The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-06
COURAGE IN BATTLE.
Each Nation Believes Its own Sold
iers the Bravest in the World.

iers the Bravest In the World.
From the London Spectator
1t Is by no means easy to decide which
Of the races of mankind is the bravest
upon the battlefield. The Spectator is
rather inclined to assign that place to the
Osmanli, who besides his natural stolid-
ily and exemption from nerves, has tho
pride of a race OF hereditary conquerorsf
exalted by an honest belief either that
God is on his side or that fate Is irresisti-
bic. If he is to die he will die: IL not,
not; and he charges through the han OF
shot with an imperturbable serenity which
makes him the delight Of disciplinarians
and the despair of decent men. 1t is, how
ever, most difficult even TO institute q
comparison as TO national courage, SO
much depends upon circumstances, upon
discipline and, with some races, upon
leadership.
Very few troops fight we'll when they
are hungry. Frenchmen are distlncuN
Drawer. by their own confession, when
they are led by a Napoleon and Germans
differ violently from themselves, accord
ing TO the perfection of their discipline.
Savs viii face any danger which APP
proaches If they are ordered to face AZ.
but to induce them to show fierce charg-
ing courage. the courage which sweeps
away armies, they must have confidence
Italians have hardly been tried of Iato
years, though they died in their tracks
at DogaE and Spaniards, once esteemed
the bravest infantry in Europe, have In
more recent years appeared to have lost
some confidence either In their officers or
themselves. Even the evidence Is imper-
feet
We English believe In our hearts that We
make the best soldiers in the world; hutF
as matter Of fact there 10
no evidence for the assertion;
indeed there is little evidence
the other way There is plenty of proof
running through all history that the class
of Englishmen who take TO the army have
no superiors in battle, If. indeed, they have
any equals; but the English people have
yet been subjected to CONSUMPTION or apyrw
thing approaching to one, and the volsn-
tary adoption of "a soldiers life naturally
acts as a winnowing process
The question of the comparative proper
ton OF really brave men in any army Will
probably never be determined. Great Of
hcers on the continent keep their knowl-
edge on that subject vigorously as a pro-
fessional secret, and assume as a certain
ty that all soldiers are brave. They know
very well, however, that they are not. and
when confidential will admit, as Maraha
Won Moltke once did in public that With
a great number 1T takes discipline, and sse-
we're discipline, too, TO induce them to face
shells unshrnkingly.
American officers, continues the Specta-
tor, have been known to acknowledge that
OF their men, who are as brave as any in
the world 20 per cent. would run away IL
they could, and in every army, even ours.
which man enters only a free will, there
is a certain proportion that literally en-
not overcome its fears They are stricsaan
with sort of paralysis The proportion
Is probably not high In any army the ma
duty, and having intense motives to do
1t; but neither is the proportion high OF
those who literally feel no fear. There
are such men, who do not quite UNDER
stand what the emotion IS, as there are
also some who have in extreme danger a
sense Of pleasure, which sometimes not
only quickens their blood, but distinctly
increases Their Intellectual force.
~ This Is said to have been true of Gen.
Picton, who, though a hard rough man,
was an 'angel when bullets were about
ard was undoubtedly true of the first Lord
Cough, who had trick, highly Disagree
able Ia his staff, of seeking points of fun
exposure 10 the enemy's fire.
The immense respect paid to such men in
all armies shows, however, that they are
exceptional, and. on the whole we believe
that the opinion of the first Sir Henry
Havelock Is very nearly the truth. The
writer once had an opportunity during a
discussion on the utility of the Victoria
Cross of oss-questioning that famous
general on the subject and never forgot
his reply:
In my experience" he said in any Brit
ish regiment there are always a hundred
men who would storm the gates of he'll
eight hundred who if they did IT, would
follow III, one hundred who want to skuIk
in the ditchesand about thirty who actu-
ally do skuik there or elsewhere"
The averages should be higher in con-
script army, but then, also. the discipline
is more severe. Why discipline should inn
part courage Is something of mystery but
there is no shadow of a doubt that it does
and that Wen disciplined regiment is not
only more obedient, but actually more in
different to danger, probably because the
continuous habit of self-suppression has
positively diminished selishness
The popular notion that seasoned troops
are much Drawer than novices seems, how
ever, to be unfouuded. They are more
afraid of giving way, knowing what hell
upon earth commences IL men begin rum
ming; but Waterloo was won. In considera-
bic measure, by young soldiers, and SPEECH
eren was carried by regiments IN which no
private mad ever seen a shot fired in an
ger.