Showdown at the Armory
A National Guard competitive drill in Seattle devolves into chaos as judges change the rules mid-contest, sparking heated protests.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The First regiment, N. G. W., inaugurated its winter campaign last Friday by holding a field day, with companies from Seattle, Tacoma, and Whatcom. In the afternoon, there was a competitive shoot at Woodland Park, followed by an evening drill contest at the Armory. Thirty-eight men lined up for the drill. When judges attempted to speed up the process by dismissing competitors for single errors rather than five, the officers of the companies whose men were dismissed protested so earnestly that Col. Green had to be summoned to clear the floor. The judges refused to reconsider, and the drill proceeded. When the result was announced, the Tacoma contingent was wild with delight. Corp. Leitner was taken suddenly ill with neuralgia of the heart due to prolonged exercise, but was attended by Regimental Surgeon Dawson and Dr. E. W. Young and soon given relief.
“The Tacoma contingent were wild with delight and the hall rang with the Company C cry. The winners of the contest were lifted on the shoulders of their friends.”
The internal politics of the Washington National Guard in 1893 reflect a time when citizen-soldier units were central to civic life. While the Armory building has long since been repurposed or replaced, the intense, public, and highly competitive nature of these drills remains a quintessential Seattle event.
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