The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-11-05
HORSES IN BATTLE.
A Number of Remarkable Instances o.
Equine Intelligence.

VICE. cdiu SdptdiH SOa 10 TSpOElcr.
''Every artilleryman knows that they
learn the bugle calls and the evolu-
tions quicker than the men, as a rule.
For one thing they soon acquire a uni
form gait, which is about the same as
the route step or the usual marching
step. IL the horses did not acquire
the same gait IS the infantry there
would be varying distances between
the different arms of the service-that
is, between the infantry and the caval-
~. artillery and the commanders and
their escorts.
''In the drills in the artillery service
the horses will themselves preserve
their alignment as well as the infantry.
shall always remember one illustra-
tion of this trait which noticed at an
exciting and critical period of battle.
In order to save some of our infantry
from being surrounded and captured l
quickly mounted the cannoneers on
the guns and put the whole battery at
a 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 q mo-
ment / was lost in the 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 anima-
tion and excitement. was straining
every muscle as he galloped forward;
yet it seemed to me that straight
line drawn along the 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
ing sights in the evolutions of war;
at 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 some command.
That's a pretty question for you to
ask / said. How in thunder do you
know how to march, i 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, kicking and neighing. Once.
in a terrible storm, our horses and
those of several other batteries broke
loose, and there was 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 bat
terry that the men could hardly get out
of the way quickly enough.
when it comes to battle a horse
seems To know every thing 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
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 battery was once struck Oy 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 in the direction OF the enemy as
If to see the effect of the shot. When
a shell would burst near 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 to realize that there
was no further use for him he lay
down and died. The Lieutenant
asserted that he died of a
broken heart
Sat the time of Adams. Jackson's
and PreSton's bEigades charged me at
some officer was killed
and the brlgades 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. He was a large. fine
animal. his nost-ils 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-fiaps flying he looked |
Is if he were flying himself. instead !
Of running. Every body gave him a
wide berth, and called to the infan-
ny that 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.
E,an,l trill lax-a ha