Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-06-28
The Soldier and SJIdiers.

their judgments. The war with Spain
and the lighting in the Philippines
have again opened the eyes of the
world to the lmitless possibilities for
fighting and endurance possessed by
the American. volunteers. The old
world critics cannot understand it, and
it is interesting, and sometimes anus
ing. to read their criticisms and com
mcnts.
An English military man who has
seen a great deal of the fighting in the
Philippines makes a contrast between
the soldiers of the two great Anglo
Saxon nations. las individuals" says
he, II look upon the Americans, both
physically and mentally, as our SUI
periors: collectively as distinctly in
ferior. The American soldier is better
possibly that the English, but an Eng
lish regiment is better than an Ameri-
can. A typical soldier should be-
speaking broadly, a nonthinking unit
of an organized whole, ready to obey
on the instant the order of the officer
Immediately above him. without any
private opinion. The American dis
cusses and criticises the tactics Of his
general as freely as he would the
weather. Another point with which
90 /. ,,orticu1o rlyr Struck iS their all
solute indifference to danger. Before
the line advanced from Caloocan the
soldiers might have been seen playing
baseball. though fully exposed to the
fire of the rebel trenches. On asking
one of the men why he exposed himself
he said: We'll, we've been in these
trenches for six weeks and have got
tired of lodging bullets
Now, of course. we are willing
enough to admit that the English critic
is right when he says that the Ameri-
can soldier as an individual is the
superior Of the Englishman or of any
body else on earth but we also claim
that American soldiers collectively, in
regiments or armies, have this same
superiority. His argument to the con
trary is not at all conclusive. The
facts of history are stronger than any
argument in theory. 1t has yet to be
shown wherein soldiers who discuss
and criticise the plans of a command
ing general are any the less obedient
to orders or less effective on the battle
field The history Of all wars in which
American soldiers have been engaged
shows that dsobedience has been an
almost unknown quantity, while it is
beyond dispute that the world has
never known troops who hold or gain
ground in the face of such high per
centages of loss. Never have soldier
in battle shown such utter contempt
for death as have those Of our own
country. Straight shooting and stead
fastness have always been the prom
inent qualities of the American soldier,
and consequently of the American
regiment, and these are the qualities
which win every time. 1t is doubtless
true that on parade and when lined up
for drill an American regiment does
not act quite so much like a machina
as does the English one, but it is in the
fighting that we must gain a basis for
a comparison in effectiveness.
The Kansas City Journal presents
some interesting comparisons that
throw light on the question under dis
cusson. First it mentions the famous
charge Of the Light Brigade at Balak-
lava which England has pointed to fol
generation as an Incompatible speci-
men of reckless bravery and desperate
| fighting. The charge of this brigad'
was doubtless reckless, as il certainl.
was foolish, but for desperate tightin:
| it cannot be compared for moment t
many conflicts in which American
| troops have been engaged. The loss t,
| the EnSllSn brigade was just % Pc
cent. In our Civil War 262 men Of TIL
| First Minnesota Volunteers charged
whole division at Gettysburg, and
leaving 215 dead and wounded on tn
field, brought away the rebel colors
Not only did this charge show a los
of 81 per cent. as against the 81 pc
cent. lost by the Light Brigade, but
gained a vitality important point 70
the Union army, whereas the brigad
accomplished nothing except to give
poet the chance to immortalize
blunder.
In our war no less than 10 regiment
lost more than 50 per cent on the bat
tlefield. The First Texas a CunfedeI
: ate regiment, lost 81 per cent. in tn
single battle Of Antietam, and in on