St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-03
TREVOR OF BATTLE.
Horses Are Affected by 1t First
But 1t Disappears in the Strug

Horses Are Affected by 1t First
But 1t Disappears in the Strug
gle.
Detroit Free Press
In the last year of the war when i'm
mense bountIes were offered and the
draft forced men into the army, the
coward was caught in the net with the
brave man, but for the first two years
coWardice in the face of the enemy was
unknown. The coward knew himself
and refused to enlist He did not appear
until forced to by avarice or the provost
marshal. Then he was an object OF
pity as we'll as Of contempt.
The tremOr of battle is a queer.
strange thing. Had it not been SO
general it would have been mistaken
for cOwardice. 1t came not only with
the first battle but with the second,
third and forthwith each and every
one down TO the verp last. The vet
eran was afflicted as strongly as the
raw recruIt-the officer as well as the
private. And yet men knew not of
themselves that they were afflicted.
They saw it is others-otherS saw it in
them.
Here is reGiment of cavalry on the
left. On our right is battery, with in
fantry supports lying down. Beyond
the battery infantry are lying behind
breastwork. Beyond them there is
heavy fighting. We have been sitting
on our horses for an hour or more. We
have lost five or six men and as many
horses by stray bullets and fragments
of shell. When we were wheeled into
position here men were joking and
laughing. We have not been UNI
der fire, but the suspense has
been eating away at our nerves.
We know why we are here. The
enemy's flank is opposite us, sheltered
by the woods. 1t is flank against flank.
We are watching each other. The horses
catch the tremor first. They champ
their bits and foam at the mouth. They
toss their heads and paw the earth. The
sweat start out on the neck, the eye of
every animal has 4 Sullen, baleful look.
and here and there horse either tries
to lie down or rears up and paws the
air. We speak to them Soothingiy and
kindly and stroke their necks. a dig of
the spurs would render them uncOn-
trollable. A harsh word might excite
them to fury.
am not afraid. This is nv ninth
battle. havs been twice wounded.
have been promoted for bravery in the
face CT the enemy. Ii the colon ell
should ask me TO ride to the rear w 18th
an order [ would beg that some one
else be selected. And yet | am appar-
emily suffering that Liental and phys
ical agony endured by constitutional
coward. My teeth chatter. My
chin quivers. l feel so weak i'll
the knees that l know l should
fall down if out of the saddle. |
tram lNlinn hoo6 IN md
my breathing is hoarse and labored. Is
it fear? No! 1t does not occur to me
that | am in the slightest danger. The
suspense has simply relaxed my nerves.
and my mind cannot control them. The
trooper on my right is as pale-face1 as a
dead man-tbe one on my left shakes
like man with the ague. 1t is so with
all the Others. We are waiting. 1t is
the suspense.
"AttentiOnl9
All! that's relief to both men and
horses A body OF the enemy's cavalry
appears on the edge of the forest. Each
man draws long breath. The SuS-
pense is brokenl =
Draw saber!'' e
Better and better! My teeth no
longer chatter, but | find my laws hard
shut. The fingers gripping my hilt of
my saber have found their strength.
can feel my horse pulling himself to-
gether uhder me. +
''Forward-t rot!'
At last we have something to 90!
The enemy is forming TO charge tbs
battery. We are now moving out 10
fall upon him. The terror has van
lShed. L feel the strength of a giant in
my sword arm.
''Galiop-charge- hurrah-rah!
Five minutes ago one might have
looked us over and decided that we were
regiment of poltroons waiting for
chance to bolt TO the rear. There are no
laggardS as we charge. Every man is
using the spur, every voice cheering.
We are laundering on TO certain death
Tor some, but there is no fear, no care
With naked Sabers flashing in the cloud
OF dust, with every horse at yull gallup,
with every trooper bedding for
ward i'll his saddle, we strike
the enemy as wave rushing
against shore. and only brave men
will be lying dead when the melee is
ended. Afraid? Why, man, those of
us who return to the flank curse the
enemy that he did not give us longer
fight-cureing our own officers for
checking the pursuit before it led US
into ambush and annihilation, That
was to be expected. Tremor comes be-
fore the charge--exultation after 1t.
The soldier has no control over either