It was the rule for a corporal to march the sick of his company to the hospital at sick-call at 6:30 a. m., and as there were not many sick the custom sprang up in the corps for one corporal to take the sick-report books of all four companies to the hospital when there were no sick. So one morning near the close of Yearling Camp, when there were no sick in my company to go to the hospital, a corporal of another company took my sick-report book, and as luck would have it I was reported for “Neglect of duty, not taking sick-report book to the hospital,” and for this I was reduced to ranks, but soon afterwards I was appointed a “marker” for battalion drill, a very pleasant duty. The summer soon passed, the furlough class returned, we struck tents and our yearling camp was over.
Back to barracks we went, donned our gray pants, drew text books,[45] posted our hours of recitation and began the school work for another year.
Cavalry drill is a part of the course in each of the last three years, and the yearlings always hailed the day when they could begin cavalry drill, and at last the time came for us. The class was divided into two platoons, and a platoon at a time sent to the Riding Hall.[46] When my platoon marched into the hall we were all disappointed, for, instead of finding our horses ready saddled, they were not saddled at all. We were marched in front of the line of horses, which were being held by cavalry soldiers, the yearling on the right of the line was instructed to take the first horse, the next yearling to take the next horse, and so on to the left. The horses were bridled and had blankets on them, held in place by surcingles. Captain B⸺s explained to us how to mount, and then ordered us to mount. Some of us had no trouble in mounting, but it was very amusing to see others who had never been on a horse; it took them a long time to get on, notwithstanding the drill we had had in the gymnasium.[47] It was found that a real horse was different from a wooden horse. After all were mounted the position of the soldier, mounted, was explained to us, and our faults corrected. We were then dismounted, then mounted again. So much time was taken up in explaining details and in mounting and dismounting and correcting errors that the whole hour passed in that way. The next day we did get to ride, but for only a few minutes, and at a walk then. As the days came we rode longer each time, but always at a walk for weeks. Then came the slow trot, and it was fun to see some of the yearlings fall off, but as we had been so well drilled in mounting they were soon on again. That first day at the slow trot we all got very sore. Many of the horses were hard trotters, and many a yearling had chafed legs. I remember seeing several of my class who suffered a great deal, so much that for a time the blood ran down on their shoes. We were taught to saddle and unsaddle, to fold the saddle blanket, to bridle and unbridle, to ride with saddles, first at a walk, then a trot and then at a gallop. We were then taught to ride with a sabre and then given sabre exercises, and then the use of the pistol, then without saddles to mount and dismount, first at a walk, then at a trot, then at a gallop and then at the full speed of the horse; then to jump hurdles, then to jump a hurdle, dismount, mount and jump another hurdle, the horse going at full speed; then to use the sabre, cutting at leather balls, called heads, one on a post, one on the ground and another on a post; then to jump a hurdle and with the sabre to catch a ring at the same time from a string suspended near the hurdle, then to cut a head on the ground, then one on a post and then to jump another hurdle, catch another ring and take another head. We were also taught the various platoon movements, and occasionally on pleasant days we were taken out for long rides into the country.