The national Republican., 1862-07-07
Communicated.

communicated.
F.. 90 sr stH war. n.a 90
Throughout the thirty centuries of records OF
m,n history imbruei with wars carried on in the
Old World, frvm Indus TO the Atlantic shor.s,
and this rule is comprised in two words-RA.
rlDITY OF MovEMENTs-rapidty Of move
ments in marching or getting at the enemy,
aud rapidly Of mabeuvres on the field Of bat.
tie. We're IL not that Il IL for the destruction
Of man, Il IL undoubtedly the GOLDEN RULE Of
warfare. II sustains itself from that diu epoch
when man fought perhaps only with clubs,
with pointed sticks, then with arrows, &C.,
down to oday, when the most fearful arms oil
destruction are In use. The rule has its raots
10 reason and logic. and that II why u Il abso.
lutte To it all the great captains owe their
ame, their victories, and c0nquests recorded
In history. From Cyrus down TO Stonewail
Jackson, rapidly Of movements and iis result
surprise Of the enemy. assured all the victo.
ries. business OF the eye, quickness iu appre.
ciating the sxgsncies OH given field Of battle,
rapidity to profit by the eventual faults Of the
enemy, insight into the enemy e aims, and finally
mOm6ut-tulH
gift and attribute Of military genius all are
corollaries to the above named gol5en rule
Always all.deciding, all powerful, It remained
the came with various tactics. 1t was decisive
for the Macedonian phsianx. Tor the Roman
legions, and for our modern regiments, brigades,
and divisions.
To his lightning like rapidity Of movements.
Alexander the Great was indebted not only for
his victories on the Granicus. ard on the plains
Of Arbrla, but also tn, 81 cOpqnests from The
Nile to Bactria and Indus. Hannibal surprised
the Romans by the rap!dity Of bis march from
spain to Italy, and by that other with which
he pounced upon them on the Ticino. at Trssi.
meme, at Gamma. Any one familisr with Co
sar's annals, admires the almost unsurpassed
rapidity with which he moved his lsgions In
Gallia-a country then without roads and iaf.
terwards In all parts Of the world or tho Ro.
m m empire. 1u...
Gnstavus, Of Sweder, with force Of about
thirty thou and men, moved 10 all directions
Of Germsny, batween the Rhine and the EIbe.
dsalisg blow after blow at his panic stricken
enemies. 50 ...,-
Charles the XII for years owed his success to
bis restless military mobility. Frederick the
Great, q sovereign Of about Tour mill ons Of
subjects. had at ons time on his hands, France,
Austria. Russia. and Ssxony. with an aggre-
gate Of about sixty three millions Of nbabltan's
With his li'ils army, be Moved shuttle-llke
from Brand-nburg TO Silesis. Bohemia. and Sax
ony, boarding and whipping his numerous enc.
mics.
Napoleon terrified the o d World by The tor
rent like rapidity with which he r,ishet. from
the Alps flying rather than marching from the
frontiers of Fr,oce IN those Of Isria and Tyrol
His campaigns Of Marengo, Ulm. Austerliiz,
and jena, are ore uninterrupted conservation
of the g,den rule. When N,polson's rapid
movements were crowned by taking Mack aad
his army prisoners at Ulm, the Freuch soldiers
taunted their lea der by saying that hitherto h.
won battles with their arms, but now be won
them with their legs. Our only successes are
won by the rapid movements Of Pope, Grant.
Mitchell aud Morgan, lin Tsnusssee.) and our
disasters are iullict,d by the ubiquitous Stone
wall Jackson.
Military history teacher, that the great aud
rapidly moving commanders seld IN, II ever,
have tn ch1ca Of u field of battle prepared,
selected for We eks, nay. even days before; nor
do they mature their plans, during weeks and
weeks. ior battle. 10 be fought when they
reach the enemy. Reason shows that such far
reaching routine |, imprssib'e. Those who at
| tack an pn, my do 1t rather un u field selected
and prepared by the enemy, thil being the
logical cnnaFqu nee Of their rapid. bid. truly
military tactics. Napoleon tcarcsly ever had
the choic, Of a field o battle; certainly, not
10 tn b ginning Of his crear In Italy not 10
the plans under the Pyramids; not in the great
plains OF MArengo, when he. rather by an acci.
dem, came In contact with the Austrian Amy
nearly twicr as numerous rs bis, and above
all, outnumbering him by numerous aud excel.
lent cavalry, of which be, Napoleon, had seal ce.
| ly IA handful. Napoleon selected not the i'm
| Hid a AZ hut
enemies. At Auatsrlitz General WeihrOisr, the
military adviser of Alexander OF Russia, inau-
gurated rdtegy. Austerliz was selected by
the allied Ansirians and Russians as the most
favorable s!raegicdl point, and by st dteJy Ma
poleon aud his armJ were to be annihliated
Napoleon, who dcspised strategy. overthrew
| at AusterlitZ the allied arraies and tho Aus
trian empire TO bont Napoleon had moi
the choice Of the fields of Jena or Eylau, bul
found at Jena th" rru ,siaus, at Z ilau the Rms
sians--tUught. won, and Overthrew Prussia
Napoleon had not the choice Uf Wagram, wber,
his army was cut IN two by the Danube, the1
extraordinarily swollen. But b. won that day
and for the second time Austria lay OF his feet
He selaCted not Smol-nsk Or Bor0dino.
Any student uf ibr Napolconic campaign,
will h0d that. even he handled with greataI
ease smaller than larger numbers. So In bis
drst Italian campaigh; so At MarepgO; 80 q
AuS'erliiz. Reason and logic establish ,l,ot II
must be 20, as the longer the line, the larger
the numbers. the more difficult to make th-m
move as one m IN. the more numerous the ply
steal and the intellectual impedlui-nts.
| These historical TRUTH, as positive as any
IN Ihsmatical law, | submit to tho seriou
consideration OF the American Isoole.
W,auINcroy Julv r 1862