Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1865-04-28
A Moving Army.

Few persons have an idea of an army
in motion. The last number of the
United Service Gazette supplies some
statistics which will instruct the reader
"In the campaign ofthe last Summer,
the army of the Potomac, as near as we
can arrive at the figures, appears TO have
numbered ordinarily about 10000 efFec-
tive fighting men. It's transportation is
reported to have consisted Of about 1880
wagons, 800 ambulances, 10000 artillery
cavalry, ambulances and drareht horses,
$500 private horses, and $4,000 mules,
making an aggregate in all Of some 56,-
600 animals. This is just about one
third animals to the men, about the same
ratio as obtained during its Peninsular
campaign and ever since, whereas the
ratio among Western armies, during the
same time, and always, has been usually
one>half, and generally very nearly two
thirds animals to the men. The figures
in Gen Sberman's combined army dur
ing the Atlanta campaign, footed up gem
orally about as follows: 10000 effective
fighting men, $500 wagons, 900 ambu>
lances, $4,000 artillery, cavalry, ambu
lance and draught horses, $500 private
horses and 1000 mules, making aggre-
gate in all some 10000 animals. These
figures are simply enormous, and will
give tue reader some slight conception of
what an army really is, if he will but con
slider them for moment. For example,
an army of l25,00O men, marching in
column four abreast and the intervals but
six feet apart, which is less than the
usual interval of troops on the march,
would extend over a distance of thirty
five miles, without making any allowance
for the usual intervals between regiments,
brigades, divisions and army corps. So
with The wagons. On good roads where
trains are kept we'll closed up, il is cal
culated that each six mule team will oc-
cupy on an average about sixty lineal
feet this would give about ninety teams
to the mile, large average on most
marches, so that X thousand three
hundred teams would ordinarily require
about seventy miles If the weather or
roads are bad, of course they will sirug-
gle along indefinitely, and thus require
much more. An ambulance on the
march usually occupies about forty feet,
so that nine hundred ambulances would
occupy distance of about seven miles.
So that the artillery, an army of 1885,
600 men viii usually have at least two
hundred and fifty guns, or say forty bat
teries Of six pieces each. Now, battery
on the march, as a general thing, will oc-
cupy fully three hundred yards, so that
forty batteries alone would take about
seven miles. These figures, thus roughly
taken, foot up one hundred and nineteen
miles, as the free and easy marching dis
tance Of an army Of the size of The two
great ones that we have had operating
East and West during the past campaign,
and this, too, without counting in accu-
raleIy our Bedouin Arabs, the cavalry,
that always swarm along for miles to-
getber, beside, in apparently almost in
terminable columns. or courss no Gen,
eral with a moderate stock Of brains would
ever think of marching his troops thus in
one continuous line, and hence the neces-
sity OF parallel roads in moving an army,
to keep your troops massed and all in
band"