The morning news., 1889-05-18
HORSES ON TIE B BArrLEF1aLD.
They Enter Into ths Spirit of the Fight
as Fully as Their Riders

as Fully as Their Riders.
From, the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Chronicle a few days ago noted the
fact that the government had paid Capt.
Jerome B. Cox 500 for horse killed in
,be late war, twenty-seven years ago. 1t is
;ntaresting TO know that the animal which
the captain priced so highly then met death
at the battle of Murfreesooro, with which
Can't. Cox's military fame is most closely
connected. for it was here that Cox's bat
tery saved the day for Rosecrans by hold
mo an important position at a critical mo-
,nsnt against fearful odds. winning place
~ history which will be held while the
story of the great battle shall last. 1t was
during these critical moments, when the
battery was pouring grape and canister
into the ranks before it at the rate of six
rounds a minute, that a she'll exploded
under Capt. Cox'S horse with fatal effect,
though the rider escaped unharmed. The
horse was a well-trained animal that had
raIloped over many battlefield, and was
Capt. Cox's private property. His claim
for its loss was not presented after the war
uptil too late, but a recent congressional
enactment reopened the way for his claim.
at is remarkable how quickly horses
adapt themselves to the military service
said Capt. Cox to a ChronicIe reporter.
EVERY HIUlIl6TY Ildu kuOWS UQdU Cn6Y
learn the bugie calls and the evolutions
quicker than the men, as a rule. For one
thing, they very 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 tde
infantry there would be varying distances
between the different arms of the service
that is, between the infantry and the cav
airy, artillery and the commanders and their
escorts.
IN the drills in the artillery service the
horses will themselves preserve the align
ments as well as the infantry. | shall al
ways remember ore illustration of this trait
which | noticed at very exciting and
critical period of a battle. In order to save
some of our infantry from being surrounded
and captured. l quickly mounted the can
noneers on the guns and put the whole bat
terry at a dead galloD across a stretch of
meadow about half mile wide. | was
quite accustomed to such sights, but when
we were half way across the field l noticed
the array, and for q moment | was lost
in admiration 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 ex-
element, was stralning every muscle as he
galloped forward, yet it seemed to me that
a IIiiO OI Nh CllOliS III lIOub WOulQ
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 evOlutions of war.
1T is surprising how quickly they learn
the bugle calls After we had been in
service some time, my first sergeant once
asked me what call that was. as the bugle
blew soma command. That's a pretty
question for you to ask | said. How in
fbvu5ar. do hos tn
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 a terrible
stamping, kicking aud neighing. Once in
a terrible storm, our horses and those of
several other batteries broke loose, and
there was wild rush among the artillery
men to get horses In tAe morning. All was
excitement and the horses were hard to get,
but when | ordered the bugler to mount
stump and blow the feed call the horses a
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 going on, but he
does his duty nobly, and seems to be in his
element. He enters into the spirit of the
battle like a human 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 bat
terry was once struck by piece Of shell,
which Esplit his skull 50 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 was fired would look away in the di-
rection of the enemy, as il to see the effect
OF the shot. When a shell would burst
near by he would calmly turn and look at
1t. When he saw his own team going back
for ammunition he ran to his own place
and galloped back to the cissons with the
rest When the lieutenant pushed him
aside to put in another horse he looked at
the other one sorrowfully while ne 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 a broken
heart
'At the time that Adams, Jackson's and
Preston's brigsdes charged me at Murfrees-
poro some officer was killed, and the brigades
were driven back. But the fallen officers
morse had not been taught to retreat, and
ne did not. He just came at full speed
through the battery, and | tell You he
looked simply grand. He was large, fine
animal, his nostrils were extended wide, his
eyes fairly blazed and he clutched the bit
tne wind, and with his saddle-hapS flying
he looked as if he were flying himself in
stead of running. Everybody gave him a
wide berth, and ] called to the infantry
that | would give $1OO to tho man who
would catch him, but no one tried it, and
ne Is running yet for all know of him.
tell you was sorry to loose Charley
AZ Murfreesboro. He was nay friend as
well as faithful servant, and was as fine
an animal as l ever bestrods. When be
was shot tried to get him to go on, but hs
told me plainly that it was all up with him
and had tn laaua hin, rphnra hn foil y