The sun., 1898-06-12
MOUNTED INFANTRY.

EAeir Worth Conclusiyely Proven
During the Civil War--sher-
mans Mounted Sharp
shooters.
The value Of mounted infantry in war
pannot be overestimated. In the civil
var several such regiments were e.h-
allowed, and their accurate marksman-
shib was the means in several engage
ments Of giving the Union army advan-
tages which they otherwise might nave
zeyer gained. An ex-army officer, speak
mx Of mounted intantrymen recently,
sd.
saNly own regiment had the good for
tAme, after fighting as infantry in many
heavy battles, to be mounted. The men
had, at their own expense, gradually
armed themselves with the Henri (slx-
Acen-shooter) rife. This put them under
constant call for the skirmish line,
which was their first object in buying the
guns. :,
Being irregular they we're not assigned
70 place in the marching columns, ex-
cept that they were to be well at the
'front.'. In tie Atlanta campaign they
skraggled good deal, getting off the line
and invading country where the main
body never went. Some Of them picked
ap horses and mules and became self
constituted scouts. This led, to the
mounting of the whole regiment. the men
Hinding their own animals. They did
work that could hardly have been done
bx the cavalry with their equipments.
Their rifles were effective, and they
puld feel Of the enemy in spots where it
would be unsafe for troops otherwise
equipped to 90. Often it was touch and
20, and sometimes they created conster-
nation by appearing between two col
nmns Of the enemy and giving rise to the
belief that he was Outtianked; it could
not be supposed that anything less than
large force would venture in such
quarters.
To have infantry fire and infantry
organization on wings proved to be an
important advantage. The regiment was
especially useful on the march to the
sea, as it must always be when an army
cuts loose from its source of supplies
md depends largely on the country for
support.
The men were scouts, skirmishers and
sOsagers, according to circumstances and
when they found the enemy away from
the main columns they dismounted and
served as infantry. In this way they
aided in keeping the line of march OF
sheir corps, and sometimes of corps on
another road, free from obstacles.
Among other enemies they encountered
were the Georgia Home Guards, made
np OF Confederates who were at home on
sascs1snt of wounds and vf all the various
sen who for any reason were not in the
ield.
At times these home guards made
aouble by destroying bridges on the
aypsoaoh Of the FederaIs, and sometimes
they showed fight. But the best service
nj the mounted infantry in that campaign
was in guarding forage trains when it
was necessary to gather supplies at a
bng distance from the main body. The
first Of Sherman's 'bummers' were strag-
glers from such irregulars.
In the case of such troops there was
no better craftsmanship than in the
army generally. Their guns were lighter
and better, but the chief advantage was
IA the rapidity of their fire. There were,
however, infantry regiments here and
there in which most of the men were
crack shots. One Illinois regiment in
particular, the Slxty-slxth, think, was
lHcIuited from mem who were expert
snced hunters capable OF hitting the
bulls eye at u distance that would tax
ihe skill Of the ordinary soldier to hit
che target at all. The regiment had more
Sid men than any other that | ever saw,
anu it was almost conspicuous for its
,ack Of style in drill.
The men looked the hunters they were
linen OF the woods mostly. with the
long stride and rounded shoulders of the
traditional woodsman. Their dress was
distinguished from that OF the other men
by green braid. Probably verybody
knows that the braid of the cavalry is
Fsiam, OF the artillery red and OF the in
iaEtry light blue.
Most OF them were armed with their
own rifles, perhaps used long before the
xM, of many patterns, and not so we'll
adsTted to the manual of arms as the
aY1ny musket, but much better for fine
shooting. This was not a new arm OF
ihe service, but probably regiments OF
sharpshooters, as distinguished from
squads and individuals, were rare be.
lore the American civil war. In the
main, they performed the same service
as other infantry regiments, but they
had the preference on the skirmish line
'Ife Confederates made more use o
sharpshooters than the Federals.
Where it was possible in an engage
meRt the enemy posted sharpshooters
where they would command certain
points, for the purpose OF picking of
yunners and conspicuous officers. Suci
sharpshooter killed General Sedgwicl
when in apparent safety he was examin
ng the ground in front of his command
1t was this service that was most Otter
geQnired OF the Confederate soldier whoSt
,GfG was true.
The Federals, on the other hand, trusted
80 the ordinary pickets, most OF whom
were not marksmen, TO prevent Con
Bederate generals from approaching toe
close to our lines in search Of informa
sion. In the event of a charge on {
line of Confederate works, there was al
ways sharpshooter on duty to pick of
anybody who appeared to lead and give
dash to the enterprise.
1t was in the battle OF Corinth, in Mis-
sissippi, that first saw an effective sho
by one of the Illinois sharpshooters. i