The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-10-30

a.
u ESSNa II " exist. Many of them
SEgH n E%N are survvas from most
S9'% 4 Sahcient times, serving
EsSSSSSsGgs now for amen
r-vsM.s-V@o where originally they
| n,TT4& had a practical use.
| FR Take the epaulet, for
H. example; of course it is
80 cy merely the shoulder
MF n. ~ piece of Medieval
lbA ~ Rrmor become rudi-
ERSM mcntary. rs the physi-
tS,3sTA ologists would say. In
FINENM those times armor was
nv HN# worn only by knights
" and mobiles, and there
fore carried with IL the idea of rank. Picce
by picco II was laid aside with tho change in
military methods that accompanied the intro
duCtion Of firearms into warfare the shoulder
part being kept to the last for the sake of the
protection it afforded against saber-strokes in
cavalry charges. The shoulder piece itself
grew smaller and smaller, until the equalizer,
rs il was called, had dwiuded to the cpauct of
today. Even this is likely to disappear alto
gother before long. owing to tho objection that
| IL marks out officers in battle for the Cncmys
| sharPshOoters In Europe it is rapidly going
out OF use. During the rebellion epaulets, save
on dress occasions. were replaced by shoulder
| straps, for the reason mentioned. and these be-
ing found too conspicuous, officers of the Union
| pearing uudistiuguished by any adornment
| from the privates An exception to this rule
was the brave Gen. Warren, who always went
| into battle with his epaulets on his shoulders
and mounted on a white charger.
A desirable feature in military uni form is
| beauty. In this day Of sober colOrs aud modest
decorations in civilians dress. the soldiers cos
| tunes are more gorgeous than ever before in
| the history of the world. European countries
are vieing with one another in the briliancy Of
| their martial garb, and the dudes of war who
strut the streets of foreign Capitals are tho
most glittcring swels Imaginable Nor IS this
| otherwise than commondable A distinguished
| authority SAYS that - soldier ought to be little
vain. The admiration bestowed upon him by
] the ladies maguiiies his estimate of himself and
! makes him fight better. For this reason no
should be provided with ornaments equipped
| in bright coors aud polished metals, and made
! TO look as beautiful IA possible. The knights
of old, by the way, devoted no end of attention
20 tho Identifying Of their equipments, and
some of the most costly art works of the Age
of Chivalry are suits of armor. Homer de-
votes large part Of one book of the Had TO n
description Of the shield of Achilles, designed
aud wrought by Vulcan.
For what purpose, pray. Is the helmet-strap,
as il is worn to-day2 Once it was put under
the chin. TO hold on the helmet. but now il Is
simply an appeudago Of a documentary charac-
than otherwise. But il is retained because it
is a piece of bright metal and gltiers. The
helmet itself IS Il survival OF the ancient head
armor. and rs worn in tho United States Army
to-day Is much tho same shape rs that adopted
for this purpose by the Assyr Of old thou
sands OF years ago. Now, however, 10 is made
of felt or cork, instead of iron or bronze. Aud
the plume on tie modern hclmct7 Why, IL
was originally made OF horsehAir and was in
tended TO turn saber.Stroke, which 10 did adj
mirably. At present 1t ismeFely An ornament,
aud has been made somewhat shorter than
formerly 10 Ia still made of hOrschaiT, but
officers in our Army usually have theirs made
Of the hair of the Persian yak, which is better.
The plush pompon on the shake is, OF course,
a rudimeutnTy plume. & Other survivals of
antique arm0rial ideas are still found in Euro
poan armies where the zDrRet or throat piece.
aud the cuirass cheat-piere, Of thin and
highly.polishod steel are oven yet in use for
ornaments sake. They Would turn a sword
thrust, but ARE Of no further practical benefit.
But they glitter. and thus fulfll their mission.
dazzling the eyes of the ladies and contributing
through his vanity 10 the bravery OF the sol
dicr.
The bayouet. so long the English soldiers
fHyurite weapon, is a French invention. At
the time when the bold Swiss mouniaineers
had Brst demonstrated the ability OF infantry
10 withstand cavalry by Il brstlinR forest of
troops was the alienation on the field OF blocks
OF pIkcmen with blocks OF musketeers-the
latter to attack and the former 10 repel tho
enemy. At length IL was suggested that the
available strength Of force might be effect
ivGly doubled by simply providing each men
with az adjustable pike TO IL into the muzze
of his gun; thus each soldier would be mus
kclucr and pikemnn both Subsequently came
the notion Of cInsping tho pike around the
end OF the gun barrel, so that 10 Would not in
teriere with the firing OF the weapon, aud
hence comes the modern bayonet
Whether the usefulness OF the bayonct is
thing OF the past, now that the art OF war has
been reduced 10 such fine point that armies
seldom get within mile of one another, is at
present subject of grave discussion among
military experts. In its behalf argument is
made that the bayonct is worth carrying
through whole war, even though IL should
be found useful in but one fight Certainly it
was found useful many times during the rebel
lion.
curious ornamental survival OF n military
necessity is found in the buttons on the sleeve
Of the soldiers coat For that matter. civilians
have them ALSO but that il merely imitation.
OF course they must have had some meaning
aud some purpose once. though now they have
as little apparent use AS certain rudlmentary
organs of the human body. As matter Of fact,
they were the Invention OF Frederick the Great,
soldiers coats TO discourage their practice of
wiping their noses on their coatseeves. The
| two buttons at the back of every ones coat are
10 hold the sword-belt, and are survival Of tho
time when every gentleman wore a sword.
Another interesting survival Is found in the
aiguillettes. These gold braided cords hanging
across the chest were originally an equipment
| of the AID Camp, who suspended by them the
tablet aud pencil with which lie made memo
randa of the messages given him to carry.
| Pencil and tablet were given upas unnecessary,
but the cords have remained because they arc
| pretty. aud they have even been adopted gen
orally AS Il soldiers ornament and part of the
uniform.
The primitive type of the sword was the
hard wood club Of the savage, sharpened on one
edge for the sake of cutting As soon copper
came into use bronze took the place of wood as
material, aud we find the ancient Assyrians
| employing bronze swords very much the Same
simple shape as the old Roman swords of later
| times with ordinary hits aud sheaths. Such
sword could only have been intended for
| thrusting; IL is not until the Crusaders times
that We discover Europeans Welding long two