St. Mary's beacon., 1861-10-03
KvALRY HORSES.

- @ rALRY HORSES, ~. -,
Il ,Ths r ipg saegsssioa from the, eld
'.Spini ake Tmes ere worthy Of con-
sidersli61 Il this i,ne.
"a yssrs ses we told them calmly.
plsinly g snphasieally. they wsuld rue
the, DIR 6hAn they psrnitasdl nncing "a
die sut; eef The Time would come when
| they ~ psed the courage, the en-
duf1rn M racer IN their breed oi
- We uers laughei a fos
- ssen who ought To- hays
known bett 7 shrugged their should IS.
remark ng b t it was our basr'ns to
talk thus aue SO. The day which We pro-
| phesied has conc; yea, verify, We can
ask where are your horses? where are
your chargers? where il the cavalry to
come from to prosecute the war you have
undertaken It is thoroughly understood
by oil who have any knowledge on the
subject that men high IN authority in the
State insist that We cannot mount q rcei
meut Of cavalry properly. When this
was first bruitcd abroad people looked ut
each other in utter smazement; bat such
is the casc-we have no horses.
What laughable sight it would be,
we're it not 80 serious matter, 70 see q
thousand men mounted on q heterogeneous
lot OF horses, crossing over plowed field
with ditch ut one cud. tho Connestogas
stumbling in their efforts to raise their
feet over the ridges. falling when forced
to gallop. the trosters irving to keep up
at their unnatural gait. and the hacks that
could gallop little. after reaching the
ditch, tumbling into it or trying to wade
through instead of clearing it With a si,,-
gle bound, AID worse than all would be
the actiun of these brutes when within
sound Of the eau ,On's roar, shying, turn
ing, twisting and running away at every
explosion; and as for attempting q charge
at cold steel. the sight Of the bayoncts glis-
tcning in the sun would make their hearts
burst with very terror. t...
A first success is often more ruiuous Ia
. man than q series Of petty defeats, for
the one gives him an overwcening conf
deDce which may lead to his utter des-
truction; the other teaches fortituie and
the means BY which misfortune is to be
overcome; the parallel il true of a nation.
When the NJ xican war was first COM
menced We told the people that our cavni-
~ Was in state Of utter inefficiency, bu,
coming in contact with an effete race of
men, and, if possible "a more abused race
Of horses than the people of the country;
a country in which the owners of large
stocks of horses preserve as stations only
those animals which are deformed by ma
ture, and would not bring remuu.rativc
price IN the stock market;-tn such horses
and to such a race of people we were op-
posed, it is therefore not to be wondered
at that our own deficiency was not exposed,
SO easy was our conquest. So determi-
nately we're all our friends of opinion that
a war could not be brought about except
with inferior race. that cold shoulder
has been turned to all our efforts, and the
tests of horses value have lost interest to
all but very few. ......
The great advantage of cavulry is, after
the enemy's ranks have been broken by
the FIRE Of the artillery or charge of bay
onets by Infantry, for them to get among
the men and prevent the reforming af the
ranks. completing the temporary disorder
and causing It TO result in a total rout:-
To accomplish this result. hors.s aud RI
ders must be thoroughly trained, capable
of performing every evolution with precis-
ion and rapidity ; the horses must possess
endurance, courage, and speed tbs. latter
quality is as necessary rs the two forns-,
Otherwise the Important moment may have
passed, ere the cavaliers reach the enemy's
lines, .aad they IN, turn be met With a
warm reception for if charging a line of
regulars prepared 70 greet them their des-
truction Is almost, inevitable, yet when
brought to bear on militia the opposite re.
suit j. in nearly every instance to ba anti
eiPated. volunteers generaly breaking be-
fore body of cavalry as stLey do when
charged by the bsyonet under such cir
eunstances . wen-erganised body of horse
are : lns' valuable suxiliary ON tho field
Of battle when you are opposed to raw re-
';ruits veterans essc nothing for cavalry
',harge except when already broken, aud
then when the horse penetrate their lines
and get between man, aud man. and co,n-
nence the business of tralnpling them
Gown while the riders use their sabres with
terrific eGscts then are the foot ssadiers
fully aware that their glory and honor is
departed for that day. and their only bapr
m safety j. in Gghs, which sat b-st 'bu,
. poor recourse The weight of tie hsr-
Sea. the men, and their aeeoatrsmsnss, is
. matter for very serious considsrstiou
Horses could not be 100 large or heavy.
provided they could have sths spropsxi
speed aud endurance .ip ! both Of. which
qualities ahs n.iaisy ofFlarses shersss aaps
hacking. 81 II animals esap9s in thess days
80 fasiss than = iEat., OK . hand gallup. We
might ss Eell rfsaEn g the ~ Of shsl els-
plant 'ass expect 20 derive any masetisl ed
vantage frsn 4 lsbbsrly bssls; tAeawfore
experieaes has taught that Ne lppss rse .
smallef. p.ersd esmpset, and ..purer bed
horse, The English hunter eonsss anearer
To the stapdarl of what esvalry horss
should b. than any other animal Of which