Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-11-15
SOLDIERS. COURAGE.

SOLDIERS. COURAGE.
Lord wolsely Discusses tho various kinds
and Their Ems3tivsnsss. 50
In his famous Fortsightly article on
courage, Lord Wolsely discusses .
subject which he may reasonably Be
supposed to understand as we'll as any
man alive; and he does so In q manner
that is not only interesting, but ANUS
ing and humorous as we'll Courage.
whether active or passive, may be die
vided into three kinds-that which
arises from pure insensibility to dam
ger; the inability to feel fear, which
Is characteristic Of men like Nelson;
that which comes of pure Ignorance,
such as may often be seen in young
soldiers. and was. observed among the
raw British levies at Quartre Bras
and lastly, that which springs from q
sense of duty or a, sense of honor over
coming and suppressing the emotion
which the individual feels at the
proximity. of death. and enabling him
to face it with as much GOODNESS as one
who does not feel it at all. The differ
ence between the two is constitutional.
and many would say that the last kind
of courage-the courage of the man
who knows and appreciates the peril
and would shrink from it did not high
Or motives urge him forwards in
realty the more worthy of respect.
But it we can trust Lord Wo1seley, it
Is not this which makes soldiers mount
the deadly breach or charge up to
battery of guns with light hearts and
desperate determination. It is the
fiery and impetuous leader who has
never known fear, or the coolly impas-
sive one who moves about amOnga
shower of bullets, regarding them no
moro than if they were snow-dakes,
who excites the enthusiasm of his
men. According to Lord WOlseley.
these different kinds of courage man
Hest themselves in different manners,
and the soldier knows by instinct
which Of the two he is in presence
of. Between the officer Who conquers
fear and the officer who has mono to
conquer he never makes q mistake.
He will respect the first; but the Sec
ond is the one in whose company he
will rush On death.
We can easily understand that tho
of q martyr at the stake. or
the splendid calmnesss of the soldiers
who went down In their ranks with the
burning vessel, would have loss effect
for active purposes than the example
of one who rushes sword in hand on
overwhelming numbers, Or seems to
court death by exposing himself reck-
lessly to fire. This was what Nelson
did; and Lord Wolseley gives some in-
seresting examples of this kind of dar-
ing from his own observation. He
mentions Captain Sir William Peel, of
the Royal navy, as a singular exam
pie of cool, deliberate intrepidity.
During the bombardment Of Sebas-
topol he always walked just
behind his battery, where he was moro
exposed to fire than the men working
the guns, and where his presence made
It impossible for any of the gunners to
finch. He was always courteous. But
under a heavy fire he became moro
than usually urbane and gentle. This
the men alw avs noticed. The hotter
the fire. thsy used to say. the more
polite" he became. As an instance
Of downright insensibility to danger,
Lord Wolseley mentions Sir Gerald
Graham, who, when relieved from |
duty in the trenches, used to walk
straight back to camp, exposed to the
Russian bullets for many hundred
yards, because it was the shortest cut
and he was too lazy to go round where
be would have been under shelter.
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