Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1861-08-21
Cavalry Company

FROM Tue ume OIL Jobb WIZ - ~ 4VP4sN~
author Of the most graphic and magnificent
description Of the War.HOrse that has ever
been written, down to the present struggle
for empire on this continent between thirty
millions of people, the Horse has played a
distinguished part in deciding the fate Of bat
ties. 1t Was the Cavalry Of William the
Conqueror that gave him the victory at the
battle of Hastings, and with it the British
Crown, and all its glory. and the prospective
advantages to his numerous followers. The
descendants of his generals, the present aris-
toeracy Of England, have paid so much at
~tention to the improvement Of horses, that
the superiority of British cavalry to hat of
the French in the great battle of Waterloo
was of itself sufficient 10 turn the balance
that weighed Napoleon in one scale and
Wellington in the other, in favor Of the lat
ter. So conscious were the French of the
great damage they had sustained from this
advantage to the part Of the English, that
government establishments have now been
maintained over thirty years, containing the
UoeI sIoCA AoTScS III tHe "OIio VI tAo an~
provement of this noble animal, in different
parts of France.
The sun was more than an hour high when
the northern army, exhausted by the severe
labor of the day, broke and run for their
lives at Manassas ; and if President Davis
had been able to charge and pursue the fugi-
tives with a few regiments of fresh cavalry,
held in reserve, the whole force of the enemy
would have been annihilated before the
long bridge over the Potomac, twenty miles
: distant, was reached. Our cavalry that
! chased the vandals from the field were too
; fatigued, and small in numbers, for the
speedy execution of the great work before
, them. Any number Of men routed and run
ming, may be slaughtered, or taken pris-
: oners, by a comparatively few well-armed
and drilled horsemen ; and often when the
o chances of battle favor a chrge of cavalry,
Il it is able to decide the day by q precipitate
, onslaught upon the week point in the enemy's
# line.
In view of our national independence, Of
70 the ssambition of our Northern neighbors
e and Of our extended land frontier to be de-
Tended from invasion hereafter, all must see
: the necessity of possessing at all times a gooc
d supply of horses adapted to cavalry and ar
tillery purposes. Nor will it do to depend
on the United States to breed and rear hor.
ses for our armies; we must perform this ser
!, vice on Southern soil, and every State in tn
new Confederacy should take the matter ii
hand at once. 1t is the repute1 weakness G
:: the South that has mostly encouraged th
:. misinformed and misguided northerners t
: embark in a crusade against the plantin
States. They have been taught for thirt
- years to regard US as a feeble, enervated, d.
"A generate branch of Caucasian race, who's
10 subjugation would be mere pastime for tn
= more hardy sons of the North. While W
=, undeceive them IN this respect, let us be car
full not to injure ourselves by -estim
ting either of their numbers, resources. 10,
of conquest, or courage. Greece, Rom
Spain, Gaul and Britain have all been owe
~" run and subdued by successive armies boz
" and trained in the great northern hive.
is hardly more natural for bird nigga
South to escape the rigors of nor 1n lat
1st itudesja@intef than for the genua pa.
coysF the wealth and estates devel& 5ed in
,hs more sunny cline than its own. The histo
,re. ry of the white race is full of instruction al
ro warning for our especial consideration at IL
nod time. Hard work, not defamation, orator
nor fine writing, must now defend our S
mic from the tread of hostile armies. Honest
dustry by the muscle of the brain of t
The white man should be universally practised
the we'll as praised, in the Confederate Stat
the Our horses must not be the spindlelegg
racers of declining turf, nor dull, pillow a
wagon beasts, equally v~alueless for the d
fence of the country. The breeding a
the training of superior cavalry and artillery h
most ses is a public duty which calls for immedi
near execution. 1t is of course a work of tr
sup put II we never oesln IL We may suHer w
tbis the English suffered when invaded BY
ctar Normans.
II Nationality, with its manifold advantae
S. isnot to. be maintained in opposition to TIVE
we're millions of hostile neighbours without an
f the fort worthy Of so great a boon. We mus
rous armed ana ready 1or war IN ORDER to &C
d to mand the blessings of peace.
a. EWe The experience of every commun