Page:The history and achievements of the Fort Sheridan officers' training camps.djvu/221

 in battery column, mounted, bound for a location chosen by the instructor, suitable for a night encampment. When such a spot was reached, the car- riages having been formed properly in line, drivers and cannoneers would dismount, the drivers proceeding to unhitch, lead or ride their pairs to water and back to the picket lines, while cannoneers stretched picket lines between the wheels of the carriages and prepared to camp for the night. When the drivers had securely tied their horses, they joined with the cannoneers in un- making their packs and pitching shelter tents at the regulation distance of not closer than ten yards "in rear of the rear line of carriages." A formation w^as then held followed by supper, individually cooked, consisting of bacon, pota- toes, onions, bread and coffee. Many of the chefs were neophytes, but suc- cesses far exceeded failures. At least no one went to bed hungry. After mess- kits had been cleaned, there was a little time for recreation and then bed, if hard ground could be called such, at nine o'clock. After a 5:30 reveille, breakfast similar to supper was prepared, tents struck, packs rolled and horses groomed. Grounds were "policed", horses hitched, packs tied on carriages and animals, and, after drivers and cannoneers had mounted, the battery rumbled back to Camp somewhat wiser and aching in many joints.

To train candidates in the conduct of fire, the blackboard method was first used. A target of four sections, representing an enemy battery, was sketched upon the board and in and about these enemy guns the instructor would indicate with chalk, points where a candidate's shots had hit or burst. Proper initial commands had to be given before the first salvo was fired, and each succeeding salvo or volley was registered only after new commands, mak- ing supposedly proper corrections, had been given. Whether the adjustments ordered had been correct or not was indicated on the board with a new set of chalk "bursts." By this scheme of instruction candidates learned to prop- erly sense bursts, to control direction, distribution, height of burst and range, in fire for adjustment; and to pass at the right moment into the proper method of fire for effect.

Other devices used to facilitate training in the principles of fire were miniature targets placed on the ground, the instructor using a long stick w^ith a round disc on the end to designate the kind and location of bursts; and min- iature painted "ranges", called "terrain boards." Lack of materials, time and room made it impossible to carry on smoke-bomb or sub-calibre practice, each of w^hich w^ould have helped still more to clarify and give practice in this dif- ficult art of fire control. Opportunity to use these methods and actual fire were to be enjoyed after August 1 5th.

While the infantry dug trenches, west of the main north and south road, the artillery dug model gun emplacements on the eastern side. That was one form of blister-raising amusement not enjoyed by the cavalry.

The majority of the w^ork covered by the tw^o cavalry troops of the Camp w^as similar to that of the artillery with the exception that additional study of horses and mounted drill took the place of the firing instruction on the ar- tillery schedule. They mastered the cavalry drill regulations, studied in detail

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