Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-10-30

The brilliant victory Of General EVANS at Lees
burg proves the virtue of the bsyOnet. The Yankee
regiments from the beginning of the war, says the
Richmond EEaminer, have been excessively partial
TO the long range guns This invention of modern
times has very strong attractions fO- towards; it
came in the nick Of time for our Northern invaders.
They commenced with these arms the iniquitous
practice of picket firing and have become, by SIX
months practice from rife pits, very expert in the
use of them.
But the lcng range gun brought them no advsn
tsge at Leesburg, They thought our army had re
tired from that quarter as well as from Fairfax and
they came up plump upon General Evans commaDd
before they were aware Of his strength. He gave
them the bsyonet iASiantsT, which wss a feast to
which they did not consider themselves invited
They could not stand the charge They outnum-
bered General EVANS four to one. They are anxious
TO retrieve the disgrace at Bull Run. They came
over the Potomac resolved to fight, and not to run
away. They had screwed their courage up to the
sticking point, and were resolved to do or die.
But the bayonet was too much for them to stand.
They had not taken it into the account IN making up
their Eainds to fight. 1t presented a new form of
danger which they had not pondered over or slept
help running sway.
The tight ct Close quarters is the true one for the
South to make whenever it is practicable. We have
| ourselves bestowed too much Importance upon long
range guns. The crest battle Of Springfield was
won by the ordinary shot gun, which requires its
owner to get as near to the enemy as he would to
squirrel. The best fighting which the North has
done in the whole war was at Springfield where
they had their best General and good Western fight
ers they fought bravely for six hours and half
aud disputed desperately the fortunes Of the day
Our men had no bayonets but they had shot guns
which required them to come to close quarters, and
we whipped the enemy simply because the confOr-
nation of the ground forced them to come to close
quarters also, and rendered their long range guns
of no more use than guns of short range, we hav-
ing the advantage over them of double barrels.
The reluctance of the Yankees to come to close
quarters is testified by the fact that they have
er yet used the bayonet. Thsy are fond of fighting
at distance, and whole regiments have refused to
go into service unless supplied with long range
muskets. Four regiments made this difficulty, not
long ago. in Washington city, and they were not re
duced to obedience until MCCLELLAN had surroun
ded them with half dozen ether regiments, and
fred into them inaiscrlminately, producing great
slaughter.
They are fond Of fighting from long range.
and they cannot stand the bayonet. Some
people are more ticklish than others about
the region Of the ribs. The Yankees are
morbidly sensitive to the magnetism of the
bayonet pointed towards the ribs. General
EVANS assailed them in tender point when he or
! dered the bayonet charge. Sucn was the consters
nation produced in their ranks that the Potomac
Itself could not stop them, and they preferred a
wstery grave rather than to be spitted by cold
steel.
We have too much deprecated our old dint lock
musket, with its long barrel and far reaching bay
onet We dare say it is tier arm for brave
soldier than the short barrel rifle with its bsyonet
for, with the latter, the soldier will depend upor
shooting his enemy at distance, while, with the
former, he knows that his best chance Of victory i
in the rush to close quarters, and in the charge Of
the bayOnet.