The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-07-17
HOW HORSES Ac4 IN Battle.
some Remarkable Instances of Equine In
teIligence.


at appears remarkable how quickly
horses adapt themselves to the military
service said Capt. Cox to O. San
Francisco Chronicle reporter. every
artilleryman knows that they learn the
bugle calls and the evOlutions quicker
than the men, as rule. For one
thing they soon acquire uniform gait,
which is about the same as the route
step or the usual marching step. If
the horses did not acquire the same
gait as the infantry there would be
varying distances between the differ
ent arms of the service that is, be-
tween the infantry and the cavalry,
artillery and the commanders and.their
escorts.
''In the drills in the artillery service
the horses will themselves preserve
their alignment as we'll as the infant
ry. l shall always remember one IL
lustration of this trait which noticed
at an exciting and critical period of
battle. In order to save some of
our infantry from being surrounded
aud captured / quickly mounted the
cannoneers on the guns and put the
whole battery at dead gallop across
a stretch of meadow about half mile
wide. i 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 adj
miration of the magnificent 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 strain
ing every muscle as he galloped for
ward; yet it seemed to me that
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 thrilling sights in the evolu-
tionss of war.
st is surprising how quickly they
learn the bngle calls. After we had
been in service some time my first
Sergeant once asked mo what call that
was, as the bugle blew some COM
mand, That's pretty question for
you to ask, said. How in thunder
do you know how to marchp' i don't
know he said, but my horse knows-'
Let the iirstnote of the feed or water call
be blown and there will be q terrible
stamping, kicking, and neighing. Once.
in terrible storm. our horses and those
of several other batteries broke loose,
and there was a wild rush among the
artillcrymen to get horses In the morn
ing. All was excitement aud the
horses were hard to get, but when
ordered the bugler TO mount stump
and blow the feed call tho horses all
made such mad rush for our battery
that the men could hardly get out of
the way quickly enough.
when it comes to battle horse
seems to know everything that is go-
ing on, but he does his duty nobly and
seems to be in his element. He enters
into the spirit of the battle like hu-
man being. He shows no fear OF
death, and it Is singular that If his
mate is shot down he will turn to look
at him and seem pleased. A horse In
my battery was once struck by piece
of shell, which split his skull SO that
one side was loose. The driver turned
him loose, but he walked up by the
side Of the gun and watched the firing,
and when shot was fired would look
AWAY III tu0 uihCtbiun VI buo cuCtlJ Nn
il to see the effect OF the shot. When
a shell would burst near by he would
calmly turn and look at it. When no
saw his own team going back for am
munition he ran to his own place and
galloped back to the caisson with tho
rest. When the Lieutenant pushed
him aside to put in another horse he
looked at the other one sorrowfully
while he was being harnessed up, and
when he seemed to realize that there
was no further use for him he lay down
and died. The Lieutenant strongly
asserted that he died Of broken heart.
Eat the time that Adams, Jack
sons, and Preston's brigades charged
me ut Murfreesboro 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. He just came at full speed
through the battery, and tell you he
looked simply grand. Hewasa large.
fine animal, his nostrils were extended
wide, his eyes fairly blazed. and he
clutched the bit with his teeth as he
came on. He came like the wind. and
with his saddle-flaps flying he looked
as il he were flying himself, instead Of
running. Everybody gave him wide
berth, and | called to the infantry that
/ would give 800 to the man who
would catch him, but no one tried 1t.
and he is running yet for all know OF
him."