was then transferred from the company to the Signal Corps as a private and was appointed signal sergeant June 5, 1895. During the Spanish-American war he served in the Fourteenth Company, United States Volunteer Signal Corps as first second-class sergeant. He re-enlisted in the Guard after the close of the war as a private in the Signal Corps in 1899 and was appointed by Governor Mount to his present position on December 8 of that year.

CHAPTER VI.

THE FIRST REGIMENT, INFANTRY.

The present First Regiment of Infantry was organized June 12, 1882, and it was unique in that all the companies were composed of veterans of the civil war, and the regiment was known as the First Veteran Regiment, Indiana Legion. The regiment was of particular value to the Legion because of the experience of its members and the example it set for the other organizations. During the first encampments the members were of great benefit to the organization in their instructions to those who were inexperienced.

The organization was 449 strong, and the regiment went into the first camp ever held in the State. During the camp the Union Oyster Company, of Baltimore, Md., presented the regiment with a handsome silk national flag and a regimental banner on which was the seal of the State. The value of the stand of colors was $150. In this, the first encampment, the regiment showed a strength of 295 officers and men. In 1883 it lost its adjutant, I. E. Kirk, of Kokomo, who was appointed colonel of the newly organized Third Regiment.

The encampment near Lafayette in 1886 was marked for the regiment by the death from sunstroke of John Shroyer, a member of Company D, of Andrews, which occurred August 1. The regiment had 379 men in camp, and the prize of $200 for the best company in the regiment was won by Company L, of Ft. Wayne, under command of Captain Weldon. The aggregate strength of the regiment at this time was 578.

By the time of the encampment at Evansville in 1888, the character of the regiment had undergone a great change. Nearly all the veteran companies had been mustered out of service on the expiration of their terms. Other companies were assigned to the regiment, and in the competitive drill for infantry companies the regiment took two prizes. The second prize of $200 was won by Company G, of Evansville, under the command of Captain C. H. McCarer, and the fourth prize of $50 was won by Company E, of Evansville, under command of Captain Henry Horster. The regiment, under command of Colonel Ewing, formed the attacking party in

the sham battle, and its strength in the camp was 405 officers and men.

The passing of the last veteran company, Company A, of Terre Haute, from the First Regiment, was in 1889. It was made a separate company and continued in service but a short time, as the members were growing old. It was the last one to leave the service. At this time the regiment had a total strength of 575, and of this number 463 were in camp. It was during this encampment that regiment received the regulation blanket bags.

men.

The strength of the regiment remained about the same, and by the close of 1891 it was reported at 416 officers and In October, 1892, the regiment sent 246 officers and men to the dedicatory exercises of the Columbian Exposition. The companies which were present were A, B, C, F, H and I. The total strength of the entire regiment at this time was 561.

The gallery practice made during 1892 showed good results by the regiment. The average score of the companies in the regiment were: B, 30.24; H, 29.34; A, 25.91; I, 25.18; K, 24.21; E, 23.72; F, 16.34. The highest possible score was 50. The highest individual scores in the regiment resulted in a tie between Privates H. Turrell and Case, of A and B, with 42 each. Private McClellan, of K, had 41; Corporal A. H. Lyendecker, of I, 40; Private Walker, of E, and Lieutenant Treadway, and Private Phipps, of H, 39 each; Captain McAuliff and Private Decker, of F, 35 each. Company H, made the second largest aggregate score in the State with 1,353, and special mention was made in the official notice of the result of Companies F, H and A for the large number of men who shot. The averages of the companies made on the inspection this year were: A, 86.10; H, 82; I, 81.8; C, 79.8; E, 78; K, 77; F, 71.9; B, 71.2.

The strength of the regiment later was: 1892, 561; 1893, 562; 1895, 681; 1896, 546, and 1897, 575.

The headquarters of the regiment have been changed at various times. When it was organized, Indianapolis was the headquarters. In 1885 headquarters were changed to Delphi and in 1888 to Evansville. Terre Haute became headquarters in 1891 and New Albany five years later.

At the outbreak of the war with Spain the regiment consisted of but eleven companies, and an additional company was organized at Vincennes, which was assigned to the reg