, 1861-12-16


being freed, and denied the loyalty and
fidelity CT any slaves. Fcuke is
one Of those Union men who love;
slavery better than the Union, and
regards human bondage es g divine INST
tuition" to be protected and saved, though
the Nation may perish IL the present shug-
gle. That's Fo1le,
TARGET FR4CTICE.
We recently referred to the fact that
numbers Of our volunteer regiments, origi-
na1ly armed with rifles as sharp-shooters,
had, through their commanding officers,
sought to exchange their rifles for muskets
the improved Springfield arm-prefer
ring the position and duties Of the infantry
service And We stated at the time, what
is tue expressed opinion Of military men,
sustained by the experience and teachings
Of all wars, that tho bayonet and musket
were and must be the main reliance and
principal ann Of the foot soldier, assigning
the while the proper place to the sharp
shooters, foz operations in squads or detail
ed for special service The fi1ror that pos
sesscd many Of our volunteers, and Volun-
teer officers, for rife regiments, has given
way to more sensible policy, from which,
indeed, there has never been in actual ser
vice, or in our general army policy, any
considerable departure. 1t was an error
pertaining to processes Of formation, which
the result shows was safely left to correct
itself
But the infantry arm needs, as it always
has needed, an improvement in the direc-
tion of more accurate firing. If regiments
of sharp shooters arc not wanted, to the de-
gree lately pressed upon the War Depart
ment, our experience in war, thus far, is
sustained by thorough military science,
that We need better shots, and more Of
them in the infantry ranks, Good shoot
ing depends upon two necessary conditions,
the man and the weapon he holds. There
are men that could do no better work with
tLe WhitWoTth rife itself, than with the
mest elunsy smooth-bore It would be
Il miss n each case, and a chance shot, if
hit with either. But the average soldier
and the average musket Of the service,
where inspectors have done their duty, is
what NC Lave 10 deal with, and the propo-
sition is, that accuracy Of firing depends
as much upon the soldier as upon tie
weapon.
1t is not merely u question Of killing a
superior number Of the enemy, but one Of
economy pertaining to the enormous waste
Of ammunition which belongs to the con-
duct Of all wars. And this is not matter
Of conjecture, but Of actual investigation
and research. Take any one of the few
lattles Of the present war thus far. From
the number Of men engaged, the rounds Of
ball cartridge distributed to each man, on
entering thc field, and the ammunition
served out by field trains, the accurate
statement can he given Of the quantity Of
powder and projectiles expended. Then
take up the returns Of the battles, in killed
and wounded, and the feeling will inevita-
bly, be one Of astonishment that in such a
hail Of lead and iron, sofcw lives were lost,
so few were wounded. The highest mill
tary authorities abroad tell US that a
mans own weight in lead has to be ex-
pended in disabling single individual by
infantry, and ten times his weight in iron
when discharged By artillery:
No European military author estimates
less than 1900 cartridges as necessary to
be expended fo1 every man disabled. Some
go even as high as 10000
This constitutes very serious exhibit of
war expenditures thrown away, and mod
ern warfare should profit by the experience.
It is easy enough to account for the small
effect the infantry soldier, with his sixty
rounds Of ball cartridge, has upon the
ranks Of the enemy, in the hottest days
work Enough Of the causes will remain
inscparahle from the smoke and confusion
Of the battlefield, the excitement so dctri-
mental to cool craftsmanship the swaying
Of the columns to and fro interfering with
deliberate aim, all Of these producing mac
curacy in fire.
But there are two things that can be at
tended to that will 60 long way towards
saving powder, md the costly transport Of
mountains Of ammunition. One Of these
we may safely believe satisfactorily attain
ed in the Springfield musket Of the latest
and best pattern. The other lies with our
officers in the training Of their soldiers in
camp and field. One thing may be estab
lished, to start with, that the infantry soldier
must learn that his highest efficiency does
not Lie in the direction Of an imitation Of the
"Codcc Mill gun,' the delivery Of as many
shots as possible per minute. Rapid firing
should be discouraged and forbidden. The
rest Of the remedy lies in sensible and
thorough employment Of target practice
Let this be mtdc prominent in our camps
OF instruction. md excellence stimulated
by suitable and obvious means. The expc
Tlence OF all marksmen, in their schools o1
practice in the woods and On the prairies
demonstrate that only by patient practice
eau the desirable results be obtained This
should be prominent feature Of the newly
established Camps Of instruction, 4 list o.
which will be found in another column.
THE THIRD ORDER IN CONGRESS-
We publish another instalIment Of thu
debate in the House at Washington, OF
Lovejoy's resolution requesting the Prcsi
dent to revoke Gen. HaIleck's Order No. 5
excluding fugitive slaves from his lines.
The resolution WIS laid On the table
through the influence of Hon. F. 2. Blair
whose explanation Of the Order robbed it oi
much Of its odiousness. He stated thai
Gen. Halleck told him that by the word
lines he only meant camps, and that il
was not to be understood that the lines II
mean any part Of the country under pro.
lection Of our arms His Order has refer
enee only to those camps on the out-posts
"hefe The army stood in the presence o.
the enemy, and when it was necessary tc
- exclude all unauthorized persons, black o,
white, and to forbid egrcss and ingress tc
these camps, Mz. Blair further stated
that GenAHalleck declared to him that he
satended Il use the slaces whenever it con1d
be done with ,a21gantage to the country