New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-01-20
AMERICAN WARFARE.
ESSAYS ON AMERICAN GENERALS.

or OUR CIVIL wAE-A EULOGY OF LEE. y
(rRoN TUE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT rRIDUsE.l
LONDON, Dee. 95.-One of the most distinguished
officers in the British Army. Col Charles L. Chesney,
has collected into volume a number Of Essays In
Modern Military Biography reprinted chiefly from
The Edirburrh Rcreu. Four of them discuss
American topics aud at least two of the fonr at
tracted some attention at the time IN American pa
pers The preface to the present volume lLongman's
svo PIP A. possesses in respect an even greater
interest for us: being the answer OF competent
officer to certain military criticisms ON the conduct
of the Civil War; attributed. rightly wrongly, to
high authorities in some of the Continental armies.
So much of it a. concerns this matter is rs follows:
OF the essays here repuhshcd the last four relate TO
the great war in America. the military excellence dis
PLAYED in which has been unlulv deprecated by COM
parison with late events the Continent There is
disposition 10 regard the American generals aud the
troops tey lei altogether inferior ~ regular soldiers
rhi. prcuIire hof ont Of the buudcrs and want OF
conference exhibited b Undetermined volunteers at the
amply atoncd for ~ The stubborn courage
displayed on both sides throughout the rest of the
struggle: while H. = maa', &. aims TO be regarded as
veteran arc be measured ny The amount OF actual
fighting through the most seasoned soldiers
OF Europe cOascspts compared with t1e SIR
viyors Of That conflict. fIe conditions of war ON
grand scale ustTaicd;o the inl rs much III the
contest in America rs In those recently waged
on the Continent III al that relates 70 the art OF Feed
ins and supplying army m the field the Americans
displayed quite much ability "a any Conihehta!
power: while n the organ 'i.pn aud discipline Oh their
improy ed troops we're u;rinr the actral lighting was
In fact more stubborn for irOpean forces have expo
ricncca fbo amount of resistance combat which North
and Soath opposed 20 other Neither WIS the IRE
1ucn iide,,Nc result OF ihe great battles iOu-ht III
America ny proof tat iuey Jrned exceptions to the
ordinary r,'gs oi military science Inc>o actions were
,O lnrn.clu .ys q, from ie1icLcy IN cavalry, and
next because the beaten side would not break mp The
American sol,rT IN thu- refusing to yield To panic
w1cn o,u. III, d4y retiring good order aad keeping
y good oi the Vi-tO1.s eucny, display lei as
venture believe, inherited quality. la order to
purs here ice one - :in away ana to the
credit Of the An the ordinary conditions o. Eu-
ropcam wairo in This usually absent from
the great battles fought across the Atlantic. Hence
partly the r, aenj repetition o the struggle almost on
the saluc rdn5. " wh'cI The sst campaign OF Grant
and Irc &, me groyuins tiuplr Nor have those VINO
study tho deed, wrought by Frragut and Porter with
improvSci means any reason 10 hold American sailors
cheaper bau our Own. thuk Lightly Of the euergy
that raised tho l.otS they led.
\ Smilm Split aud an equally rare capacity of
impartial gll ncut are shown not less srIki1gly in
the following comment Oh The Bull Run panic from
the article or Ice:
Thnach IL event concerns LITTLE here. IL j. right 20
say ha: ths surprise Of IN Conederates on their flnk
was aud their defeat AZ one time very near,
being only a,,rted by the superiority in seadheSs OF
Jackson uopps their ca Hraics Aud as We laughed
30 ond and long ~ the behavior ~ the raw militia Of
Mcdowell WHOM once in retreat. it is wei 10 add that
there is the least reason to believe. Judging from
the testimony -onthrn officers that their wodld
have behaved whit better had the reverse been ON
their side More than thi-. Those among ourselves
who know most OF war are agreed thli, how
ever highly one think of the spirit Of the
is no
whatever. beyond vulgar national VANITY. for the
common benei that a mass OF These. once beaten
and pane stricken, would show conduct very differ
eut from tlr of McDowol'S volunteers in 1861.
or of tie Mobiles Of the Army OF the
LOIRE ten years later. Nations deceive themselves
very much i this OF their unframed troops"
was the remark made 10 the present writer by the
chief OF the swiss army one composed wholly OF mill
tamen Aud what true of Frenchmei', ol swiss, ana
of our own ktl and kin in America would hardly he
greatly falJhcc IL misfortune fell upon ourselves.
Whatever may thought OF this deduction, certainly
nothing could ne more mistaken than the Judgment
hastily passed hy press the conduct Of Mellow
ellis troops. cent, they were, into the Held un-
trained and through the ignorance of Congress, left
unfurnished even with the semhlance OF staf
II is open r. an American to say that he does not
care what Europeans think about our military
work but he dos care The evidence that he does
is to be found in the angry comments in many
ney here refutes so fully. We owe him. think, an
acknowledgement Of the satisfaction with which We
read his sineuiaIly full panegyric on American
soldier. hip auC geneIaship and for one offer him
mine Few British officers, even at this day, wonld
have spoken out 50 warmly. Few studied the sub
ect so carefully al the time. studied at all The
impresslons Of most Of them might have been
summed w in tie statement that Lee and Jackson
were clever generals and that il was great shame
the North, by mere force of numbers should persist
in beating them. 50 far as political and personal
sympathcs 90, Col ChesIiey was, and suppose still
is on the same side Bat he has proved himself
pabIe OF studying a military question apart from
politics or mostly apart. of the Continental critics
10 whom he refers I suppose it may be said that,
as rule. they neither knew nor cared about the
momcutnus national questions at Issue They never
shook of the feeling Of contempt for the military
science of both sides born. rs Col Chesney says, Of
early mistakes on both The remark attributed to
Count Mol ke--that the movements of two armed
mobs could yaye no interest Tor student oil Waf-
has been energetcany denied, but whether on au-
tbority do not know. Ii is at least doubtful
whether il was ever made. But ii IT were made. lr
WAS balanced by the well known judgement Of some
American generals the European conflict OF le'O
II is no secret that some OF the most capable OF
those who Witnessed parts of that gigantic struggle
rated someUha lightly the boosted science OF the
victors 1t seems 10 me idle 10 un1ervalue either
the American OF European systems. The conditions
of warfare are utterly unlike i'll the two hemis-
pheres A Prussian commander who undertook to
carry ON wal IL the Middle aud Southern states III
the fashion which succeeded in France would surely
find himself not merely beaten but destroyed. An
American III Europe. the other hand, would
find useless many of the shifts to which the Datnre
of the country the want of roads, and the sparse
ness of population. at home drove him. He might