Washington sentinel., 1898-12-10

~ distance from the covering force, it WI
his duty to enforce the above regulate
to prevent surprise and spiking the gu
&c by landing or other party OF the enem
e which had obtained the countersigr
e Great difficulty was found in carryin
out orders on this point hile acting /
cooperation with the navy. Thoug
particular attention was paid to sendin
8 the parole with the countersign to tn
T commander of the fleet, the naval Office
4 commanding the boats party never re
membered the necessity of having tn,
parole unit the landing was effected
and it was too late to return to his shiI
for il. The order though never admit
ted any exception and was impressed
. upon every subordinate by the COM
manding artillery officer. am satisfied
that no red.legged infantryman would
ever have allowed himself and his sec.
ond-in- command to have been dragged
from their beds by small cavalry de-
tachment and taken through the lines
OF an army Of twelve thousand men. as
was done with Generals Crook and Kelly
in 1864 at Cumberland. Md.
The only way to teach the navy and
covering infantry of the necessity of hav-
ing the parole was TO detain the detach-
ment until released by higher authority.
which, With the navy, was frequently
not until the next morning, aud then
only after much cursing, deep but not
loud. Heavy artillery is always at at
i r1icaAtronNawa
with navy. The naval officer regards
one gun on water as equal to twenty on
shore and as the heavy artillery officer
entertains just the reverse idea, it is inn
possible to reconcile two such conflict.
ing opinions. Great Jealousy always will |
exist between the two services, which |
is deplorable, as NJ sea coast defense |
can be effective without the mutual aid |
rendered to each other at the opportune |
moment Preparation in time oil peace /
Is more than half the game of war, and 1
as the two services are rarely il ever
exercised together before a war, the
result is that theirs is no previous effort
OF employing them together made be
fore the emergency arises.
From recent inquiry, l find that am
the surviving senior officer in rank com.
manding batteries of heavy artillery
which engaged the feet coming down
the Mississippi River, as we'll as those
which came from below after the capture
OF Forts Jackson aud St. Philip, and it is
melancholy pleasure to bear witness
as above to the iron discipline employed,
as well as the professional skill displayed,
by my superior officers of the artillery
arm of the old service, who have since
"gone to that bourne, whence no
traveller returneth." They had their
iauIts-who have not2 Perhaps their
greatest was that they held their guns
in too high estimation, while human life
was cheap IN their sight, when these
gums were in peril Even when ordering
their detschments under cover, they
never sought il for themselves. Their
bravery proceeded, not from
oravado, but from the higest sense OF p
iutY. and the y never asked cannoneer
% do any act which they were not ready p
70 perform themselves. Brought before
he war into immediate contact with the Z
ashionable society ofOur great maritime
titles in the winter and at seaside resorts q
n the summer, they had naturally i
greater polish of manners than was to :
,e found among their brother officers L
to frontier posts. This also a
ave them the opportunity OF STUDYING q
be nature of the American in his civil q
To Gain his confidence as a
'elI as to enter into the lively circle OF u
is sympathies To this fact, ascribe G
is great superiority over his fellow D
hcers of other arms OF the service as a o
ofmen. The Sovereign in al
is a natural born deserter. He 1
oes not join the my but when tired n
{ the monOtOnY Of lamp life, he is apt ST
, dispense with the routine forms of a II
though, and depart to ensconce him r
Elf IN the neighboring swamp or the II
npenetrable thicket, adjacent TO his r'
'rmer home. There he ruminates over p
he mutabiity Of human events and sets q
le civil sheriff and his posse c0mikakns VI
: defiance. He laughs in his sleeve at o.
le repeated proclaim atiOns ofpardon by -
ie President, if he returns to duty III
ithin a specified period OF time. Tired ra
this life of nalorious ease or perhaps W
imulated to desire change of scene hs
, the proximity Of a military party a
luntng for deserters," he proceeds 70 oil
ls.ures new and meadows green where lis
steals horse, joins the cavalry under CO
assumed name and then becomes a Gil
,ensed military maTauder, raidIng the To-
untry. doing more harm to his own err
1e than the enemy, and is given the at
,portunity to treat the Governors
oclamation with the same contempt
he previously had done to that Of the
esident. No one can appreciate more
an ! do the great services which an wi
icient cavalry can render while acting so
tn an army IN the held. But there is OF
greater curse to a country than a CO
-ce OF cavalry on raid, In the former ira
Sc il is emphatically the eyes and ears Of
the army. II doubles the efficiency Pr
that army in rendering a thousand tn,
d one services too numerous to in,
umerate Among the most valuable di.
that OF drawing supplies from the Tt
jacent country, too bulky and perish Re
lie to be furnished by the regular lines of
and without such sup in
es an army is soon forced TO retreat. tb,
Il know no terms too strong to de- tn,
unce a raiding cavalry. 1t is the da
eateJt misfortune which an unfortunate tn,
finn IN lie defence ran endure ~,