, 1862-02-15

tary evoIutioqs, togcther,:with hls industry,
LIS thouGhtfuluess, and his unswersing I'M
partia1ity, have won linn the respect OF all bis
command. ,s: *.. -
Colonel Tuzchin is, NJ I have said, Ia con-
mand of q brigade. H1s reputation as 2 man
ofta1ent as well as military learning aud ac- :;
ever occurs By still more brilliant reputation t
as man Of military genius. he has at least :,
one true sign Of genius. He is utterly alb
sorbed in his profession. They say Of Charles
Sumner, that one cannot talk on any topic
with him without his referringin some way to-
the subject Of slavery. Hence his effective
ness; because the true relation. Of things TO-
each other cannot be understood without
profound aud philosophical insight into the
real nature Of things. So it is With Colonel
TuIchln. he seems to look upon military
science rs the central SCIENCE to which all
others contribute more Or less in order to its
final perfection; and it is wonderful to see the
new lights in which lie places the commonest
truths, the new deductions he draws from the
the stalest premises, and the ease and Eapldity
with which he makes his ideas comprehended
By military men. His books have not cramp
cd hut enriched Ills mind
Tactics arc to him touls, not strait waist
coat. He uses them, not -theyhinl. The NJ
lure Of tile ground, the moral and physical
character of the enemy, the season OF the
year, the character of the Conflict on either
side, and & hundred other details aud consid-
erations ,3hichare Of a military character only,
because they come III connection with military
things are Just as much clements IN his calcu-
.latio1s, as the number Of the. enemy, "de-
ploycd column" :" double eolumn.'' Or all the
resi- Of the tactical nomenclature SA1l this Is
to be expected Of man who has had 4 mill
tary education-but; it is not always found.
Comprehensiyeness and lore Of details do not
always go together. But the most conclusive
proofs to me Of Col. Turchin's ability are the
1ncessant activity Of his mind, his subordina-
tion Of everything according to its Importance:
mental, moral and physical phenomena
a Ia ntaitai1e, the perfect plainncss md sin
plicity Of his ideas, aud their Independence Of
Technology. and the fact that he is not brlga-
,dier-gsneral- :-:
General Mitchell, who, thoug gh 1atterly q:
West Point, and Is reported to have great
military ability, commands this division, which
is eight miles from Green River, and Is the
reserve Of this column. I have heard it
said that Gen. Mitchell claims the right to al-
vance when move Is made, and that # hc in
slsts, lie will get it. know not no y this may
be, but there arc certainly IS good troops in
this division as are anywhere to be foand-
The target Practice Of one Of the Ohio bat
teries under him, the other day, is said to have
The camp Of tho 10Th is and has been since
the 1st of January on the north bank Of Bacon
Greek, and on the west side Of the railroad,
about a mile from the depot. From: the rear
Of the camp to the creek is about l50yards,
and from the front about 50 yards. The trees,
! wLrh we're quite numerous about the camp
ing ground, have been cut down, leaving
something more Of a look out thau there was
at'frsf, but not J. very extensive one even now.
Across the creek is lilly, irregular, open
t brjgide drills and target Practice The soil is
| here, as :. eycrywhsrc, very muddy, and
abonnds in lime. The water Is not so good rs
| that Of Green River, though much better than
! that the men have to drink at Somerset There
were in the month Of January Just 4 hours of
IS every other day. The effect Of this dismal
weather on men who are Obliged to stay i'll
! camp may we'll be Imagined. One hour Of the
t crisp, sparkling air you have in Chicago would
work wonders. But such falls not to thcr
! fate 4 problem in our future history will be,
why our army were not put into winter quar-
| teTs like those Of the rebels. 1t is clear now
| that There has never been nuy intention Of Id
vancipg during the yiutcr, and it is equally
| cleor that it would be nearly impossible, even
l:if VIC had trans portation. Our men would
willingly have built huts, but it is not per-
| zaittd-
| Notwithstanding MI this, the men keep up
their spirits and their discipline ill lLost eS-
traordinary Kramer. Every forenoon they 60
through their company drill; every afternoon,
for brigade drill. The latter is a new feature.
Col TurcAin has written pamphlet on brigade
drill, which has been printed and illustrated
with diagrams BY the printers Of the 18th. II
is something quite 1sew, at least to the vo1un'
tecr potion Of cur army. From what was
told me Of the advance Of the division undr1
Thomas in pursuit Of Zollieodcr's army,
should Judge that the same thing srsornethina
very similar has been practiced in tue regular
army. But so fir as eau learn, the colonel:
and generals OF the volunteers are entirely In
noeent of amy suc!. acquisition. Their brigade
drills have simply been, battalion drills OF
Z luge scale, moving in dep1oycd oi
| double column and forming hinge: hol
i lowN, squares. But in this drill, eacl
u regiment OF infantry, squadron Of cavalry ant
Il bnt4try Of artillery is made 10 perform sepa
| rate AID distinct evo1ntions, and Initiates th
| movements Of an entire division. 1t is a beau
t tifu1 sight to see the mancuvers, but as NJ
description would convey M adequate idea 0
them, or would be Interesting to any excep
military readers, I forbear tue attempt. Til,
| practice is sometimes quite extensive, core1
ing an area Of two miles III extent, with pick
lets, out posts, reserves, and skirtnf;hers, Inuc
Of the brigade being ont Of sight of the rest
and the whole moved by orders carried by tn
aids-ths orders being communicated By th
sound Of the bugle. Ever since Col. Turchi
has had command ofthe brigade, he has worke
hard in bringing it to state Of eiHcieney. e
las educated tic field and commissioned OF
, | GERS Of the entire brigade by appointing taes
lessons 10 learn and recite, and by talking
thfm in twos and fonrs and illustrating his RI
) marks By those nice little typographical MAJ
, | which lie sketches with such 4 ready hlnd-
hope Ill the other officers work us hard as Co
, | Turchfn and Gen. Mitchell do. The 1atterals
1 has ar his headquarters, every night, lessor
. in Which two commissioned officers from caz
regiment, making class Of twcuty-foar. +
cite, the lesson having been given out .befog
: hard, ill order. that they may prepare thea
: selves. Though civiliaus may not see tt
t necessity Of book learning, and thorough dri]
4 aud may fear lest our Civilians be reduced
= tie condition Of European autotnatons, it
j. no such scrupies. CISCO.
|