For all that is good in this little book acknowledgment is due to Captain John C. Groome, Lieutenant J. Frank McFadden, Lieutenant J. Willis Martin, Sergeant John Wagner, Jr., Sergeant Robert E. Glendinning, F. B. Neilson, T. Wallis Huidekoper, Hugh Craig, Jr., and the publisher. They have provided the photographs and practically all the material used. Many passages are taken entirely from letters and other writings of these Troopers. The writer's personal observations merely covered the time of

When the members of the First Troop of Philadelphia City Cavalry were summoned to prepare for the annual inspection, on April 23rd, 1898, there was but one great topic of conversation among the people of the United States. Early in February, the U. S. Battleship Maine had been destroyed by an explosion in Havana harbor, and two hundred and forty-eight American sailors had lost their lives. A board of naval officers, after daily sessions for seven weeks, had decided that the destruction of the ve

Had the Troopers not known from experience that Mt. Gretna was an ideal spot for a camp, their impressions of the place, gained from observations taken the morning after their arrival, would have been disagreeable beyond expression. In the words of "Longfeller," as one Trooper expressed it, in a letter to the Press , For, to the disgust of the Troopers, daylight brought no news of the missing canvas, and visions of another night in the mess tents of the Battery and Sheridan Troop began to distur

June first found Captain Groome back again, with the information that if possible the horses for the City Troop would be grey. A large number of that color had been found and accepted by the Board, and as grey was the color best suited for service in tropical countries, the Captain had bespoken the greys for his troop. On June 4th the Captain rejoined the Horse Board, and the first animals purchased reached camp. The greys were tied to the picket line, which was extended in front of the Troop's

From the little valley, in which the Troopers had pitched their tents seventy-one days previous, they rode away late in the afternoon of Thursday, July 8th, in the best condition of any command which had been mustered in at Mt. Gretna. No comrades in arms remained to be drawn up in line to give the cavalrymen a parting cheer, but fully two hundred cottagers of the Chautauqua grounds were at the station to witness the departure. The train was in waiting, made up in two sections; the baggage, hors

At retreat roll call, on the evening of July 15th, an example was given of the affectionate regard the rest of the Pennsylvania Militia feel and show toward the Philadelphia horsemen. The battalion of State Fencibles, which formed a portion of the Sixth Regiment, marching in fours, came tramping into the Troop's street. Once there they halted and gave repeated cheers for the cavalrymen. Then away they trudged, after being assured that their compliment was appreciated by the Troopers. Two members

Life aboard a troop ship is not a round of pleasure at the best. Long tales of woe, regarding the trials and hardships upon transports of various infantry commands, quickly found their way into print within a few weeks after active war operations commenced. Not one word, however, regarding the discomforts of the City Troop on the trip to Puerto Rico was written. Yet, if existence upon a transport ship, crowded with men is disagreeable, what would the complaining infantrymen have said had they fo

The morning of August 5th broke clear, however, and the day was one of the few without rain that the Troopers enjoyed while in Puerto Rico. A fine breeze was blowing, and the cavalrymen's ideas of the country began to take on a roseate hue. Everywhere their eyes met deep green tropical foliage and the cute little yellow houses without windows; strange old churches and curious natives made the entire scene appear more like a theatrical setting than a reality. In the morning before five o'clock th

Much has been written and more said about "the night before the battle." Then it is, that sentiment is supposed to seize upon a soldier; thoughts and talks of home, wife and mother are proper, and in fact necessary, according to all writers of fiction. But even in the face of this traditional outline of a soldier's last hours before an engagement, it must be written that the City Troopers retained their characteristic coolness. On that Friday evening a close observer of the Troopers' camp would

Sunday morning Captain Scott brought an order to Captain Groome to send a commissioned officer, a sergeant and six privates to establish an outpost two miles beyond the farthest infantry outpost, and to maintain a flag of truce. This outpost was necessary because of the general fear of Spanish treachery. The Spaniards had a white flag flying over their blockhouse, but there was no telling at what moment they might pull it down and charge into the American ranks; so the watchers at the outpost we

From the time the Jersey coast was sighted the Troopers began to realize how glad they really were to get back home. Early on the morning of Saturday, September 10th, the "Mississippi" passed Sandy Hook, and was soon cleaving the waters of New York Bay. It was rather misty, and objects at any great distance were very obscure. The Philadelphia cavalrymen were often obliged to smile at the airs which some of the members of the New York and Brooklyn troops assumed as they found themselves in famili