White Guard

“ He proposed to be tied on a horse, placed in charge of as strong a guard as Maj. White should deem necessary, the guards to be instructed to kill him if he made one step that did not please them; and for White to take his battalion, and with Webster thus bound and guarded for a guide, go to Means’ camp and capture it. Or, if not willing to go with him, to leave him at Gen. Jones’ headquarters and then move the battalion by his directions, with the absolute certainty that he would be hung or shot if the expedition failed, under his instructions, to get Means and all his men. ”

“ Under the bronze of the sub-factor’s face there spread a glow more red than brown, and he said simply: “Thank you, men”—for they had all nodded assent to Jeff Hyde’s words—“come with me to the store. We will start at noon.”
At noon the White Guard stood in front of the store on which the British flag was hoisted with another beneath it bearing the magic letters, H.B.C.: magic, because they opened to the world regions that seemed destined never to know the touch of civilisation. The few inhabitants of the fort were gathered at the store; the dogs and loaded sleds were at the door. ”

“ Riders"—Cowboys and Society Men—Their Uniforms and Their
Weapons—Their Fighting Leaders.
If all the men who showed a desire to answer the call to arms had been accepted, no nation in the world could have boasted of a larger army. The demand was so limited and the supply so great that many more had to be refused than were accepted, and many of the National Guard, who were given the preference in all the States, were rejected at the final examination, because they lacked some of the qualifications necessary in a soldier of the United States. ”

“ The scene which presented itself to the view of the rear-guard as it passed the army on the way was distressing in the extreme. The few men who still carried their muskets had hardly the appearance of soldiers as they wearily moved along the toilsome route, their clothes all tattered and covered with mud, their eyes sunken and lustreless, and their faces peaked and pinched from their ceaseless march, through storm and sunshine, without food or sleep, through all that dire retreat, when in fact they were worn-out, from excessive duty in the trenches at Petersburg, before the retreat begun. ”

“ After destroying the bridges the brigade of White retired, and the battalion, being the rear guard, was very hotly pressed, many of the men being forced to swim the river in effecting their escape, as the enemy advanced their whole force the moment the Confederates commenced to fall back, and Captain Dowdell’s Company, together with a portion of Co. ”

“ The 4th of July, a dismal day of rain and gloom was passed in gathering the stragglers and wagons together, and in burying the dead, but when evening came the battalion was divided; Colonel White, with Companies B, C and E, acting as rear guard for Ewell’s Corps, which brought up the rear in the retreat, as it had led the van of the army in the advance; and Maj. Ferneyhough, with Companies A, D and F, was sent to A. P. Hill, to be advance guard for his Corps, as it held the front of the army. ”

“ About sunrise the enemy became very troublesome and as not more than one mile could be marched without a halt to wait for the wagons to be pulled out of the mud, which in many places was hub-deep, the position of the rear guard became a very exciting one, especially as it was found that the enemy’s infantry had left the road and was outmarching them through the fields and open pine woods to the left. ”

“ The National Guard were urgent to accompany the women, partly from a desire to protect them in case of a possible collision with the royal troops, but still more to bring on a conflict with a regiment lately brought from the frontier, and to exterminate the body-guard of the king, the members of which had, at a supper given a few nights before, been so indiscreet as to trample the tricolor under their feet and pin the white cockade to their lapels. ”

“ While we were awaiting their arrival, the relief guard came up, marching with a precision and erect, soldierly bearing that spoke well for their drill sergeants, and proved no small source of astonishment to the party of paroled rebels we had on board.
“A nigger’s just like a monkey,” growled one; “whatever he sees a white man do he’ll imitate; and he’ll study over it a cussed sight harder’n he will over his work. But how one o’ them black devils with muskets ’d run ef a white man was to start after him with a whip!” ”

“ Rosser now put White’s brigade in front and moved promptly upon the enemy, who appeared 391not to understand exactly what was expected of them, and as White took a position on a hill in an open field about four or five hundred yards from a division of Federal cavalry, the latter only looked, but made no hostile movement, and now Rosser, finding the way open to gain the Lynchburg road, pushed forward with the brigades of Munford and McCausland, leaving Colonel White to guard the rear and the old brigade to be the sacrifice, if necessary, to secure the safety of the balance. ”

“ THE CALL TO ARMS. It was on Monday, the 25th of April, that the national authorities notified the governors of each state that they would be expected to furnish volunteers for our war with Spain. The response was immediate. In every state of the Union the call to arms was heard with delight and troops gathered at their armories for prompt enlistment. The speed and facility with which a trained and efficient army could be mobilized was an amazement to those who had not been familiar with the details of the organization of the National Guard of America. ”

“ The Spanish vanguard, under Colonel Hernandez, attacked the vanguard, center and rear guard of the rebels in the central streets of the town, driving them with continuous volleys and fierce cavalry charges into the outskirts of the town. Up to this point we had killed ten insurgents. ”

“ The crowd are in earnest in their desire to let the White Guards get away with their beloved charge, and their resistance is dogged and determined.
The police have joined in, and are using their batons freely. Shouts and cries resound, and the crowd grows denser every moment, swelled by the numbers that have hastened to the scene. Dead and dying are lying on the cold stone pavements of the street. Even the latter are forgotten in the fierce fight that is raging, a fight undertaken by the people that the idol of their hearts may live. ”

“ If we were told that a cold-blooded individual had placed on one occasion some murderous weapons on a height, and then requested a number of his friends to stand before them, while some unsuspecting persons came up in that direction, and then, suddenly telling his companions to stand on one side, had sent bullets hissing and crashing through the gentlemen advancing to him, you would shudder with disgust at such atrocious cruelty, till you were told that the cold-blooded individual was the Duke of Wellington, and the advancing gentlemen the French Old Guard at Waterloo. ”

“ There can be no greater menace to the liberties of a people or to the peoples of the world than the spirit and practice of militarism. Look at Germany, dominated, burdened and brutalized by her military machine, and striving, with no indifferent success, at the cost of millions of lives and seas of blood, to put every nation in Europe under her boot and spur. I tell you, Joe, I’m not a good enough soldier, nor a good enough patriot, to take a commission in the National Guard. ”

“ The dissatisfaction was intense, and the Major absolutely alone and unaided in his efforts to stem the tide of sedition and mutiny in his camp, but his firmness and coolness made him master of the fiery spirits with whom he had to deal, and simply by appealing to their better nature won them from their desperate resolves, and very soon peace reigned in White’s battalion. But never for a day did the men forget their first love, or turn away their longing hearts from sighing after their lost independence. ”

“ No other call to duty is so truly a test of military readiness as that in connection with a fire, coming as it does always without the slightest previous warning. And no other duty, performed as the 1st Regiment performed it in 1872, does so much to win friends for the organization, and for the National Guard of which it forms a part. At no other time does the National Guardsman appear so nearly in his true rôle, as “a soldier of peace.” ”

“ I answer, No one, in time of peace; no one, when your musters and trainings are looked upon as mere pastimes; no one, when your militia will shoulder their muskets and march to their trainings with as much unconcern as they would go to a sumptuous entertainment or a splendid ball. But, Sir, when the hour of danger approaches, your white 'militia' are just as willing that the man of color should be set up as a mark to be shot at by the enemy, as to be set up themselves. In the War of the Revolution, these people helped to fight your battles by land and by sea. ”

“ I do not question that in the National Guard there are many brave men, but one can only judge of the fighting qualities of an army by comparison, and if the losses of the National Guard be statistically compared with those of the Line, of the Mobiles, and of the sailors, it will be shown that—to use an Americanism—their record is a bad one. ”

“ The civilian keepers were granted 1 year’s leave each 4 years. Coast Guard personnel now serving at the light serve a year at a time at this isolated location. At the end of his year’s tour each man is transferred to a new duty station.
The reservation on which Cape Sarichef Light is built is 1,845 acres of primeval wilderness. The first lighthouse cost $80,000 to build. The tower has now been rebuilt and incorporated with a loran station.
The 700,000 candlepower, 375-millimeter electric white light is lit for 25 seconds and eclipsed for 5 seconds. There is also a fog horn and a radiobeacon. ”

“ The new light consists of a 36-inch aviation-type rotating beacon of 250,000 candlepower, visible 20 miles, and flashing white every 15 seconds. The skeleton steel tower has been retained to guard against the time that the brick tower may again be endangered by erosion and thus require that the light again be moved. ”

“ By the terms of the capitulation, the whole garrison was to march out of the fort the next morning, with the honors of war, their drums beating and their colors flying; and to return home with every thing in their possession, excepting their artillery, unmolested by the French or the savages. As the French had killed all the horses and cattle, Colonel Washington had no means of carrying away his heavy baggage and stores; and the French agreed that a guard might be left to protect them, till horses could be sent to take them away. ”

“ Out of the smoke and mist opposite the English soldiers of the Royal Guard came their Imperial enemies. The waiting British saw the black bearskins of the tall Guard, the imperial insignia on cross-belts and uniforms. They were so near that they could see the grim faces of the old soldiers, their mustaches working, their lips drawn back over their teeth, snarling, sputtering like savage beasts. Here and there mouths were tight shut in a firm line. Here and there men came silently, but mostly they were yelling. ”

“ These volunteers are being organized under the laws of the State, and the 10th of November is fixed for the time of consolidating them into companies and regiments. Many of them are armed by the United States as home guards, and many by General Anderson and myself, because of the necessity of being armed to guard their camps against internal enemies. Should we be overwhelmed, they would scatter, and their arms and clothing will go to the enemy, furnishing the very material they so much need. ”

“ Since World War II, the National Guard has played a role in every major American crisis or conflict including Korea, Berlin, and Vietnam. When called upon by their country, the men and women of the Guard have always responded. ”

“ If no check can be found to keep the number of standing troops within safe bounds, while they are tolerated as far as necessary, abandon them altogether, discipline well the militia, and guard the magazines with them. More than magazine guards will be useless, if few, and dangerous, if many. No European nation can ever send against us such a regular army as we need fear, and it is hard, if our militia are not equal to those of Canada or Florida. ”

“ The red regiment of English Guards, lying behind the hedges, rose up; a shower of grape riddled the tricolored flag. All hurled themselves forward, and the final carnage began. The Imperial Guard felt the army slipping away around them in the gloom and the vast overthrow of the rout. There were no weak souls or cowards there. The privates of that band were as heroic as their general. Not a man flinched from the suicide.
The army fell back rapidly from all sides at once. A disbanding army is a thaw. The whole bends, cracks, snaps, floats, rolls, falls, crashes, hurries, plunges. ”

“ The militia must have thoroughly trained reserves sufficient in number to bring it promptly to war strength. The infantry of the National Guard, as in the regular army, is maintained on a peace footing at rather less than half its maximum strength. ”