of Philadelphia James Cooper

“ Life aboard a troop ship is not a round of pleasure at the best. Long tales of woe, regarding the trials and hardships upon transports of various infantry commands, quickly found their way into print within a few weeks after active war operations commenced. Not one word, however, regarding the discomforts of the City Troop on the trip to Puerto Rico was written. Yet, if existence upon a transport ship, crowded with men is disagreeable, what would the complaining infantrymen have said had they found themselves in the Troop's plight, on a vessel containing more animals than men. ”

“ Men famed for their strength and endurance at home, would sit by the hour with their heads in their hands, rendered listless and weak by the heat and moisture.
That night again the men spread their blankets on the stones outside the cathedral. A citizen placed his front porch at the disposal of the Troop as a guard house. ”

“ Since the arrival of the squadron at Camp Alger Captain Groome, who was in command, had posted orders for Squadron Guard Mount every morning, and for Troop Drill and Squadron Parade every evening. The number of spectators upon these occasions kept increasing daily, and the reputation for excellence in drill on the part of the squadron spread rapidly. The officers of all the commands in the camp were attracted by these reports, and the evolutions of the cavalrymen were frequently watched with a critical [45] eye by many of the best known officers of the army. ”

“ Sometimes the Troopers felt that their peaceful camp life was pretty slow, but as the drills became harder day by day they realized that it was not only a great school of experience, but that each day's drill was part of a general plan of their officers, that would gradually improve their physical condition and bring them to a high state of efficiency as a Troop when they were needed for active service. ”

“ The foot soldiers thought the cavalry was going in to deploy as skirmishers and start the fight, so they gave the Troopers a good, hearty American cheer, and from each company came encouraging yells, such as: "Give them bullets, boys!" "We will follow you!" And the Fourth Pennsylvania gave three times three for the City Troop and Old Pennsylvania. All in all it was a moment that the Philadelphia riders will not soon forget. ”

“ Wheeler had seemed in good health upon his arrival in the United States after the campaign, and, with several friends, had gone upon a hunting trip in the Maine woods. There the fever seized him, and he died a few days after his removal to a Boston hospital.
Of the departed young hero, the Troopers will ever speak with affection and praise. In college he was an unusually earnest student, on the athletic fields he won laurels that will long remain green, at home he was a loving son and brother, with the Troop he showed the mettle of a gallant soldier. ”

“ Squadron drills were held daily, and other features of camp life, which interested all visitors, were squadron guard mount and evening parade.
The new horses were utterly unused to cavalry exercises, in fact many of them had never been ridden before, and the Troopers had lively times training their steeds. One of the sights which visitors to the camp were never tired of watching was the skill with which the Troopers "threw" their horses, to accustom them to the exercise in which the horses are supposed to lie down and afford forts for the riders. The throwing is exciting sport. ”

“ In the mornings the drill covered the manual of carbine or saber drills, and pistol practice by squad or troop, also dismounted drill by the Troop; this drill lasted as a rule two hours. The afternoon drill as a rule extended over three hours, and was chiefly in outpost and skirmish work. One platoon would start, under the command of an officer, telling the general direction it would take, and having gone a certain distance would establish outposts of an imaginary camp, twenty minutes later a second platoon would start on a march through the country, throwing out flankers and advance guard. ”

“ In the afternoon there were a number of visitors on hand from Philadelphia, although rainy weather had set in again. All kind of rumors were current as to what would be done with the State organizations, and many feared that the Troop would not be allowed to enlist as a whole, but that the men would be called upon to enter the volunteer service as individuals. These rumors soon died away, however, and on Monday when the men were lined up and asked if they were willing to enter the service of the United States there was but a single dissenting voice. ”

“ On Saturday morning more horses were unloaded, and in the afternoon all the men who had mounts rode out beyond Ponce, on the highway which leads to Barros, to the camp selected by Captain Groome. While riding along the Troopers excited great interest among the natives because of the size of the American horses. In Puerto Rico all the horses are small, mere ponies in fact, less than fourteen hands high, and the islanders never failed to stare with open mouth at the City Troops handsome greys. ”

“ The cavalrymen were too tired to do any cheering themselves, even at the thought of home. The natives about the dock did some cheering, but as they were always ready to hurrah over anything, their yells did not particularly inspire the departing soldiers.
The City Troop had its quarters forward on the "Mississippi," with A Battery alongside and A Troop on the deck below. This was pleasant all around, as the New York and Philadelphia Troopers were the best of friends, and in addition the Troopers had many friends in the Philadelphia battery. ”

“ All of the animals came through all right, however, with the exception of the horse ridden by Sergeant Hart, which died the fifth day after the Troop's arrival at the new camp.
The first detachment of mules was soon followed by another, until a full score had been sent to the Troop. Other commands throughout the camp had also received supplies of mules, and the animals showed a great fondness for communicating with one another in the early morning. Far away on one side of the camp a mule would raise his silvery voice to heaven ”

“ In the morning before five o'clock the blaring of trumpets announced a hurry call. As soon as the men came to their senses they heard the non-commissioned officers shouting: "Fall in without arms." The Troop never appeared to better advantage. The guard, the fourth platoon, tumbled out fully armed, and were standing in place in two minutes, and one minute later the entire Troop, in column of fours, with the captain in command, was double-quicking toward the dock. ”

“ The daily rain was unusually heavy, and the men turned in early to fight the bugs, mosquitoes and stifling heat.
All conditions were unfavorable to comfort at Arroyo. Great clouds would come drifting in from the sea toward the mountains, and rain and wind would beat in at one side of the Troop's shelter tents. Within an hour the clouds would come rolling back to the sea, and the wind and rain would besiege the opposite side of the tents. Thursday night the Troopers slept in soaking blankets, inches deep in rain and mud. ”

“ Some men wore Khaiki breeches, others the old familiar blue. Hats and caps of all varieties were seen, several men wearing broad straw hats secured from the natives. All wore blue shirts of various ages and conditions of cleanliness. Sleeves were rolled up, and scarcely two men appeared in the same kind of boots. The closest friends of the Troopers would never have recognized the rain-bedraggled warriors as the same men who so often had shone resplendent in the streets of Philadelphia as the guard of honor of The President or distinguished soldiers. ”

“ Like dead men they lay in their blankets, totally oblivious of the swarms of mosquitoes which gathered about them, or of the land crabs, little snakes and other queer creatures that all night long crawled over their bodies in a familiarly inquiring manner. ”

“ The recruits were given much guard duty to perform, and wherever they went they carried their books of regulations, learning the paragraphs by heart.
On June 24th, Samuel Chew arrived at camp, direct from the Klondike gold regions, and took up his duties as if he had done nothing unusual, yet he had made the long journey in record-breaking time simply to rejoin his comrades. Twenty new tents arrived that day, affording accommodations for the new men. On the 17th, the last of the regiments of infantry left, and the Troopers were monarchs of all they surveyed. ”

“ They were the only company to take a water filter with them, so were the only men to drink pure water. They were the only soldiers with forethought enough to provide salt, mustard and the other little things that help make army rations palatable. Then they knew how to cook. They kept their camp clean. They kept their horses in good condition, in fact they neglected nothing, and shirked no duty, no matter how disagreeable. So much for the dude soldier."
It was eight o'clock when the train bearing the City Troopers, every man ready and fit for duty, came puffing into the Broad Street Station. ”

“ Captain Groome secured permission to send Lieutenant Browning ashore to select a camp site, and report. He made quick work of it, choosing a spot beside the Cathedral de la Carmen, and returning with an order from General Miles that the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, should land at once. This order amazed the New York cavalrymen, who had been heard to boast frequently that they would surely be given the preference in all military arrangements. ”

“ Until seven o'clock the City Troopers were kept upon the wharf. At that hour Captain Groome was informed that no transport could then be secured, and that he should return with the Troop to Newport News and report to General Fred. Grant. Captain Groome ordered the Troop to bivouac in the grass in front of the hotel for the night. There was a general rush for shelter. The ladies sought their rooms in the hotel, from the windows of which they could see the cavalrymen lying in the grass of a field opposite, rolled up in their blankets. ”

“ While the men in other companies were hesitating and wondering what to do, the City Troop broke into regular squads, under the command of the non-commissioned officers, and began methodical relief work. Every rifle was saved. Regular army officers on the spot warmly complimented Captain Groome upon the showing made by his men.
That afternoon Captain Groome, with Major Flagler and Major McMichael, of General Wilson's staff, rode out from Ponce into the country looking for a suitable camp site. ”

“ Up hill and down dale the men would crawl their way until the crack of the pistols would show that one platoon had [30] been unmasked. Then it was left to the officers to decide which side had the best of the manœuvres. While two platoons were thus engaged a third was always left in charge of camp. Each morning half the Troop would be taken over to the rifle range for pistol and carbine practice.
One piece of work had been done by the Troopers, during the early days of their stay at Camp Hastings, that has not been referred to. ”

“ The question of the hour was whether war with Spain was at hand.
That the annual inspection of the Troop occurred just at this time was merely a coincidence—six months before the plans had been made. Nothing [10] was changed by the exciting rumors of the day, for the Troopers belonged to that conservative class of business men, which even at this time, did not believe in the likelihood of a resort to arms over the disputes pending between the United States and Spain. ”

“ They were as fit for service as soldiers could be, and the orders to move, which came July 7th, were welcome indeed. The squadron was to go to Camp Alger, but all the men felt that this was but a preliminary move, and that soon they would be at the front. Tents were struck the same day. No countermanding orders came this time, and all the camp luggage was despatched to the station ahead of the cavalrymen.
The squadron at this time consisted of three troops and nine officers. Each troop consisted of one hundred men and one hundred and six horses. ”

“ Sunday morning Captain Scott brought an order to Captain Groome to send a commissioned officer, a sergeant and six privates to establish an outpost two miles beyond the farthest infantry outpost, and to maintain a flag of truce. This outpost was necessary because of the general fear of Spanish treachery. The Spaniards had a white flag flying over their blockhouse, but there was no telling at what moment they might pull it down and charge into the American ranks; so the watchers at the outpost were entrusted with an important duty. ”

“ Recruiting officers were at once sent to Philadelphia, and two days later twelve new Troopers arrived, fully uniformed. Captain Groome was too busy to remain with the Horse Board any longer, and Lieutenant Browning went in his stead. The drills increased in length each day, and the new recruits as fast as they arrived were sent out in squads to learn the first principles, and then were given a turn with the entire Troop. The officers had a class in tactics daily, and the men took up the study of bugle calls. ”

“ The left fore leg of a [35] horse is strapped up so that the animal stands upon three legs, a strap is attached to the other fore leg and grasped by the rider, who suddenly turns the horse's head way around to one side and pulls the other fore leg from the ground. The animal is obliged to fall to his knees and is then coaxed over. When once the horse realizes that the rider means him no harm, the work is more than half done. ”

“ As the City Troop was fully armed with the carbine, saber and pistol, uniformed, equipped and mounted, and owned all their equipments and horses, Captain Groome offered to Governor Hastings, and through him to the Secretary of War, to transfer immediately all the horses and troop property of every description to the United States, to be settled for at any time and price satisfactory to the Government. ”