Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-06-07
HOW HORSES ACT IN BATTLE.
Some Remarkable Instances of Equine In
teI1igence.

Some Remarkable Instances of Equine In
teiligence.
ut is remarkable how quickly
horses adapt themselves to the mill
tary service" said Capt. Cox to re-
porter Every artilleryman knows
that they learn the bugle calls and the
evolutions quicker than the men as a
rule. For one thing they soon ac-
quire a uniform gait, which is about
the same as the route step" or the us
ual marching step. If the horses did
not acquire the same gait as the in
fantry there would be varying distan-
ces between the different arms of the
service-that is, between the infantry
nd the cavalry, artillery and the com
manders and their escorts.
I'm the drills in the artillery SER
vice the horses will themselves pre-
serve their alignment as well as
the infantry. shall always remem-
Der one illustration of this trait which
l noticed at an exciting and critical
period of a battle In order to save
some of our infantry from being sur
rounded and captured l quickly
mounted the cannoneers on the guns
and put the whole battery at a dead
gallop across a stretch of meadow
about half mile wide was quite
accustomed to such sights, but when
we were half way across the field |
noticed the array, and for moment l
was lost in admiration of the magnifi-
cent picture Every driver was plying
whip and spur, the great guns were
rocking and laundering over the
ground, and every horse, reeking
with foam and full of animation and
excitement, was straining every mus
Gle as he galloped forward; yet it
seemed to me that a straight 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 thrill
ling sights in the evolutions of war.
ut is surprising how quickly they
learn the bugle calls. After we had
been in service some time my first SER
geant once asked me what call that
was, as the bugle blew some com
mand. That's a pretty question for
you to ask, l said. How in thunder
do you know how to marchf 1 don't
know he said, but my horse knows.
Let the first note of the feed or water
call be blown and there will be terri
BILE stamping, kicking and neighing
Once, in a terrible storm, our horse:
and those of several other batterie:
broke loose, and there was a wild rusl
among the artillerymen to get horses
in the morning. All was excitemen
and the horses We're hard to get. bu
when l ordered the bugler to mount ;
stump and blow the feed call tn,
horses all made such a mad rush TO
our battery that the men could hardl,
get out of the way quickly enough
"When it comes to battle hors
seems to know everything that is go
ing on, but he does his duty nobly ant
seems to be in his element He enter
into the spirit of the battle like hu
man being. He shows no fear of death
and it is singular that if his mate
shot down he will turn to look at hin
and seem pleased. a horse III my bat
terry YVES once struck by piece O
shell, which split his skull SO that on
side was loose. The driver turned hiI
loose, but he walked up by the side c
the gun and watched the firing, an
when a shot was fired would loo
away in the direction of the enemy a
if to see the effect of the shot. Whe
shell would burst near by he woul
calmly turn and look at it. When h
saw his own team going back for an
munition he ran to his own place an
galloped back to the caisson with tn
rest. When the lieutenant pushe
him aside to put in another horse b
looked at the other one sorrowfull
while he was being harnessed up, an
when he seemed to realize that Their
was no further use for him he la
down and died. The lieutenant strong
ly asserted that he died of a broke
heart.
AT the time that Adams, jackson
and Preston's brigades charged me 6
} Murfreesboro some officer was kille
and the brigades were driven bach
But the fallen officers horse had nc
J been taught to retreat and he did no
} He just came at full speed throug
the battery, and | tell you he locke
simply grand. He was a large, fin
animal, his nostrils were extende
, WIDE his eyes fairly blazed, and b
clutched the bit with his teeth as b
came on. He came like the wind, an
with his saddle flaps flying he locke
as if he were flying himself instead {
running. Every body gave him wild
berth, and | called to the infantry ths
l would give 500 to the man VIII
would catch him, but no one tried i
and he is running yet for all | kno'
of him. San Francisco Chronicle.