The “Tobin Trophy” was presented to the First Regiment by the relatives of Colonel Robert Tobin, of the Third, in 1890, after his death, the regiment having performed the escort duty at the funeral. This trophy is a permanent affair for competition every year by teams selected from each company. For the first five years these teams consisted of twenty men each; but in 1895 they were increased to twenty-five men. B’s record is as follows: Possible points, 1,000. In 1890, the company made 784, average, per man, 39.20. In 1891, 707; average, 35.35. In 1892, 766; average 38.3. In 1893, 787; average, 39.35. In 1894, 824; average, 41.20. In 1895, for twenty-five men, possible number of points 1,250, the company made 1,032, an average of 41.30 points to the man. In these shoots for the trophy the City Guard took second place, with the exception of the years 1891 and 1892, then falling to third place. The trophy competition was at the 200 yard range.
The members of B company have received the following State decorations since the system was adopted, as previously noted, in 1887. For the year 1887: gold bars, 0; silver, 3; bronze, 11. Total, 14. In 1888: gold, 0; silver, 7; bronze, 9. Total, 16. In 1889: gold, 1; silver, 6; bronze, 19. Total, 26. In 1890: gold, 1; silver, 11; bronze, 14. Total, 26. In 1891: gold, 0; silver, 5; bronze, 14. Total, 19. In 1892: gold, 0; silver, 4; bronze, 16. Total, 20. In 1893: gold, 1; silver, 11; bronze, 20. Total, 32. In 1894: gold, 1; silver, 16; bronze, 23. Total, 40.
The City Guard originally set the pace in the matter of shooting rifle matches with teams composed of fifty men from a company. It is a recognized fact that a soldier should know how to shoot, and, in order to encourage the members, some inducements must be given. What is better than placing them in a large shooting team? Any member of a company will strive very hard indeed to win a place on such a team, especially if he thinks there is any possible show for him, while otherwise he would be rather lukewarm if simply competing for a personal decoration. Hence the desirability of large team shooting. The better shots will always take care of themselves; foster the poorer ones by interesting them in their art, and they will, in their turn, take care of themselves.
It has been, particularly for the past two or three years, the determined policy of this company to steadily increase the shooting efficiency of its members. Not only have the better shots received their proper attention, but the poorer ones have been encouraged, and, under the fostering care and instruction freely given them, they have gradually improved in their marksmanship; many of them now rank among the best shots of the company. In closing this chapter the writer predicts a brilliant future for the City Guard in rifle practice, and with proper care, attention, and enthusiasm, the “old company” will yet be the peer of them all.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
Perceived typographical errors have been changed.