Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-22
The Italian Soldier.


The Italian soldier, as a rule. is short
and spare built and his general appear
ance conveys the impression of not over
robust physique. But see him marching
and ii soon becomes apparent that he pos
sesses more stamina than one would rive
him credit for. How unmurmuringly he
trudges for hours at a time along dusty
road under a hot sun with his heavy
knapsack on his back and his rifle slung
across his shoulder. And our surprise is
increased when we find what meagre ra-
tiOns he has to sustain him under all his
toll.
His chief meal consists Of SOUP made
with lard, meat and maccarOni, or some
other kind of paste. His mess is Drepared
in large cauldrOns, round which at a
given signal the men gather, each with a
tin can, into which is poured a not very
abundant supply of soup and an almost
invisible lump of meat. In setting out
on long march the soldier drinks the
soup and keeps the meat to eat on the
road. Besides this he gets coffee without
milk in the morning and about two pounds
of bread to last him throughout the day
A tumbler of wine is served out to him on
an average every third or fourth day i'm
the year.
If his food is Spartan in its simplicity
his dress is equally exempt from the
tHdi u vi luxury. y lOOSc coat OF coarse,
grayiSh-blue cloth covers the infantry sol.
dier from neck to knee. His trousers are
of the same material, but when marching
the latter are exchanged for canvas
trousers, and when working in camp a
canvas tunic is dOnned instead of the coat
His headgear is a KEPT, very like that in
use in the French army.
The uniform of the Bersagleri is some
what more expressed in fancy" This
arm consists of picked men: indeed, only
strong fellows could march at the rapld
pace they are trained to. Otherwise their
drill is much the same as that of the Ordi.
nary infantry regiments. They wear a
black tunic with red facings, and black
brOad-brimmed hat, with a bunch of green
feathers stuck at one side. They are
armed like tie infantry, with Wetterly
rifles. The cavalry and artillery are com.
/ paratlvely weaker arms than the infan.
! try. The former poorly mounted, and the
| guns and train of the latter are below par
The cavalry are divided into heavy
cavalry or dragons, lancers and light
cavalry. The dragons are easily dIstin
! guIshed by their helmets. Both they and
the lancers are armed with lance and
! Wetterly) musket. The light cavalry OF
! Cavalleggieri have revoIvers instead oil
! la1ces. Singularly enough, the cavalry
! have their swords and muskets fastened
/ " buC otthtiiCs 81 Jlldb IL uiluOEStu IUtH are
| deienSeleSS. l have already remarked
! that the physique of the men is better
than outward appearances would denote
As regards their general disposition
| may remark that they are docile, ODE
| dent to their SuperOrs, well behaved
cheerful and laboriOus. In times OF
! danger and disaster, as during the cholers
of 1867, the foundations of last year, anC
on the occasion of the recent earthquake
at lschia, they work with an ardOr an(
self-devotiOn which Is gratefully recOg.
niZed by their fellOw-citizens.
They lack, however, the smartness botI
in dress and drill and the martial bearing
| of English or German soldiers. The
! former and less important deficiency is the
natural outcome of Italy's endeavOrs tC
maintain larger army than she can at
| ford properly to equip. THE inferiOrity OF
! the drill is doubtless chiefly due to the
shOrtness of the time of service thirty
| months) and the scarcity of sergeants il
/ the army.