Seattle's Militia Stages a Realistic Rescue Drill
A local soldier surprises spectators and officers alike with an impromptu, hyper-realistic performance of a field injury.
A very amusing piece of drill was done by one of the men in Capt. Booth's company without any one of the spectators being aware that it was acting that they were witnessing. The man in question was Private B. H. Moran, or 'Casey' Moran, as the boys call him. When the order came to fall in for dress parade, Capt Booth delayed his company purposely and then ordered them to fall into line in double quick time. As the men were rounding a turn very quickly 'Casey' was seen to fall very heavily to the floor. A moment later ambulance call was sounded and Hospital Steward Allison proceeded to examine the fallen man. There being no hospital cots in the stores of the companies a stretcher was quickly extemporized according to instructions in such cases, and the 'wounded' man was quickly removed from the hall, drill proceeding just as though nothing had happened.
“To five-sixths of those present... this little bit of drill was so realistically done as to lead to the impression that 'Casey' was really a subject for the hospital.”
This incident highlights the intense, almost theatrical pride of the volunteer militia in 1890s Seattle. The 'Casey' Moran anecdote captures a moment of human levity in what was otherwise a serious, state-sanctioned military structure.
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