Published Weekly by the Students’ Association of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas
VOL. XXII. COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, APRIL 7, 1915. NUMBER 26
CORPS MAKES TRIP
TO BRAZOS RIVER
By Practice March to Jones Bridge the
Regiment Shows Great Efficiency
IIGHT STUCK ON
COLLEGE STSTIOR
COL| HOGUE MAKES FIERCE AT
TACK AND CAPTURES FIRST
BATTALION.
BLOODY BAYONET FIGHT
Trenches Filled With Dead—Hand to
Hand Fighting in Barracks.
On Thursday nigh the second and
third battalions made an attack on
College Station. It was intended to
surprise the defenders, but they were
well prepared, and a fierce battle took
place. Our correspondent ,who accom
panied the attacking forces, writes the
following story ot the battle:
Thursday, March 26, Col. Hogue held
a conference with his officers and dis
cussed a surprise attack on the strong
hold of Major Jarvis. It was thought
that the defenders could be easily sur
prised and the town taken by a sudden
attack made just after dark. Friends
in the town had informed the colonel
that the place was carelessly guarded,
and that the defense had no idea that
an enemy was near.
At 7 o’clock the march toward Col
lege Station was begun. The army
was halted about four hundred yards
south of the main gate of the cam
pus. Up to this point no sign of the
enemy’s outposts had been seen. A
small patrol was sent forward to re-
connoiter. They reported that they
had seen no evidence of protection.
The colonel called another conference
to decide upon the plan of attack.
The men took advantage of the halt
to get a much needed rest. They
broke ranks and sat on the grass by
the roadside. Some took a casual nap;
others sang or rolled the fateful dice.
There was a quiet hum of conversation,
broken occasionally by a burst of
laughter, which was quickly hushed.
A couple of guards of one company
were sitting next to the fence around
the baseball park. For no apparent
reason, one of the men stood up and
peeped through a crack. He spoke
sharply to his companions and half a
dozen of them swarmed over the fence.
There was a sound of whizzing brick
bats, a thud or two, and a scurring of
feet. The men climbed back over the
fence, laughing. The first encounter
with the enemy had been successful.
It was interesting to observe the
manner with which the different men
(Continued on page 4.)
The most pleasurable event of the
hike was the practice march to the
Brazos. This was the first trip the
corps had made to the river since 1912.
The regiment left College at 8
o’clock Friday, March 27. The march
orders detailed the first battalion as
advance guard. Companies A and D
constituted the reserve, while B and
C Companies acted as the support.
The ability and training of the offi
cers was shown by the order and effi
ciency with which the expedition was
carried out. The march was com
pleted in less than three hours, includ
ing numerous halts. The men arrived
in camp in the best of condition, de
spite the fact that the road was none
of the best.
Details of Expedition.
First call was sounded at 7:45, as
sembly at 7:50. The men carried
haversacks and canteens in addition
to their arms. Since the sky was
somewhat cloudy and the breeze sharp,
most of them stored an overcoat in
their haversacks. This added consid
erably to the load, but “prevention is
better than cure.” Some were also
equipped with a pair of ivory cubes,
on whose faces appeared a number of
small round black spots.
After roll call, the captains saw that
the men had such extra clothing as
might be necessary in case the weath
er changed, and also showed the fish
the best method of carrying packs.
Promptly at 8 o’cclock C Company
began the march. On reaching the
gate, an advance party and flank pa
trols were sent out and the company
moved on without delay. B Company,
which formed the remainder of the
support, followed at a short distance.
The reserve, consisting of A and D
Companies, followed at a distance of
about 500 yards. The ambulance com
pany followed immediately in rear of
the reserve. The main body marched
at the approximate distance of half
a mile from the advance guard. Col.
Hogue was in charge of the main body
The entire march was protected by
flank patrols, who marched several
yards inside the fence on either side
of the road. These patrols found
some difficulty in keeping up with the
main body on account of the rough
ground of the fields and woods. How
ever, they derived a melancholy pleas
ure from scaring up chickens and pick
aninnies from the back porches of the
colored gentry who resided on either
side of the road.
The first halt was called after the
regiment had marched about two
miles. The men fell out and unslung
their sacks, took a long pull at the
canteen, and stretched themselves on
the grass by the roadside. After a
couple of cigarettes, the march was
continued without further delay or in
cident until the advance guard reached
(Continued on Page 3.)
FIERCE BUTTLE 0
TWO BATTALIONS INVADE CAM
PUS FROM SOUTH.
The closing event of the Field Ma
neuvers was the day attack on College.
The first and third battalions com
manded by Col. Hogue comprised the
attacking force. The two battalions
left College at 8 o’clock: y.llf’:shrd
left College at 8 o’clock. The route of
march lay along the Inteurban tracks
as far as the gate. On reaching this
point, the commander detailed M. Com
pany as a decoy. Capt. Rack was or
dered to take his company into the
woods north of College and keep them
under cover until 9 o’clock. At this
hour he was to attack. The colonel
planned to attack at five past nine.
The battalions again took up the
march, going across the H. & T. C.
tracks. After crossing the track, the
army was conducted by the road, which
leads to the Brazos, for a distance of
about one mile. At this point the di
rection of march was changed to the
south. Thereafter the route was
through a dense woods. Walking was
difficult on account of the thick under
brush. After marching about an hour,
the army was completely lost. Half
an hour more was spent in getting a
fresh start. Another half hour of
marching brought the attackers in sight
of the College.
The force soon reached the railroad
at a point below the switch tower. It
was impossible to keep under cover
and further. An open pasture several
hundred yards wide had to be crossed.
However, there were several large
gates and a good road. The gates
were opened, and the army marched
through at double time. Capt. Wash-
am took his company up the track. He
succeeded in capturing a goodly num
ber of outposts, and drove the others
in. B Company broke the fence around
the golf links and deployed. They
then advanced at double time across
the five hundred yard stretch to the
Athletic Park. The rest of the forces
marched further east until they ar
rived at a point a few hundred yards
from the south end of quality row.
Up to this time they had not been ob
served by the enemy. Here, however,
a brisk fire was opened by outposts
concealed in the woods and ditches in
the neighborhood, forcing C and - D
Companies to quickly deploy. The
THE ADVANCE GUARD.