, 1889-06-25
HOW HORSES ACT IN BATTLE.
Some Remarkable Instances of Equine In,
felIfCenee-

teIligencc.
'It is remarkable how quickly
horses adapt themselves TO the mill
tary service, " said Capt. Cox to q re-
porter. Every a~rtilleryman knows
that they learn the bugle calls and the
evolutions quicker thar the men rs 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. II 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.
In the drills in the artillery ser
vice the horses will themselves pre-
serve their alignment as well as
the infantry. i shall always remem-
Der illustration of this trait which
/ noticed at an exciting and critical
period of a battle. In order to save
some of our infantry from being sur
rounded and captured / quickly
mounted the cannoneers on the guns
and put the whole battery at n dead
gallop across a stretch of meadow
about half a mile wide. | was quite
accustomed TO such sights, but when
we were half way across the field |
noticed. the array, and for a 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, rocking
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.
1T 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 march2' Idon'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 terri
bic stamping, kicking and neighing.
Once, in n terrible storm, our horses
and those of several other batteries
broke loose, and there wa a wild rush
among the artillerymen to get horses
in the morning. All was excitement
and the horses were hard to get, but
when / ordered the bugler to mount a
stump and blow the feed call the
horses all made such a mad rush for
our battery that the men could hardly
get out of the way quickly enough.
when it comes to battle a horse
seems to know everything that is GO
ing on, but he does his duty nobly and
seems TO be in his clement. He enters
into tho spirit of the battle like n hui
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 bat
terry was once struck by a piece of
shell, which split his skull SO that me
side was loose. The driver turned him
loose, but he walked up by the side of
the gun and watched the firing, and
when n shot was fired would look
away in the direction of the enemy as
if to see the effect of the shot. When
ashell would burst ear by he would
calmly turn and look at it. When he
saw his own team going back for am
munition he ran TO his own place and
galloped back to the caisson with the
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 10 realize that there
was no further use for him he lay
down and died The lieutenant strong
ly asserted that he died of a broken
heart.
'At the time that Adams, Jackson's
and Preston's brigades charged me at
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 l tell you he looked
simply grand. He was alarge, 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 If he were flying himself instead of
running. Everybody gave him a wide
berth, and / called to the infantry that
i would give 800 to the man who
would catch him, but no one tried it,
and he is running yet for all / know
of him. "-San Francisco Chronicle.