The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-01

grouping of the troops and of the must
clans, with their smart uniforms and
bright Instruments, standing in the deep
trench against the shell-battered earth
work, and by palisades riVen and shat
tered and shivered by shot, was most pic
turesque.' Nevertheless the experiment
was not repeated by the victors in either
the Austrian of French campaign. In
EACH it is true. their full band accompa-
MED every Prussian and Saxon regiment
while on the march, but once the fighting
had begun the musicians were converted
into ambulance men pro tenn, or attache /
themselves to the bearer companies. Ac-
cordingly. we have to wait for the Russ J.
Turkish war of 1877 before finding military
bands again bringing their influence to
bear as an incentive to discipline and hero
ism. Skobeleff was the General who util-
lied them with this object, and the occa-
sion arose out of one of those bloody
fights round Plevna, when the flower of
the Russian infantry had been driven from
their parallels with terrible slaughter To
retrieve the fortunes of the day appeared
hopeless, for the men were thoroughly
cowed, and hung back when rallied by
their officers At this crisis, the celebrated
General remembered the bands Of the I'M
perial Guard standing idle in the rear and
these We're hastily summoned. Soon The
anthem
burst forth above the rattle of the Turkish
musketry and the scream of their shan
mel, and simultaneously the spirit of the
disheartened assailants underwent a start
ling transformation. They plucked IN
courage again, responded cheerfully TO the
word of command and finally succeeded in
hurting the emmy back from the position
he had won. In fact, such was the re-
markable nature of the metamorohosis
from dispirited TO spirited troops, that in
the subsequent attacks Skobelef had the
bands stationed with the supports, where
they could enliven with their strains
National hymns and marches formed the
principal feature of the 'progT anime, but on
several occasions the firing line fouob
their way across bullet-swept zones with
the haunting refrain of a Strauss wlltz
ringing in their ears.
The short though sanguinary campaign
between Bulgaria and Servia In the An
tumn of 1885 witnessed the last instance
of the employment Of bands during active
hostilltles' ana here, too, the example set
by Skobelem was pushed TO a truly start
ling extreme. The third day of the hattie
of Slivnicd found the Servians apparently
impregnably posted on the steep hills in
the neighborhocd of Fragoman. Notb'nr
daunted, however the brave Bulgarians
formed for frontal attack. and Gen. Rem
dereH issued the extraordinary order that
every battalion of infantry would be MOI
only accompanied, but headed by is
band playing the "Djumi Martha" the IA
tonal air Accordingly, the charging bat
talionS toiled up the ascent in this for
nation, the bands never ceasing PLAYING for
one instant. a German officer attached
to the staff OF Prince Alexander of Bat
tenberg, In recording his experiences
states that the progress Of each unit could
be easily followed by the crescendo ard
diminuendo of the music. In the mos
exposed places the air became thin and
ragged, and the rattle of the bullets On
the brass instruments was plainly eudlble