Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1898 — TROOPS TO GO SOUTH [ARTICLE]

TROOPS TO GO SOUTH

Regular Army Regiments Are Ordered to Move. TO BE CONCENTRATED ALONG COAST. ’ Disposition Made of Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery—Commander* of the Various Posts—Naval Reserves Are Assigned. Washington, April 16. —Decidedly the most warlike step taken by the department in preparing for the possibility of an encounter with Spain was inaugurated Friday when orders were issued for the concentration at four points in the south of six regiments of cavalry, 22 regiments of infantry and the light batteries of five regiments of artillery. At Chickamauga there will be six regiments of cavalry and the light batteries of five regiments of artillery; at New Orleans eight regiments of infantry; at Tampa, seven regiments of infantry, and at Mobile seven regiments of infantry. , Since the civil war no such proportion of the army has been mobilized and the movement itself is the best evidence of the gravity of the situation as looked upon by the president and his advisers. • The determination to rendezvous the troops in the south where they®an be acclimated to the conditions of a more tropipal climate has been under consideration by the president and his cabinet for .some time. It was not until Friday, however, that tlie president, in view of the enormous expense which will be entailed, felt justified in taking this step. When Secretary Alger returned from the cabinet meeting he at once called into conference Gen. Miles and Adjt Gen. Corbin and acquainted them with the result of the cabinet’s deliberations. There were hurried consultations in which the quartermaster general, who has charge of the transportation of the troops, the commissary general, who looks after their subsistence, and representatives in Washington of various railroads running to the south, participated. The orders as finally given contemplate the movement o-f troops to the places indicated as follows: Disposition of the Troops. To Chickamauga Battlefield—The First, Second, Third, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth regiments of cavalry and the light batteries of five regiments of artillery. To New Orleans—The First, Seventh, Eighth, Twelfth, Sixteenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth regiments of Infantry. To Mobile—The Second, Third, Tenth, Eleventh, Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-second regiments of Infantry. To Tampa—The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth and Twen-ty-first regiments of infantry. The heavy batteries of arid]levy in. each of the five regiments mentioned will remain at their present posts. The two new regiments of artillery recently authorized by congress have net been recruited to their full strength, and in addition are not well equipped with horses and other necessary requisites for service, and therefore are not included in Friday’s orders. The department has so distributed the 22 regiments of infantry at convenient places on the gulf that they will be accessible for transportation to Cuba. Proposals have been invited from steamship companies for chartering vessels to the government for this work. To Move at Once. _ Instructions to the commanding officers of the regiments ordered to move were sent out late Friday with directions that they be put in to effect as soon as possible. It is the confident expectation of the officials that the movements in some places will begin to-day. The railroad facilities, the officials say, are more than ample to meet, the demands of the occasion and no trouble will be experienced in mobilizing this largg body of men at the places designated within a reasonably short space of time. Placed In Command. Secretary Alger immediately selected the commanders of the divisions of the army that are to assemble at the places named, all of whom are well known for their service in the military branch of the government. For the division at New Orleans Brig. Gen. W. B. Shafter, now at San Francisco, in command of the department of California, was designated; for that at Tampa. Brig. Gen. J. F. Wade, now in command of the department of the Dakota at St. Paul, Minn.; for Mobile, Brig. Gen. J. J. Coppinger, who is on duty in command of the department of Missouri, at Omaha, Neb.; while for the post at Chickamauga, Maj. Gen. J. R. Brooke, in command of the department of the lakes with headquarters at Chicago, was chosen. The command of the army will de voire upon Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, who is now at the head of the military branch of the government. Hie fem poiery headquarters, It Is said, probably will be at Atlanta, where Gen. Graham, who has command of the department of the gulf, is now located. Gen. Milee’ permanent head quarters will depend entirely upon the exigencies of the situation and the development of the campaign. NAvnl Keaervea AjM>t*ned, Several important and decisive steps in the work of war preparations were taken by the navy department Friday. It was decided to assign the naval reserves of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Man-land and Michigan to the five auxiliary cruisers, hereafter to be known as patrol boats. These ships arc the Prairie, the Dixie, the Yankee, the Yosemite aud either the Venezuela or Yorktown, the latter of which was purchased Friday. The question of the American line steamers was also wound up Friday with the decision to charter all four of them, the St. Louis, the St. Paul, the Paris and the New York. The two first mentioned have already been acquired by the department, although the form of acquisition was tentative, the de- . nMSUI

partment being undecided whether ft would purchase these two only or charter all four. With the announcement that these magnificent ships had been added to the auxiliary fleet came the statement that the department also had purchased the Yorktown of the Old Dominion line, and the Yumuri of the Ward line. With these additions the fleet of converted vessels now includes the pick of the ocean liners and coasting steamers running under the American flag. As in all instances, the price# paid are withheld by the department. But of greater moment tfaan any of these developments was the reopening of negotiations for the purchase of two warships and several torpedo boats from Chili and Argentina. One of the cruisers is the Chilian O’Higgins, just completed at an English yard and regarded as one of the most formidably of her class afloat. These negotiations are being conducted through Mr. Charlee R. Flint, of New York, who has large commercial and financial interests in both countries. Win Bear Watching. In naval circles a suspicion prevails that the Spanish warships have not gone to the Cape Verde islands but are maneuvering to get within striking distance of some American city should hostilities break out, and thus divert attention of the combined American fleets from Cuba. To Raise .a War Fund. Washington, April 16.—The republican members of the ways and means committee have decided to raise a war fund of $600,000,000. Of this amount $100,000,000 will consist of treasury certificates and $500,000,000 of bonds. The internal revenues will be increased by about $115,000,000 annually. Orders to Illinois Troops. Springfield, 111., April 16.—The adjutamt general has issued an order for all companies and batteries of the Illinois national guard to be recruited to their 1 full complement of 100 men by the end of this week. The ranks are being rap- ' idly filled throughout the state. J