The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-10-06
Riebulunh 9ispatfb.
xa OCT. 6. 1850,
THURSDAY MORNING.



THURSDAY MORNING.. r...oCI. ., .s's.
- ~
The Richmond Troop
= W., adj occasion, some time since, W H''ne
earaa;n remarks upon al article WIN" -
s4n s3axAep neuGLAs. and papiisasa ~ se
yx,s.s,,, f>eayisgfs Rte,ssr, IN "n'sn nc .
,s.ssss ta,. means which England possessed oi
IL, vsssori, and proposed various i'iah'
~ Yaeting has object. One OF these was 10
.s,abl.sh volunteer companies In all paris Oh
,,e island. and 10 drill them TO the highest
state of efficiency Of which troops thus consti-
sntea are capable. 1t Is a little remarkable,
considering the prciadices natural to him as =
Tory aad naval officer, that he should have
referred to the u. States ~ an example OF rre-
raratton for defence, and highly eulogized the
volunteer system - il is here established. The
numbers of these voiun teers are so vast,and the
training approaches 80 nearly the discipline
of regular troops. that he doubts whether any
Earopean General would, with an army o'
,ts,gn mea. undertake to conquer America.
With regard to this doubt, we VIII mereiy oo-
serve that Ii would be quite diihcni' Joo i"'
Ave or evan ten. times that force, inasmuch ~
it was attempted, and signaily Iaiien' eis"''
x.ar.ar, when the troops employed were Al
.,h.tfas numerous a. those here indicated,
"a ,,ba,, tina inhabitants scarcely exceeded
tentb of the present figure. But the remark
., in,,r.snt ;nasmuch as 1t manfesis, on the
nsYt of foreigners, a better appreciation OF our
,naaas Of defence than they seem heretofore to
have entertained. Ii shows, too, In what essi-
nation our volunteer system is held abroad,
among men OF war, who have just seen the
most artificial military system in the world
break down for the wan, of that freshness,
yigor and yitali!y, which standing army can
ue more enjoy than the bones can be iaii OF
marrow when ASSOCIATED from the BODY IN
deed. IL may cause = smile, but ii is true, tha'
oars is The most perfect military system III lhs
world. Let us suppose that ~ is necessary 10
renei an enemy who has landed at nuh"io
ami is advancing upon tae city OF Ne" w.
The Americans having broken down Inc ram
road. How many volunteers reauy ioi ~
mon. could be sent TO some point on the ih'ei
mediate way, within five days, from los'o''
New York, Philadelphia, baltimore, h'ch-
mond, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans,
Natchez. yicksburg, St. Louis, Louisville,
Cincinnati, .Pi,tsburs and Washington Cify
II we were TO say fifty thousand, we do not
think we should be greatly over the marx
and vet these but fifteen out OF many
scores O: towns all Of whom have volunteer
comnsnies, which can be made as efficient as
veterans by The training OF few days
In one arm Of the service, however, we are
palpably. and painfully deficient, ana that Is
perhaps the most i'm portant arm OF All III sueh
, conatry as this. In a word, we want Foiuh-
1eer cavalry, want it here, want 1t to the Norih,
South. and West OF u.s. want it every where
cavalry are the eyes of an army, ana II the
eyes are out Of what value Is the rest OF the
b,dv, They are its wings, and when the
wings are cut OF, how can the carcass escape
destruction! HANNIBAL gained all hlh victo-
ries over the Romans by the ludicious use OF
his horse To such a degree was this 1act no
torious that his historian, PoLrBIus, hImsel1
n man profoundly conversant with all matters
touching military organization, protests that II
il better 10 have an army one-half the size
with full complement OF horse, than to
have the full number OF men of all arms, with
no preponderanee of cavalry. All great Gen
erals have known how To make use OF their
cavalry HAsnRuBAL was HANEIBAL's MI
RAT. or rather MURAT was BoSAPARTB's
HAsDRUBAL. They resembled in many partie
uIars They were each closely allied TO the
Great Captain under whom they served; both
were Young and ardent; both were the greatest
Of cavalry officers, but nothing else, Jas HAS
pRuBAL showed by allowing MIRO TO cut his
army to pieces, and IS MURAT showed on fifty
different occasions) and both were trcmen-
dous engines in the hands of men who knew
how to use Them. HANNIBAL gained no more
victories after HAsDRUBAL was slain, and Ma
PoLEoN prayed in vain for MURAT at Waterloo.
This however, is beside our purpose. There
can be no doubt Of the great utility of volunteer
cavalry companies. But it is one Of the most
difficult things in the world 10 keep one up. In
the country. the members generally have their
own horses but the distance they have to ride
10 the rendezvous, is but too often the cause of
breaking up the troop. In town, very few own
the horses they ride. and it is exceedingly ex-
pensiYe 10 keep horse in town. Hence the
disbandment OF so many troops Of Dragons
The present enterprise, in Richmond, pro-
misses to be completely successful. The members
Of the troop are all good men, and true, they
have selected a commander whose military
education points him out As the right man in
the right place, and they have filled the other
Offices greatly TO the satisfaction OF the citizens
generally who are deeply interested in their
success. Moreover, they are full ofenthusiasm,
and they have nothing to do but to keep it
alive. This they can only do by parading fire.
guentIy, becoming adopts in the drill, paying
stct obedience TO orders, and submitting With
ont murmur to the severest, military disci-
pine This latter, it is the duty Of the COM
mander 10 enforce, and his education at West
Point, and service in the army afford sufIi-
Gent warrant for saying he will be sure to do it,
Unlv by such means can that esprit de corpse
Which is the very breath in the nostrils ofal
military organizations, be generated. Without
il, a volunteer corps is mere rope Of sand,
which il is impossible 10 make hold together.
r-shrruSscus ~ sb. E.~.s