Sergt. Weischaar, Company A, 13th Infantry, certificate of merit. Particularly meritorious steadiness, night of July 6th. Being put on outpost duty with a Gatling gun in time of truce, and having been alarmed by a sentinel, whose duty it was to warn him of the enemy’s approach, he coolly reserved his fire for personal investigation and prevented a violation of the truce.
Sergt. Ryder, Company G, 13th Infantry, certificate of merit. Particularly meritorious steadiness, night of July 6th. Being on outpost duty with a Gatling gun in time of truce, and having been alarmed by a sentinel, whose duty it was to warn him of the enemy’s approach, he coolly held his fire for personal investigation and prevented a violation of the truce.
In making these recommendations, I have limited myself to those which I personally observed. If I recommended for every deserving act, there is not a man in my whole detachment who has not deserved a certificate of merit. They were selected in the beginning from an army corps for what I knew of them, and they have abundantly justified my confidence in them. With a less efficient personnel it would have been absolutely impossible to organize, equip and instruct the first battery of Gatling guns ever used in the history of war, in the short space of time allotted me, and put it in efficient fighting shape. They fought their guns on the skirmish line and in advance of it, standing boldly up to do it when the skirmishers themselves lay down close for cover. My loss, as footed up on the night of July 1st, was 33 1-3 per cent, killed, wounded, and missing. The efficiency of the work of my guns was attested to me by numerous Spanish officers and prisoners. Their favorite expression was: “It was terrible when your guns opened, always. They went b-r-r-r-r, like a lawn mower cutting the grass over our trenches. We could not stick a finger up when you fired without getting it cut off—so!”
The work of this experimental battery proves that in this weapon we have a new arm supplementary to infantry and cavalry, independent of both as one arm is of another, and more nearly capable of independent action than any other arm of the service. It is equally demonstrated that this new arm is entirely different from artillery in its functions, and can live where the latter is compelled to retire.
It should, therefore, be organized as a separate arm. I have, at the request of General Wheeler, drawn up a scheme of such an organization and submitted it to him.
Experience shows me that the carriage is too heavy. I can only renew the representations contained in my letter of January 1, 1898, to the Adjutant General, accompanying drawing, etc., of my proposed carriage for machine guns. I would now, based on experience, modify my theory of organization as then proposed, and would make several changes in the model of carriage then proposed without departing from the general principles.
If any expression of such views is desired, I shall be very glad to submit them when called upon by the War Department to do so.
Very respectfully,
John H. Parker,
2d Lieut., 13th Infantry, Commanding Gatling Gun Detachment, 5th Corps.