The Shreveport weekly news., 1861-08-12
The Order Of Battle.

When large bodies Of men ar-
proach for battle. only a proportion
al part of them are engaged at Il time
they are replaced by another similar
force thcproGrcss ofthe battle. On tho
genius and Judgment of the chief will
depend the character of the action,
whether it shall he defensive or Of
tenSivc-.
When an army awaits the attack,
it takes i,s position and forms its
line OF battle according to the nature
of the ground and :lIe character and
strength o. the encmy's force. If Of
teusiyc. the main thing is to seize
upon the decisive poin. Of the field.
! This point is determined by the con
! iisu,arion of The ground. and the
position Of the cont"nding ingces. OF
/ hy a combination OF these. he
! defense il considcrcd the -tromgc,
( .o,m Of actions OF war, and skiltul
general viii tnhr advantage ot favor
ipie circumstances To chauge the de-
frueiv, into the offensive. Military
/ writer, lay down twelve orders OF
hattie \ description ofthc~e would
The too lous and roo complicated t1
interest the reader Wmrh OF Tics,
should lc followed, must hc dcciace
lbv the chief himself on the ground
where all the circumstances may II,
duly considered. To concentrate :
superiority ut i"rccs AZ the !cftstE'
point is tit" ,'riacipa! Purp"s" In
point IL in Tie tanks ar iu- the rex
Of the eucmy. 70 ii" rIlie ihc SKI!
Of the general Is brought int" nc
quisit!on.
On the field of BATH, he infantry
. is divided into three hodics-in ad
vanced guard, a main body, and''
reverse. These three bodies ar
separated from each other by inter
walls. which will depend upon the na
. turc OF the ground-the advance
:, gusrd occupying the front, the man
body at distance from one hundre
and fftvt" three hundred PAGES Il
! it, rear. and tl,r r"srTv" ii a like III
rrrval in tho rear ot the main body
The troops composing these tire
bodies Will b. formed either in col
iumns If ba;tali"ns, or be deploret
For an attack. for evnlutions, or to
. defense against cavalry, the form;
tion IF columns of hattalions is Il,
t best. To rcpcl the cEcrny's n'tac
: by u fire, and to present less tavo
. able mark to the euemy's ARTILLERY
=, the hnt,nlion should be deplore,
~ l. b. ,
the most reliable troops, and should
# if possible, be kept masked from ii
O. encmy's view and fire, until calle
into action. The time for cngagin
the reserve is either when the encm
4. has been shaken in its attack by II
n resistance offered by the main bod,
or when the main body is unable tn
;. ,her to resist the enemy's efforts.
The cavalry is usually placed
- the rear OF the infantry. and shou
be marked from the fire until IL
d moment arrives to bring it into a
t, ,ion. The hnbitual formation ofca
airy for the attack is a limo of ~
ranks, with reserve or support
u rear. Cavalry should wait patien
~ iy until way Is pt'l'hi'h ioA i'0 q
ton by the fire of artillery on Il
n, enemy's infantry or when the
., fantrv is fatigued or exhausted;
: when the infantry is in motion, SO
to surprise it before it can form to I
ne ceive the attack. 1t should dire
ea Its charge on that part Of the enemy
re infantry where it viii be itself exp
sed TO the last column of tire. lit
" infantry is in line, its charge shou
sc be made on one of its Hanks; 1t
&C. square, on one OF the angles OF Z
&c square. ~
d, The manner of placing the art,
IN lery. and its employment, must
: regulated by relative importan
under given circumstances vi
re respect to the action of the 9th
he arms. In defense, the principal pa
H. is usually assigned to the srtiller,
ii in offensive movements the reTer
generally obtains. In defense I
batteries should hc distributed alo
'e- the entire front of the position Occur
d ed. The distance between the hi
TO terlcs should not he much over s