igars

Sweet dreams of this dinner often haunted the boys when
"bully-beef" was the mainstay day after day many times during the
sojourn in France.

After the dinner officers and battery members adjourned to the second
floor of the barrack where battery talent furnished an entertainment,
consisting of instrumental and vocal numbers and winding up with
several good boxing bouts. Barney McCaffery, of Hazleton, Penna., a
professional pugilist, was the pride of the battery in the ring.

Corporal Frank McCabe, of Parsons, Penna., was one of the real
comedians of the battery. His character impersonations enlivened many
an evening in 019. Every member of the outfit was deeply grieved when
Corporal McCabe was admitted to the base-hospital the latter part of
January, suffering with heart trouble. On January 24th at 8:20 p. m.,
Corporal McCabe died. This first casualty of the battery struck a note
of sympathetic appeal among the battery members. A guard of honor from
the battery accompanied the body to Parsons where interment was made
with military honors.

After Thanksgiving Battery D settled down to an intensive schedule of
instruction. Days of rain, snow, and zero weather followed, making the
routine very disagreeable at times, but never acting as a demoralizer.
Days that could not be devoted to out-door work were used to advantage
for the schedule of lecture periods during which the officers
conducted black board drills to visualize many of the problems
connected with artillery work.

On December 6th, 1917, a series of regimental practice marches were
instituted, first on foot, then on mount. The first mounted marches,
however, were rather sore-ending affairs, as were the first lessons in
equitation. Saddles and bridles were lacking as equipment for many
weeks after the receipt of the horses. Mounted drill, riding
bare-back, with nothing but a halter chain as a bridle, was the
initiatory degree of Battery D's equitation.

Barrack 0103, about half the size and situated in the rear of 019, was
completed on December 19th, when a portion of Battery D men were
quartered in the new structure, thereby relieving the congestion in
019.

Christmas and New Year's of 1917 furnished another controversy on the
question of holiday furloughs. On Saturday, December 15th, inspection
was called off and forty men were detailed to bring more horses
from the Remount station for use in the battery. The detail completed
its task faithful