Companies to Fort Warren.
Col. Charles P. Nutter commanded the Corps from Jan. 23, 1906, until March 10, 1910; he had been Captain of the 7th Company during the Spanish War. In August, 1907, the companies participated in a general mobilization of militia at Boston in connection with the "old home week"
celebration. The War Department now determined to make a slight change in the name of the organization, perhaps in the interest of alphabetic symmetry. Whatever the cause may have been, on Nov. 15, 1907, the words were transposed and the "Corps of Coast Artillery" became the "Coast Artillery Corps."
It had been so long since the Boston companies were called out to maintain public order at a great fire, that such a contingency was not regarded seriously. Suddenly, on April 12, 1908, as men were returning from Palm Sunday services, they received word that Chelsea was in the clutch of a mammoth conflagration. Vast clouds of smoke could be seen arising on the north-eastern horizon; Boston's neighbor was indeed stricken.
The 5th Company promptly responded to the call for help; but it was evident that assistance must come from outside; local forces were entirely inadequate to meet the emergency. At 5 P. M. the other companies were assembled at their armories; and at 8.30, after eating a hearty supper, they started for their posts of duty. The work was of the usual sort, rescuing property and saving lives, guarding the property from vandals and thieves, and assisting the young, the weak and the aged to places of safety. Only men in uniform command confidence at such a season of disorder; only disciplined men, working together, can accomplish results. Right nobly did the Corps meet its responsibilities during its three days in Chelsea, and many a firm friend did it win for the organization. The 5th Company continued on duty five days longer.
Upon the local company fell an especially cruel test. First, their new State armory came in the path of the flames and was swept to ruins--while the troops, on duty in the streets, were aware that their own civilian clothing in the lockers was going up in smoke. Worse yet, the fire spread until it involved the homes of many militiamen. The soldiers could hardly keep their thoughts on their work, while their own loved ones were in danger, and their own household effects in need of removal to places of safety; their minds wandered homeward--but the men themselves quietly kept their posts. There never has been any question about the discipline of the Corps in seasons of emergency; the 5th Company proved true to the ancient traditions.
[Illustration: THE AUTHOR]
[Illustration: COL. GEORGE F. QUINBY
Page 151]
[Illustration: COL. E. DWIGHT FULLERTON
Page 147]
Companies of the Corps had been visiting Washington at inauguration time ever since 1835; and almost the entire command went in honor of T.
Roosevelt in 1905; finally, in 1909, the Corps went as a regiment and participated in the inaugural parade of President William H. Taft.
Participants in such a parade invite comparison between themselves and troops from many other states--military critics, such as Maj. Gen.
J. Franklin Bell and Brig. Gen. E. M. Weaver, were unanimous in asserting that the Mass. Coast Artillery Corps and the West Point Cadets bore off the palm for fine military appearance, not even the N. Y. 7th doing as well.
By 1909 the Corps had settled in its custom of holding coast defence exercises at the harbor forts; consequently, it was with disappointment and even resentment that they found themselves ordered to serve as infantry in the so-called Cape maneuvers in August of that year. A difference of opinion had arisen between the Adjutant General of Massachusetts and the Corps officers concerning money matters; and this tour of duty was laid on the latter as a penalty. Soldiers must obey orders; however irksome and unwelcome the service, no one in the "blue army" could truthfully say that the "red-legged infantry" fell below their comrades in efficiency.
Col. Walter E. Lombard was in command from March 17, 1910, until Feb.
21, 1915. At the latter date he became a Major General on the retired list. Col. Lombard had been Captain of the 6th Company during the Spanish War.
In June, 1911, the War Department detailed a regular army officer to the Corps as Inspector-instructor, Capt. Russell P. Reeder being the first to perform that duty; at once the standards of instruction were improved, and the artillery work profited greatly from the presence of such a skilled teacher. Sergeant-instructors, four in number, were presently added as assistants to the commissioned officer who performed the chief duties. An immediate result of the Inspector-instructor's work was the wonderful shooting done by the 4th, 12th and other companies during the 1911 tour of duty. After that date all officers were required to qualify in the technical part of their work by passing regular War Department examinations. The fourth officer to fill this detail, Capt. William H. Wilson, commenced service in Jan., 1915, and soon succeeded in systematizing the work of drill and instruction to a point far beyond anything previously attempted; so that his term of duty brought about a great increase of Corps efficiency. Capt. Wilson was especially qualified for this service in that he had himself been a National Guardsman, and had entered the U. S. army from a New York regiment. Capt. Wilson not only emphasized the artillery work; he also laid stress upon matters thitherto slighted,--company administration, higher infantry, and gunners' instruction.
Again in March, 1913, the entire Corps made its customary pilgrimage to Washington for the purpose of participating in the Presidential inauguration, this time paying the honor to Woodrow Wilson. As in 1909, so now, they were most enthusiastically praised for their fine military appearance and splendid marching. On May 30, 1913, the Gate City Guard of Atlanta, Ga., visited Boston as guests of the Tigers. 1913 was the fifteenth anniversary of the regiment's service in the Spanish war; and on Sept. 20, Col. Lombard tendered a review on the Common to the veterans. On that occasion active officers marched with the veterans, in the positions which they had filled fifteen years previously. Lt. Col.
Woodman was in command of the veterans, and Col. Lombard marched as Captain of the 6th Company; while Maj. Shedd led the actives. After the parade, there was a collation, followed by motion pictures, in the Armory.
So well had the 5th Company acquitted themselves at the Chelsea fire that they were one of the commands called out to maintain order at Salem when, on June 25, 1914, that ancient city was threatened with destruction; the emergency was similar to that of 1908. To the Chelsea men fell the duty of organizing a huge camp of refugees at Forest River park; and they remained in service seven days.
Joseph Hooker was born Nov. 13, 1814, and exactly one hundred years later, his loyal admirers, among whom were numbered the officers of the Coast Artillery Corps, paraded, and participated in a great meeting at Tremont Temple in honor of his memory. Capt. Isaac P. Gragg, former Captain of the 1st Company, was always the prime mover in organizing celebrations in memory of Hooker, and he justly felt that the event of 1914 was the culmination of his life-work. Alas! Capt. Gragg did not long survive the centennial of his beloved commander.
Edward Dwight Fullerton was elected Colonel Feb. 9, 1915, and continued in command until retired as Brigadier General, January 16, 1917; he had served as 1st Lieutenant of the 8th Company during the Spanish War.
The "House of Governors" was in session at Boston in Aug., 1915, and Gov. David I. Walsh ordered a mobilization of the militia on Aug. 26, as a compliment to the State's guests. As the authorized strength of the companies had recently been raised, the Boston papers commented upon the appearance of the Corps, in fifteen platoons of twenty files, as "wonderful," not only for numbers, but for steady marching.
President Wilson called the militia out for service on the Mexican border June 18, 1916. Massachusetts shared with New Jersey the honor of placing her full quota of organizations at the post of danger in the shortest time; and since the Massachusetts quota was far larger than that of New Jersey, her record was the more creditable. On the ninth day after the troops were summoned to arms, they started for Texas. Of course the Coast Artillery could not be included in this great national mobilization, as they might not safely be spared from their stations at the forts. But on June 26, the day the mobile troops started south, the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Corps were assembled at the Framingham mobilization camp ("Camp Whitney") for the purpose of drilling the hundreds of recruits there gathered. The officers and non-commissioned officers of the 6th Inf. also took part in this work of instruction. No recruits for Mass. regiments ever constituted a finer personnel than those eager to have a share in the Mexican service.
Coming from all over the state, they were uniformly willing, sober, and quick to learn, in order that they might reach the front as soon as possible. The Corps became responsible for the "2d Provisional Regiment," consisting of about one thousand men, destined for the 8th and 9th Inf. Regiments, and also for the cavalry, machine-guns, supply companies, field artillery, and even for the regimental bands.
Wonderfully rapid progress was made, so that in two weeks, the recruits were equipped, and drilled, and ready to go forward. The Corps' recent training in company administration stood them in good stead and made possible such rapid work. Certain officers of the Corps were drafted into the U. S. service, in order to accompany the recruits on the southward journey.
With grave disorder on the Mexican border, and with the greatest war of the world's history approaching its crisis abroad, conditions were once more favorable for Congressional action in behalf of the militia. Since threatenings of danger were loud and insistent, the legislators were induced to take an additional forward step in rendering America's citizen-soldiers efficient. The National Defence Act, as the new law was termed, completed the process of federalization by placing the militia fully under War Department control, and also provided a modest rate of remuneration for armory drills, thus making it an object for men to maintain regular attendance. Massachusetts had done what she could to encourage the passage of the law, by herself adopting, during the prolonged debate on the National Defence Act, a State law offering to hand over her militia to the Federal government. Indeed by her provision for remunerating men for attendance at rendezvous drills, the Commonwealth had taken her place beside Ohio five years previously as a pioneer in paying her militia. The legislation became effective on June 3, 1916, and went fully into operation on the first of the ensuing month.
Right in the midst of their tour, on June 30, the officers and men were asked to take the new Federal oath, under provisions of this act. To the officers the oath was administered at Framingham, while the enlisted men were assembled in their armories that night, for the purpose of swearing in. Almost without exception, and then always with valid excuse, the members of the Corps assumed this additional obligation and became Federal soldiers. Headquarters, band, enlisted specialists, and twelve companies--the entire Corps--were, on June 30, recognized by the War Department as federalized National Guardsmen and were entered upon the U. S. payrolls. Of all the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, the Coast Artillery Corps were the only organization to comply fully with the new requirements and be recognized as a unit.
Companies of the Corps volunteered their services in connection with exhibitions for the benefit of the Mass. Volunteer Aid Association, which was raising funds to relieve distress amongst the families of National Guardsmen then at the border. An unusually fine military display was given at the ball-grounds in connection with a benefit ball-game between the Red Sox and the St. Louis teams on July 17.
Many Corps officers were detailed for recruiting duty during the summer and autumn of 1916, in an effort to raise the numbers of the regiments at the border to full war-strength. Consequently the coast defence exercises at the forts in August, 1916, were seriously handicapped. Many men were forced to perform double duty. In spite of this limitation, splendid artillery scores were made by the 2d, the 6th and other Companies, the 6th Company earning the coveted Knox trophy.
Successive steps followed rapidly during the summer and autumn of 1916 to render effective the process of federalization. By order of Gov.
Samuel W. McCall on July 17, the title "Massachusetts Volunteer Militia"
was discontinued, and the force redesignated "National Guard, Massachusetts." In October the War Department authorized the companies to increase their strength from seventy-eight to one hundred twelve officers and men; new regulations established standards of drill and instruction with which organizations must comply in order to qualify for pay; a National Guard reserve was created by transfer of men who had completed their three years of active service; promotion requirements were established for officers; and an assistant Inspector-instructor was detailed to the Corps, Capt. Hugh S. Brown taking his place beside Capt.
Wilson. While the new National Guard regulations raised the standard and "tightened the reins," it is a tribute to the high grade of efficiency already attained by the Corps that Federal control caused no revolutionary changes of method in the organization. As part of the federalizing process, on Dec. 9, 1916, the Militia Bureau of the War Department redesignated the command, and abolished the word Corps from its title. Thereafter it was the "Massachusetts Coast Artillery, National Guard." On January 16, 1917, the organization received back its old and well-loved designation, and became the 1st Coast Defense Command, Massachusetts Coast Artillery, N. G.; once more Massachusetts could speak about her senior regiment as "The Old First."
George F. Quinby, a former Lieutenant of the 7th Company and Captain of the 2d Company, and Major during the Spanish War, became Colonel, January 20, 1917. The events of Col. Quinby's administration,--our break with Germany on February 3, the "armed neutrality," the 5th Company's good fortune in being first of all the command to engage in active service when, for twenty-four hours they guarded the electric power-system of Chelsea against hostile interference, the declaration of war on Good Friday, April 6, and the Old First's service in the war, the revival and establishment of compulsory universal military service--must form the subject-matter of another chapter to be written at some later day.
CHAPTER X
FINALLY
If it is a long time from 1784 to 1917, it is also a long way from the independent companies of artillery and light infantry of the earlier time to the present Coast Artillery; the militia of one hundred thirty years ago could not recognize itself in the National Guard of today.
When in 1792 Congress passed the first militia law, it commenced a process of federalization which was to progress by successive stages until its completion in the National Defence Act of 1916; with federalization came efficiency.
In the beginning, volunteer companies which owned uniforms separated themselves from the train-band of their day, and assumed duties and responsibilities outside of what the State demanded from every citizen.