And the sound echoes from afar;
Plebe cries in disgust,
‘Let me get up and dust,
I want to go home to my ma.’”
Upon returning to Barracks we were ordered to our rooms, and then to the shoeblacks, at that time in the basement of B Company quarters, to have our shoes cleaned and polished, and told to go there, at certain hours, as often as necessary to keep our shoes in proper order. Candidates whose hair was considered too long by Cadet H⸺d were sent to the barber’s, at that time in the basement of C Company quarters. Candidates who had to shave were directed to shave themselves, as the barber was not permitted to do anything but cut hair.
At 4:15 p. m. we were turned out for “Squad Drill.” We “fell in” promptly and were corrected in the manner indicated when we fell in for dinner. Even now I seem to hear Cadets A⸺n, H⸺d and M⸺n shouting themselves hoarse at us poor, stupid candidates. There were about twenty “yearlings,” classmates of Cadets A⸺n and H⸺d, standing around our line, waiting to get a chance at the candidates, so as to compete with them and with one another for “Corporal’s chevrons.” We were separated into squads of four or five to the squad, and a cadet instructor assigned to drill each squad. Cadet H⸺d had the squad I was in. After all details were adjusted, the command, “March off your Squads” was given, and then Babylon was let loose; the candidates could hear the commands of all of the instructors, and they did not know the voice of their own, hence there was much confusion. Some of the instructors acted as if they wanted to terrorize the candidates in their squads, and shouted: “Eyes to the front. Pay attention to me. What do you mean by listening to others? Palms to the front,” and so on, for ten or fifteen minutes, and then we were given a brief “rest.”
Then we were taught how to march and the instructor began thus: “At the word ‘forward’ throw the weight of the body upon the right leg, the left knee straight. At the word ‘march’ move the left leg smartly, without jerk, carry the left foot forward thirty inches from the right, the sole near the ground, the toe a little depressed, knee straight and slightly turned out. At the same time throw the weight of the body forward (eyes to the front), and plant the foot without shock, weight of the body resting upon it; next, in like manner, advance the right foot and plant it as above. Continue to advance without crossing the legs or striking one against the other, keeping the face direct to the front. Now, ‘forward, common time, march.’ Depress the toe, so that it strikes the ground at the same time as the heel. (Palms of the hands squarely to the front. Head up.) When I count ‘one,’ plant the left foot, ‘two,’ plant the right, ‘three,’ plant the left again, ‘four,’ plant the right again, and so on. Now, ‘One,’ ‘two,’ ‘three,’ ‘four,’” etc. “Bring your feet down together. Depress your toes,” and so on.
We were taught many things, such as the facings, the exercises, rests, etc. “In place, rest,” was the most acceptable, but half the pleasure of that was taken away from the candidates by being often told to “keep one heel in place.” That first hour at squad drill is not soon forgotten. My every muscle was sore and I ached all over. Just before we were dismissed we were informed that we could go anywhere we pleased on Cadet Limits, so long as we were back a little before sunset, in time for dress parade. This seemed a great privilege, but wherever candidates went some old cadets were already there, and greeted them with “Depress your toes, plebes. Palms to the front. Are you going to be all summer learning how to march? Squad halt. Right hand salute. What’s your name? Can you sing, dance or play on the piano? Come here ‘Dad,’ and see this ‘animal.’” And a thousand and one other equally pleasant sayings.
Dress parade came and went, but the candidates did not participate in the ceremony out on the grassy plain. They were kept in the Area, and their positions alternated between “Attention” and “Parade, Rest.” When the “Retreat Gun” was fired many of them jumped half out of ranks, and then were gently (?) informed that they were a fine lot of soldiers. “What do you mean by leaving ranks before you are dismissed?” When we had half a chance we enjoyed the music of the band, but it was very hard to hear it and our instructor’s commands at the same time. Soon after parade we fell in again and marched to supper. On the way to and from the Mess Hall we were constantly entertained by our cadet instructors by such commands as, “Eyes to the front,” “Depress your toes,” and “Palms to the front.” Before being dismissed after supper we were informed that we had half an hour before “Call to quarters,” and that during that half hour we could do as we pleased. But that half hour passed just as the other half hours had passed, that is, by the candidates furnishing amusement for the old cadets.
Upon going to our rooms at the signal of “Call to quarters,” Cadet H⸺d called to say that if we expected to pass our preliminary examination we had better “bone up” for it; he also informed us that we could not retire until after “Tattoo.” A cadet’s bed is “made down,” when it is ready to get into, and it is “made up” when it is piled according to regulations and not ready for use. We were too tired to talk. At 9:30 we were turned out to Tattoo. After Tattoo I folded each blanket lengthwise and laid it on the floor, then spread the sheets and comforter on the blankets, undressed and got in bed, leaving H⸺rd, the room orderly, to turn out the gas. Our bones did not fit the hard floor very well, but we soon fell asleep. “Taps” sounded at 10 p. m., and, oh, how sweet and soothing it was. In a few moments more our room door was opened (for they are never locked), a dark lantern flashed in our faces and the door closed again. The same thing was repeated once more during the night, but this time by an officer of the army, called by the cadets a “Tactical Officer.” These inspections were made to make sure that our lights were out and that we were in bed. We slept in the alcoves, heads near the wall farthest from the door. H⸺rd, K⸺p and I, when fast asleep, were suddenly awakened. We had been “yanked,” that is, some old cadets had come into our room, seized our blankets, and with a quick jerk carried us some distance from the wall, and then ran out of the room. We fell asleep once more and slept soundly until we were awakened by the “Reveille Gun” that is fired at sunrise and followed by the beating off of “Reveille.” This music was very pretty, too, but we could not half appreciate it, as we had to get up at once, fall in and begin another day. After reveille we made up our beds. H⸺rd swept out and brought a bucket of fresh water. Cadet H⸺d inspected our quarters twenty minutes after reveille, and said, “Mr. H⸺rd, your wash bowl is not inverted, and your floor not half swept. Attend to them at once.”