Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-04-15

APROTEST AGAINST The mANUFACT-
URE Of SHAM REPUTATION.

URE Of SHAM REPUTAT ION.
The American Volunteers Want Of
Reverence for Those in Authority
THE Proper Place for Brigade and
Corps Commanders False Ideas.
I'm officer di,.~. and at once the newspapers
ami ma .-aHn,~ are filled with accounts Of his
bravery and of th" Naluruus deeds he per
Iurrn,rt ami how he saved the lm"u on such
a haitlrlI,Id "" ar" sulymmly todd that his
presence. inspired his trr"p> Just ready Ia
break. ur already IN tll-ht. and they. nerv"d
hy a glance Of his blazing ewes reformed and
rushed madv on the tH' and >natchei Nrt"ry
from defeat Tins Is rot, ummtlEat,d rot
The distinguishing Characteristics "f the
American volunteer were his Independence OF
thnu.ht. his want uf rrN creme" for th"~e IN
authority. and his ability t" take care " him
,,.it III hattlc and IL correctly Iud-rof It's tide.
He had no r. SpT't for any general whom he
lid not b-.lirve to pnss~S> the qualifications es-
s,,ntial L. great commander. Therefore
none Of our general officers inspired Inn at
all
FIGHTING WHILE SUCCESS WAS POSSIBLE.
When the volunteer fought ON the offensive
he fought well and steadily as long As hs
thought there was prospect uf ~ucCtSS On
the defensive he would fight to the death II
he knew that it was essential 10 the safety uf
the army /" hoId the position he"rrupi,d He
would assault tartkworks IL matt"rcd not
how strong they were, saNag"ly. and carry
them If it was yosSihle But, having once
seen the work at cl,>" range, and having
thuruughl, fit Of It's defenders and r,.alIl,d
that th.. hnr could not L. CARRIED. h,' would
not again make determined assault.
| have seen many charges delivered by
both Union and Cnnfe,isrut" tr"uIS | have
seen our men. with hlanchcd fa,rs and set
jaws. ami their eyes blazing with battle light,
stream past the guns served on, and run full
speed at earthworks. behind which Lees vet
eran infantry lurked, and always get whip
Ied Then have seen the lines in gray
charge Union earthworks or hattie lines, and
! have seen them melt away before the heat
of our fire: but never saw the rcrklrsSly
brave general officers we hear ~ much about
at present lead any Of these troops into action.
I have seen them closely followed 10y their
brigade officers, but never saw them lead.
In truth. what business would IN officer
have. in front of hlS men when they were in
and would surely be killed The vouth Of
America should understand that no matter
how far into an action an officer thrust him
self, hv mistake or intention, thousands "
privat,~e wer,. Of Necessity, far in advance Of
him. Ii matters not how courageous the Of
ficer was. every full regiment of American
volunteers contained hundreds of men equally
brave, and who always fought III front Of
him.
GENERALS N THE SMOKE or RATTLE
All privates have seen division and corps
and army headquarters, and none ever saw
them pitched among the troops in place Of
danger No one ever heard Of Il general ofIi-
Ger being killed in camp. We ar" told that
th,~. gallant men hahtually rode III the lat
III. line or line of trenches, and that they
smiled Mt huInming bullets and laughed solid
shot and bursting shells to scorn Ii is true
that brigade commanders were on the hattie
line. Division commanders were cOnspiCu-
Gus bv their absence, and the presence Of
division commander among his troops was SO
unusual that it attracted the attention Of the
soldiers, and was always remarked upon.
What business has an officer commanding
from lOylD1 to 1000 men TO be in the heat
and smoke of a battlei He can not direct
the t,-oous if he is on the battle line He
could not see how the fight was going. Brig
ade commanders could not find him. OF
courS... if his troops We're charging, or if
thev were advancing, he should be with
them.
We are told that general officers grievously
wound,vi waving aside their aides and
lightly ,iiSmi>,ing their m~iral attendants,
II l.. .,1.. 1
| can not abandon my troops. We must save
the Union" Pah, much they, under these
circumstances. thought of the Union or of
their troops. The truth Is that they one and
all got themselves lu-ged off the field as
quickly Possible, and they were
exceedingly glad to get TO the rear
and into AN ambulance and lie
driven to a place Of safety and a surgeon
To have rife ball weighing ar ounce driven
home in the groin, or shatter the thigh bone,
Or mash the knee joint 10 Splinters, or smash
the bones Of the arm, or 10 hav" a solid Shot
or a ragged chunk of a shell lop off an arm
or a leg. knocks the fight out Of a man. He
wants to go home at once. II was possible
for general officers to 60 home and they went
At least / never saw, nor did any of my com
rades SEE, general officers swathed with
bloody clothes fighting their divisions or
corps
General officers, corps and army command
ers, these are pictured as speaking words Of
encouragement TO their wavering troops,
which clearly hearing above the awful roar
of pitched battle. CAUSED the man to nerve
themselves for supreme efforts, and they won
che fight.
The noise of the battle is terrific. and one
human voice could not make itself heard for
any great distance. Suppose battle Is in
progress The infantry is firing. The artil-
lerv is in action Solid shot and three inch
lolts fly screaming through the air. Shell
ARE bursting The hum of bullets is loud and
steady. The men are cheering. The wounded
shrek as they fall The dying groan. And
We are asked TO believe that general officer
spoke to his men i'll the midst Of this deafen-
ing uproar, and inspired them He could
speak. and speak, and if his voice did not
have the compass Of fifty foghorns he might
As well whistle into his boot for all the inspira-
L..