The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-19
Ihn Ya,nn,xer SYstem.

man, &, {, reat britain cannot but be regarded
AS one of The most significant incidents OF the
AGE England never has tolerated, aad she
never will tolerate large standing army.
Hitherto, her insular position, fortified by the
vast superiority of her feet, has been her chief
protection But ii has now become prob
lema,ical whether she can trust in them any
longer, and she has the courage TO look her
situation boldly in the face, and to piuck saie.
from danger. She very well knows 'na' sH
must depend upon heryeomanry'in the u"' "
trial, and she is calmly, quietly an"
ally putting them in eonaiioh " w TUG
largest amount of service thaI can DC eAac'eo
tro,, ,b.m She does not expect or require of
them The formal routine ana maruhet arm Oh
rsonI,rs soldiers She does not confine their
limbs in snowy uniforms, pipe-clayed belts
and regulation stocks; nor does she crush in
their brains by heavy helmets or shackoes, cal
cuIated on a long march, of a hot day, 10 Stay as
many men as a tolerably severe pitched battle.
She dresses them in loosely fitting frocks, light
hats, light shoes, and puts rifle that will kill
man mile in the hands of each, instead of
the old regulation musket, weighing half AS
much as a howitzer, and liable 10 miss a barn
door at the distance of dozen yards. In fine,
The British volunteer is accoutred upon the
of service, with the least possible labor or in
convenience. Every thing that can contribute
to the lightness and agility Of his movements
is carefully attended to- Immense care will be
taken to teach him TO tlke a sure and deadly
aim, for upon that more than upon anything
else will depend his efficiency. He is not ex-
pecied TO do the duty of solid infantry; that
is to stand in square in line, and be shot
down, or 10 charge in solid column upon oppo-
sing bodies of solid troops like that with which
he acts On the contrary, he is expected, If Il
body advance upon him, TO give so good an acf
count of them that they VIII break before they
get TO him. The volunteers are TO take, indiy i'd
ually and in bodies every advantage of ground,
Of natural obstacles of trees, of hedges, and Of
woods-to scatter, 10 unite, TO fall down, TO
load on the ground, to fire in every position
10 fly when the enemy is upon them, to wheei
and come al them again, 10 keep up this de-
structive sort of warfare, and thus to worry
the enemy ont, and destroy his heavy troops
before they can ever be brought TO action
In fine, the object of the volunteer movement
TO be, to bring the military system in
some respects, back TO the days of the Plan
tagenets, when the long bow was the weapon +,
ard not the rifle. Hrac tice with the long bow
was then universal. The yew out of which
the bow was made was planted by act of Par
lament, in spots selected in every neghbor-
hood. ROBERT BRUCE followed the example
of the English, and planted yew trees in
many parts of Scotland. The whole popula.
zion OF England bacame formidable archers.-
Prizes were ordered regularly, upon stated
days all throughout the kingdom. Every vii.
lage had a butt as it was called-that is a
target for games of archery The dress of
the archers light and loose and their
movements free and unencumbered Their
bows carried far that they generally de =
feated an army before the heavy troops came
into conflict, and before the AFRO WIS of tn, T
enemy could reach them. That is the rea
why they lost so few men at Cressy.-
A S the first line OF the French advanced be-
fore they were yet near enough to reach the
English with any of their missiles EXCEPT the
arrows from the Venetian cross hows, which
were loaded very slowly-the English arch
ers in dead silence, and at given signal,
stepped one pace in advance, and let fly their
arrows with so much rapidity that it appea ed
to snow. Every arrow struck 4 man. and the
yolley produced such a slaughter that in few
minutes the ranks were in inextricable confu-
sion. The English King seized that moment
and charged the enemy already petrifed by the
pectediy overwhelmed him. The London
Time, recalls these ancient scenes, aud init.
mates that substituting the rife for the bow,
England is 10 be restored To its ancient foot
ilg--that is TO say, every man is TO be a marks
man, as formerly every man was an archer.
The volunteers Of England, in a word, are 10
be drilled as Zouaves, in whose drill firing at
targets, and fencing with the bayonet, is con-
sdered quite as important as marching in line
or column ar any other evolution now prac-
ticsd by infantry regiments.
We throw out these remarks as hint for
those that have the guidance and control of
the various volunteer companies in this State
1t is quite evident, to our apprehension, that
with the improved firearms now in USE there
Will very shortly be great change in the
whole system Of military tactics, and that the
solid, compact infantry, which has heretofore
won SO many battles, will become an obsolete
idea. Indeed, the change has already begun
~ may be learned from the events Of the war
in Italy last year, when the Zouayes, by their
rapid and deadly fire. and the skill with which
they used the bayonet as fencing weapon,
contributed far more 10 the victories of the
French army than the weight OF the solid in
tantry directed like single machine. OF all
Others, The Zouave drill appears to be best
adapted to such a force as that of which
Virginia army would be composed, in The
event of war. That drill proceeds upon the
theory that every individual is an active and
intelligent man possessed of individual brave
~, and its object is to develope these natural
qualities to the highest possible point. 1t
teaches self-reliance to the men, and enables
them To act in any situation in which III, y
may be- placed, whether there be a score OF
them together, or a half score, or half dozen,
or a couple, or whether one man be caught by
himself. For such system of drilling, there
are no materials in the world so well adapted
as the people of America.
The New York Times, in the course Of an
article on this subject, says: We believe it is
now acknowledged on all hands that the
Zouave drill is the drill by which battles are
henceforth TO be won. That IL is no longer of
so much importance that infantry should be
solid, as that the men should be active, agile
aud acute" II this point be SO universally
conceded as is here asserted then we can see
no sense in adhering TO system by which
hereafter. battles are not to be gained Whether
IL Is conceded or not, in the terms stated by the
1tnasS, we do not know. But surely our vol
nteer officers ought TO know if they do not
and surely IL is the duty of those whose bust,
ness IL is TO supply the volunteers with arms,
10 know. III the Zouaye drill be the only drill
from which victory is TO be hoped or expected
IN inture. then the sooner we adopt IL the bet
ter, and the sooner the forces who are to be
suplected to II receive the only species OF arms
proper for IL, the sooner will they be prepared
Tor the battlefield. Now, SO far as We under
stand the matter, the improved rifle, with Il
sword bayonet, Is the proper, and the only