The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-01-24
AnnjhiIatiOn of Armies.

tArcnlDdlu fOrDeS IN tOrtnlSntly Review.
Than Humiliation" there is no
more favorite word with the critics Of
maneuvres and sham fights. In a
notice of mimic battle near Ports
mouth in the London Times of the
day l write these lines occurs this
observation: "The guns Of the fort
would have annihilated Col. Thomp-
sons advance on the left along the
seashore." In truth it is as hard to
'annihilate" a body of troops as it is
to kill a scandal. In a literal sense
there is scarcely record Of such a
catastrophe; if used in tigurative
sense to signify loss 50 great as to
put the force suffering it hors du conn.,
bat, there is amazing testimony to the
quantity of "annihilation" good
troops have accepted without any
such hapless result. Here are four
instances taken almost at random.
The confederates, out of $4,000 men
engaged at Gettysburg, lost $4,000,
but Mead held his hand from inter
fering with their orderly retreat. Of
that battle the climax was the assault
of Pickett's division, "the flower OF
Virginia" against Webb's front on
the left of Cemetery Hill. Before the
heroic Armitage called for the "cold
steel" and carried Gibbons battery
with a rush, the division had met
with variety of experiences during
it's mile-and-a-half advance over the
smooth ground up to the crest.
when it first came into sight it had
been piled with solid shot; then half
way across it had been vigorously
shelled, and the double canisters had
been reserved for its nearer approach.
An enfiladIng fire tore through its
ranks; the musketry blazed forth
against it with deadly effect" This is
the evidence of an eye witness on the
opposite side, who adds, "but it came on
magnificently." Yes, it came on to
cold steel and dubbed muskets, and
after a desperate struggle it went
back foiled to the Accomplishments
which had marked its advance. But,
heavy as were its losses, it was not
"annihilated." Pickett's division sur
vived to be once and again thorn in
the fedrral side before the final day of
fate came to it at Appomatox court
house. At Marsha Tour, Alvensle-
ben's two infantry divisions, number
| ing certainly not over $4,000 men, flor
thep had already lost heavily at the
Spicheren Berg) sacrificed within A
few of 1000 during the long summer
hours while they stood unsupported
athwart the course of the French
army retreating from Metz. But so
far were they from being annihilated
that forty-eight hours later they
/ made their presence acutely felt on the
afternoon of Gravelotte. In the July
attack on Plevna, of the $4,000 men
with whom KrudRner and SchahOy-
sky went in, they took out 21,00O
One regiment of the latter's command
lost 725 killed and 1900 wounded
about IS per cent of its whole mum
ber-yet the Russian retirement was
not disorderly, and next day the
troops were in resolUte cohesion
awaiting what might befall them. Ii
the September attack on Plevna, Of
1900 Russo-Romanian infantry en-
gagged, the losses reached $1,000 men
and at the end of his two days des
perate fighting not 10000 of thes'
were left standing. But there was NJ
. humiliation, either literally or con
yentionally, if one may use the term
The survivors who had fought on tn
: 18th and 18th of September were read,
at the word to go in again on tn
18th; aud how they marched acros
the Balkans later is one of the MAJ
yels of modern military history.