Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-07-26
HORSES In BATTLE.
rHE PART PLAYED BY WE'LL
TRAINED ANIMALS IN WAR.
Thcy Enter Into the spirit OF the
Fight as Fully ns Thrir iiidcrs--
tl"ici;ncss in i."aim;n. Buaic
Calls aud !iroIti ions.

tut 'Hi"""' u ic" daNS ago noted
inc feet riat the Government had pai,
captain Jerome x. Cox 500 for Il horse
Hillcd i'll the late war, tWcnty-scycn wears
ago. II is interesting to know that the
animal which the Captain priced so
| ni1hiy Then met death III the battle of
Mnrirccshoro, with which Captain Cox's
military fame is most closely connected.
Tor il Wa, here that Cox's battery saved
the day for KosrcranS by holding an i'm
rortani position at Il critical moment
,:y;'inSY fearful odds. winning Il place in
history winch will BE- held willie the
story % The great battle shall lust. Il;
was durin.; these critical moments, when
The battery was pouring grape and canister
iato the ranks before il al the rate of si,
rounds m,nntc. that Shell exploded
under Captain CoX'H horse with fatal cf-
tcct, though The rider escaped unliarmod.
The horse w:l@ awcll trained animal tina;
li'id gallopcd over many Il battle field,
and was Cup;air CoX'S private property.
Ills claim for lis loss WAS not presented
litcr the war until too late, but IL recent
Congressional enactment rcopcncd the
way for his claim.
"it is remarkable how quickly horses
'oapi themselves To the military service"
said Captain Cox to Il Chronicie reporter.
Every artilerynan knows that they
earn the b,iglc calls and the evoutions
quicker i;ian tlc men, as II rule. For
one thing, they very soon acquire a uni
form gait, which is about the same as the
route step Or the usual marching stcp.
If the horses did not acquire the same
gait us the infantry there would be vary
ny distances between the different arms
IF the scrvicc-ihat is, between the in
ianiry and the cavalry, artillery, and the
commanders and their escorts.
''ln the drills in the artillery service
The horses will themselves preserve their
iiignments rs well rs the infantry. |
shall always remember one illustration of
his trait which | noticed at a very cX-
citing and critical period Of Il battle. In
>rder TO save some of our infantry from
being surrounded and captured. quickly
mounted HE cannonecrs on the runs and
out the whole battery at II dead gallon
icross Il stretch of meadow about half n
nile wide. WAS quite accustomed 10
such sights, but when we were half wav
across the field noticed the array. and
for u moment was lost in admiration of
he magnificent picture. Every driver
vas plying whip and spur, the great guns
we're rocking and laundering over the
ground, and every horse, rocking with
foam and full of animation and excite
ncni, was straining every muscle as he
ealoped forward, yet it seemed TO me
that aSir:slght line drawn along in front
would have touched the heads of the lead
horses in front of the six guns. That
was an artillery charge, one Of the most
thrilling sights i'll the cvolutions of WAR.
at is surprising how quickly they
learn the buglc calls. After VIC had been
IN service some time, my first sergeant
once asked me what call that was. as the
ou2lc blew some command. That's Il
pretty question for YOU to ask, said.
How in thunder do you know how To
march,! i don't know, he said, but nv
horse knows Let the first note OF the
feed or water call be blown, and there
will he II terrible stamping, kicking, and
nclghing. Once, in terrible storm, our
horses and those of several other batteries
broke loose, and there was wild rush
among the artillcrymcn to get horses in
The morning. All WAS excitement and
The horses were hard get, but when Or
Tered the buglcr to mount the stump and
blow the feed call the horses all made
such made rush for our battery that the
men could hardly get out of the way
quickly enough.
"Whcn it comes to battle horse
seems TO know everything that is going
IN, but lie does his duty nobly, and
seems to he in his element lie enters
into the spirit of the battle like Il human
being. lie shows no fear of death, and
II is singular that if his mate is shot
Town he will turn to look at him and
seem pleased. \ horse in my battery
VAS once struck by piece of she'll,
which split his skull so that one side WAS
loose. The driver turned him loose. but
he walked UP to the side OF the gun and
watched the firing, and when the shot
"as fired would look away in the drec-
ion of the enemy, rs if to see the ciTcc,
If the shot. When Il shell would b,,rs,
acar by lie would calmly turn and look ut
II. When he saw his own team going
back for ammunition he ran TO his own
place and galloped back to the cuiSSons
with the rest. When the Lieutenant
pushed him aside to put in another
horse lie looked at the other one SORROW
fully while he was being harncsscd up.
md when he seemed TO realize that there
was 10 further use for him he lay down
md died. The Lieutenant strongly as
serted that he died Of a broken heart.
CAT the time that Adams's, Jackson's
and Preston's brigadcs charged me at
Murfrcesboro some officer was killed. and
the brigades were driven back. But the
fallen officers horse had not been taught
to retreat, and he did not lie Just came
at full speed through the battery, ard
icll You lie looked simply grand He
was large. fine ANIMAL his nostrils were
extended wide, his eyes fairly blazed, and
ne ciutchcd the bit with his teeth ms he
,amc on He came like the wind, and
with his saddlc-iiaps flying he looked as ii
he were iivinr himself. instead of RIM