The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-05-18
PANICS in BATTLES.
ODD EVENTS THAT AT TIMES DEMOR-
ALIzE VETERANS.

ALIzE VETERANS.
| Two Terrifying Incidents That 0c-
| CURED During the FrancO-Prussian
| War-Madness May Seize Even the
Most Hardened Troops.
1t Is a peculiar circumstance that hard.
ened and trained troops will go through a
long fight surrounded by all the horrors
that are inseparable from war without
finching and with the utmost apparent
struck terrified by single trifing incl
dent.
Every war of any Importance, particu-
1 larry wars between civilized nations, is
prolific in incidents of trivial character in
themselves, but so unusual and unnatural
.hat they appeal to the natural instructive
horror Of men more suddenly and intense
ly than perhaps the main terrors of days
Of carnage and surrounding seas of suf-
fering. Such an incident is the one, for
example, which occurred at the battle OF
Worth, III the early days of the Franco
Prussian war.
In the heat of the great battle u wing
of the Prussian army was charged by the
regiments of French cuirassiers in the
hope of turning the wing and facilitating
the falling back of the French infantry.
But the cuirassiers were driven back by
the unflinching Prussians. Again the
cuirassiers charged, and again they were
driven back by the whitening fire of shot
and shell.
For third time they came down again,
and as the enemy waited for them 10
draw nearer horrible, blood freezing ter
ror seized the Prussians, and for the mo-
ment it looked as if they would turn and
fly or be cut down without defending
themselves. But in n moment they had
pulled themselves together and beaten
back for the third and last time the gal
liant curassiers.
The sight that terrified the Prussians
appears nothing very much in black and
white. 1t was regiment of cuirassiers
led at a dashing rate toward them by a
headless officer sitting upright in his sad
die and apparently encouraging on his
men. 1t was no less n person that Fut-
yum de Lascarre of the Third regiment OF
cuirassiers, whose head had been carried
completely off his shoulders as the troop
broke into the third desperate charge by
q cannon ball, which also took off an
two.
1t is remarkable and singular that at
the battle of Forbach, which took place
the same day as Worth, a very similar
incident occurred and did more to shake
the nerves Of the Germans than hours OF
roaring cannon and fighting had done.
While a regiment of Prussian infantry
were standing in reserve watching the
fight as well as they could from their pO-
sition of shelter a charger belonging to a
French dragon regiment, one which was
practically destroyed in the battle, gal
loped right into the midst of the men who
rushed to arrest it and Immediately fell
back in alarm, for swinging to the bride
was the whole left arm of the chargers
rider, the fingers of tho hand firmly,
grasping the reins. The arm appeared to
have been severed few inches below tho
shoulder and was certainly that of an Off
Ger, but who the officer was has never
been satisfactorily established.
So moved were the hardened men of
battle at the horrible sight that no one
would touch the horse, and the animal
was allowed to gallop off, to be killed g.
few minutes later in crossing before
some Prussian guns. Thrilling as the in
cident was, many of the brave fellows
who Witnessed it declared that their first,
niinosa rresislipie' Impulse was " .hro"'
with the help of just such men that Cen
erai Won Hopeh routed inc Frehch thae
nenioraDie Gay ID august hoV'
~ ~ wen hhown lacI inat lhe hhesC
nnu ora'esI troops Tug "uilu gan prouucs
naIe no immunity Iioil tnat st'ahsG ana
mysterious nlauhess hno"ii 70 LhlhtarF.
nistois as wa. panic. a neaNS war,
Lrequent sansulnary ensasenen.s, hlgnl
- anu ,s 81. ISIS sone.,es pay
VIZ 'oluieiS ~, nei .ous s!e.e an"
Iehuer theM more ilhe hisn spiri.eu cons
tnan men VINO nave taken inc heiu pre-,
pareu 10 suIer lLhimeasuraDie horrors an"
'" ns ueu'n -, Ineei l.h.. 1...
Durins Inc pehlhsuiar war Two nritisn
resllneh,s, tne ner! pieh OIL the army anu
seasoned veterans were iharchihs aiohs
Al sUou oIuer Mheh Il rullor rau uoWp
n 1nc iiiies 'iiat tne ene.ns was at h'hS'
L. ne heAt moment inc inc Vi oraeriS so,-
uleTS WAS CHduScu mo All mon