The Shasta courier., 1866-07-21
SHASTA COURIER.
The Rifle and Bayonet.

proverb that the true weapon OF the British
soldier was the bavonet. The meaning,
however of the maxim, was this-that the
soldier then had no other weapon to rely
upon. He carried a niusket, but he could
| not trust to this instrument for sending a
| bullet to its mark. As q machine for pro-
| pelling balls with anything like accuracy of
direction or range, the old tirelock was almost
useless; indeed the reader may recollect
the testimony given before a Committee by
Sergeant of the Guards, who said that if n
man took no aim at all with his musket. the
bullet might perhaps hit the target, but that
it could not possibly do so by force of adjust
ment and level. At that time, therefore.
scientific shooting was avowedly confined to
one or two regiments in the army, which
were equipped with special weapons and
specially instructed in the art of using them.
Gradually, However, and in some degree
from the influence of French example. we
began to think that the difference between a
musketeer and rifeman was distinction
which 1t was unwise to maintain, and that
every soldier who carried musket might as
well have the best musket procurable and
be taught to turn it to the best account At
first the old principle SO far prevailed that
we contented ourselves with increasing the
strength of the select reg iments of the army,
and making each of the two rifle corps equiv
alent to four ordinary battaflions. But in
the end this distinction would be dropped
altogether, and every soldier in the line be.
came. In ali but costume, a rifeman. When
the bayonet was the soldiers weapon it was
natural that he should hasten to employ it :;
in other words. that he should get as quickly
as possible to close quarters with the enemy.
and decide the contest by,a charge These
tactics, too, were always believed-a at any
rate by ourselves-to be peculiarly suitable
to our national qualities, and peculiarly con
duciye to success. 1t is at close quarters
that battles are most commonly decided, and
whichever army was Superior in that kind
of practice was likely to be superior altogeth.
er. The troops who were best at the bavo,
net would probably have the best of the day.
1t was not often, as experienced officers said,
that bayonets were actually crossed but still
the bayonet charge decided the affair for
when it was made with obvious resolution by
soldiers fitted for their work, the. opposing
line broke and turned before the shock of
The collision. These are the tactics now
thought to be superseded by the new prac-
tice of musketry. The bayonet is no longer
the special weapon of the British soldier
He now carries a rifle that will deal death at
q thousand yards, and the fact is carefully
impressed up his mind 1t is natural. there
fore, to suppose that he will rely upon his
new arm, and try long range shooting, in
stead Of closing instinctvely upon his enemy,
as in times past. His famous rifle is of no
use to him if he is to treat it like the old
musket and neglect it for the bayonet
Here. however, we must ask whether
change of tactic, substituting long range
shooting for, bayonet charges. may not be
necessary incident of the improvement Of
firearms. We are assured by military au-
thorities that battles viii be decided by
actual collision as before, whatever may be
done by rifles and cannon before the final
shock Not only is this Col. McMurdos
opinion, but it was intmated by Sir Charles
Russell in the late debates Sir Charles
appealed to the experience of the American
war to show that fe-shooting-though the
Americans have natural aptitude for the
art-did not decide battles, but, on the con-
trary, led to extraordinary carnage without
any proportionate results Federas and
Confederates fred away at each other from
long distances. till both sides were so weak.
ened as to be unequal to the shock of per-
sonal conflict, and so the battle was drawn,
though each army had paid the price of
victory No serious affair, it is said was
decided by fine shooting, and we are led to
the conclusion that the old fashioned tactics
of the bayonet would have been more effec-
tual than the new science. Col. McMurdo.
indeed, is not unprepared to revert at once
to the Oldest system of forming rifemen into
select corps. He does not pretend to depre-
ciate arms of long range and extraordinary
precision in skilled hands, but these arms
and this practice may be left, he thinks. to
picked regiments. The great body of an
army. the 8 ''main battle" as it used to be
called, will have little need of such weapons
or such discipline. The real conflict will
still be decided at close quarters-if not by
hand to hand fighting. at any rate by volleys
delivered at such short ranges as to call for
no extraordinary skill.-London Times,