The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-07-06
How Horses Act in Battle.

r'.s serVlce," SAID Captain COX TO a
San Francisco Chronicle reporter.
Every artilleryman knows that
'ney learn the bugle calls and the
evolutions quicker than the men, as
q rule. For one thing. they soon
acquire a uniform gait, which is
ABOUT the same as the route step or
.ne usual marching step. If the
morse did not acquire the same gait
as the infantry. there would be vary
ing distances between the different
arms of the services-that is, between
tne Infantry and the cavalry. artil-
lery and the commanders and their
escorts.
In the drills in the artillery SER
vicethe horses will themselves pre-
serve their alignment as well as
Infantry. 1 shall always remember
oneillustration of this trait which ]
noticed at an exciting and critical
period of battle. In order to save
some of our infantry from being
sunounded and captured 1 quickly
mGlgted cannoneers on the guns and
Tyls9sAe whole battery at dead gal.
lbpGross stretch of meadow about
hala mile wide. 1 was quite accus-
tomd to such sights, but when we
wen half across the field L noticed
the fray. and for a moment I was
lost admiration of the magnificent
pictue. Every driver was plying
whipnd spur, the great guns were
rockig and laundering over the
groun. and every horse. reaking
with fam and full of animation and
excitement. was straining every
muscltas he galloped forward ; yet
it seemed to me that straight line
drawnalong in front would have
toucha the heads of the lead horses
in from of the six guns. That was
an artillery charge. one of the most
Thrilling sights in the evolutions of
war.
ut issurprising how quickly they
learn th bugle calls. After we had
been in service some time my first
sergeant asked me what call that
was, as The bugle blew some COM
mand. THAT'S pretty question you
asked I ,aid. FLOW in thunder do
YOU know how to march?' Il 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 terrible stamping and kick
ing and neighing. Once, in a terri
able storm, our horses and those of
several other batteries broke loose,
and there was wild rush among the
artillerymen to get horses in the
morning. All was excitement and
6Hhorses were hard to get, but when
/ m6ered the bugler to mount
stump and blow the feed call the
hoses all made such mad rush for
oufbattery that the men could hardly
getout of the way quickly enough.
"When it comes to battle, horse
seems to know everything that is
going on but he does his duty no.
bly,, 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 bis mate is shot down he will turn
to look at him and seem pleased. A
horse in my battery was once struck
bya piece of shell. which split his
skull, so that one side was loose. The
driver turned him loose but he walk
ed up by the side of the gun and
watched the firing, aud when a shot
was fired would look away in the
direction of the enemy, as if to see
the effet of the shot. When a shell
would burst near by he would calmly
turn and look at it. When he saw
his wnteam going back for ammu-
milton. he ran back to his own place
and galoped back to the caisson with
the res. When the Lieutenant push
ed hin aside to put in another horse.
he Looked at the other one sorrow
fully While he was being harnessed
up, aid when he seemed to realize
that here was no further use for him
he lay down and died. The Lieu
tenant stiongly asserted that he died
of broken heart.
skt the time that Adams, jack
sons 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
ne did not. He just came at full speed
through the battery, and 1 tell you
ne looked simply grand. He was a
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 coddIn.HapS Hy