The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-01-06
REALLY GREAT BATTLES
Americans Do Very Little Blowing About
Their Biz Fights.
CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE DISCOUNTED
some Percentage. of Loss - The
American soldier should lie
Proud of His Record.

Major Phelp, OF Hampstead and County
Tax Assessor Mckinney had an interest
ing talk in Mr. McKlnneys Office yester-
day afternoon. in which they fought over
some OF the battles OF the civil war. Ma
jor Phelps was a Federal soldier and Mr..
Mckinney served with the Confederacy.
Both men were in some hot fights and
know something about the great battles
OF the civil war from the standpoint OF
soldier on the firing line. The talk of
battles brought UP a discussion Of the
fighting in South Africa, and both gentle
men termed the bouts between Dom Paul
and John Bull as mere skirmshes. Dur
ing the conversation Major Phelps said:
'It makes me sick to read OF the great
British losses In South Africa Why, they
have never had battle there In Lon
don the British are crying over the ter
rible loss OF life in the land Of the Beers,
while any fight they have had down there
would hardly pass muster as lively Skin
mish alongside Of a real battle. such as
We had during the civil war. The Ameri-
can soldier is the best soldier on earth,
anyway. Tennyson has immortalized the
charge at Balaklaya, but the charge of
the famed light brigade when
Cannon to the right OF them.
Cannon to the left OF them,
Volleyed and Numbered,
Is little more than frolic when COM
pared with some OF the charges of the civil
war. At Balsklava the percentage Of loss
IL a. Dol 10
Hundred and Twenty-lirst New York regl-
nlent lost 81 per cent OF the men who en-
tered the battle. Al Autietam, where the
Confederates suffered 80 much, their loss
was even greater reaching SO per cent.
There was not one real battle fought dur
Ing the civil war where the loss did not
reach 80 per cent Stiil London cable
grams refer to the extreme regret with
which news Of great loss are received
there The trouble is that England has
been engaged in fighting savages for years
having never fought a civilized people
since the Crimean war. and now that she
has gone against a civilized commander
with civilized soldiers she is astonshed
that she does not run over them roughshod.
THE conduct Of The American soldier IN
battle is beyond criticism. and the trained
fighters OF other nations may well honor
even the raw American volunteer"
Mr.. Mckinney here remarked that II the
soldiers OF the civil war had been equipped
with the modern arms in use today there
would have been no one left TO tell how
II happened "In the civil war said Mr.
Mckinney, I'VE did not stay from one 10
three miles apart and shoot at each other
occasionally. but is most battles the lines
were close together and the fighting wae
steady and terrific, In many places the
flowing blood making the ground slippery.
Those were real battles and not these
fancy affairs where dozen men are
wounded and two or three are killed"
Both OF the old soldiers. one of the
blue and the other of the gray, agreed that
the American as a soldier has no equal;
that while song and story may celebrate
tho prowess OF other nations in arms, and
the historian may write what he chooses
about the worlds greatest hattie, the fact
remains that the greatest battles known
to modern times. or perhaps TO any time,
wire fought during the war between the
States.