Adams County, Nebraska - Chapter 20: Chronicle of Companies K and G, 1916

Chapter 20: Chronicle of Companies K and G

When on April 23, 1898, President IMcKinley called for volunteers to enforce the resolution of Congress that it was the duty of the United States to demand that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government of the Island of Cuba and that the people of the island are, "and of right ought to be, free and independent," Adams County for the first time in its history experienced the thrill of excitement attendant upon a peojjle whose country faces war. As we look back and recall the comparative ease with which the enemy country was overcome, and remember that the once proud kingdom of Spain had at this time dwindled to a point where it was the most tottering old grandma of Evn'0])e, it is difficult to understand how the ])rospect of war with her could arouse even a ripple of excitement. Tliere was no doubt of course in the mind of anybody in the county concerning the outcome, but the situation was new and it Avas not known that the victory would be so easily won.

On Aj^ril 6th Governor Holcomb. anticipating hostilities, had tendered to the President the organized military forces of Nebraska, and on April 2.5th the chief executive through the secretary of war, Russel A. Alger, called on Nebraska to furnish two regiments. This quota, 2,114 men, represented 1.6909 per cent of the 12.5,000 volunteers called" for. In accordance with General Order No. 9 the First and Second regiments I'eported for duty on April 27th.

At that time there were no organizations of the national guai'd or the state militia in Adams County. There were many, however, who exi^ressed a desire to assist in the impending struggle and the Hastings Band were successful in being enlisted with the Second Regiment on INIay lOtls. Later there was a second call, this time for 1.268 men. and it was directed that 600 of that quota should be enlisted and mustered into the First and Second Nebraska regiments, raising them from the minimvim to the maximum formation. After deducting that number, it left practically about two battalions to be fur- .316 iiished by the state. Instead of furnishing two battalions to make iij) the quota Nebraska was granted the privilege of furnishing an entire regiment, and over 1,800 men reported for enlistment. Out of this number 1,326 were mustered in and the command became the Third Kegiment under Col. William J. Bryan.

AVhen the second call for men was made the spirit which had been apparent in Adams County from the beginning was given an ojjportunity to exjiress itself in action. Harry S. Dungan, then a young practicing attorney at Hastings, and now judge of the Tenth Judicial District, lost no time in getting the permission of the governor to raise a company of volunteers. In this work he was assisted by AVilliam J. Ohlheiser, of Hastings, and Carl L. ShufF, of Lincoln. Dungan and Ohlheiser kept a sharp lookout as to the jjhysical condition of the applicants, and as a result the company had the lowest jxicentage of rejected men of any in the Third Regiment.

The earliest enlistments were made on INIay 27th. The recruiting cam]) was locited on the old East Ward school ground, between Seco)id and Third streets and ^Minnesota and Kansas avenues, at Hastings. The company was known as Company K. The officers elected were: Captain, Harry S. Dungan; first lieutenant, Carl L. ShufF. I^iiK'oln: second lieutenant, William J. Ohlheiser; first sergeant, Carl Ij. Jacobson; quartermaster sergeant, Walter G. Garver; sergeants, 3Ierl E. Palmer, Adam Rutherford and Fredrick Gundel, the latter from Sjiring Ranch, and Jay L. Benedict; corporals, Guy 31. Brown, Lincoln, Walter JM. Burr, Juniata, Edward ^Nle- Cartney. Juniata, David W. P. Sinclair, Hastings, Francis N. Fountain. Hastijigs, George B. Roberts, Hastings, Charles Criswell, Hastings. Robert M. Decker, Prosser, Cyiiis A. Abbott, Algiei-s, Indiana, Lloyd Cline, Juniata, Bartholomew W. Parks, Holstein, and Frank E. Dickson, Clay Center; wagoner, Peter C. Werner, Hastings; nuisicians. John D. Honser, Hastings, and George T. Israel, Juniata; artificer. George Frisch, Glenville. These elected officers were subsequently ajipointed by the governor, and the company was mustered into the service at Fort Omaha July 13, 1898. The company had left Hastings the latter part of June and recruiting was completed after they reached Omaha. Captain Dungan and Lieutenant Ohlheiser returning to Adams County for that purpose.

Following the signing of the peace protocol on August 12th Colonel Bryan resigned at Savannah, Ga., Lieut. -Col. ^'ietor Vif(|uain lieing promoted to his position. Capt. Harry Dungan of Company K was promoted to major of the Third Battalion to rank from December 12, 1898. First Lieutenant ShufF became captain of Company K ui^on the j^i'oniotion of Dungan, and later was raised to regimental quartermaster ; Walter Garver was raised to regimental quartermaster sergeant. Following the promotion of Ohlheiser First Lieut. Oscar H. Allen of Company B was promoted to the cai:)taincy of Company K and Second Lieut. ]\Iills of Company jM was made first lieutenant. R. R. Damerell, who had mustered as a private, but had from the first been at headquarters at the adjutant's ofiice, was promoted first to sergeant and then to second lieutenant of Conqjany K. The latter position had become vacant when Ohlheiser was promoted to first lieutenant, vice Carl L. ShufF, resigned.

^Mobilization of the Third Regiment having been completed they were ordered to Jacksonville, Florida, and entrained at Omaha on the 19th of July, and arrived in Jacksonville five days later. The train carrying the regiment was in three sections, the section bearing Company K being the one upon which the headquarters officers traveled.

All along the route throngs gathered at tlie stations to indicate their good wishes to the soldiers, and upon several occasions they experienced material demonstrations of the hosjiitality of the South. The train carrying the Adams County company arrived at Nashville, Tennessee, at noon, Jidy 21st, and the men were gratified to find that the ladies of that city had 2)ro\'ided a substantial dinner for every man in the battalion. Not only that, but every man was given a neat lunchbox containing an ample supply of delicacies for the next meal, and to make the items complete a large number of the baskets contained the name of the .young woman responsible for that particular basket. It was of course incumbent upon every young soldier to acknowledge the courtesy of the fair donor. JNIany friendships Avere thus begun and in due time a number of marriages were solemnized as a residt of this incident. ComjDany K demonstrated its appreciation of the women of Nashville when later Max W. Hadden married the young lady whose name graced his basket. For several years ]Mr. and 3Irs. Hadden made their home in Nashville.

The battalion was again the recipient of marked courtesy at Atlanta, Georgia, on the 23d of July. Here the Veterans of the Confederacy were holding their annual reunion and lined the streets to salute the men on the way to the seat of war. The officers were conveyed, amid a cheering throng, to the Kimball Hotel, where they Avere entertained at lunch. The dining room was on the thii'd floor of the hostelry and here before the lunch was finished came the sound of great cheering. The crowd below was caUing for Bryan. Colonel

Bryan at once arose and going to a window acknowledged the cheers of the assemblage that packed nian_v squares. Thej- were largely the confederate veterans.

After Innch the officers were presented to the sponsors of the Sonthern States. This was a gronp of young women, each one chosen to represent her state at the reunion, and the group representing the flower of Southern beauty. General Longstreet also was presented to the officers and JMrs. Pickett, the widow of the leader of the famous charge at Gettysburg, came and graciously greeted the officers. AVhen it was time to leave the hotel so great was the pressure of the throng that it was necessary for the police to clear the lobbies.

The next daj% July 24th, Company K and their fellow soldiers readied Jacksonville and after inspection by Inspector-Gen. Curtis Guild, afterwards governor of INIassachusetts, were made a j^art of the Seventh Army Corps under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, and quartered at Camp Cuba Libre in Panama Park. The red, white and blue seven-])ointed star was the insignia of the corps.

Panama Park was a sandy plain A^ith no shelter from the sun, and under the sweltering rays drill and camp life took on the rigors of war. "It's 120 in the shade," was the desperate remark of a perspiring private of Companj^ K as he threw off his hat.

"Yes," returned "Count" Lepinski, "and no shade." "Count's" fame for aptness at repartee and ability at vaudeville spread throughout the regiment and his sense of humor was regarded as a regimental asset. The Adams County men were located in this camp at a distance of about seven miles from Jacksonville and for that reason were dejirived of the j^leasure of social intercourse with the city -which a nearer position would have supplied. INIany suffered from dysentery and tlie illness incident to torrid heat, but none was lost.

Near tlie camji stood the pavilion in which the Mitchell-Corbett championship battle had been fought disastrously for the former not long before. Near by was the St. John's River in which the men found great comfort in bathing until one day a huge alligator fourteen feet in length was caught in the stream. The river at once lost its attraction and would not be used for bathing again, not if the men were forced to use a sliaving mug for a bathtub.

The men welcomed the change when on September 9th they were ordered from Panama Park to Pablo Beach, a small summer resort about twenty miles from Jacksonville and on the Atlantic Coast. Camps were pitched here near one of the best beaches in the country.

It was, however, the season for the severe storms of the equinox, and one of these furnished excitement with some actual danger foi" the regiment.

The camp Avas behind high sand dunes and also close to a small creek. When a terrific wind and rain storm broke in the night the creek soon swelled to river proportions with a strong current. ^lany of the tents were blown away and a dangerous confusion impended for a time. The executive ability of Ohlheiser was at this time marked. He was acting regimental quartermaster and with great coolness and ability assisted in getting the men out of the danger zone and into the town without loss of life, althougli they waded in A\ater to the waist.

On October -ith tliey moved to Fairfield, Florida, where they remained until October '24^th, when the_y were ordered to Camp Onward near Savannah, Georgia. This time Company K Avas fortunate in being located near the city. The people of Savannah were most hospitable and men and officers were provided by them with many social pleasures, not the least appreciated of wliich was a turkey dinner Avliich was served to men and officers on Thanksgiving Day. At Savannali tlie Third Regiment was brigaded with the First iSlississi])pi and the Second Louisiana. Here, too, a review of the force was made by President IMcKinley and Secretary Alger. It was at tliis camp that Colonel Bryan resigned and n)any of tlie promotions were made. After the signing of the peace protocol the War Department reduced tlie force and twenty men of Company K were discharged, being mostly those on sick furlough.

On December 31st the men embarked on the United States transport Michigan and sailed for Havana. Morro Castle was sighted, according to the diary of Lieutenant Damerell, on the morning of January 3, 1899, and the transport entered the harbor of Havana at 9 o'clock A. JNI. The regiment went ashore January 4th and marched through the city to Camp Columbia near Ceibia. The location was an elevated place overlooking the sea.

April 7. 1899, at 5 P. INI. the regiment left the harbor of Havana homeward bound and tlie next day arrived at the Dry Tortugas off" the Florida coast. Here the facilities for landing were poor and a higli sea was rolling so that a landing could not be made without danger. Accordingly they were ordered to the detention camp on Daufauskie Island off the coast of South Carolina, where a landing was made on April r2th. On the 18th, after medical inspection on the island, tlie men embarked on the river steamer, Santie, and reached Gordon Wharf, at Savannah, tliat evening. JNIany were looking forAvard to a renewal of the acquaintances they had made at Savannah, where they expected to be mustered out, and were disappointed when ordered tu proceed to Augusta, where they arrived the next day. They were here quartered in Camp jNIacKenzie, where they were mustered out May 11, 1899.

It was while at Savannah that an incident occurred illustrating tb.at while the Southern people received their fellow countrymen from the North ^vith the greatest cordiality, yet underneath remained some feelings reminiscent of the great civil struggle. Captain Underwood, of Company I, once connected witli the English army and very sociable in nature, had become acquainted with a family in the city, and was entertained in their home. The captain was fond of singing and tlie family, too, was nuisical. Captain Underwood was invited by them to bring some of his friends who could sing, and acting upon tliis invitation he brought with him among others Captain Dungan of Company K and ]Major Scharmann of North Platte.

When the major was presented to the family the visitors noticed that the social atmosphere cooled perceptibly, in fact, the eveningthreatened to become a social failure, and the guests were at a loss to account for it. In the course of the evening Captain Dungan found an ojjportunity to speak j^rivately with one of the gentlemen of the house and frankly communicated to him that something had gone Avrong and that the guests were very desirous to be put right. At first the young man insisted that all was well, but presently made an admission.

"The ladies of the house." he explained, "consider that it is a little inoonsiderate to bring here a nephew of General Sherman's. You see," lie went on, "the estate belonging to the grandparents of these young ladies suft'ered at the time of Sherman's marcli through the South."

It was Cai)tain Dungan's pleasure to explain away the error that had arisen because of the similarity of the names, the clouds were at once banished and the social ])leasures were from then on unmarred.

While the Third Regiment was entraining at Pablo, Florida, just before moving to Fairfield a little incident happened which serves to .show some of the qualities of William Ohlheiser that led to his ])i-omotion from second lieutenant of Company K to regimental quartermaster.

"Sergeant," said Ohlheiser, addressing Walter Garver, "with your squad arrest this man if he attempts to move this train without my order." Similar instructions were given relative to the engineer. The train men attempted to carry out the railroad's order and were jjromjjtly arrested.

The railroad complained of this conduct to the War Department and subsequently Ohlheiser was called upon to explain to Colonel Vitquain. His explanation was that no provisions nor camp equipment had yet been put aboard and he did not purpose to land the men in Fairfield without provender.

The \Var Department endorsed Ohlheiser's action. The men of the Third still speak of the efficiency with which their quartermaster saw to it that they were properly looked after in the matter of food and clothing and camji equipment.

Sergeant Jay L. Benedict, of Company K, continued his uiilitary career, seeing service in the Philippine Islands. He received appointment to West Point and was graduated from that institution in 190-1. Subsequently he was instructor at West Point and now, 191.5, is a first lieutenant in the regular army.

The Hastings ^Military Band enlisted ^Nlay 10, 1898, and were assigned to the Second Regiment. The members were as follows: Chief musician, Theodore A. JNIiller; principal musician, Bert L. Brown, Theodore Y. Knapp; regimental band musicians, Waldorf A. Baker, Pkld. F. Barnhouse, Harry Bohnet, ^Villiam Bohnet, Walter F. Boyd, Florus H. Cassel, Ed Cushing, Edward Chaloupka, R. Ralph Ferguson, Alfred R. Giffin, Fred Grass, Otto Grass, William B. Hartigan, Frank Herman, Boyd C. Littlefield, William S. :\rc- Gintie, Newton Pratt, Roy S. Work, Charles R. Yocum, Ernest E. Yocum.

The roster of the First Regiment contains the names of the following fi'om Adams County; Salem J. Hammond, Clarence A. Belknap, Roy O. Sutton, Thomas C. North, Joseph Edgar Jones and George W." Work.

In Jime, 101.5, an organization of the Spanish-American and Philijipine war veterans was organized at Hastings with Dr. C. K. Struble as president and Frank Kealy, secretary.

Company

was later designated as Company G. John P. Madgett was the lirst captain of the eonijiany. Others who have served a period in that capacity are G. E. Boggs, J. H. RifFe, Raymond Crosson, Leonard Brown, Will Crosson, and John G. L. Hanlen, the present captain. Raymond Crosson was particularly energetic in stimulating interest in the company, and in the sin-ing of 1915 was promoted to major of the Th.ird Battalion, Fifth Infantry, National Guard. The company's armory is located in Brandes Hall on the northwest corner of Second Street and Burlington Avenue.

When the National Guard was called out hy President Wilson in June, 1916, Company G entrained at Hastings for the mobilization grounds at Lincoln, June 23. They were escorted to the train by about l,oOO citizens, although the hour of departure was 7 o'clock A. jNI. All the steam whistles in the city loudly screeched their good wishes to the company who were soon to depart for the INIexican l)order. War with JNIexico seemed to be impending. Bishop Beecher, bishoj) of the EiMscoiialian diocese of Western Nebraska, Avas chaplain of the Fifth Regiment and took his departure with the company. One of the impressive scenes enacted in Hastings was witnessed that morning when the bishop addressed the silent throng and the attentive soldier boys. "Remember this, friends," closed the bishop, "so long as we have a God in heaven and a man on earth our Hag will remain tlie sym])ol of liberty, truth and justice."

The following officers of the Third Battalion, Fifth Infantry. National Guard departed with Company G: ]\Iajor, Raymond L. Crosson; First Lieutenant, John P. jNIadgett; Second Lieutenant, INIarcus L. Evans. The latter was disqualified because of physical disabilities. Company G and officers were as follows: