The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1886-04-15
BAY0NET AND SABER,
Their Value as Weapons in the War
fare Of The Present Day.
BY BRIG.-GEN. JOHN b. TURCHIN, RADON, ILL.
SECOND PAPER.


of chivalry, when men and horses were covered
with heavy armor, a lance aud sword OF enc
chey2lieT used to scatter hundreds OF faooe
armed with pixies, representing the infantry OF
that time; but after the introduction OF hre-
arms military men thought that TO use cavalry
in the old way, riding rough-shod over the
infantry, became dangerous, aud that the cav
airy, in order 10 compete with the infantry,
must have firearms also. When, about the
middle of the last century, Frederick the
Great of Prussia appeared on The scene,
European cavalry was armed with carbincs,
pistols and sabers; the last being more for
ornament than for actual service. The cavalry
had perfectly trained horses, that could gaiiop
with right or left foot forward, take short or
long gallon, move in Caracoes and perform a
geat many other evolutions, more resembling
the antics OF modern circus riders than the
movements OF our serriceable cavalry.
Then the evolutions of the cavalry in an at
tack were extremely punctilious. First, the
troopers used TO start at a walk; then at short
trot: then put their horses to short gailop with
left foot forward and fire their carbincS; then
give the left spur and shorten the right rein,
thereby changing the horses left foot to the
right foot forward, and fire their pistols; then
they would wheel around and retire or halt
IL some rushing with sabers on one another
happened il was considered onl y as an occasional
occurrence, and not as general mode OF hight
ing.
The formation of infantry at that time was
Ia fuur ranks and always dcp!oyed, so that IN
the order Of battle both lines were dcplOyed,
the battalion columns being unknown. The
cavalry was invariably posted Oh tine tanks OF
the lines of infantry, and It's attacks were
delivered in the manner above described, using
generally firearms. Knowing how nervous the
infantry becomes in firing against the advanc-
ing enemy, one can imagine how wild was the
firing OF that cavalry on gallop; il often be-
came rather mock fight than the real, earnest
dash Of one against the other.
Fredericl. beroming involved in war with
Austria and France, and having but petty
princpality and limited resources, exercised
his brain how be would with his small army
whip his powerful enemies. After making
great many Improvements in the formation,
organization and manuverIng OF his infantry,
he paid attention to his cavalry. Observing
HOW SLOW WERE THE MOVEMENTS
of the cavalry while they were firing, and how
Intellectual was tie firing itself, he struck upon
an idea radically different and diametrically
opposed TO the prevailing ideas of military MEN
of that time IN regard TO the nSe OF cavalry.
He thought that by compelling lis cavalry to
attack the enemy at full speed with the saber,
they would rush into tile ranks OF their oppon-
ents before these would have time to drop
their firearms and draw the saber. Accordingly
heissued strict orders TO his cavalry commanders
TO take away from their troopers all firearms
troopers in their attacks upon the enemy's
cavalry TO charge with the sa0ers and at full
speed of their horses. By doing this Frederick
hit the nail on the head. In the first battle
with the observation-disclosures cavalry was consid-
cred of the best at that time-that cavalry was
cut to pieces by the Prussian troopers and scat
tered 10 the winds In successive battles the
same thing happened 10 French cavalry also.
Then Frederick made another Improvement.
He took some light batteries, mounted all their
canrOneers on horses, and added them to his
cavalry, with view to follow the cavalry
everywhere, thus or gnating in a crude form
the present h0rse-arillery. This improvement
made his cavalry invincible and famous under
such chieftains as Gems. Sei9iitZ and Zitten. The
time came when Prussian cavalry commenced
to attack the eremy's infantry, cutting up aud
scattering it, because as that time battalion
columns bad not yet been introduced and the
infantry couid not form its squares quickly
enough to efficiently resist the cavalry attacks.
So the cavalry became the princi pal factor in
all the great battles of Frederick during the
seven years war in which France, Austria and
Russia were in alliance against him. Thus
through the genius of Frederick the Great the
saber became the weapon Of attack III cavalry
charges, raising cavalry above infantry and
making it a thuGderbolt and
DREAD TO HIS ENEMIES.
When Napoleon the Great came on the scene
he organized aGd used his cavalry differently
from the manner in which Frederick had used
it; yet the weapon OF its attacks remained the
saIne,-it was the Saber. In his wars the sabers
were making always a thick cul tain In advance
of his armies, through which his enemies never
could penetrate AID learn what those armies
were, or w3at they were doing In 1896 and
1907 the French saber surpassed the saber of
Frederick the Great to such an extent that
number of PrIssian forircsseS surrendered TO
squads of the French cavalry upon the sum-
nons of the saber From Rhein TO Moscow the
wave OF Sabers under Marshal Murat rolling in
the wake Of the victorious armies of the French,
made wide tracks of devastation through
Europe; while at Waterloo the last charge-the
charge on which hung the destiny of Napoleon
was the Der charge. Had it been successful the
history of nations since that time would have
been probably different from what il is; but
English stubborness and Fate broke the French
saber III that charge, and Napoieon's career
ended.
But there was no decadence of that weapon
after Napoleon. In the battle of GrochoVo,
during the Polish revolution OF 1881 the charge
Of the Russian sabers went through both lines
OF Polish infantry, made havoc among their
reserves, and although a great many of them
were left on the field, yet the majority sue
ceeded in joining again their own lines.
In 1855, during the Crimeau campaign st
Balsklava the English saber did wonders in
the charge of the Light Brigade, which the
made immortal. During the Austro- Prussian
war IN 1856, after the rout of the Austrian
army at SaG0wa, it was the sabers of the mum.
circus Austrian cavalry that moved to the front
against the victorious Prussian battalions and
making innumerable and desperate charges on
them for several hours gave possibility TO the
Austrian infantry and artillery to withdraw
and save themselves from utter rout and de-
stTuction.
Daring our own war, owing to the extremely
broken aud wooded country in which most of
our severe fighting occurred, our cavalry was
Obliged to fight mainly on foot, yet there were
hundreds of instances of collision between
Union and rebel cavalry in which the saber
decided tie victory, and demonstrated that in
the attacks Of cavalry it is the weapon 10 be
used. When the Army of the Cumberland was
blockaded at Chattanooga, after the battle of
Chickamaaga, rebel cavalry under Wheeler
crossed the Tennessee River On the LIST of Octo-
Der, 1868, and moved on the communications of
our army. Col. E. NJ McCook, with the Ist
Wis. and I'd and 4th Ind. Cav, of LaGrange's
Brigade, and section of artillery moved on
the q of October from Bridgeport to Anderson's
Crossroads in the Sequstchie Valley Approach
ing that point the Union troops saw the smoke
of burning wagons. Hurrying forward and an
proacllng a body Of rebel cavalry of Martins
Division, with which Gen. Wheeler was him
self present, the LIST Wis and I'd Ind charged
with sabers on the rebels and drove them past
the burning wagons upon the main body, which