Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-02-07
his breast in Mexico and reached an

his breast In MEXICO anu fCtlcl6u an
advanced age,
The worst hits are of course those by
canister and round shot and are mostly
mortal They take of arms or legs.
or the head of a man, as was the case
with the captain of Southern battery
in the battle of Pea Ridge. Splinters
of shells are less dangerous, but when
thrown into groups and columns may
disable many men. A single shell from
Paixhaus gun sent from Fort Duncan,
Maryland Heights, in my presence, to
Bolivar Heights against a group of
Southern hOrsemen, killed Genera
Lewis and wounded or killed nineteen of
his companions
have heard wounded soldiers groan-
ing under great pain, but never heard
them crying out or using profane Ian
guage. When hating on horseback on
the right of the Thirty-fourth Massa-
chusetts, in the battle OF New Market,
the regiment was under fire at close
range for about forty minutes. losing
Two hundred men in killed and wound
81, but not loud cry was heard from
those who were wounded.
As a general rule, our troops consist
I'D of good men individually, who were
not willing to leave their positions
without showing fight But even the
best troops have given way by having
been attacked unawares or on account
OF other extraordinary circumstances
that created momentary confusion and
a panic. One of tie most common
causes was the want of preparation re-
sulting in the surprise of the men of
whole armies or smaller independent
bodies of troops and detachments. The
surprise of an army consists in this, that
it allows another army to approach I'M
awares until so close that it can throw
itself with full force upon its antagonist.
Such was the case at Shiloh when the
whole Southern army was in line OF
battle ready for attack only three miles
distant from our own lines-or rather
incoherent encampments. The result
was sanguinary contest under great
disadvantages, dissolution and ''pan-
icky' retreat, of part of our troops
who were ignorant of what was ex-
pected, and were not advised as to what
they had to do. They were moment
arily paralyzed. But then came the
change-the arrival of new troops on
the same evening and next day. This
also changed the morale of the badly
scared forces and led them to victory.
Thus troops will break or fight, accord
ing to the bad or good circumstances.
There were many instances of sur
prises during the war, such as the at
tack on Casey's divi sion and the attack
OF Jackson on the right wing of the
Army of the Potomac during The seven
days fighting in the Peninsula; the
attack on Pope's right wing by Long
streets corps in the second battle of
Bull Run, and the attack on the Fiji
teenth Corps in the battle of Atlanta,
where General Mcpherson fell.
Another cause which has sometimes
changed the serried ranks of brave
men into panic-stricken focks is that of
mistaking hostile troops for our own.
As, for instance, in the battle of Cor
NTH, when Southern brigade consist
ing of the Second Texas and Nineteenth
and Twenty-frst Alabama, under the
personal direction of General Hardee,
moved forward with a careful warning
that Breckenridge was in their front
engaging the enemy. '.But this" said
Colonel Moore, of the Second Texas,
twas a mistake, because when the
brigade was advancing the right was
received by most murderous fire. So
sudden was the shock that the whole
line gave way in utter confusion The
regiment became so scattered and
mixed that all efforts to reform them
became fruitless.
There were many reverses during
the late war, and many mistakes-even
blunders-but in most cases they were
not owing to the rank and file. In re-
gard to individual character, i. e., man.
hood and bravery, and in regard to av-
erage intelligence there was no better
soldier in the world than the Ameri-
can. Considering his poor preparation
and lack of experience, especially dur
ing the first period of the war, we
might say that he has done wonder
fully well. He always did we'll provi-
ded he knew for what purpose, against
whom and under whose command he
was fighting.-General Franz Sigel, in
n. Y. Mail and Express.
How Sheridan Saved a Cadet.