Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-10-02
TIE CAVALRY sERVICE-WHAr 1T IS DOING
AND WHAT IT WANTS.
ID n. Eailor q ID RGiq:

TIE CAVALRY sERVICE-WHAr IT IS DOING
AND WHAT 1T WANTS
10 hs Editor Of the Wing:
Being an old subscriber to the Bhig and one of the
original" 1851 Virginia Cavalry, cannot consent TO
see my old political chart pitching into" the "South.
cru Cavaliers" without properly Informing ITSELF liter
ally shooting in the dark" must ask the insertion
Of this by way Of explanation, reply to your edto.
rial of the 2lth, on the cavalry fights in Madison.
do not object your orcisiUg, most rgdly, every ao
lion Of the eAvalry-itu do us no good We wish YOU
would inform yourself fully the subject take peep
into al the departments from corps headquarters down
10 the mess cooking and horse feeding, aud then YOU
could coma in With gloves Of" You would ind
enough down here 70 keep you chewing all winter
IuGorm yourself fully, and il MOr General Stuart il 10
blame, clay on McDuG." If our pet, Rtr. Les. IL
derslcct whale him." il you suspect the Quarteruas-
ter or CommssAry Department ride right IL" If YOU
shoot nine OF You can't possibly err if il be
the Ordnance Department that you are "smeipg"
ABOUT; nnety-nins times in hundred you will "hnd
rat. You 50 Tine Cavalry always falling back"
certainly, you say "siDoe Kelyvile" Did Jones
igads fall back at PArheld Ia Psnnsy vAna when the
gallant Alien, of the Oh, was killed, and when they
cEptured $40 Of the 9Th Regulars Did Rtz Lee fail
back at ShepherdstoWn when the inVncbls Drake ftl
aud when cavalry, with rifle and pistol fought SUI
error numbers loot all day, driving them from rocks
and barns aud walls, and the New York Herald Ac-
kpOWledged severe defeHS Whose fault Ia it If We
fall back when are Outnumberedl You say yankee
tailors and shoemakers are whipping Southern CAVa-
lers" Just here you mistaken. But there IA mis-
aagemen lack Of preparation, inattentiOn 10 i'm
pOrtAnJ matters TOO little paid to and taken Of the
cavalry they poorly armed except when they nave
armed themselves from the enemy they are poorly
LAD and shod except when clad and shOd from LONE
aud as for equipments, ooh, Noses" who ever saw
Confederate saddle and bride, and has yet stopped
laughmgg Whose fault is all this As TO the fighting
We nave never met the Yankees than two TO one
with sabre and pistol, without whipping them and des
lite tue jeers Of infantry and the CRITICISMS Of news.
papers will put our lives and fAr as we are con
cerned, the fate OF the country wager of battle
Take an open field, and wi one thousand picked cav
airy With sabre ana pistol viii fight three thou aud
the best Yankee cavalry that ever 6Eektd TO
saddle with one thousand cavalry skarpshOOters we
will hight one thousand i've hundred picked Yankee
shaFpshOoers with their RProvsd CANA and separGEing
erDosivs OF poisoned 6os We never have air chance
much less advantage. when the noble Ashby fell am-
bushes cavalry died with him. One flash from
his sabre, one blast from his buglO-hon we're
worth q thousand men" We are "scarifedn by
orders bunglsd up with red tape" cramped by science
and murdered by "circun lOcutiOn." Men are put in
cavalry ~ the eOSeript tathsTs' who will never ds
to ths vars aud men kept in infantry by military
science who we're born cavalry We follow ths
faults Of our foes; they mix rifles and saores Keep
our sabres at = distance, and we must do the same
thing and ell the hands Of our cavalry with Richmond
poke stalks called Sharps rifles Mexican bobtRls chop
ped Oh minies, &c, &c sWunglOn a mans neck-6f-
teen pounds On one side and nothing on the other
and then expect 70 ride well and charge at speed Pro-
positions have been made raise battaons OF mounted
rifles mounted Infantry for this express purpose and
driving of Yankee shArpshOOters, and giving our cav
airy with SAbre5 chance and red tape" has refused
Our foes dsmount Z regiment Of their cavalry with
rifles, because they can't ride vel; We dlsmount
squadron Of sharpshOoers and fght them ten " one
Are we, Who, with pay for self Al horse Of twenty
four dollars per month, who have furnished from 70
eight horses the Government with an actual loss Of
from $500 10 $1,000 70 the man, (which ''red tape"
WOHt permit y be paid, aud foolish Congress would
not remedy who have done more marchiI & and less
sleeping scouting and less eating, than any other
Of the service TO DO rdculed by editors In calico
morning gOWns-infanIy wagon dogs" aad battery
"Water tOaters"-because the head General puts and
and keeps 1000 hAlfeQupped cavalry where he ought
to have 5000 because the cavalry General relies on
his paper reports or "circus inspection" and dent
know that one-hah bis sH men can't be In, hghs for
the following pertinent reasons Some dismOunted
hOTses killed and horses stolen horses crippled up on
raid and il takes 'red tape" from two to fur mortal
weeks get the application Of the Colonel to remourt
these men, sufficiently scribbed over with Headquarters
and respectfully forwarded Iu other words the regular
scientific channels Of red tape slow coaches having
% wait ill the A. A. General eats bis dinner and picks
his teeth or gill the General gets back from the sOires
or maybe aid lost the paper aud did not have time
70 look for IT, Well, another large number have no
brdesthe ordnance officer got about 800 for 5000 meD
and al the cOurers Ia, and Division, Brigade and
Regiment Headquarters had to have frat choice, and
there we're but feF Left for the priVAes. Well. men
can't march so or 40 miles in day and fght on foot
nor can they 70 in charge without bride, and they
are left behind But the editors and generals abuse
these men, call them "Wagon dogs" ana Co. O. be-
cause they have not money enough TO buy horse
OF bride right the spot But this don't mend the
matter Then you bear Of man-traps In the shape OF
batiAiOns OF dismounted men, who are TO have long
range guns and follow their regiments. This has not
been tired fully bat cavalry, marching hliy miles in
day and night viii not have many OF the battalion with
them il the mOrnng and if Afght ensass the proper
ton of dismOunted men being small When the cavalry
fall back %. Q will be gobbled Up by the Yam
kees Are these men EOrthlessg Never! Some OF the
beet men In the sorVice-been here since the
msneed-re enlisted aud scent nearly all they could
raise buying horses. What you dOingS Turn
ing good 1.-The best) oaValrymen into artillery and in-1
fantTy-reduong lhe cavalry aud supplying only raw
hands 70 the inAnFy. IL there no remedy for thisf
think very ample one. Let the Commanding General
(ior seems he must have hand it order that when
man IS damounted and can and will Eemount hirnSeh
lee his Colonel instantly detail him or the Necessary
number Of days for that purpose 1.-The cannot or viii
nOt-renount himself let him, without ciFcuDlOcudon,
be exchanged or transfer ed 70 infantry artillery
This mode saves the nscessity of a large number 60