Connecticut western news., 1882-07-19
THE EGYPTIAN ARMY.
It was Organized and Drilled by
 Americans-A Sketch of the Or

ganiZatiOn.
 The Egyptian army, which comes ln conflict with the British feet, was or ganized by American officers, and as far as it has any efficiency it is their cre- ation. These officers-some twenty five in number went to Egypt in 1867, nearly all broken in fortune and filled with high hopes in their new employ ment. It was through General Thad- deus P. Mott, and son of Dr. Valentine Mott, who had made his way to Con- stantinople and there married Greek lady, that these gentlemen were in- duced to enter the service of the Khe- dive. General Mott served in Italy, and | afterward rose to the rank of Brigadier | General in the federal army during the late civil war. The best known of these Americans was General Charles P. Stone, who almost immediately became chief of staff. and soon after firmly es- tablished himself in a post similar in power and authority to that of General Von Moltke toward the German arm ies. It was not long before the American officers began to feel hostile pressure from two quarters-one from the Amer ican Consul General, Colonel George H. Butler, and from the English influences prevailing in Cairo and Alexandria. Then followed some personal encount- CTS and general pickering disgraceful to all concerned, and as body among the Christian colonies of those two cities these gentlemen soon lost any collective standing. Individually, however, they were soldiers of established reputation, the larger proportion being from the Confederate army, and they have nearly all led very adventurous careers, both before and after leaving the Egyptian service. The most prominent Confed- crate was Colonel Charles Rhett, chief of staff to General Joseph B. Johnson during the civil war. When Colonel Rhett went to Egypt he was very much disinclined to adopt the habits of the military in matters of costume, and in fact had no sympathy with the country at all, and was quite outspoken Tn his views. From this circumstance he was never given an important command, but, like many others. was given his pay regularly, according to contract, which was an infex1ble instrument. He was seized with paralysis while on visit to Europe, dying suddenly. He was the most popular of all the Ameri- can officers in Egypt.
 An officer of no less note was Loring Pacha, who in 1849 performed the most difficult and painstaking march known in American military annals. He con- ducted a regiment supplied with artil- lery across the Rocky Mountains to Oregon-a five months tramp. He subsequently, engaged in the Mexican war, leaving an arm on the field, but when the civil war came he cast his for tunes with the South. When he left | Egypt, where he was commandant of Alexandria-the important post to-day the Khedive gave him $5O,OOO, which it is understood has almost melted away in disastrous speculation. It was General Loring who constructed al- most all of the important defeness of Alexandria, commanded the disastrous expedition against Abyssinia. and whose hand is visible in the military organiza- tion as it stands to-day. He is living in New York City. engaged upon book recounting the experiences of his life. | The career of General Charles P, Stone is well known to all army officers, and had he remained in his original position on the army list there is scarce ly an officer in the active service that would now rank him. He was, how ever, at the instance of the late Senator Sumner, sent to Fort Lafayette on charges of reasonable conduct at the battle of Balls Bluff, and was subse- quently dismissed. This event nearly upset his reason but he rallied, be- came mining engineer, and finally &C., cepted the position at the head of the Egyptian staff which he still holds.
 His conduct in Egypt has been both highly praised and severely criticised. One thing is certain, He is about the only American officer who was able to hold his place against all intrigue, first with Ismail Pacha, the deposed Khedive, and then with his son, Tewfik, his successor. General Stone not only undertook to organize the present army, to revolutionize the rotten methods he found in vogue, but he set on foot comprehensive system of cen tral African exploration, under Colonel c. 0. Long, Sparrow Purdy and Majors Mason, Prout and Dye. The officers now remaining at the scene of conflict are General Stone, Colonel 0. c. Long (not in the army) and Major Mason. Sparrow Purdy is dead. Among those no longer living, too, are Colonel Jeni- fer, the inventor of the Jenifer saddle; General Sibley, the inventor of the Sibley tent; General Reynolds, Colonel Frank Kaynolds, Major Hunt and Col onel Campbell. all Confederate officers. General R. B. Colston, who made a journey of 1,7OO miles on lit ter from Equatorial Africa to the Nile, is now engaged as military instructor at an academy on Washington Heights Colonel Wood is living quietly in Nor folk.
 It is hardly probable that any of the American officers will participate in the struggle with the exception of General Stone, and it is extremely doubtful if he will be permitted to retain any im-