The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-09-28

a contemporary
cavalry to the ,.eecner,cy OF the southern ofeu %
hossss. There is much in that suggestion, no dcoot'
as there is also in that made by US Sestcfaay, On
the Authority of Colonel Schaller, viz that our men
are not taught the Of the sabre and arc not en-
;.hlsd 10 take advantage of their superior horse
man ship by the character OF their drill We re-
n.cn.ber the day when horses Of high blood were
common all over Virginia and the South, and when
the lo,sc race was deemed the noblest of all sports
II Is not so now. There are few biooded horses 10
b seeu aud iaesng has been pronounced an abolni-
nation ia phases where 1t won't 10 stand high Ia
favor. The Yankee vulgarises everything he
touches The horse has become, in their hands a
mere beast Of burden, hike the donkey the camel
and trotting races have been substituted for the
genuine sports of the turf. We have not been slow
to initiate and the consequence has been that blood
horses have become rarity throughout the South
In the days Of the old revolution, horses Of high
blood were much more common than they have even
been since Everybody seems to have owned a
blooded horse. When CORVALLIS passed through
those portions of the State that lie between the Tide
water region and the county of Albemarle, TaIlton
and Simcoe especially the former swept the stables
and pastures SO successful was Tarlton, especially
in his several raids upon the farmers and planters
that contemporary writer says his whole command
was mounted upon race horses. OF these, no doubt,
he imported many from England, but many more
he got from the stables of Virginia gentlemen. The
steed upon which he himself was mounted was the
most famous racer Of the day lie was called
Back -anl all Black" and belonged to a gentle
man whose name VIC do not recolieet, by whom
he had been bred. This gentleman came to York to
reclaim his horse after the surrender, and made
Tarlton dismount i'll the street on his way to dine
with the Comte de Rochambeau. Yet, though the
British cavalier plundered the farmers severely,
he left behind a large number Of horses OF high
breed ard performance When Lafayette was fol-
lowing CORVALLIS upon his track from Albemarle
to jamestown, he called upon the young men
of the country to raise body of horse for service
in connection with his force. They obeyed with
great alacrity, and came forth in large numbers,
armed, equipped, and mounted upon splendid
chargers. What their numbers were, we do not
know that We ever heard; OF if We ever heard, We
do not now recoIlect. They were as many, how
ever, as were wanted, and they rendered good SER
vice in protecting the country from pillagers. In
the southwestern portion Of Virginia, powerful
boIy Oh mounted infantry, under the command Of
operations Of Lafayette left their homes to unite
with other horsemen from North and South Caro-
lima III an attack upon the British partzan FeTgu-
son, Who, with body Of tories and English, was
spreading havoc and ruin throughout the western
portions OF North Carolina. These men We're all
mounted splendid horses, capable Of the greatest
fatigue and endurance. In selecting the men to
attack Ferguson ut Kings Mountain, every man
from Virginia, this very account, and for the
further reason that they all mountaneers, and
as such, in those days, of course good shots, was
chosen for that duty 1t thus that the breed
Of fine horses not confined to the Underwater and
Piedmont regions of Virginia, bat quite much
cultivated in the Valley.
We hope, with our contemporary, that with the
return of peace, and the establishment of indepen-
dence the Confederate Government will find time to
pay some attention to these matters. We must al
ways stand in the attitude of people that may be
summoned to arms at any moment. The old days
OF perfect security, existing only SO long were
all under ono government, passed and gone for
ever. We shall always have in our front powerful,
aggressive neighbour neighbor whose graspng ava
rice and prurient ambition will suffer lay
aside our arnor entirely In peace must be eter-
nally preparing for war and this is branch of
preparation. The States, no doubt, will do much /;
but individual enterprise, under the influence of a
revving passion for sports Of the field and the turf
will do much more. We have doubt that the
South will once more become the favorite home OF
the high-blooded horse. But it will require time
and care to restore it to its pre-emnence.