The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
FRENCH AND AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
Points in which Our Troops Excel
the Frepch.
Paris Letter in New York Tribune.

Faure at Longchams On Tuesday, April
q, saw the $1,000 men comprising the
elite of the regular and volunteer forces
of the United States as they marched past
President Mckinley at the dedication of
Gen. Grants tomb. At Longchamps, as
at New York, it was the national military
academy to each republic-the st. Cyr ca
diets and those of West Point-which won
the most marked applause for military
bearing, precision of movement and regu-
Sarity of marching. The characteristics
of the fighting force of each nation are
well shown by their respective corps of
embryonic officers. The ST. Cyr cadets
have free, swinging, elastic gait, more
gymnastic than military, which forms
striking contrast with the West Point step,
with its steady, measured cadence. The
st. Cyr cadet is, as a rule, shorter, less
robust and OF lighter weight than his West
Point colleague, and wears an easy, loose
fitting blue tun!c and vide airy red trous-
ers, quite different from the close, smart
~ cut and severe gray uniform of West
Point. The st. Cyr cadet preserves a GER
tain individuality in his appearance and
manner, while the West Point cadets seem
| to be nodded upon one and the same
model, and one of them resembles another
| like coins struck from the same mint. 1t
| appeared to me that the st. Cyr cadets,
as they marched past on July IA, evinced
! less military precision, less accuracy in
| alignment and less rigidity, especially in
| preserving the regulation distances, than
was the case with the West Point cadets
! on April q.
The French infantry Of the line came
marching by with a nervous, swinging yet
| somewhat jerky step, totally different
| from the fine marching of the United
States regulars or of such crack corps as
| the New York Seventh, the Fifth Mary
| land or the Boston Cadets. In fact, the
| marching of the French infantry is radi-
| cally different from that of any other
! army in the world. 1t has been my good
fortune to see reviews at Potsdam, at AL
| dershot, at Tsarskoi-Selo at the Vienna
| Prater, and / have seen Turkish and
! Egyptian, American and British troops in
actual campaign. 1t is evident that in the
march past at a review the French infan-
! try at first sight seems disappointing, but
yet these same little 'piou-pious'' cannot
be outmarched in rapidity or in long dis
| tances by any foot soldier in the world.
| The French linesman is badly tailor
| ed,'' his clothes do not seem to fit him
! properly, but on the other hand, he is per-
| haDs the best shod soldier In Europe. His
| plant laced shoes made of excellent leath-
| er, comfortable, durable and waterproof,
| may be considered as models One regi-
| ment, that of the 317th OF the reserve,
which was modified especially for the
occasion, marched past in campaign uni
form with kit and cooking utensils just
as if they were taking the field in actual
warfare, and after the st. Cyr Cadets it
| was these ''reservists"-men who have al
ready served their three years in the ac-
tive army and have since returned to civil
| life-who carried off the honors of the
! day. The cavalry division commanded by
d cd nit tl1a1gf 1c
especially when the charge was executed
| with startling precision--the troopers rein
ing in their horses to a halt in beautiful
alignment within twenty PAGES of the re-
| viewing stands.
There is as much difference to the out
ward eye in the bearing and appearance
of trooper of the Third or the Sixth Unit
| ed States Cavalry and a French chas-
seur-a-cheval, or dragoon as between the
| trim, well-cut uniform of the one, and
the baggy, booted overalls and limiting
| tunic of the other But when work be-
! gins" the French cavalryman proves thas
if he is not ornamental he is at least use
! full. Individually, the French horseman
| shows a want of smartness, but ne is pie.
! turesque enough in mass, with all his blue
and scarlet. If. as we see him trotting
| through the streets of a garrison town,
he appears anything but ferocious war;
! rior, the long line of curassiers, dragons
| and chasseurs that came laundering down
| on the reviewing stand last Wednesday
are a foe too formidable to be encoun
tered with a light heart.
The French horseman does not ride as
well as his prototype In the United States
| regular army, but the horses of the
| French army are better and more services
| able than those in the United States. The
half-bred barbs of the chasseurs are up 10
any amount of work, and the heavier
| Normans and Bretons of the dragons
I d.. III
| light for the weight they carry, are splen~
| did specimens of horsehesh. The French
| artillery-belieVed elsewhere than in
France to be the corps d elite of the army
was beyond praise. The physique of the
/ personnel of the field and horse batteries
| is superior to that of the line, and the
| average efficiency of the officers rs <igh-
er. The steel gun that it is armed with
| is a most effective weapon-the field piece
of 80 NM, weighing 1913 hundredweight
and firing a 179S-pound common shell 1S.5-
pound shrapnel: the horse artillery gun
weighing $50 hundredweight with a 13 To-
! pound common shell and a 1894 shrapnel.
The large number of batteries attached
| to an army corps-more than four guns
| to LOGO infantry and cavalry-is not the
only indication that the French place great
reliance upon their artillery. The bat
teries as they marched past on Wednes,
| day presented an admirable appearance.
| The old maxim of spit and polish" was
not as minutely carried out as is the case
| with the batteries of the United States
regular army The steel names and coll
| lar chains were in some instances not as
! bright as they might have been, nor were
| the leather harnesses absolutely immacu-
1 late. But the horses are beyond criticism,
and everything pertaining to each piece
ard each caisson is thoroughly service
able and business-like.
1t has been said of the French army
that its generals are too old, and its nom
commissioned officers are too young. Gen
| Saussier, who commands the army of Pa
| ris, is already 60 years of age is prodi-
| giously corpulent and must soon be re-
tired The average age of the French corps
| and division commanders is "a, while in
| Germany the average age Of correspond
il.r Ia L. Z H.