Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1864-10-18


The evil Of struggling oan only be cured by
stern, unsompromising discipline, as las
bs+u successfully d3ns in the infan-
try. Foe this we want moro nttcn-
ton to he paid to the company ofiioers.--
We have excellent commanders, but they
have comparatively little to DO with the de.
tails Of the service. Tho latter fall to the
share cf tho suba.t,rns, who, besides being
brave and we'll up in thsir outpost duty, must
watch their mems health and comfort, look
upon them % public trust ooufdsd to them
and make then: vigorously DO their duty, know
ing thaS thcy themselves will DO as vigorously
held responsible for every absent man and
every neglected order. As to horse datsila,
they are looked u2cn as a necessary evil. But
the evil % too great to be aoy longer tolerated.
The country swarms with idle, reckless men,
profosasdiy in search oil a horse. They havs
tho lrgi;imrs, sxouHe thu. hcrses ore scarce
aud high in pSics. They abuse this excuse
and !Uko thcir Tina. Som,:imes they even
tai the horse, .sna Colonel Fremantlo, gone
t-.,y So just and Rprrcoiativo in his estimate
Of Southern soldiers, could, with perfect fair
ness, praise a;ike tho prowess Of our cavalry
men aud theis skill in horse eteslins. This
must not be. Ii destroys the ficie1cy of the
service, it demoralizes the character OF tho
men. With proper regulations from above
and Strict Gis:ipiino il tho corps, there is no
reason why our cavaif7 Ghould not become tht
ellie III cur army ard the pride Of Our country.
In tltIs connection we publish the following
extract from letter fsrm |: we'll informed
officer d tn" armf:
"Wi,a- our c:rsiry ecsts W. is awful; the
value Of the barns burnt, tus crops De-
s.roycd he cattle killed or carried off, the
har, e. s5!len, tse money (gold and silyer) ex-
aoted fro.n .ver the poorest Of farmers, unicr
the ;h. eat of burning their houses over their
heads, ste loss IF material, and the far greater
and moro bitter loss OF morale, such ne is in
h;cted upon US by thia uuorgapised, demoral-
lied aud demoralizipg simulacruD, of cavalry,
would pay for tho organization, horses in
c;u&ed, and the support Of six Thousand ca7-
airy Cor six weeks. 1t won't do to lock for
scare~ goc-s in the shape Of John Bsrleycorn
end "a valley which il runDing with apple
brandy" | tell you, denr sir, tliere is moth.
ing running in this Valley like our cavalry; the
Valley ia now cur Valley OF IIumiEn.ion.--
There was more b:s2dy, and more drinking
and more good living ln this Valley in the
glorious t;nes Of Jackson thnn there is now;
set he took, if II am we'll informed, a hundred
and ode pieces Of artillery from the Yankees
In this campaign, we have taken but ten pieces
from the enemy, whilst the ensmy havo taken
thirty-one from us, which makes balance Of
twerty-ons against us. In JacksCn's TINA
what little wo had of cavalry was Ashbyan if
can SO speak, and the Yankees had not yet
turned out against US their we'll equipped, we'll
organized, well mounted, we'll disciplined cav
airy; that cavalry waSthe in course ct forna-
tion. Since it has uasv its spparition on the
seat OF war we all know what has happoned;
they have bearded the lien in bis den; in the
suburbs Of Richmond, or two hundred miles
from it, towards almost every poiat OF the COM
pasR. t':oy hara fed On the fat Of tie land, and
left behind them pingling with the smGke Of
their camp f e4, by which were cooked the
choice pieces Of the poultry yard, the larder and
the grazing ground, the larger volumes fsmoke
arising from those fires, by which were de-
steoyed private and Government property,
barns and bridges, houses and depots, villages
and factories, to such an amount that the
most obtuse Congressman must now see plain
" that q cheap cavalry is ruinous thing
Well, sir, you should Rec some Of Our cavalry
brigades, it is perfect nockery; they make
e-en the Yankees laugh. Jimboden's cavalry
las it is called) had better be presented with On
unlimited furlougb, for, without any traitor
GUS design On thsir part, they give more "aid
and comfort" to the enemy than traitors, and
Union mon will evar DO abba to give.
"Why, the thing must be taken up in earn
ost, as, 1 hope, by this time, every body Is
open to conviction on that subject. AS gene
raj thing, we have not kept pace with the
Yankees in army organization, discipline aud
drill; in that way they have been gaining
ground, inch by inch, upon us. We have
opened military school for their benefit; they
have even learnt frcm us how to fight; could
we but learn from them how to organize and
koep organized, the next year could witness
the end of the war, at least on our own terrific
ry. If two thirds of our men are absenteee, it
is evident that tho great question with US ia,
not how to call the men in, hut how to keep
them in. Many men have deserted, not be-
cause of tho ightiog or the discipline. but
in some regiments to my certain knowledge,
frorn the want of either. They enid tha. the
army was o humbug. Disaff.ction and weari.
ns.s are TIE fountain>head of deserticn, not
cowardice; your true coward dares not desert;
besides, coward amongst us is, to say the
truth, o rare bird. Keep tho men employed at
all times, treat them with Justice, let favorit-
ism and nepotism be wseded out OF fregimental
organization; let every man belong to q COM
pa1Y which no can be proud of, in ats num-
tsrs, officers, discipline, drill and manage
mont; let every regiment be formed OF euch
companies wherein every individual feels TINT
be is unit anG component part of something
respectable and respected in quantity, not less
than in quality let q wholesome and not
spasn,cdis discipline bind officers and men to
tisir dutY; let il bs remembered, at the same
time, that discipline fl 1ws from above to balnw.
through the regular channel il you please, and
that no discipline will reach tho privates that
has not passed through the officers; by which
I mean to say, that the amount of discipline
and orderly spirit found among tho privatss, is
a faithful exponent Of whatever quantity OF
discipline may DO found in the officers them
selves whence it follows that the officers must
themselves be the first embodiment Of discip- ]
line All that is, not cnly easy to do. but easy
to bear, for discipline is much mcre lenient
and mild than caprice, which ia iyraot, or
license, which is stumbling block. Hnw many !
of our poor man, shot as deaerters, trlpped up. |
on the stumbling block Of license, who would
have been, but for that temptation, spared to
life and duty"
The duty imposed by Tho present emergency
upon ell classes of the people, and upon sll
departments and bureaus Of the Government, |
10 send to tho front every man that can by the
,trictess economy be spared, induced us to call
1pon the Navy Department to respond to the ex-
,ec!stions Of tbs country. We have been furnish
Il wish informsticn and faots not proper to be |
,ubliehr! which chow that the Navy Depart
ncnt haa been neither slow to recognise its !
luty i'll the present emergency, nor to render
ts aid to the defence of tho city. Its en-
,!oyese ere, and for many mouths have heeD,