The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-03-22
wAas Constitutes . osnsrsls

SAT q RDAY 0OkNlN0.. AARCh - isss
WAas CeAssisusss osnsPsls
There seems - 30 . great diversity Of
sriaion with regard 70 this subject One par.
y iss,ats upon Il that nobody can ~ srsas
General Who ~ not bssa educated u ~il'.
Asy school, another, shat such education 10
rot necessary third, that Il 10 absolutely In
jsriosA We suspect thas the second class Of
dispasaAts come nsarsr the truth than either
Of The sthsrs. That Sdaeation n military
eeAoel, cd the habits acquired thereby.
ar~ Of sreas service 70 the ofRosr, cannot,
W tAiuk, As disputed with any show Of rsar
son. Bat there 10 great danger. IN making
appointments, Of srasting 700 much - that
spssass Of qualification. 4 grsat General mast
b graf genius, and noSedy but the Sa-
prsus Being On confer genius Most assur.
sdly, schools and colleges eaanot DO II, a..
though, In some Instances, they may assistia Ito
development Cambridge did not make New
ton . great nathematician, or Milton great
rosa Brisnns and Angsrs did not make
Napoleon and Wellington great Gsnerals.-
Prince Eugene, Of Savoy, one Of the few
great Generals whose caupaisns Napoleon
deemed worthy Of the military studsnt's par
sicalar attention, thought il bsttsr, a. gene
raj rule, to select for Coumandsr.in- Chief
. nan Of large mind and great force Of char.
aeee1, who had mover had anything 70 do with
the army, than veteran who had risen, BY
hard service, fro. An inferior position through
al the grades. The latter, hs thought, would
Be TOO apt to b. cranpsd and confined BY pre-
cedsnts, tsehnicalitiss, and the received ira
di.ious Of the service. Ike the Earl Of Cork,
whe, according to Maeaolay, executed the
most precise and beautiful mauOuvrss, Ill
1aaltless, according to the drill book, on the
asld Of Alaansa, and wound up BY losing oil
his artillery. al HE baggage, al his munitions
of war, AID $4,000 men out Of p, 600. So
much for technical routine. The danger u,
that the Dupls Of military school, unlsss
they have genius enough 70 escape from it,
tsamnsIs, after sufficient lArss Of tine spent
in the army 70 bring them up to the grade OF
Csleasls, viii become the slaves Of he system,
instead Of using 1t a. IN instrumept TO aseor.
plish their snds- II was BY breaking through
all rulss that Napoleon sverran Italy In nine
mon,hs, after destroying i've armies, each OF
them doubly - large - bis own.
Il has been sontendsd that because We live
in an age when steam and heavy artillery
play Q very important part in warfare, the
General must necessarily, therefore, be An
educated nan-must have received mill
tary education. Let ne 80 what young ger.
slsnsn are taught as West Point: They stud,
. course Of mathematics. They pass through
Nswton's Principle nodsrnissd 10 suit the
advances OF science in modern times. They
learn - much chemistry - can b taught in
. winter. They are taught to sonstrus
French book, taot to spsak the language, We
prssums) and they read Jomini's Art Of War
Bssidss this. they attend to the practical part
Of mathematics, engineering, surveying, de.
seriptivs geometry, As. They drill in oil the
arns, regularly, like regiment in active
service. Now, We should be sorry to think
that al this could not b taught, and 10 not
taught, at the University Of Virginia, with
the exception Of the drill, az we'll and ~
thoroughly a. It 10 taught as West Point In
deed, without intending any disparagement of
the latter instisution-for it 10 IN excellent
sehool-ws would not BE- afraid to stake the
pupis of the Unworthy, selected according
to our own pleasure, against the very best
that Wet Point ever sent forth, the trial be.
ipg confaed to mathematics and the ply STEAL
sciences. Az for the drill, IL 10 notorious thst
there are many officers connected with our
army, who never cav military institution,
who drill our troops - we'll ~ the very belt
that West Point has furnished NJ. A Drill.
Sergeant can perform that duty better than
the Duke Of Wellington could have done it,
the day before, or tho day after, the battle of
Waterloo.
We are told that "war'' in the time Of Han
nibal and Cesar, Twas an art, not science"
It might have been added that 1t was % even
In che tine Of the first Napoleon, at least he
nid it was. Nor do we see any reason to
think that 1t 10 otherwise even now. OF all
the pursuits Vt which We have any account,
1t 10 the least certain, and the most liable to
fluctuations and rsvsrses. ''Ths fortune of
war has become a provsrbial expression,
Indicative ofthe uncertainty Of It's results
Science nay change and multiply the weapons
Of war; but when those changed or multiplied
weapons are in the hands Of both parties, and
they are thereby thus Tar on N equality,
genius plays - important part in prodns.
Ing results ~ II did In the days Of Hannibal and
Cesar. In this sonnexion, We may observe
that Napoleon, who made moro use Of artil.
lsry than any other General had ever done
bsfors him, and who wa accused by his Dc.
tsastors Of undue partially to that limb Of the
service, tells ~ that the art Of war can.
not b learned BY ssudyins systems Of
war, he was commenting On Jomini's
book at the time, and . ssathing CON.
mspssry It kD that The best .shool il
the aeid-ana that the next best 10 the cam.
paigns Of certain great Generals whom he
snunsratss, via Alexander the Great, Hssni-
81, and yslsvs Cssar, In ancient times; In
modern times Gustavus Adolphas, Marshal
Tursnns, Prises Eugene Of Savoy, and the
Duke Of Marlborough, and Frederick the
Crest He might have addsd himself and the
Daks Of Wellington II u evident that 10
thought something more than . mere know.
lsdgs Of tho manner In which heavy artillery
Wa to b managed was regulate 70 the con-
stitulion Of sonsamnsts General He tells
-, IN another place, that 10 IL the greatest
sommanAsr who, with tie smallest number
a.. -,sn In the Asld, can bring the largest
hear upon the critical poinf'' The
-. ION when asked in what the
Daks Of Wslins,. :. ....;...a ..-u.s
snpssierisy Of Nspsls.. -. to-. M.
ia bringing IN svsrwhslsl- ~"
ne critical point q the right nons>.. :
General may - this, provided only hs n.