When the war trumpet's shrill notes disturbed the serenity of this tranquil land early in '98 their echoes were not lost on the hills of Utah, but reverberating from cliff to cliff and peak to peak they swelled into a martial hymn whose chorus was sung in every home in the commonwealth. The dark stormy days preceding the declaration of war in April had aroused the dormant energies of men, hitherto engaged in the peaceful pursuits of life, and filled them with an eager desire to perform the more exciting duties of the camp, so that when the call was issued by Governor Wells on April 25th a host of young men from every corner of the State applied for enlistment in the volunteer army.
Out of the 500 men, Utah's original quota, 343 were designated for the Light Artillery service. There are reasons for this not altogether understood by those outside military circles. At the breaking out of hostilities with Spain the National Guard of the various States were deficient in this branch of the service. The guns consisted mostly of obsolete and useless muzzle-loading cannon, divided among the States at the close of the Civil War. Some were smooth bores, others rifled. There were Napoleons and Parrots, brass cannon and twenty-four pounders. Very few of the States had modern guns, but Utah was especially favored in this line. During the early organization of the guard she had been provided with eight 3.2-inch B. & L. rifles, together with limbers, caisson, harnesses, etc. Thus it was apparent to all who knew anything of the manner of procedure that the youngest State in the union would be called upon to furnish artillery, and so it proved, for, after having been informed by Senator Frank J. Cannon that this State could man the guns, the War Department made arrangements for Utah to put two batteries in the field.[Pg 17]
The day following the Governor's call recruiting officers were appointed to enlist men for the service, the names of those designated to enroll batterymen being Richard W. Young, Frank A. Grant, George W. Gibbs, Ray C. Naylor and Orrin R. Grow. These were assigned to different portions of the State and the work began on the day following. Ethan Allen, afterwards First Sergeant of Battery A, was the first man to enroll. Orders were received from Washington naming Fort Douglas as the rendezvous for the recruits, the message reaching here the day enlistment began. Briant H. Wells, a Lieutenant in the Second United States Infantry, who had been stationed here on duty with the National Guard, was assigned as mustering officer. The recruiting continued with varied success until May 1st, when the quota was filled. Applications for enrollment were so plentiful after the news of the call became generally known that recruiting officers were frequently compelled to have the men draw lots in order to determine the lucky ones, for that is the term then used.
May 3rd, camps were pitched on the lower parade ground at Fort Douglas. It was named Camp Kent in honor of Colonel (now Major-General, retired) J. Ford Kent, who had commanded the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry stationed at the fort when hostilities were declared, and which had marched away but a short time before. As soon as the camp was established the men began coming in. It was a strange gathering of men which appeared at the surgeon's door for examination the following morning. Farmers fresh from the plow, cowboys from the plain, miners from the mountains, blacksmiths from the forge, students, teachers, doctors, bookkeepers had assembled to be defenders in common of the Nation's honor.
On May 4th the officers were selected. The appointments of the Governor were as follows:
Battery A—Captain, R.W. Young; First Lieutenant, George W. Gibbs; Second Lieutenants, Ray C. Naylor and Thomas B. Braby. Lieutenant Braby declined the honor and William C. Webb was selected in his stead.[Pg 18]
Battery B—Captain, Frank A. Grant; First Lieutenant, Edgar A. Wedgewood; Second Lieutenants, John F. Critchlow and Orrin R. Grow.
These selections were regarded as very happy ones. Captain Young is a graduate of West Point and was at one time a Lieutenant in the Second United States Artillery; Lieutenant Gibbs was the Major commanding the battalion of light artillery in the National Guard of Utah; Lieutenant Naylor was one of the founders of the National Guard and had worked his way up to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy, while Lieutenant Webb had been for some time the Captain of Company A, First Infantry N.G.U.
All the officers of Battery B had been identified with the National Guard. Captain Grant was Colonel of the First Regiment; Lieutenant Wedgewood was formerly Captain of a company stationed at Provo; Lieutenant Critchlow was a member of the medical staff, while Lieutenant Grow was Major of the first battalion of the First Infantry.
No time was lost after the officers had been chosen, as the work of disciplining the raw force immediately began. Camp Kent was the scene of bustle and hurry. It was drill, drill, drill, from morning until night, and "Action Front," "Action Right," "Action Left," "Change Posts," "Section left front into line" kept the men moving from reveille until retreat. All seemed anxious to become proficient in the use of the guns, and even guard duty—that task ever despised by the soldier—was performed with a surprising willingness.
On May 9th Lieutenant Wells administered the oath which transformed the body of citizens into a battalion of soldiers. The work of preparing the roll was cheerfully done and was accelerated somewhat by the arrival of a message from the War Department announcing that the Utah Batteries would be sent to the Philippines. The declaration was received with satisfaction by some, but others were less enthusiastic as an opinion prevailed that there would be no fighting in the East, but that Cuba would furnish the battles of the war. Later developments proved this to be a mistake, for long after[Pg 19] the Spanish had felt the force of American war machinery at San Juan and El Caney their lost subjects in the Antipodes were fleeing in terror before the mighty thunder of the Utah guns at Santa Mesa and Bag Bag.
The batteries left for San Francisco on May 20th. It was an imposing sight to see the newly recruited soldiers, commanded by Captain Young, as they marched down the streets to the depot followed by thousands of citizens who gathered to bid them farewell. Some partings between relations were exceedingly touching and sad. Perhaps mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers read in the dim misty vista of the future the fate to which some of the men were doomed in the furious skirmishes of Luzon. Cheer after cheer rang out as the train pulled away and the volunteers responded with vigor, although there were some whose voices sounded husky as the final greetings were given.
On their arrival at San Francisco the batteries received a royal welcome, the Red Cross society taking especial pains to make their visit a pleasant one. Several weeks were consumed in perfecting the organization and preparing it for foreign service. Lieutenant Wedgewood and Sergeants Brown and Fehr returned to Utah and recruited 104 men to complete the organizations to their full strength, leaving Salt Lake City with them on June 29th. On June 15th the batteries sailed away to the land across the seas where work of a far more serious nature awaited them.
The voyage across was not altogether unlike a voyage on any ordinary vessel, save for the fact that the men were crowded a little closer than on a first-class passenger boat, and the food was not so elaborate in character as one would expect to find in a first grade hotel or a railway dining car. The men kicked in the good natured American way and continued to eat what was given them and slept as best they could.
A stop was made at Honolulu, where occurred a reception to the Utah men which marked a bright day in the life of the soldier. The transports arrived on the night of the 23rd, and at 11 o'clock. The next morning they went ashore amid the cheers of the Hawaiians, who[Pg 20] gave them a greeting hearty and cordial. F............