The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-04-03
THE CAVALRY.
The improvement Made In This Service During the
War.

|
| War.
EDITOR NATIONAL tribune: Having served
four years in the Sd iii. Cav, will You permit
space in your patriotic paper to be occupied by
me, in which shall speak of and for the cav
airy arm OF the service in genera2 ESQ we will
take it for granted that all cavalry regiments
were pretty nearly alike, and what was the ex-
| perieuce of ono regiment was that of ALL SO far
as organization, equipment and management is
| concerned. In the early stages of the war wo
| spur nglers well remember how cumbersome
| in equipment and unwieldly we were; in fact,
! o greater nuisance than we were ever even ac-
| cused Of being. Each regiment was composed
of IL companies divided into three battaions
and six squadr0ns. Each company had for tho
transportation Gifts camp and garrison equipage
two large u. ,. wagons drawn by six mules,
and each battalion had from four TO 10 extra
| headquarters wagons, while rogimental head
| quarters had about 10 wagons; altogether some
| 4S wagons, besides ambulances of which there
| were many. 1t required over 300 mules and
horses to draw these vehicles. The teams of
one regiment, when strung out, would require
at least one mile of road, and these wagons
were always loaded to the last pound the mules
could pull. We had tents for all; many had
cots, mess-chests, officers desks valises and
| trunks, and all manner Of trumpery either
| furnished by the Government or pillaged from
| the country.
The men were personally loaded down In
about the same proportion, and when VIC
| mounted our horses 10 difficult feat), which
were also packed with rolls of blankets over
coats, poDchos, feed bags, halters. etc, tied on
| behind. before and both sides of our heavy
| brass. mounted Grimscy saddles, we resembled
| caravan of toilers going to n new country. and
| not knowing quite where. In this condition,
| with the arms which tho Government placed
| in our hands, IL Is little wonder that we were
so ineffective and so often jeered at by our
| friends Of the infantry. That we did not get
| hurt, or hurt anybody, borders closely to the
| truth. If we ran on to any rebels, or they came
| against US, IL was like striking sponge, we
| had so much stuff around u.s. AS to our getting
killed, IL would have been grave crime to
have killed man in immediate possession Of
so much property.
Our arms were OF various patterns. Our
| regiment had for carbine Halls patent breech-
loader 1t had a square chamber, which opened
| up near the middle of the barrel Everything
| about 1t was big, rough and strong the ham
| mar raised up about five inches with click,
| click, like ratchet in saw-mill. If the cap
remained on and wasn't wet and the powder
| had not leaked out of tho chamber, il would
probably go OFF and shoot fairly we'll. Often,
however, nearly all Of the powder would leak
out, leaving only enough to drive the ball part
way out OF tho barrel.
We had for pistols tho old fashioned horse
pistol, which had been changed from hint-locks
to percussion locks. They were single barreled
muzzle-loaders. The ball was pushed down
with an iron ramrod held TO the end of the bar
rel by sort of compound swivel arrangement,
which had 20 be drawn out aud reversed Zach
time the pistol was loaded. The most distinct
i've features Of this pistol, as now remembered,
was the amazingly loud report 1t made, the
| uncertainty Of where IL would shoot, and the
utter impossibility of over killing anything
with IL. Mark Twain claims TO have killed u
mule with his old Allen pepper box. but not
even tho Government has ever made 80 much
OF claim for tho horse pistol. They were good
kickers. aud that beats nothing.
few Of us had sabers Tho first we received
were issued 10 the. nOp -commissloued olicers.
They had leather scabbards which would stretch
out too long when they got wet and then would
shrink up tight on tho blade whom they dried
out. lt was always n nice puzzle to get them
| either in or out OF the acabhard.
Now take green i9-yearod farmer boy, as
most OF us were, load him up with this carbine
pistol aud saber with tho other-descr bed para
pherualia, together with the personal trnkets
given him when he left homo, such as combs,
brushes medicines, ink, writing paper, looking
glass, pictures. and Testament wherever there
was room 90 stick ono, aud the fact becomes
apparent that he was not very formidable
warrior; especially when commanded by officers
as green as himself and good deal prouder
We had but two officers besides the Colonel who
had had any military experience: one had been
| IN the Mexican war aud had never sobered up
| afterward. aud the other had been in the three
months service Of 1861. And what informs these
| new officers wore They seemed 10 vic with each
other as to who could got tho biggest pair of yell
| low shoulder straps, aud tho smaller tho man
| the larger tho straps. In ono of the companies
lean little Lieutenants straps actually touched
| behind bis shoulders, aud as he rode along
| seemed 10 he biting at his neck. The other Lieu
tenant was large, portly man, whose straps
looked like two well-sct sunflowers-a la Wilde.
| Tho boys aftcrward called these Lieutenants
| " Hardtack +" and "Sowbeliy"
| The gusto with which some OF these would
| be's gave command. and the meokness Of others,
was highly amusing, then aud now One OH
| Ger wore glasses, aud carried the book of tactics
| Genesis 10 us) in his hand. He would say,
| Gentlemen. please forward march," as meeky
| as d deacon. Others of a different type would
| roar out at tho little homesck platoon like
used TO imagine the Duke of Wellington did at
| Waterloo. Shoulder-straps and authority were
both new TO them. Those bossy fellows re-
mind me Of a story told by Col. IngersolI of a
domneering sort of farmer. who had bought
new wagon an event in his life The next
| day he was lOrdng il over his l7-year-oId
son rather more than usual, when the boy says,
ooh yes. dad; you have got new red wagon,
| now, and you think you're hell"
We did not know which was right-the fell
low with the spectaeles or the roarer. Isn't
| the effect OF little authority upon some peo-
| pie stranger A wheezy little moldor was APP
| pointed foreman in struggling foundry in
| Illinois over some six other molders. He grew
| like magic, gained 40 pounds in three months,
| lost his position, and in as short time reapsed
| into his former skinny condition.
| Can anyone tell what has become of the herd
| Of little tapoworm piccadillies in the army who
used 10 make themselves so Oiilciousy ridcu-
| lOus2
This embryo condition Of the cavalry lasted
| for nearly the first year and half of the war;
| during which time we were in some engage
ments. A few dead were found on the field
| Whether killed by accident or the cavalry is a
| question to which an honest answer would
| probably be that they were hit by stray balls
| He would have been an unlucky man if killed
| by us, for it was hard to tell which side of a
cavalry line was tho most dangerous, for about
| the time one got ready to shoot tho horse would
| whir around, causing the bullets to go In all
| directions
| We were noisy, boisterous lot of well-mean-
| ing hoOdlnms Green2 Yes, either in tho art
OF war or causing war. But change gradually
came over all. The Colonel of the regiment
WAS Eugene A. Carr, West Point graduate
aud Captain of Regulars--a brave, capable
| patriotic man, who became, by the force of his
| WORTH one of our best Major Generals. He
was then in tho prime Of life, Of fine presence
"A superb horseman, and In every way good