Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-11-04
spades in war.

From the Boston AdNeftlAer.l
One of the practical military lessons Of the
war was the Importance of rapid field ntrencl-
ments for infantry. When troops had once cap
tured an important position, perhaps at great
loss, and had been dslodgel for lack OF cover
against conference.-the. they were quick to
avail themselves of the neglected precaution Oh
the next occasion. During the Virginia cam
paign of 1864 u line WAS no sooner formed ON II
field of actual or probable battle than the work
of cntrenchmsnt began. no matter how many
times the labor had proved to be useless.
great want WAS an intrenchment tool at once eff
fectye and portable The pickaxe and spade
were effective hui too heavy for infantry to car
ry and the bayonet and iingerH, 70 often used,
were portable. but not effective. The spade and
pick were USELESS too, in many cases whore only
stealthy, nOiseless movements would ensure
success.
Such an occasion, for example, arose one
night soon after the assault on the Petersburg
lines in June '6l, when Massachusetts regiment
crept across an open field, and, lying low and
silently plying hayonets and fingers in the soil,
threw up breast works on an old crest within less
than hundred yards Of the enemy, upmolested
and unsupported. The use Of spade or pick
would have drawn upon the workers an almost
| anuihilating fire. Not long after the battle of
| Spottsylvauia small, short-handled spades were
issued in the army Of the Potomac, every eighth
man IN the ranks, we believe, being required to
carry one in addition to his ordinary accoutre-
ments
An effort has been recently made by l}revet
| Lieutenant Colonel Rice. United States Army,
| to supply the needed implement by the lnven-
| ton of the acknowledgement ten thousand Of
| which are in process of manufacture by the Gov
ernment at the Springfield Arnory Numerous
| experiments have been made by officers IN diff
ferent parts Of the country, in accordance with
instructions from the War Department, and il
| appears from their reports that with modiiiea-
ton (since madel Of the shank and handle, tlte
new bayonet will fully answer its purpose
| In the course of these experiments ranks OF
infantry have thrown up works aifording them
protection from muskctry fire ~ twenty, iiit ei
ten and even in nine minutes and III two spec
al experiments the men covered themselves ii
tOur and hr0 dHd hdif minutes. The obiec
tions to the trowel bayonet ave that it cannot bt
used to stack arms, and that it ir unHghtly. Til,
first objection Is practical but as the Rice Aler
rill and Rice-hletcalfe hook bands and swyels
for stacking arms without the use of hayoneti
at all, have been adopted by the Government i
il not serious one. The second objection
is hardly Apostle unless it is admitted that nj
, army il maintained more for show than use. Of
iicers in the Indian country commend the hayo
net warmly. General Miles, who commands til
! expedition sent from Fort Leayenwurth ugaina
the COmanches in Texas, has requested the Wa
Department to furnish him az soon ~ possibl
with five hundred of them aud Captain Lyman
of the Fifth Infantry wrote to II friend in thi
t city recently " had a stilving fight for thre
} days-9th to the 18th September last with &c
1 manches-i09 We made rifle pits and drov
them away ut last. II had only had the Ric
trowe bayonet we would have beaten them OF